Patricia Sands

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Patricia Sands

Happy Friday! May 24th long weekend in Canada

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Bonjour

I’m popping by with this special announcement that I don’t want you to miss. I’m working on my Newsletter and should have it off to you soon! 

It looks like we are headed for a rainy long weekend in southern Ontario … perfect for reading!

Go to Patricia Sands’ Author page to find all of these books!

BUT HERE IS THE BIG NEWS! 

Today, I have a great book surprise to share with you…I’ve teamed up with 50+fantastic authors to give away a huge collection of Literary, Historical & Book Club books to 2 lucky winners!

Oh, and did I mention the Grand Prize winner gets a BRAND NEW eReader? 

😁You  can  win  my  novel THE BRIDGE CLUB,  plus  books  from  authors  like STEPHANIE DRAY and PATRICIA FRIEDRICH. Enter the giveaway by clicking here: 

👉https://www.booksweeps.com/giveaway/may-2022/win-a-bundle-of-literary-historical-and-womens-fiction/

GOOD LUCK AND ENJOY!

One winner ~ 14 books ~ ends May 13!

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Multi genre book giveaway! We’re making Mother’s Day last all week!

We’ve got thrillers, paranormal, historical fiction, women’s fiction, and romance both sweet and steamy — because we know moms love to read a variety of books! The lucky winner will receive a bundle of FOURTEEN books (your choice of Kindle or signed physical copy.)

CLICK HERE TO ENTER ~ GOOD LUCK!

US Only. Please note entry gives permission for all participating authors to add you to their email list — you can easily unsubscribe at any time.#bookgiveaway

Bonne fête ~ May 1st, 2022

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May 1, 2022 by Patricia Sands Leave a Comment

Happy May Day!

En France ~ Bonne fête du muguet! Bonne fête du travail! Bon premier Mai! Happy Labor Day! Happy first of May!

In many countries around the world, the first of May is a celebrated Labor Day. In France there’s a special twist to the holiday that I love.
I recycle this post every year because I don’t want to change anything about it. If you read it last year … or the year before , I hope you enjoy it again. And if you can find some Lily of the Valley to give to a friend, all the better.

En mai, fais ce qu’il te plait!

Provençal proverb ~ In May, do what pleases you!


Here’s my May 1st muguet to each of you.

Every May 1st I like to share one of my favourite traditions in France ~ La Fête du Travail or La Fête du Muguet. The day is a national holiday ~ International Workers’ Day, like Labour Day in North America. But more than that it is an occasion when people give little bouquets or sprigs or pots of le muguet (lily of the valley) to each other. Like so many of the things we love about France, the tradition has lasted for centuries. It began in 1561, during the Renaissance.

Click here to read an excellent article by Margo Lestz, about this sweet tradition and all the history behind it.

Here’s another post about the tradition from Kristin Espinasse, everyone’s favourite scribe of daily French life.

A few years ago, my husband and I had just finished a magical stay (but then isn’t it always?) in Paris and the Loire Valley. We were driving south to the Dordogne region on May 1st and in every town, large or small, this was the scene. Even on a drizzly day. I loved it!


Obviously, whether young or old, everyone puts a lot of thought into this tradition.

A vivid memory of that rainy morning, is of an elderly woman sitting under an umbrella beside her small stand of bouquets of muguets. It wasn’t an appropriate picture to take … and no time to stop in the midst of traffic … but I’ve never forgotten the image. Does this happen to you sometimes when you travel? Your eye is the shutter and a particular image is captured forever in your memory?

Le muguet or lily of the valley represents a porte-bonheur, a good luck charm, to special people in your life. I am offering one to each of you.

Does your culture or country have a special May 1st tradtion?

With Mother’s Day next weekend, I’m happy to share that we are having a special Mother’s Day discount for The Bridge Club! The ebook is available for $1.99 and, for the first time ever, the paperback is on sale for $12.99 until May 10.

