Rachel, thanks so much for inviting me to post on your blog. Writing is such an individual undertaking, it’s always interesting to hear how others make it happen and using your blog as a platform for this is a great idea. Click here to see my post and check out Rachel’s blog and website. Rachel is the author of A Quiet Storm and The View From Here, both available as e-books.
Writing
Thank you, Audrey Grant and Barbara Seagram
What an honour to have The Bridge Club read and reviewed by the internationally renowned bridge educator and author Audrey Grant as well as Barbara Seagram, owner of the popular Barbara Seagram School of Bridge in Toronto.
Audrey’s article is in the current publication of Better Bridge and Barbara’s can be found on page 6 of her online newsletter. Both are excellent sources of information, instruction, and resources for the fabulous game of bridge. If you have never played the game of bridge, try it – you’ll like it!
Kindle Author interviews me – thanks!
MONDAY, JANUARY 10, 2011
Kindle Author Interview: Patricia Sands
Patricia Sands, author of The Bridge Club, discusses her book, her journey as a writer, and self-publishing on Kindle.
DAVID WISEHART: What can you tell us about The Bridge Club?
PATRICIA SANDS: The Bridge Club is a novel about eight women who have been friends for over forty years. It’s a story about challenges in life and how strong friendship empowers us in the choices we make to face issues that confront us. The reader takes a journey from the psychedelic 1960s when the eight friends were liberated twenty-somethings to the present day as these vibrant women enjoy their “zoomer” years. A life-altering decision in the final chapter profoundly affects each of them.
DAVID WISEHART: How do you develop and differentiate your characters?
PATRICIA SANDS: The foundation for this book is the forty-year friendship I have shared with my real-life bridge club. The characters are all either somewhat based on actual people or composites of them. These are women with distinctly different personalities but very common values. Needless to say I had the full support and co-operation with these friends as I wrote the story.
DAVID WISEHART: Who do you imagine is your ideal reader?
PATRICIA SANDS: Women over forty are probably ideal but I have received messages from women in their twenties and eighties who have written very positive comments about their response to the story. It’s incredibly rewarding as a writer to hear how readers can easily relate to the characters in the story. They also write about their own friendships and how this story makes them appreciate and value what they have in their own lives. (I love it!) I’ve also heard from men who liked The Bridge Club. In fact a quote I use from a man about The Bridge Club is this: “A few years ago Hollywood gave us a movie about what women want. Patricia Sands has written a book about how women think.”
DAVID WISEHART: What was your journey as a writer?
PATRICIA SANDS: I have always been a storyteller through photography and in my profession as an educator writing was important. A few years ago I began writing this story purely for the amusement of my friends but it began to take on a life of its own and I was encouraged by others to consider publishing. At that point the writing turned into fiction rather than fact although much of the story is indeed true.
DAVID WISEHART: What is your writing process?
PATRICIA SANDS: Having never been an early riser, I now waken around 6:30 a.m. and am compelled to get to the computer to write what is swirling around in my head. I spend a good part of each day researching details and making certain I know the facts I should. However I do take time off to play golf or go out with my husband and talk to him about something other than my writing, although he has been long-suffering and supportive through the four years it took me to write The Bridge Club.
DAVID WISEHART: What authors most inspire you?
PATRICIA SANDS: Carol Shields, John LeCarre, Charles Dickens, Janet Evanovitch (she makes me laugh)—how’s that for a wide spectrum? Also Stephen King for his amazing ability to provide aspiring writers with understanding, inspiration and motivation through his words in On Writing. Every writing workshop I attended recommended this book and I have found none more helpful or more “real.”
DAVID WISEHART: What one book, written by someone else, do you wish you’d written yourself?
PATRICIA SANDS: Oh! The Places You’ll Go by Dr. Seuss.
DAVID WISEHART: How did you create your cover?
PATRICIA SANDS: I self-published through iUniverse and as a recipient of their Editor’s Choice and Rising Star awards, their design team worked with me to develop the cover. The colours and patterns were their suggestions based on research as to what appeals to readers right now. It appears they were right as people do respond very positively to it on the shelf.
DAVID WISEHART: How have you marketed and promoted your work?
PATRICIA SANDS: Through iUniverse, The Bridge Club is in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, Chapters, and some other booksellers. However most of the marketing and promoting has been done by me through my launch party and social media marketing. It’s been a steep learning curve! I’ve approached several independent bookstores in Toronto who are carrying the book in store and are very supportive. Fortunately I’ve been acquiring a group of people who feel The Bridge Club has great potential and we are working on marketing ideas. There’s no doubt exposure is all that is needed as more people discover how the story resonates with their own lives.
DAVID WISEHART: Why publish on Kindle?
PATRICIA SANDS: The future of e-books looks very bright! As much as I love to hold a book and turn the pages, I am also thoroughly enjoying my own Kindle. As one who travels a lot, this is the only way to take your library with you. As the technology improves, reading ebooks becomes an increasingly more pleasurable way to go.
DAVID WISEHART: What advice would you give to a first-time author thinking of self-publishing on Kindle?
PATRICIA SANDS: I would encourage them to seriously consider this option. In fact I will be putting a link to your site on my blog and talking about it in the future. The world of publishing is changing quickly and dramatically and Kindle Author is establishing itself in the most reputable way.
DAVID WISEHART: Thanks, and best of luck with your books.
Cass (Chapter Two) – continued
Cass was a risk-taker long before she even realized she was. A good example is the way she changed how people addressed her when she moved to Toronto to go to university. All through her school days she had been called Sandy or Sandra by her peers, teachers, and most family members. It seemed a logical shortening of Cassandra and when she was younger she liked that abbreviation much better than the long name. The minute she hit the city though she introduced herself as Cass and before long everyone knew her as that and she loved it. She felt her whole personality open up.
Interestingly, I have a friend who made a similar change to her name after a divorce. She had never liked her first name but by changing the pronunciation ever so slightly, she turned that name into one that was very lyrical. New people would comment on how lovely it was when they first met her and they were right. I was always amazed at how such a small alteration could make such a difference. Her old friends had to struggle to remember to address her in the new way but with patience we all got used to it. Such a simple change but so important to the person involved. It takes courage and commitment!
Cass changing her name was her first conscious step outside the box. Going to Europe for a year with Pam in 1967 was the next. Leaving the security of job, family, and friends became almost a rite of passage in the sixties but for those small-town girls it was a huge step. Later on, leaving her marriage with a toddler in tow after just a few years was perhaps the greatest challenge she faced. Her reasons were clear and strong but nevertheless this was a decision that went against the values with which she had been raised. It was never a decision lightly-made. Ten years later as she tenderly embraced her son for the last time for a while, waved goodbye to friends and sailed off to unknown adventure, Cass again recognized her life was taking her places most women would not choose.
Certainly it is widely accepted today that the key to change is to free yourself from fear. In every period of change in her life, Cass calmed her fears (which doesn’t mean they never revisited), educated herself about the path she was choosing, and went for it.
Change does not have to be as dramatic or profound. There are always issues that need to be considered in everyone’s life, things that we’re not happy about. As a writer, the lessons I hope readers learn from Cass are to believe in yourself, calm your fears, and learn some new dance steps. The way in which her life unfolded is not for every woman but on the other hand Cass is not alone. If Cass reminds you of yourself, write and tell your story!
As with everything else these days, there is an over-abundance of websites to access when it comes to reading about change. I’m reluctant to recommend one in particular but I liked what this site had to say so it might be a good place to begin if you are so inclined. When I find a better site or if anyone suggests a better site, I’ll change it! Click here to begin.http://www.livingorsurviving.com/the-10-rules-of-change/
