Woman Without Fear by J. P. Touzeau

By Jessica Driscoll

From the successful French series La Femme Sans Peur, author J. P. Touzeau has translated the initial volume of WOMAN WITHOUT FEAR—and finally introduced his popular protagonist, Trinity Silverman to the English-reading world.

Outwardly successful and beautiful, Trinity has been crippled throughout her life by continual worry. When she accepts an offer to tackle her enduring anxiety with a “magic pill,” the resulting boost in self-confidence does exactly what she was promised, eradicating all her fears and doubts, at least until the pill’s effects wear off. Feeling like she can take on the world, Trinity gets more than she bargained for when the threatening real-world side effects are more than she anticipated.

“It was very well received,” Touzeau says in reference to the original two French volumes of the series, noting that “Volumes one and two hit number one and number two during the summer 2013 in the general Amazon Top One Hundred.” To date, La Femme Sans Peur “has sold fifty thousand copies and touched the hearts of many readers.”

WOMAN WITHOUT FEAR was written after Touzeau watched a close female friend struggle with anxiety and endless fears. Trinity’s story was a means to help change his friend’s perspective, to show that these overwhelming emotions could be tackled. “It ended up touching many more people than I thought,” Touzeau says.

Touzeau’s writing inspiration comes from an eclectic mix of authors. “I have just finished a classic from Rudyard Kipling, Kim, and I am starting now a manga by the ‘master’ Jiro Taniguchi.” Always at his fingertips is On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King, and Touzeau encourages all new writers to “read that damn good book and start to explore your own universe because, whatever your background, you do have one, and someone, somewhere wants to read about it.”

Spending time in both Japan and the United States, and as a seasoned traveller, Touzeau frequently has to adjust to new surroundings in order to write every day when he’s working on a project. “If needed, I can write pretty much anywhere, anytime,” he says, although admits that one of his favourite locations is, “early morning at Starbucks, in the U.S. or in Japan.”

Touzeau says his newest project is more “Da Vinci Code meets a ‘few’ Shades of Gray”—a bit of a departure from WOMAN WITHOUT FEAR. “It’s about Medieval secrets passed down through centuries hindering women’s abilities and powers in our Western civilization.”

And up next for Trinity Silverman? While additional English volumes might have to wait for translation, Touzeau noted that Volume six out of ten is due for release in French this June.

Of course, new readers and seasoned fans may be curious about Trinity’s “pet.” Touzeau was elusive about Speedy, a main character in the WOMAN WITHOUT FEAR series, which means you’ll have to pick up a copy to discover more about this intriguing side-kick.

*****

J. P. Touzeau is a French bestselling author who writes stories about ordinary people thrown into extraordinary circumstances peppered with mystery, love, and a dash of philosophy. Unapologetically devoted to naps, J. P. shares his time between France and Japan with his more-than-forgiving wife and their ninja-like baby boy.

To learn more about J. P., please visit his website.