Patricia Sands

Author

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Spring Flings!

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If it’s Friday, it must be France …

Friday seems to come around more quickly these days! I think it has something do with Spring, don’t you? The days are getting longer. The sun feels warmer and the air fresher. There’s a kind of a-new-lease-on-life vibe going on in my world and it’s SO energizing!

When I want to have a little escape from writing, without actually going anywhere, I disappear into my photo files for a while. I love to wander into this garden, close my eyes, listen to the cicadas, breathe in the sweet fragrance of fresh blooms, and generally chill for a while.. Wouldn’t you? I can feel Spring in the air here.

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Since the change in seasons has finally arrived (… for most of us anyway, and I hope that includes you …) I used this shot for the header on my Newsletter #7 yesterday .  In the previous newsletter I had a giveaway contest for two signed copies of Ted Jones’ book,The French Riviera: A Literary Guide for Travellers. One of my favourites! 

The lucky winners are Margaret Elkins and Donna Bazan! Congratulations! I’m waiting for your postal info and then the books will be on their way to you.

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There are more Spring flings going on!

Who doesn’t love to win a free book? My friend Emma who organizes the fabulous France Book Tours is also hosting a giveaway over the next week or two to celebrate the first anniversary of her highly successful blog tours. A copy of The Promise of Provence is one of many great prizes. Click here to go the page and bonne chance!

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To add to the excitement of spring in the air, BookRhythm on Facebook is hosting an April Kindle Giveaway, loaded with novels offered by 19 authors. This weekend they are ramping up the fun factor by having flash giveaways of books. Click right  here and join in the fun. Good luck!

And now I’m heading back into my writing cave … almost done!

When was the last time you won a free book and what was the title? If you haven’t signed up to receive my monthly newsletter yet, there’s a widget in the right column here that takes you where you need to go. Come on and join us! We’re waiting for you!

April Fool’s/Poisson d’Avril! (And the winner of My Wish List!)

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If it’s Friday, it must be France … 

imagesApril Fool’s day is almost here. Imagine my surprise the first time I was in France on April 1st and found children sticking paper fish on my 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 usually falls around the same time, fish feature predominantly in shop windows through that holiday as well.

Maybe we should adopt a symbol for April Fool’s Day in North America, so there would be a good excuse to buy special chocolates on that day over here. Not that we ever really need an excuse for chocolate …

Wherever you are, have fun on April 1st and enjoy some chocolate.

Are you a prankster on April 1st or do you just grit your teeth and hope the day will pass quickly? Is there one April Fool’s Day joke in particular that you will never forget?

A Saturday morning P.S. ~ I just found time to check into The Good Life France fabulous website  (amazing photography and articles ~ I’m a huge fan!)and there was an article by Margo Lestz on this same topic. ‘Tis the season! Margo writes great articles and always has something new to teach me about life in France. Click here and enjoy!

And now for some news that has nothing to do with April 1st and is most definitely not a prank! According to random.org, the winner of the giveaway copy of  MY WISH LIST, as reviewed in last Friday’s post, is LIN POWELL. Congratulations! I will be in touch with details, Lin, and am sure you will enjoy the story!

A big thank you to all of the readers who drop by here and are signing up for my newsletter! We are busy organizing a thank-you note for everyone because I can’t keep up with sending them individually! I’ve been trying, but it’s either that or write my novel! I know you understand!  See the newsletter widget in the right-hand column? Just click there! I send it once a month and there are always updates about my work,  details about what is fun and fabulous in the south of France and great giveaways. Join us!

France Book Tours – My Wish List

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My Wish List banner

If it’s Friday, it must be France …

Oh, this has been SO much fun for me!

Once I’m on the homestretch with a manuscript I’m writing, there’s barely enough time to read my own work let alone other books. That’s the case at the moment as I complete the first draft of my next novel, a sequel to The Promise of Provence, in response to tremendous reader response.

When my online friend Emma, who organizes the exceptional France Book Tours, approached me about participating in this blog tour, she knew I was deep in my own writing cave. She also knew this was a book I would love to read … and not simply because it is set in France. She was right!

My review is going to be short and sweet as I would not want to give away anything more than is included in the synopsis. I’m so glad I took the time to read this delightful novel (really a novella length) and I hope you will read it too. Well-written and fast-paced, you will fall in love with unassuming Jocelyne Guerbette from the beginning of the book. Not only does the story contain well-developed characters and unexpected twists, it also encourages us to examine our values and consider what truly matters in life. Not a literary tour de force, this is a compelling and quick read and I could not put it down!

