Patricia Sands

Author

award winner

THE SECRETS WE HIDE ~BOOK EXCELLENCE 2023 AWARD FOR WOMEN’S FICTION

by 3 Comments

News Flash! The Secrets We Hide has received a Book Excellence Award!

Authors take a chance when they enter a book award competition, knowing there are thousands of excellent novels published to which ours will be compared. But this is part of the journey of publishing that helps writers grow and learn more about their craft. Yes, we do take chances.


I am incredibly excited to announce that I have been recognized as a Book Excellence Award Winner for my book, THE SECRETS WE HIDE, in the Women’s Fiction Category.

Out of thousands of books that were entered into the Book Excellence Awards competition, the notification of my award stated that my book was “selected for its high quality writing, design and overall market appeal”.

To view my complete award listing, you can click here. Since the award is new, the listing may not be complete yet.

I was delighted to see my dear friend, author Alison Ragsdale, winning the award for best novel in the Family Category. I highly recommend Dignity & Grace ~ a fine story! And what an honour us to be recognized in the Winner Category with the amazing Adriana Trigiani, beloved by millions around the world, who won in the Historical category.

The Secrets We Hide was released in August 2022 and is a captivating story of the highs and lows of life’s journey, including the complexities of living with a loved one with a mental illness and dealing with grief. The story is set in enticing locations in Hawaii, Japan and France, with hope, friendship, trust and love interwoven throughout.

The book is perfect for readers of Kristin Hannah and Jodi Picoult, who enjoy a story about second chances.

Available in ebook and paperback, you can get a copy for yourself at Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble.

When you do read this story, I encourage you to leave a brief review where you purchase the book and also on Goodreads and Bookbub if possible (simply copy and paste it). Just say why you like the story (no need for anything longer, unless you wish to share more thoughts) and know that every review is greatly appreciated by authors.

Thanks so much for sharing in my good news! Happy reading!

Six more days!

by 2 Comments

January 31 is the final day in the Kindle sale of the three novels in my Love in Provence series. I hope you have taken advantage of this great deal!

I have no control over when Amazon chooses my books for discounts and am always delighted when I receive an email from their Marketing people informing me. Discounts on books has nothing to do with the literary value and everything to do with inviting new readers to enjoy the work.

As I often mention, if you already have this series in your library, it’s very simple to gift ebooks to friends and even have them delivered on special dates. You simply click on this link when you go to buy the ebook online.

One of the great rewards for me from writing these stories is opening my email to discover messages from readers sharing how they related to the stories … how they had experienced something similar to Kat at the beginning of The Promise of Provence. Hearing people explain how they were inspired to make changes or to take chances and explore new possibilities in life is absolutely priceless to me. I’m so grateful readers take the time to share their thoughts and experiences.

If you have not read the series, here is a bit of history.

The Promise of Provence was my second novel and I wrote it as a stand alone story. You, the readers, turned it into Book One of the series. You wanted more details about Kat’s journey and it was a pleasure to write the next two books … and then the Villa des Violettes series, which is not finished … I promise!

When I knew I was going to set the story of The Promise of Provence in Antibes, my husband and I rented an apartment there for five months.

Overlooking the old town, the harbour and all the way to the Baie des Anges and the Alpes Maritimes beyond, the view was as inspiring as it was breathtaking. We really lucked out finding the unit.

Although I had the bones of the story outlined, I had not settled on exactly who Katherine would meet there. Each morning I would take my panier, my camera, and a dictionary and wind my way through the oldest ruelles to the famous daily Provençal market.

Needless to say, my camera shutter steamed on a daily basis … and no wonder we have returned year after year to this special town.

As I stood in line at the most popular cheese stand one morning, shortly after we arrived in town, I watched the busy fromager discussing a wedge of cheese with a customer and was immediately attracted … not just because he was *ahem* gorgeous.

The passion on his face and his enthusiastic body language made it obvious how much he loved his work … and the character of Philippe was born. In my halting French a few days later, I explained to the fromager about the book I was writing. For several mornings at 7 a.m., before the market opened, he was gracious about spending some time with me answering my questions and giving me a quick education on his craft. Sadly he is no longer at the market, but lives on in my novels. (I’ve always loved that he brought Katherine cheese rather than flowers on special occasions.)

And let us not forget the character, Nick, also a popular favourite with readers. Walking past the harbour each morning, his story came alive.

Now back to the market … I would take my time filling my panier with flowers, olives, fruit, veggies and whatever the dinner menu called for.

Next I would pop into one of many fine boulangeries … say no more …

And my final stop would be at Le Vieil Antibes for a café crème at my favourite table where I could take notes on village life and read the morning edition of Nice Matin, with my trusty dictionary close at hand.

My head spinning with inspiration and ideas, I would rush home to spend hours writing. How I miss those days!

Thanks for spending a few moments with my memories and the story of how Book One ~ The Promise of Provence came to be, followed later … thanks to demand from readers … by Book Two – Promises to Keep and Book Three – I Promise You This.

Please feel free to let your friends know about the sale!

Happy reading! Bonne lecture!

I love sharing the trailer for the series … let it take you away.