I started going to Nice in 2011, when I found a relatively cheap apartment to rent for 6 weeks in October/November and went there to write the book that would one day become Distress Signals. I did the same thing in 2012 and 2013. During these trips I was on a supremely limited budget, counting every cent. I could do €10 a day: one cafe creme which I'd sit over for ages at some Old Town or Promenade cafe, a couple of baguettes and a €1.50 bus fare. At some point, I discovered @transparencenice, a store that sold original creations: tiny things, suspended in acrylic blocks. My favourite one was a small cube containing a tiny blue chair, the symbol of Nice. I wanted one SO BAD, but I just couldn't justify the cost - not when I could stretch the same amount into five days of coffee and bread. I told myself that when/if I got a book deal, I'd come back and buy myself the little blue chair - which, happily, I did in the summer of 2015 after I signed my first two-book deal. But on that occasion, I spotted *another* beautiful object: an even tinier blue chair, suspended from a balloon. It was adorable, whimsical and would put a smile on my face every time I looked at it. But there was no way I could afford to spend the amount on its price-tag on an item like this. It was like a book’s worth of coffee capsules. But I told myself that if, some day in the future, I got a *really* good book deal, I'd come back and get that too. Earlier this year, I signed a contract for 6 more books in North America - so last week I went and got my balloon. 😀 #transparence #transparencenice #acrylic #acrylicart #leschaisebleu #bluechairsnice #nicefrance #cotedazur #frenchriviera #ilovenice #paperweight #paperweights #deskaccessories #deskaccessory
