I HAVE GOT TO SHARE THIS WITH ALL OF YOU!

One of my fellow Paris expat bloggers, has made a few serendipitous rencontres, and come up with a pretty fantastic idea, about love in Paris no less. Yes! Jennifer Geraghty is a screen writer and actress who took the precarious plunge two years ago to try to make it in the city of love and light. After much hard work and a huge bundle of her contagious sense of humor, she has launched her project. This lady is determined (just read her posts about getting through the ominous French administrative system in order to stay here), but she is also determined to succeed. And I think she is just about to…

She has a series of shows already written, and shot, all on the subject of love and dating in Paris. Want to know how to snag a Frenchman? Want to know the secrets to dating the French? Want to know what all the mystery is about?!? Well read on…

I caught up with Jennifer for a quick and quirky interview :

PMP : When did you first get the idea for the concept behind L’Amour or Less?

JG : “Short answer: October.

Long answer: A couple of years ago, I went on a series of blind dates in Paris to try to get over my fear of dating. I wrote about them and those posts got a huge response. After that, I would periodically write about my cross-cultural dating experiences. I think, because I write very candidly (which has sometimes gotten me in trouble), people are open to sharing their own dating stories with me. I love a good story.

At the same time, I have spent the past couple of years working on some full-length feature film scripts. There’s something deeply satisfying about completing a script, but there’s also a disconnect that comes in knowing in that you still have to wait years for anyone to see what you’ve created.

My desire to show people the pictures in my head collided with my impatience and I started thinking about creating a web series. One day in October, the lightbulb went off. I could take all those dating stories I’d passively been collecting and turn them into something interesting. Et voilà!”

PMP : How much coffee did you drink (approx.) while drafting ideas?

JG : “Another tricky question. I drink a lot of coffee/espresso. Probably an average of 6 or 7 cups a day, but I don’t really have any writing rituals. I always have at least one journal with me, and I write whenever I have a free moment.

Let’s see… if I write in the morning, I will drink about 3 or 4 cups while I’m scribbling or typing or meditating. I also do a lot of writing on the metro while I’m scurrying from one place to another, so no cups then. If I write at night, I tend to do it with a cup or 2 of herbal tea.”

PMP : What is/was your typical activity to take a break from the countless hours of work behind your computer drafting and editing?

JG : “When I need a break, it’s usually because I’m too close to what I’ve written to see how to fix the problems or to imagine what exactly comes next. The best remedy for this has always been a long walk. Since I’m lucky enough to have a wonderful dog who’s always up for this strategy, she’s my best solution. A long walk with my sweet pup.

Barring that, I find a crazy dance break will do the trick. I’ll often crank up my music and dance around my apartment in a frenzy while pretending I can sing like Adele. I don’t envy my neighbors during these outbursts. Or my pup, for that matter.

Once we hit production in January, I had no time for breaks. I was working a full-time day job and doing this during free moments and all night. I didn’t get more than 4 hours of sleep per night for the month and a half we were producing this. That having been said, I don’t know if I’d ever been happier.”

PMP : With whom would your dream date in Paris be? And where would you go?

JG : “Ryan Gosling or James McAvoy. Whomever is available on short notice.

There is actually someone I have had my eye on lately, although to those who know me this probably comes as no surprise. I won’t out him here, but I will say that my dream date would include something cultural I haven’t seen before, maybe a ballet at Opéra or a play in at Théâtre de la Ville or an exhibit at a local museum. Then, a delicious meal at a warm and cozy restaurant, perhaps a spot he knows well, but I’ve never experienced, and then a long walk through the streets of Paris. Sprinkle in some charm, some wit and scintillating conversation and that’s my idea of perfection.”

PMP : Have you ever dated a mime? An accordionist? An escargot chef?

JG : “Sad to say, I haven’t. I dated a trumpeter once, does that count? I would, though. I’m also very open to someone with a fabulous handlebar mustache.”

PMP What is the best/worst French pick up lines you ever heard?

JG : “An elderly man once stopped me outside of an art gallery opening on my way home. He asked me if I would like to be his date for the evening. When I demurred, he told me that it was okay because his wife was at home in the countryside and never comes into Paris, where he has a second apartment he’d be happy to show me. So, of course I went. (No, I didn’t.)

I’ve actually gotten variations of this one a few times when I’ve mentioned my faux boyfriend. Something along the lines of “That’s okay. I have lots of friends.” or “I have a girlfriend, so that’s perfect!”

The nicest things to hear are that I am ravissante or jolie or belle or charmante, but I haven’t met a line yet that has actually worked.”

There are less than 20 days left for their kickstarter campaign to be able to collect the amount needed for them to make the minimum amount… And I hope so much that they can, because the idea, the talent, the humor and the subject matter is all brilliant.

Please go check out the project, donate and share with EVRYONE you know.

Plus, if you donate you get perks, all sorts of fabulous things from getting mentioned and thanked on their site to and hand painted Kasia Dietz tote bag created just for this event, to actually being in one of their episodes!!!!

I found my Frenchman, in Paris… I would love to see the episodes that Jennifer comes up with, so I can compare them to my own experiences! I would be so fun!