Patricia Sands

Author

2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist

Mission accomplished!

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With reference to my last post about making choices, missing golf, and other assorted moans, it took me all week but I got the job done!

Clearing the mountain of paper, books, files and assorted flotsam and jetsam off my desk took longer than I expected. Sorting through the piles (which resulted in several “So that’s where that went … ” moments), organizing an enormous collection of business cards, filing papers and information  appropriately, and … um … making yet another “to do” list finally led to this.

I decided not to post after last Tuesday until I could show you the final result. Ta Daaaaa!

There was a desk under that mountain of stuff, after all!
There was a desk under that mountain of stuff, after all!

I had chocolate to celebrate!

I don’t always write in here as I like to take my laptop into other rooms when the spirit moves me, or out to the terrace. This is Control Central though, when I am in Toronto, and it’s been unrecognizable for several months as I copped out and simply piled everything into a frightening, sloppy mess. Seriously. I don’t know why I did that. I just did!

I’m feeling much better now.

It’s so much easier to focus on writing without that haunting image playing constantly in the back of my mind.

Have you ever let all your paperwork get completely out of hand or are you always organized? I’m seriously going to attempt the latter from now on. How do you do it?

Coming up for air …

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While I’ve been working on the revisions for my next novel, I’ve also been preparing for an exciting speaking event coming up soon. No wonder my e-mail box is overflowing and I’m waaaay behind on all the blogs I love to follow. Sorry, gang, I’ll get caught up … sometime …

The fourth annual Power Of The Purse one-day women’s conference will be held on Thursday, September 27th in London, Ontario, not far from Toronto.

This high-energy and enjoyable day celebrates all women including those making an impact in the corporate world, women as creative forces in the arts world, as researchers and healers in healthcare and as generous philanthropists helping those in need.

A local non-profit charity is supported through this event and the important work of Anago’s Parkhill Therapeutic Residence is being spotlighted this year. Anago serves complex needs girls requiring protection, youth at risk with the law, and individuals with developmental challenges who may also be medically fragile. Kudos to them for all they do to make the community a better place to live!

I’m honoured to be among the dynamic … oh yes, we all are, honest! …  presenters for the day along with my fabulous friend and speaking partner,  Susan Sommers, co-author of the ‘must-have’ fitness book Power Source For Women.

Although Susan and I write in very different genres, our messages are based on the same philosophy.  We focus on women’s stories and  celebrate how they empower and support each other through the connections they make.

Our presentation reaches women of all ages with a message about fitness, friendship and the potential and possibilities change can offer at every stage in life.  Be a possibilitarian (thank you Amber West!) and make life the very best it can be!

The best part for us is having the opportunity to hear the incredible stories of other women. They inspire and motivate us every single time we are asked to speak! We love it!

Later in the day the Conference Centre is transformed into the popular Vendor Networking Marketplace showcasing local entrepreneurs and their products and services.  It is a terrific chance to connect, support and learn who is doing what in your community … okay … and to indulge in a little retail therapy too!

If you live in the area, we hope we’ll see you there. It’s going to be a blast!

Have you attended a conference like this? What was the most important part of the day … and not just those fabulous earrings you couldn’t resist!

Thank you/Merci beaucoup!

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I’m dashing out the door to meet with my editor but want to say an enormous

THANK YOU

to all the readers and supporters who responded to The Bridge Club as Book Of The Day yesterday on eReaderNews. 

The Bridge Club shot up to #4 on Amazon’s Movers and Shakers/Digital Text! Woohoo! Thanks a million, everyone!

 

Choopy’s Cupcakes and Coffee Shop

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If it’s Friday, it must be France …

Mon Dieu, what a day I’ve had! There’s malware in my Hotmail apparently sending messages to everyone in my address book that I’m in distress in Greece and need money! It took a few hours of phone calls to Microsoft for them to figure out why I couldn’t access my Hotmail account. Now I will have to wait another 24 to 48 hours before I can get back in.  If you happen to receive one of those messages rest assured I’m not in Greece! You know me, I’d rather be in France!

We were up north visiting friends at their beautiful cottage for three days this week and without internet service. I’m now paying the price with overflowing blog and social media matters to take care of.

