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Less than a month to the launch date for The Winemakers, and I want to thank the early readers here on Goodreads who've been posting reviews. Thank you, thank you! I'm so glad you're enjoying the saga of Caterina and Santo, Ava and Raphael...and the landscape of Napa and Tuscany...and fine wines.

A special shout out to Hanna, whose review began, "I had approximately 8 glasses of wine while reading this book. All red."

The Winemakers: A Novel of Wine and Secrets

If you're a blogger or in the media and you’d like to share it with your readers, you can request a digital review copy from NetGalley, or email my publicist for a print copy. Here’s how:

Digital review copy: https://s2.netgalley.com/catalog/book...
Print copy: Jessica Preeg, jessica.preeg@stmartins.com

Launch date is April 5th, and NetGalley review copies are only available before then, so hurry!

Cheers, and happy reading!

Jan

Just had to share this amazing YouTube book review for Scent of Triumph from Jenni King, YouTube book reviewer extraordinaire!    Here’s a list of ebook retailers for kindle, nook, ibooks, kobo, googleplay, etc. Share it on and happy reading! And if you’re read Scent of Triumph, the writer in me is always curious, what were your favorite…

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Just had to share this amazing YouTube book review for Scent of Triumph from Jenni King, YouTube book reviewer extraordinaire! And another treat: My publisher, St. Martin’s Press, is running a $2.99 ebook sale on Scent of Triumph — that’s 70% off the usual price of $9.99 — in March only. This is rare, so get it now and share…

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For those of you who love books about Paris and historical fiction, here’s a must-read for your to-be-read list: I’ll See You in Paris: A Novel. This excellent book is from Michelle Gable, a fellow San Diegan and St. Martin’s Press author that I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know. We connected over our historical novels…

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For those of you who love books set in Paris and historical fiction, here’s a must-read for your to-be-read list. I’ll See You in Paris: A Novel is from Michelle Gable, a fellow San Diegan and St. Martin’s Press author that I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know.

Michelle’s first novel, A Paris Apartment, just achieved bestseller status on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. I’ll See You in Paris is another wonderful story about a flamboyant, gusty woman from the pages of history.

Michelle also has an incredible story that spans 15 years of labor. Her first several novels were rejected, but she persevered. After her agent finally landed a contract with St. Martin’s Press, the first cover didn’t capture the essence of the novel. However, the second attempt was simply magical. At last, her work had earned its wings and soared on to success. I just love these inspiring stories of unstoppable women and artists.

“I adored the parallel stories in I’ll See You in Paris; Michelle Gable weaves these tales together with an expert hand. A beautifully layered novel steeped in family secrets. Not to be missed!” – Jan Moran, author of The Winemakers

Here’s an overview of I’ll See You in Paris:

I’ll See You in Paris winds together the lives of three women born generations apart, but who face similar struggles of love and heartbreak.

After losing her fiancé in the Vietnam War, nineteen-year-old Laurel Haley takes a job in England, hoping the distance will mend her shattered heart. Laurel expects the pain might lessen but does not foresee the beguiling man she meets or that they’ll go to Paris, where the city’s magic will take over and alter everything Laurel believes about love.

Thirty years later, Laurel’s daughter Annie is newly engaged and an old question resurfaces: who is Annie’s father and what happened to him? Laurel has always been vague about the details and Annie’s told herself it doesn’t matter. But with her impending marriage, Annie has to know everything. Why won’t Laurel tell her the truth?

The key to unlocking Laurel’s secrets starts with a mysterious book about an infamous woman known as the Duchess of Marlborough. Annie’s quest to understand the Duchess, and therefore her own history, takes her from a charming hamlet in the English countryside, to a decaying estate kept behind barbed wire, and ultimately to Paris where answers will be found at last.

Find I’ll See You in Paris: A Novel on Amazon and at other retailers.

 

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If you’re in Orange County, on February 27th I’ll be speaking at the Arroyo Trabuco Golf Course in Mission Viejo for the San Clemente Friends of the Library Authors Luncheon. I’ll be signing Scent of Triumph, and you can preorder copies of The Winemakers!

This is for a great cause–it’s the  annual library fundraiser and tickets and tables are tax deductible. Reserve your seat now (and ask to be seated at my table–first come, first served!). Two other great authors will also be there, Mark Haskell Smith and Sue Ann Jaffarian. Get tickets here: http://sanclementefotl.org/meet-the-authors-luncheon/

Looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones!

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Advance copies of THE WINEMAKERS just arrived, and the launch date of April 5th is drawing near! If you’re in the media  and want to review an advance copy, email me with your contact info and I’ll forward your request to my publicist at St. Martin’s to send directly. Woo-hoo! Can’t believe I’m holding ARCs of…

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Advance copies of THE WINEMAKERS just arrived, and the launch date of April 5th is drawing near! If you’re in the media  and want to review an advance copy, email me with your contact info and I’ll forward your request to my publicist at St. Martin’s to send directly. Woo-hoo! Can’t believe I’m holding ARCs of THE WINEMAKERS!

The ebook ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) should arrive on NetGalley soon, too, which is easy to access for bloggers, reviewers, booksellers, and librarians. (Remember, these editions have a few little errors, since they are ARCs published before the final proofing for advance media.)