The author has offered to give away a print or ebook to residents in the US and Canada. If you would like to try and be the winner (it’s our own little lottery draw!), simply leave a comment below. All the names will go into random.org selection software and I’ll announce the lucky winner on my blog next Friday, March 29th. Good luck!

SYNOPSIS

 A cathartic, charmingly tender, assuredly irresistible novel, MY WISH LIST imagines one answer to the question: If you won the lottery, would you trade your life for the life of your dreams? With sales of more than half a million copies in France alone, rights sold in twenty-five countries, and a major motion picture in development, this slim yet spirited tale has sewn up the interest of the literary world.

Jocelyne Guerbette is a forty-seven year old who runs a modest fabric shop in a nondescript provincial French town. Her husband—instead of dreaming of her—wants nothing more in life than a flat-screen TV and the complete James Bond DVD box set. And to Jocelyne’s two grown-up children, who live far from home, she’s become nothing but an obligatory phone call. Perpetually wondering what has happened to all the dreams she had when she was younger, Jocelyne finally comes to terms with the series of ordinary defeats and small lies that seem to make up her life.

But then Jocelyne wins the lottery: $25,500,000! And suddenly she finds the world at her fingertips. But before cashing the check, before telling a soul, she starts making a list of all the things she could do with the money. While evaluating the small pleasures in life—her friendship with  the twins who manage the hairdresser next door, her holidays away, her sewing blog that’s gaining popularity—she begins to think that the everyday ordinary may not be so bad. Does she really want her life to change?

My Wish List cover

MY WISH LIST is an essential reminder of the often-overlooked joys of everyday life and a celebration of the daily rituals, serendipities, and small acts of love that make life quietly wonderful. (Provided by the publisher –  Penguin  ISBN: 9780143124658  $15.00)

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Release date: March 25, 2014
at Viking and Penguin Books ISBN-13: 978-0143124658
176 pages

“A runaway bestseller that looks set to follow the success of The Elegance of the Hedgehog.” — Elle (France)

 “Delacourt has hit the jackpot… [He has a] knack for finding exactly the right words and for evoking feeling” — Le Nouvel Observateur

 “Delacourt has a keen eye for everyday life and for the extraordinary challenges that ordinary people face” — Le Parisien

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Grégoire Delacourt was born in Valenciennes, France, in 1960. His first Grégoire Delacourtnovel,L’Écrivain de la Famille, was published in 2011 and won five literary prizes. MY WISH LIST has been a runaway number-one bestseller in France; publication rights have been sold in more than twenty-five countries. Delacourt lives in Paris, where he runs an advertising agency with his wife.

See more on his French website: Grégoire Delacourt
Follow him on Facebook  | Goodreads
I am SO glad Emma asked me to read this entertaining and thought-provoking story. I mean … let’s be honest … who among us has not fantasized at one time or another about winning a lottery … I know I have!  I urge you to read My Wish List. You will be glad you did! 

Celebrate Bette’s new website + a BONUS giveaway

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My good friend, the talented Bette Lee Crosby has a new website.Bette Lee Crosby With all of the bestsellers Bette has written in the past couple of years, it was time to provide them with a new home. To celebrate the launch of this website, 5 of us are pleased to be joining  Bette in this fabulous giveaway which contains 12 bestselling books in all.

 

Here’s a taste of what awaits you:

A Dozen Reasons to Celebrate My Grand Opening

March 15, 2014    News & Events  22

Take a look at all the paperbacks to win during this giveaway to celebrate my grand opening!

A Dozen Reasons To Celebrate My Grand Opening

“I’m so pleased that several of my author friends came together to help me celebrate the grand opening of my new website. Please take a look around, leave some comments, visit and read about the different authors involved (links to their posts are below). If you like what you see, why not connect with me through social media or sign up for my newsletter so you’ll be the first to know about events like this. The paperback giveaway will be open all week, and of course this is my new home and the door is always open so visit anytime!”

 Today is my day to be featured, so please stop by and leave Bette your good wishes. Then join in the fun. Click right here to take a look around Bette’s website and enter in the Rafflecopter options as often as you like. Good luck! 

If you are in search of more great reading material to get you through this long winter, visit the other participating authors’ websites and make a list! Christine Nolfi, Kathleen Valentine, Rachel Thompson, and Leona Bodie have an excellent selection of novels just waiting for you.