Once a month, Adrian Leeds holds a two-hour book presentation and social gathering upstairs at a café near her home in the Marais, in Paris. I went this week because I wanted to hear Timothy J. Smith talk about his new novel The Fourth Courier. I liked what I heard and plan to read the book.

Another reason I went is that I’m the program for next month and wanted to get a feel for the room. I’ll be talking about all three of my current books, Treasure of Saint-Lazare, Last Stop: Paris, and Finding Pegasus, plus the new one that’s in the works right now.

If you’re in Paris on Tuesday, June 11, come by the Café de la Mairie (you’ll find the address on her web site, which you should read anyway. It’s here – click on “things to do.”) It’s all done in English.

Adrian, if by some chance you don’t know about her, is a long-time American leader in Paris real estate and frequently appears on House Hunters International.

The place was packed — I counted 60, not including some who were out of sight around a corner. Here’s a picture I made just to give the flavor. Tim Smith is at the round table listening to a question from the gallery to his left. In the rear, a hand is up for the next question.

This picture shows maybe a third of the crowd, which was jammed into every corner of the old room. It was a lot of fun, and an opportunity to meet kindred spirits.

Tim Smith at Adrian Leeds's Après-Midi May 14 in Paris