If you want to preorder (I love to do that, it’s like a surprise gift when it arrives!) here are the pre-order links for most bookstores and platforms, including international Amazons and iBooks, IndieBound local bookstores, and Barnes & Noble.

April will be here before we know it… And, if any of you are going to the RT Convention in Las Vegas, I’ll be there, too — leave a note below and let’s connect!

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Want to be the first to read The Winemakers? My publisher just posted a 50 book Goodreads giveaway!

This is one week only, so hurry and enter! I’d love to see my blog readers win a copy! Here’s the link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25663617-the-winemakers Good luck!

If you prefer to pre-order, here are the links:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

IndieBound

Apple iBookstore

Books-a-Million

Kobo

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This weekend I’m spending time reviewing the final version of The Winemakers, which will debut April 6th of 2016 from St. Martin’s Press. I’m thrilled to share this lovely cover with you! The artist captured the vintage feeling of novel so well.The wines in the book were also inspired by the amazing artistry of wines from Moone-Tsai of Napa, and Brunello di Montalcino of Italy, and so many others. (Of course, I had to try a few…)

I also wanted to share more of the backstory and photos with you, too, especially those that I collected along the way as I was writing, and which inspired many of the settings in the novel, from Napa Valley to Montalcino, Italy. As with Scent of Triumph, I became immersed in the industry in the saga, and spent a great deal of time researching wine.

 

About The Winemakers

Finalizing The Winemakers manuscript

1956: When Caterina Rosetta inherits a cottage in the countryside of Italy from a grandmother she’s never known, she discovers a long-buried family secret — a secret so devastating, it threatens the future of everything her mother has worked for. Many years before, her mother’s hard-won dreams of staking her family’s claim in the vineyards of California came to fruition; but as an old murder comes to light, and Caterina uncovers a tragic secret that may destroy the man she loves, she realizes her happiness will depend on revealing the truth of her mother’s buried past. The Winemakers is a sweeping, romantic novel that will hold you in its grasp until the last delicious sip.

“Absolutely adored THE WINEMAKERS.  Beautifully layered and utterly compelling.  Intriguing from start to finish.  A story not to be missed.” – Jane Porter, USA Today and NYT Bestselling author of It’s You and The Good Woman

If you’d like to pre-order, here’s where to go:

Apple iBookstore

IndieBound

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books-a-Million

Kobo

The Winemakers Research – Wine and History

MaryAnn Tsai (Moone-Tsai Wines) and author Jan Moran

I met so many wonderful people along the way. I traveled to Napa Valley and visited with a former classmate from Harvard Business School, MaryAnn Tsai, and her husband, Larry Tsai, who are founding partners of Moone-Tsai Wines. As past president of Luna Vineyards, MaryAnn shared a wealth of knowledge from her tenure there, as well as with Beringer Wine Estates.

MaryAnn and Larry also poured their exclusive Moone-Tsai wines, which set the bar for excellence high, and have graced the tables of heads of state by request. Partner Mike Moone also shared a wealth of Napa Valley history, pieces of which made it into The Winemakers.

Author Jan Moran and Winemaker Mike Grgich

 

I also had the pleasure of visiting with winemaker Miljenko “Mike” Grgich, co-founder of Grgich Hills. I was honored to celebrate his ninetieth birthday at a special vintner’s dinner at the Meritage Resort and Spa. Thank you, Mike, for conveying your amazing, trailblazing accomplishments in the wine business. His 1973 Chardonnay, created for Chateau Montelena, garnered top accolades for white wine at the Paris Judgment. And the chateau inspired the Rosetta chateau in Napa.

In my travels I also raised glasses with Elizabeth Vianna, winemaker and general manager of Chimney Rock Winery; John Caldwell of Caldwell Vineyard; Jim Morris of Hess Collection; Ken Morris and Maryanne Wedner of Grgich Hills; and Tom Fuller of Fuller & Associates Public Relations. The Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena also shared history of early winemaking. To all of these people and more, I’m so indebted.

The Winemakers – Settings & Style

Chateau Montelena Winery

Writers need inspiration, and I was lucky to be able to visit Napa and immerse myself in the setting, My travels to Italy and Paris also influenced my writing, and I hope the settings come to life for readers as they did for me.

Inspired by the Chateau Montelena Winery, the Hess Collection, the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, and other wineries, a vision formed in my mind of the Rosetta family winery.

If you’d like to explore more of my visual inspiration, check out the portfolios on my Pinterest boards, where I keep visual cues when I’m writing. You’ll find boards for The Winemakers, fashions of the 1920s and 1950s, vineyards, and other boards where I clipped images for everything from the fashions the characters wore and the cars they drove to the dogs they kept, as well as the vineyards, wines, and cities that were woven into the fabric of the story.

Most of all, I hope you enjoy reading The Winemakers. Stay tuned for my events and appearances this spring, including the Los Angeles Times Book Festival of Books. Hope to see you soon!

(And, if you’re a journalist or blogger and want to know more, contact Jessica Preeg at St. Martin’s Press: Jessica.Preeg@stmartins.com.)

Hess Collection, Mount Veeder

 

 

 

 

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