In the Shadow of the Eiffel Tower: Adventure, Intrigue, and Seduction in Paris Paperback - 2013

Lisa Mortara splits her time between Reno (Nevada), Paris, and Turin (Italy), the setting of her first adventure title, Tales of Turin. Her particular insight into France and Italy stems from forty years of frequenting the two cultural rivals. She is a translator of French and Italian and has taught both languages at the high school level. According to the author, In the Shadow of the Eiffel Tower is half memoir and half fiction. "Really," she says, "it's a bit of a runaway memoir. Only three key characters are entirely invented to serve the fictional bent of the novel. All of the others are based on my actual encounters and friendships. Agent Frank Jenkins, Hassan (Butch-head), and Detective Brondel were indeed created to enable the plot's twist toward mystery and intrigue. George Abdi, however, whose encounter with Haley Morgan spurs her to espionage and who becomes the focus of the entire mystery, is based solidly on one of my own encounters in a Paris caf in 1980. I really did feel sorry for this fellow whose name I don't recall after thirty-some years. I do, though, remember his sad look as he confided that he was often mistaken for Iranian. He practically insisted he came from Crete (who knows if he really did insist too much...) and was no sympathizer with the Iranians students during the U.S. hostage crisis of the time. I don't remember why or how I ended the one-time meeting. Evidently I just didn't want to get involved. Still, wherever in the world this now middle-aged man might be, I'd like to thank him for the inspiration. Others will undoubtedly recognize themselves, and I ask for their indulgence in what I can only describe as imaginative embroidery."