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Jennifer Basye Sander

@verygoodgin

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Bestselling author, nerdy researcher, cocktail enthusiast. Newest project:The Duchess of Jewels: The Secret Tapes of Wallis Windsor. Fall 2026

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Gathering up supplies for my annual toast to Oscar Wilde on his birthday. Well, it’s also mine so maybe I’m not nearly as generous as I seem… but do you suppose Oscar would be more of an olive man than a lemon twist like me? Let me know your thoughts. #lifewithverygoodgin #bombaysapphire #ginstagram #martini #ginfluencer taken in East Sacramento by @verygoodgin

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2 days ago

The Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollack show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is a knockout. I learned so much more about her and her work, it made much more of an impact on me than Pollack’s works which are all so well known. In case you won’t have a chance to visit here is a small selection of Krasner’s paintings. #leekrasner taken in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York by @verygoodgin

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4 days ago

Spent the afternoon in Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown on the Hudson River and were pretty much the only two passengers on the train not dressed in witchy attire. Seems like Halloween is big business up in the land of the Headless Horseman. #lifewithverygoodgin #saturdayvibes #tarrytownny #autmn taken in Sleepy Hollow, New York by @verygoodgin

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8 days ago

Strolling through Central Park before sitting down to do a serious study of the plot of Macbeth to prep for tonight’s opera. I saw Macbeth staged a few times as a child in outdoor performances with my parents but I was young enough that I’d always fall asleep half way through. So after many a decade has passed I will finally learn how it ends!! Don’t spoil it for me, keep the ending to yourself please. #lifewithverygoodgin #centralpark taken in Central Park, New York by @verygoodgin

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10 days ago

Today is James Bond Day but I never miss an opportunity to admire his creator, Ian Fleming. What a remarkable man who led a remarkable life. His older brother Peter was pretty darn fabulous too, please search out his work if you ever have a chance. I’ve managed to work both of them in to my Duchess of Jewels audio books, because so much of what Wallis talks about are of course people and places that I myself am interested in. Because what’s the point of having an alter ego if you can’t have fun with it… a lesson Ian Fleming himself knew well. 🍸🍸🍸#ianfleming #jamesbondday #bondjamesbond #wallisduchessofjewels #lifewithverygoodgin by @verygoodgin

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13 days ago

My morning walk through the neighborhood is a well worn path at this point so this morning I decided to shake things up… by literally stopping to smell the roses in every garden I passed. These two were not only the most beautiful but also had the most noticeable aroma, some roses had no scent at all. The walk took longer than usual but was well worth the extra time. How are you shaking your routine up today? Tell me about it. #lifewithverygoodgin #roses #morningwalks #eastsac #eastsacramento taken in East Sacramento by @verygoodgin

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17 days ago

My husband and I moved to this honeymoon cottage in September ten years ago, some ninety years after my grandfather bought this house for his bride. The world changes around us, but the house remains. Wandering across the same floors as my ancestors helps remind me to take the long view, literally keeps me grounded. #lifewithverygoodgin #familyhistory #throwbacktuesday❤️ by @verygoodgin

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19 days ago

Many years ago, as I walked back to my room from ice fishing at a cousin’s hunting lodge in Sweden, I had an idea for a novel about the Duchess of Windsor. It wouldn’t involve ice… but it would involve diamonds. Lots and lots of diamonds. To bring my idea to life I spent years reading about expats in Asia in the 1920s in order to convincingly spin some tales in her voice, and I bought Wallis’ own photos of her time in China when Sothebys auctioned off the contents of her home in Paris. But although I’ve confidently written many non fiction books in my career, the completed manuscript for my novel The Duchess of Jewels mostly sat in a drawer, coming out every so often for me to add a little more here, a little more there… until this summer, when I thought of the perfect way to let her out into the world once and for all. As a series of audio books from @bluenoseaudio, narrated in her own “voice” as she finally reveals the secrets behind her relationship with the man who was first the Prince of Wales, then the King of England, and finally, the Duke of Windsor. Starting in November, the first three books will be released as The Duchess of Jewels: The Secret Tapes of Wallis Windsor Book One: Emeralds, Book Two: Rubies, and Book Three: Pearls. Prepare to be surprised 🍸🍸. @wallisduchessofjewels #duchessofwindsor #jewelry #royalfamily #wallissimpson #duchessofjewels by @verygoodgin

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23 days ago

After a long and winding road from Ketchum, Idaho through Oregon and Washington we have settled in to a waterfront hotel room in La Conner, a scant few miles from the family farm. Why aren’t we staying at the farm? Because there are big things happening there this weekend… my lovely niece @lilybasye_ is getting married! Stay tuned for a great deal of fabulousness in the Skagit Valley, I can’t wait to see how it all turns out. #magicskagit #laconner #roadtrip #familyandfriends taken in La Conner, Washington by @verygoodgin

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a month ago

I’ll admit to being pretty Hemingwayed out after speaking at the conference in Toronto in July, but another member of the family insisted on coming to Ketchum, Idaho, for the annual seminar put on by the Community Library. And you know what? It was fantastic. Such interesting talks and discussions centered around the posthumously published novel The Garden of Eden. Think Hemingway is a super macho guy with boxing gloves and a rifle? Read this book and think again… #lifewithverygoodgin #hemingway #amreading #literaryadventure #sunvalley taken in ketchum/sun valley idaho by @verygoodgin

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a month ago

And so a busy summer comes to an end in Tahoe. In California we welcome rain whenever it comes but I wouldn’t object to a little sunshine this weekend. Here’s hoping your final summer days are a delight, wherever you find yourself. #lifewithverygoodgin #westshorebestshore #laketahoe #summertime taken in West Shore Lake Tahoe by @verygoodgin

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a month ago

As in nature, not all creative projects bloom at the same time. Some blossom quickly and easily, some lie dormant for years or decades before suddenly sending up a flowery shoot. I thought about this on a morning walk today, how strange it is that my current all consuming project is one that I first started close to 40 years ago… so the message of my mini TED Talk is Don’t Give Up. Just Keep Going. #amwriting #lessonsfromnature #creativity #flowers by @verygoodgin

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2 months ago