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Patricia Sands

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book review

Thank you, Claire McAlpine

May 26, 2019 by Patricia Sands 2 Comments

Claire McAlpine has been an extraordinary book reviewer, in both French and English, on her blog, Word by Word, for many years. A multi-talented woman who is also a writer and an expert in the practise of Aromatherapy, Massage, and Anatomy/Physiology from the perspectives of both Eastern medicine and healing and Western. You can find out more about Flairesse by clicking here.

It’s always a lovely surprise to discover an unexpected review and I thank Claire for this lovely post on her blog, which for me was like opening a door and finding a room full of your favourite people yelling “Surprise!” ~ with confetti and champagne!

Merci mille fois!


MAY 21, 2019
 BY CLAIRE ‘WORD BY WORD’

Drawing Lessons by Patricia Sands

Seven years ago I read The Bridge Club by Patricia Sands, which I loved. Her ability to immerse the reader into the emotional lives of her characters is thoroughly engaging and insightful and the stories of those women characters and the event that brings them all together to share parts of their history together has long stayed with me.

Her latest novel, Drawing Lessons offers something a little different, in that this time the main character, 62 year old Arianna, leaves her Toronto home, family and troubles behind, somewhat reluctantly, but with the blessings and encouragement of those she’s left behind, to try and heal a little from the heartbreak of what she has left behind her.

It is an interesting and provocative premise. Her husband has been diagnosed with a debilitating form of dementia and her family have encouraged her to go on a two week artist’s retreat just outside Arles, the same countryside and landscape that inspired Van Gogh to produce over 300 works of art in the frenzied sixteen months he spent there, until driven out by the locals.

“In his letters to his brother Theo, he said drawing helped him combat his depression. He knew, as we do, that working en plein air, we are able to capture light and images more quickly and from that create our interpretation.”

Arianna hasn’t painted for a long time and is wracked by guilt at leaving. Slowly she will find her way, through the surroundings and with the eclectic band of artists that have come together to reaquaint with their inner muse. And then there is the strange allure of the man from the Carmargue.

The beautiful cover art couldn’t be more appropriate to today, it being May and everywhere you go at the moment, the poppies are in full bloom.

Living in this area and knowing how much the author loves the south of France and how much of her writing is informed by her own experiences of living a few months of every year here, I wasn’t surprised to feel how immersed in the area this book made me feel. She really does capture something of the essence of being in this region of Provence, in the landscape and the town of Arles, adding something of the fantasy of a mysterious artist, horseman, the romance element. Not to mention the markets and the collection and preparation of the food.

“Winding past olive groves, beside vineyards, and through fields dotted with poppies and other wildflowers, from time to time they’d comment on the pastoral beauty. They could imagine artists through the centuries setting up easels along the way.”

It’s a timely read if you’re interested in Van Gogh, as this year there was the film At Eternity’s Gate that came out and he is also the subject of the new show running from March 2019 – January 2020 at Carrieres de Lumières in Les Baux de Provence, a truly spectacular and original depiction of works of art, set to music, displayed on the inner walls of an old stone quarry.

If you haven’t been here and have an interest in open air painting, it’s a read that transports you to the Provençal landscape, ignites the imagination and all the senses and is likely to make you wish to indulge in a visit to the region yourself.

And although her upcoming tour is now sold out, if you want to imagine what it might be like to visit the area and visualise the area where this story takes place, check out the itinerary of The Memories Tour 2019, run by Patricia and co-host Deborah Bine, The Barefoot Blogger and visit Patricia’s blog, or sign up to her newsletter on France related writing news and tips on visiting the south of France and the culture.

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Filed Under: Author Promotion, Blog, France, Uncategorized, Writing Tagged With: book review, Claire McAlpine, Drawing Lessons, fiction, Patricia Sands, writing

Lucky Friday the 13th!

April 13, 2018 by Patricia Sands 8 Comments

If it’s Friday, it must be France …

It’s Friday the 13th! Thought by some to bring bad luck, to me it’s always a date for good news because one of my sons was born on that date. Today, this Friday the 13th, brought me a different type of good news.

Drawing Lessons will be on sale in Australia beginning Monday. I  thought I would check my book stats on Amazon.com.au and I came across this lovely review. I hope you don’t mind me sharing this food for my writer’s soul.

I loved writing Drawing Lessons but I find it my most difficult novel to promote because of the sad beginning. I know I try to avoid it.

5.0 out of 5 stars

Simply gorgeous
ByBella  TOP 500 REVIEWER  on 2 February 2018
Format: Kindle Edition
Wow. What an astonishingly touching story! I love how poetically this author writes. There was so much heart, so much beauty in this story. From the saddest situation imaginable grew something truly divine. So refreshing to read something that managed to paint such colourful images without being overly descriptive, and so wonderful to read something that blended all different kinds of people of all ages so beautifully. An absolute triumph from Patricia Sands.

If you have friends in Australia, please share this with them. Here’s the link in Amazon.com.au.

And the blurb:

The author of the Love in Provence series returns to the South of France with a poignant portrait of a woman who must learn how to create a new life for herself…

Sixty-two-year-old Arianna arrives in the South of France for a two-week artists’ workshop full of anticipation but burdened by guilt. Back home in Toronto, she has been living with the devastating diagnosis of her husband’s dementia and the heartbreak of watching the man she has loved for decades slip away before her eyes. What does her future hold without Ben? Before her is a blank canvas.

Encouraged by her family to take some time for herself, she has traveled to Arles to set up her easel in the same fields of poppies and sunflowers that inspired Van Gogh. Gradually, she rediscovers the inner artist she abandoned long ago. Drawing strength from the warm companionship and gentle wisdom of her fellow artists at the retreat—as well as the vitality of guest lecturer Jacques de Villeneuve, an artist and a cowboy—Arianna searches her heart for permission to embrace the life in front of her and, like the sunflowers, once again face the light.

Set in and around the intriguing town of Arles and down into the fascinating Camargue, the story also has the spirit of Vincent van Gogh woven into the pages.

Much of my research was conducted here in the peacefully beautiful setting of the monastery of St. Paul de Mausole, an easy walk outside St. Remy-de-Provence. Vincent admitted himself here in May 1889 for treatment. He found a certain degree of peace and acceptance from the health practitioners and his creativity flourished in between his psychotic episodes. Inspired by the light and beauty of the surrounding landscapes he built on his prodigious period in Arles (during the previous 18 months), producing some of his best work.

He remained for a year before leaving for Auvers-sur-Oise to live closer to his brother, Theo. Sadly, he died two months later.

It was here that I also observed visiting artists finding their own inspiration, surrounded by the aura of Vincent. Magic.

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Filed Under: Author Promotion, Blog, If it is France..., Uncategorized, Writing Tagged With: Arles, art, Australia, book review, Drawing Lessons, St-Remy-de-Provence, Vincent Van Gogh, womens fiction

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