The story is the perfect gift for those mothers who raised families beginning in the 1970’s. The world was a different place! And if your mother is a bridge player, even better, but not necessary. Included in the book are eight detailed bridge hands contributed by Canada’s bridge guru, Audrey Grant! Click here for your copies.

Bon weekend, tout le monde!

Poisson d’avril! April Fool’s Day in France

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In many countries April begins with April Fool’s Day. Do you indulge? For those who haven’t heard before, you may be interested in knowing how April 1st is celebrated in an altogether unique way in France.

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Imagine my surprise the first time I saw children sticking paper fish on each other’s back, whispering and giggling, and then hollering, “Poisson d’avril!”

Excusez-moi? Fish?

As Wikipedia explains: “In Italy, France and Belgium, children and adults traditionally tack paper fishes on each other’s back as a trick and shout “April fish!” in their local languages (pesce d’aprile!, poisson d’avril! and aprilvis! in Italian, French and Flemish, respectively). Such fish feature prominently on many late 19th- to early 20th-century French April Fools’ Day postcards.

April-Fools-vintage-Image-TheGraphicsFairy.com

April-Fools-vintage-Image-TheGraphicsFairy.com

I had no idea where the tradition began and, after a bit of searching, found this explanation on France Travel Guide.

“Although the origin of April Fools is obscure and debated, the most widely accepted explanation actually credits the “holiday” as starting in France. The most popular theory about the origin of April Fool’s Day involves the French calendar reform of the sixteenth century.

The theory goes like this: In 1564 King Charles XIV of France reformed the calendar, moving the start of the year from the end of March to January 1.

However, in a time without trains, a reliable post system or the internet, news often traveled slow and the uneducated, lower class people in rural France were the last to hear of and accept the new calendar. Those who failed to keep up with the change or who stubbornly clung to the old calendar system and continued to celebrate the New Year during the week that fell between March 25th and April 1st, had jokes played on them.

Pranksters would surreptitiously stick paper fish to their backs. The victims of this prank were thus called Poisson d’avril, or April Fish—which, to this day, remains the French term for April Fools—and so the tradition was born.”

poisson d'avril

Poisson d’avril

Boulangeries and patisseries deliciously get into the spirit with fish-shaped goodies. Oh … and did I mention the chocolatiers? Schools of fish of all sizes fill shop windows, the larger ones often filled with smaller treats. To a chocoholic, fish never tasted so good!

Since Easter often falls around the same time, fish feature predominantly in shop windows through that holiday as well.

On  The Good Life France   (amazing photography and articles ~ you know I’m a huge fan!), there’s another article by Margo Lestz about April 1st in France.  Margo writes perfectly-researched articles, as well as entertaining books about some of the quirky history and traditions of France.  Click here to visit her website!

Whether you celebrate April Fool’s Day or not, I think we all feel some relief in the Northern Hemisphere that April truly heralds the arrival of spring. Although, as we know, Mother Nature often likes to fool us with a few random snow storms in some areas.

While I’m on the blog, I’ll leave you with this … NOT an April Fool’s joke. A Season of Surprises, Book Two in the Villa des Violettes series is on sale for just $1.99 and it’s a great way to celebrate spring! Click here for your copy.

I love how readers tell me they feel they are right there in the pages of the story! That’s my hope when I write them. Guess what? You can be there! If you are longing to be in the south of France in person to stroll the streets of my stories with me and my bff, Deborah Bine aka #barefootblogger_france, grab one of the few remaining spots on our 12-day September Memories Tour! ✈️Sept 19 – Oct 1 ✈️ Happiness and joie de vivre guaranteed! 💕🇫🇷💕🇫🇷💕🇫🇷💕 #bookclubs receive free books 💕📚💕📚💕 At the moment there are a few spots remaining but they won’t last long. Click on this link for all the details!

THIS COULD BE YOU IN SEPTEMBER!