Patricia Sands

Author

Photo blogs

Come to the party!

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If it’s Friday, it must be France!

On Monday, September 8th … by clicking right here  … you will be able to spend time traveling with some of your favourite authors!

From 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. EST we’re having an online travel theme party on Facebook to celebrate the release of PROMISES TO KEEP , the continuation of the story begun in The Promise of Provence!  

Some of my writing friends will be sharing their favourite places in the world from their books, as well as their own neighbourhoods. Come and chat with them. There will be tons of books to be won as well as other prizes and fun to be had! Pop on by to see who’s at the party!

We can pretend we’re here …

Saint-Paul de Vence
Saint-Paul de Vence

or here …

Nice, France
Nice, France

or here …

Muskoka, ON
Muskoka, ON

or here …

Bruges, Belgium
Bruges, Belgium

or here …

Little Palm Island, FL
Little Palm Island, FL

or here …

Switzerland
Switzerland

or here …

Florida
Florida

or here …

Granada, Spain
Granada, Spain

or here …

Whistler, BC
Whistler, BC

or here …

DSC07708

or here …

Tofino, BC
Tofino, BC

or here …

Venice, Italy
Venice, Italy

or right in your own back yard …

Love the back yard!
Love the back yard!

BRING ALONG A PHOTO OF YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE AND POST IT AT THE PARTY. WE’D LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT IT!

DO YOU HAVE A TRAVEL WISH LIST? WE JUST MIGHT HAVE A GOOD BOOK SUGGESTION TO TAKE ALONG … OR BETTER YET … YOU MIGHT WIN ONE!

WHAT BOOKS HAVE YOU READ THAT MADE YOU WANT TO TRAVEL SOMEWHERE DESCRIBED IN THE STORY? SHARE THE NEWS!

LET’S GET THIS POST TRAVELING TOO … PASS IT ON … INVITE YOUR FRIENDS … SEE YOU MONDAY!

PROMISES TO KEEP

 

 

 

 

Travel theme: EDGE

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If it’s Friday, it must be France …

The photo challenge travel theme , “edge”, this week on Ailsa’s Where’s My Backpack struck a note with me! Click right here, to check out some of the fabulous photos posted on other blogs.

I’ve been on edge all week with the excitement of releasing Promises To Keep, thePTK_final_lg second book in what is now the Love In Provence series. When a novel is published, it’s a very exhilarating, exhausting and … to be honest … slightly nerve-wracking time. We go over everything with a fine tooth comb because we want it to be perfect for you … every little detail!

So, this is it: the OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT THAT PROMISES TO KEEP is now available as an ebook on Amazon, Kobo, Nook, and iTunes at a special price through the long weekend. Print copies should be ready by October.

Had it not been for all the enthusiastic emails I received from readers of The Promise of Provence asking “What happened next?” I might have moved on to write an entirely different story .

But all the questions and the way readers cared about Katherine, pulled me back into her journey and the rest is history! Promises To Keep is Book Two of what will now be the Love In Provence series and that has me very excited … and already working on Book Three. See what you started? I can’t thank you enough.

And now to the other part of this post.

Since I love to participate in photo challenges … and particularly ones that give me another chance to share photos from France … the word “edge” instantly brought to mind these photos taken on the spectacular Route des Crêtes between La Ciotat and Cassis. If you are visiting that part of the Var, be sure to take this breathtaking drive!

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Route des Cretes, La Ciotat, Cassis

That’s our nephew hanging over the edge. I wasn’t quite so keen. Hello vertigo!

How are you doing? Has anything got you on edge?  You know, just looking at these photos has brought back such good memories that I’m already feeling more relaxed.

Now back to working on the next book!

Life is a travelling to the edge of knowledge, then a leap taken.
D. H. Lawrence

 

Starry, starry nights … thank you, Vincent and Don!

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If it’s Friday, it must be France …

Fridays are definitely coming around faster than ever! Enjoy this one!

arles

Last month I spent a few days in the fabulous town of Arles (don’t pronounce that ‘s’, please)  in the Bouches-du-Rhône  departement and was reminded of all it has to offer. If you haven’t been there, you might want to add it to your travel wish list.

This was one of the towns we visited on the Womens Travel Network tours I led this summer and it was a highlight for everyone. Have I mentioned how much fun we had? Click on that last link to see photos from the tour and a lot of smiling faces.

It’s impossible to visit Arles without talking about Vincent Van Gogh, 300px-Van_Gogh_-_Terrasse_des_Cafés_an_der_Place_du_Forum_in_Arles_am_Abend1who spent a very brief but productive … and chaotic … time in that town and the surrounding area.

