Tara Ison is the author of the novels A Child out of Alcatraz, The List, and Rockaway; the short story collection Ball; and the essay collection Reeling Through Life: How I Learned to Live, Love, and Die at the Movies. At the Hour Between Dog & Wolf, her new novel about a hidden child in World War II France, is forthcoming in January 2023.

A magical month. I felt I’d escaped to another time, to a peaceful medieval French village where all the stresses of regular, modern-day life (except internet and plumbing!) slipped away. The village was beautiful and inspiring, with tiny artisan shops, cobblestone streets, and stone fortification walls that allowed for breathtaking 360-degree views of the forested countryside. My hosts, Dorothy and David Alexander, are generous, delightful, book-and-arts-loving people – it was a joy to spend time with them. My home for the month was ideal: my workspace was a large farm table where I could set up all my papers, books, and computer in luxury, and a huge terrace brought the countryside into view. A gift of solitude. A focus on the writing, a full immersion into the words on the page or the visions in my head. A daily sense of wonder and gratitude. I will never forget this experience.