So I’m taking the easy way out this week and reposting this piece from last year about one of my favourite places in Antibes and the delightful young couple who make it happen. If you are anywhere in the neighbourhood, drop in to see Vincent and Julie!

HERE IT IS:

I love success stories, don’t you? The reason I’m a little late posting this is because I took a few hours this evening to watch the movie The Help with my DH. As well as being an important and well-told story,  author Kathryn Stockett’s backstory about writing The Help is one everyone should hear. It’s a true success story.

She received 60 rejections over a five-year period before one brave agent with an eye for a good story saw the truth in it. Click here to read it from my archives, in case you missed it. She’s hilarious and her personal journey is inspiring to all of us who believe in our writing.

Okay, I’m getting off topic … as I do … this post is about France and it’s about success. It’s about a young couple I met in Antibes whose story also inspired me.

Meet Julie and Victor, the owners of Choopy’s,  who are natives of nearby Nice and about as sincere and delightful a young couple as you could ever hope to meet. This warm and welcoming shop is in the old town of Antibes, through a short archway off Rue de La République.

I have to admit I’m not a true coffee drinker, unlike my DH who is an espresso afficionado.

I am … full confession here … a faux-coffee drinker. I need chocolate in it . Give me a Café Mocha or a Moccacino and I’m in heaven. I appreciate how seriously the French take their café and I know it’s kind of bad manners to even think of having anything but a café (i.e. espresso) or a café crème so I had been pretending for several weeks that I was cool with that (plus a LOT of sugar). But I wasn’t.

So … Choopy’s was new and had a cosmopolitan ambiance AND they had free wifi – bonus! I wandered in one day to see if possibly they might have one of these North American aberrations on their menu. They didn’t. “Pas de problème!” said Victor with his wonderful smile. “Explain what it is and I’ll make you one.” I did and he did. Magnifique!

Julie, a beautiful and engaging young woman, is a graduate of a prestigious 5-year culinary program. Vincent has a degree in business and finance. Soon after graduation they began working. It took no time for Julie to realize she wanted to be in contact with people and Vincent knew he preferred baking cakes to crunching numbers. Their quest began to figure out just what it was they could do to make this happen.

Like so  many other young people, they packed up and had an adventure working and traveling in Australia and Bali. All the while they were on the lookout for something that might be a sign as to what sort of business they should open. It didn’t take long for the sign to appear and surprisingly it was in the shape of … CUPCAKES! 

It seemed as if every coffee shop in Australia also served cupcakes. Mon Dieu! Qu’est-ce que c’est? Who had heard of cupcakes in France?  Not many. You can find more types of pastries in France than practically anywhere else in the world … but not cupcakes!

Visiting cupcake bakeries in Australia before they left, they were convinced that this was their future.  A bit of research back home indicated only one bakery in Paris was making cupcakes. Amazing. I mean, seriously, who doesn’t enjoy a good cupcake … or two?  Julie has become a cupcake goddess and every kind I sampled through the summer was über-delicieux!

Along with the ever-changing selection of cupcakes there are several other equally delicious choices to accompany your coffee. Victor’s banana bread with it’s mouth-watering crunchy topping has already established it’s own reputation.

Lunches and Sunday brunches are also served with all ingredients fresh from the daily market. Get there early as the space fills up quickly. The word has spread and this bright, hard-working and absolutely delightful young couple are seeing their business become a most successful venture.

It was always a pleasure to stop in and see how busy they were. Their energy and commitment to their business is evident in everything they do. Customer service is their focus and after just a few months it was obvious they were becoming a very important part of the charming old town in Antibes. Never too busy for a smile and a friendly exchange, make sure you stop by the next time you are in the neighbourhood!

The strawberry cupcakes are to die for … but then, so are the chocolate … and  … um, well, the Cupcakes De Noël are out now too. Just try them all!

And ask them how they decided upon the name of their shop … very cute …

Here’s their Facebook link. Stop in and “like” them – they deserve it. Merci beaucoup!

What are some success stories that have inspired you? Have you ever done your homework, taken a big breath and begun something completely new and different in your life? Would you do it again?