David and I took the train from Amsterdam to Hoorn, a town with a picturesque harbor, well-preserved historic buildings, and charm galore. It features prominently in AMSTERDAM ASCENDANT as the hometown of fictional Rykaard, who becomes Maarten's first mate after the battle of the Zuider Zee, and real person Pieter Jansz Liorne, who invents the fluyt ship.
While in Amsterdam, I stopped by Waterstones impressive bookstore. Fiction manager, Tim Butler, said he was awaiting delivery of my novels, and he and I discussed where best to display them in the store. I also visited other booksellers and museum shops. Athenaeum bookstore, The English Bookshop, Rijksmuseum Bookstore, and Amsterdam Museum Shop are interested in stocking it. The Netherlands largest bookseller, Bruna, is considering it for their airport book stores.
Fiction manager, Sigrid van As, of The American Book Center store was very welcoming and asked me to sign books.
David and I recently visited Paris for pleasure, soaking up its culture and seeing friends, and afterward went to Amsterdam to promote my novel. I was pleased to see Amsterdam Ascendant prominently displayed in the front window of The American Book Center and inside near the front door with other books about the city.
In appreciation of the Netherlands honoring my Uncle Walter for giving his life in the cause of freedom during WWII in Nijmegen, I presented my AMSTERDAM ASCENDANT novel to the Netherlands Defense Attache, Rear Admiral Sebo Hofkamp, in appreciation of the Netherlands own struggle for freedom. My novel chronicles the early years of their Eighty Years War (1568-1648) against Spanish rule. The admiral and other embassy staff said they looked forward to reading it.
This is the badge hanger that Brigitta Tazelaar, Netherlands Ambassador to the United States, gave to me after I complimented her on it. The word feminist has become a term of derision in some circles, and it was heartwarming that such an accomplished woman proudly proclaims her feminist bona fides -- and on an official Netherlands badge hanger!
I will definitely wear it with pride on future International Women's Day and women's rights demonstrations.
At the Netherlands Embassy ceremony honoring my Uncle Walter, I had the pleasure of meeting Brigitta Tazelaar, Netherlands Ambassador to the United States. It was International Women's Day, and the ambassador was wearing suffragette white. While we were discussing the status of women's rights, I complimented her on the blue hanger that held her staff badge, and she surprised me by removing the hanger and placing it around my neck. Such a gracious gesture by a very impressive woman. It capped off a special day for me and my family.
At a ceremony in the Netherlands Embassy in Washington D.C. on March 8, the Netherlands government honored my Uncle Walter and two other soldiers of the 325th Glider Infantry and 82nd Airborne for their courage during the WWII Market Garden campaign. Uncle Walter, my mother's oldest brother, died near Nijmegen in 1944. My brother George received the Orange Lanyard and certificate from Rear Admiral Sebo Hofkamp on behalf of our family.
At the Monaco Yacht Club with Prince Albert and American Susan Feaster, longtime friend and former neighbor, who invited us to fete Americans competing in the US vs. Europe celebrity golf tournament that she founded and hosts each year. Susan is a remarkable woman, and we are lucky to have her again as our neighbor, she in Monaco and we in Nice. It was our first maskless outing since Covid restrictions were eased in France and first time meeting royalty. A memorable event.