Stopping in at the yellow-walled Café Van Gogh in Le Café La Nuit in the Place du Forum is a must for every visitor. Touristy as it is, it’s impossible to deny the feeling of the history that played out in this square where Van Gogh painted Café Terrace At Night.

As you can see, we did!

Café du Nuit, Arles

Café du Nuit, Arles -WNT tour 1

A few years ago, after spending some time in Arles, I discovered this video. I watch it often and have this song in one of the soundtracks I play when I write.

Take a few minutes to watch and listen. I think you will be glad you did.

 

I’m going to share some more photos from Arles in a later post. There’s so much to talk about!

Arles, France - The Arena

Have you visited this beautiful UNESCO heritage town and do you have  particular memory from there? Share it with us, please. It’s always interesting to hear other experiences.

With this song of McLean’s in mind, I recently wrote a post about music and writing for the BestSellingReads website. I almost always have tunes playing while I write. Do you do the same when you are working, exercising or whatever occupies your time? Any favourites? 

Let me introduce you …

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It it’s Friday, it must be France …

Bonjour! Another Friday and another opportunity to wax on about  reasons I love to spend time in France. Thanks for stopping by!

Two weeks ago I posted about finally getting to meet the fabulous writer/reviewer Claire McAlpine, while I was in Aix-en-Provence in June.  Her Word By Word blog is one I highly recommend.

Speaking of Aix, here’s one of my favourite window shots, snapped while strolling one day last month with our women’s tour. There’s something about the mix of ancient stonework, fading paint, and that curtain caught in the window … was it closed in a hurry? Why? Who lives there? Hmmm, there just might be a story to write!

Aix-En-Provence

Making my stay in Nice even more fun this year, I also had the opportunity to meet and spend time with another talented writer/blogger, the also fabulous Margo Lestz. 9dbe8910f06cf943a2e8dad887f59d36When Ida Young-Bondi (more about Ida in another post!) organized a special writerly soirée for me one evening in Nice, Margo brought her husband and some friends along and it was a pleasure to meet all of them.

Although she is lucky enough to live in Nice, Margo also travels extensively and often studies as she goes. Talk about a life-long learner! Fortunately for us, she shares her experiences and wealth of information on her blog, The Curious Rambler … another one on my all-time favourite list. Be sure to pop over when you have some time to enjoy her posts!

Along with her always entertaining blog, Margo writes for The Good Life France website, among other venues, and is working on a non-fiction book about Nice. I can’t wait to read that one and will keep you posted when it is published!

Ahhhh … Nice …

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Vieux Port, Nice

Now let’s travel a little west of the Côte d’Azur, to the Var region which is located more or less between the towns of Saint-Raphael and Bandol.  I’ve been a fan of the French Word-A-Day website for years as I constantly attempt to keep building my grasp of the language. Yet again, meet another talented writer/blogger … and photographer … Kristin Espinasse!

UnknownKristin and I have not met in person as of yet, but that rendezvous is high on my list for our next visit to France in 2015. One way or another, we will make it work!

If our timing is right, we might make it to one of their special wine-tasting events at their ‘new-old’ vineyard, Mas de Brun.

We began to correspond after I read her most recent, delightful book of essays and photographs, First French Essais. I’m a big fan of all of her books and you can check them out right here.Unknown-1

If you haven’t dropped by her site, I know you will be glad you did. Say bonjour to her from me!

Kristin shares vignettes of her extraordinary life in France, raising her family as an American ex-pat married to a French vigneron. Learn about the trials and tribulations of this challenging lifestyle!

At the same time, she educates us on the nuances of the French language as it applies to daily life.

We share a passion for photography and I envy her the unlimited source of images from her splendid surroundings.

Oh ye dedicated Francophiles, we can never have our fill of photos from that part of the world. N’est-ce pas?

One town my husband and I love to visit in the Var is Sanary-sur-Mer, pictured below, not far from Bandol. We explored much of that departement during two different home exchanges a few years ago. Put it on your list!

Sanary-sur-Mer

It’s such a pleasure to actually spend real time with people you have known online, whether it is through travel or attending conferences or just good planning! Has this happened to you lately?

WRITING UPDATE … COVER REVEAL FOR “PROMISES TO KEEP” COMING SOON! 

We’re getting there … thanks to a lot of help! Yes, Barb Drozdowich … I mean you! Merci beaucoup!!! As we progress setting up all of my information on this new site, I soon will have links to Claire, Margo, Kristin, Ida, The Good Life France and other favourite France-related websites in the column on the right. Stay tuned and bon weekend tout le monde!