Once upon a translation… make that three… c’est si bon!
March 11, 2026 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, translation, Writing tagged as #Boldwood Books, books, Paris, Translation, writing
The Resistance Girl in Dutch
The Lost Girl in Paris in Spanish
Words… words… words.
They drive us authors crazy, the right words, the passionate words… the words that make your characters do stupid things and wonderful things, too.
Even more surprising to an author is when your words are translated into thousands of words in another language. Will the reader ‘get’ what you’re trying to say? Will they feel the love, the pain?
You bet they will.
The art of being a translator is one I can attest to personally when I was a tour guide at Universal Studios. I gave the tour in German and also learned it in French as a backup for our French guides.
My Universal Studios ‘stuff’ — name tag, parking sticker, studio ID (love the hair!), photo of me in Paris, and my Universal Studios Tour Guide Manual in English — I had to translate it into German.
I had to do the translation myself, which had its moments on the tram when I was trying to explain Bruce the shark in ‘Jaws’, or the early days with Boris Karloff as ‘The Monster’ wearing a paper bag over his head when he went to lunch between takes so no one would see his makeup job. I’d stumble and fall over words, but as one visitor from Munich told me, ‘You have such heart for what you do. Even if you don’t know the right word, we understand.’
I never forgot that.
I also acted as a ‘translator’ for my sensei, teacher, in class when American tourists came into the kimono shop after hours when we having a kimono and dance class on the small stage. However, here I was translating from Japanese to English.
So you can imagine I have the deepest respect for these fabulous professionals who put their hearts and souls into translating my books into other languages. It’s not unusual for a translator to contact me by email, asking me for clarification on something because they want to get it ‘right’. Merci, Bedankt, and Gracias.
For the first part of this year, I’m thrilled to have 3 of my Boldwood Books coming out in Spanish, Dutch, and French. La chica perdida en Paris (The Lost Girl in Paris) came out in the worldwide Spanish market in February; Her meisje in het verzet (The Resistance Girl) came out in Dutch on March 8. Les enfants volés de la guerre (The Stolen Children of War) comes out in French on April 1st. (no cover yet! I’ll update when we do.)
So for now, mes amis, I shall say, Au revoir — until we meet again and we shall. For words are like stars in the sky. I never tire of them.
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Happy 3rd Birthday to my publisher Boldwood Books by Jina Bacarr
August 11, 2022 by Jina Bacarr in category Jina’s Book Chat, Writing tagged as #Boldwood Books, #Historical, romance, writing@jinabacarrauthor Happy 3rd Birthday to #boldwoodbooks #booktok #boldwoodbirthday @bookandtonic
♬ original sound – Jina Bacarr
I was a shy kid growing up… glasses, pigtails, my nose in a book, but I came alive on stage. I think that’s because there I could be someone else who wasn’t always the ‘new kid’.
You see, I went to fifteen schools growing up.
But there was one thing constant in my life on every birthday no matter in which state we lived.
My mother’s butter vanilla cake.
Every birthday Mom made me a cake from scratch. Sometimes milk chocolate icing, or lemon or coconut , but always that soul-melty butter cake. Sweet but not too sweet, smooth, silky cake and dollops and gobs of yummy buttercream frosting.
So this year when my publisher BOLDWOOD BOOKS asked us authors to do a video to celebrate the phenomenal success of the company on their 3rd birthday, I so wanted to make Mom’s butter vanilla cake but–
For the past three weeks, I’ve been obsessed with finishing my next Paris/Berlin WW2 novel (many all-nighters) — handing in the manuscript, then working on the edits from the best editor a writer could ever have. Amazing lady who challenges me to write the best books I can. I’ve been with Nia Beynon from the beginning of my Boldwood Books’ journey and she’s the best.
I’m proud to say I’m the first American author they signed in 2019.
On this fab occasion, I want to wish Team Boldwood a very happy 3rd birthday!!
I hope you enjoy my birthday video — I shot the vid at my local fancy bakery…
And if you look close enough, you’ll see that little girl in an insert in the video… with glasses and pigtails wound on top of her head.
Jina
Paris 1940
The Lost Girl in Paris
My heroine, Angeline de Cadieux, is a Roma girl in WW2 Paris… she’s strong, fights in the Resistance… makes exquisite perfumes and comes up with an amazing marketing campaign during the war to boost morale in France.
Thank you!
The Resistance Girl
Juliana discovers her grandmamma was a famous French film star in Occupied Paris & her shocking secret…
CA https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08DNDHDG4
AU https://amazon.com.au/dp/B08DNDHDG4
The Runaway Girl
Once upon the ship of dreams… me dressed as a first class lady
Amazon:
HER LOST LOVE
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Jina Bacarr June Featured Author
June 7, 2021 by Jina Bacarr in category Apples & Oranges by Marianne H. Donley, Featured Author of the Month tagged as #Boldwood Books, Featured Author of the Month, historical romance, Jina Bacarr, The Resistance Girl
About Jina Bacarr
I discovered early on that I inherited the gift of the gab from my large Irish family when I penned a story about a princess who ran away to Paris with her pet turtle Lulu. I was twelve. I grew up listening to their wild, outlandish tales and it was those early years of storytelling that led to my love of history and traveling. I enjoy writing to classical music with a hot cup of java by my side. I adore dark chocolate truffles, vintage anything, the smell of bread baking and rainy days in museums. I’ve always loved walking through history—from Pompeii to Verdun to Old Paris. The voices of the past speak to me through carriages with cracked leather seats, stiff ivory-colored crinolines, and worn satin slippers. I’ve always wondered what it was like to walk in those slippers when they were new.
You can follow Jina on social media:
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Jina also has a column here on the 11th of every month: Jina’s Book Chat.
A Few of Jina’s Books
I discovered early on that I inherited the gift of the gab from my large Irish family when I penned a story about a princess who ran away to Paris with her pet turtle Lulu. I was twelve. I grew up listening to their wild, outlandish tales and it was those early years of storytelling that led to my love of history and traveling.
I enjoy writing to classical music with a hot cup of java by my side. I adore dark chocolate truffles, vintage anything, the smell of bread baking and rainy days in museums. I’ve always loved walking through history—from Pompeii to Verdun to Old Paris.
The voices of the past speak to me through carriages with cracked leather seats, stiff ivory-colored crinolines, and worn satin slippers. I’ve always wondered what it was like to walk in those slippers when they were new.
Featured Books
ROAD TO YOU
Investigative reporter Gemma Wade has been dispatched to her own personal purgatory—small town Marietta, Montana—to write a fluffy, romantic piece about the unprecedented spike in marriages there.
More info →
NAMES I CALL MY SISTER
Four stories of sisterhood—the bonds, the wars, the frustrations, the love—seasoned with hot Latin spice!
More info →
