Patricia Sands

Author

follow your dreams

Six more days!

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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.

If it’s Friday, it must be France …

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Plage de la Gravette, Antibes

It may be September but in the south of France summer is still in full swing. I love posting this photo for a few reasons. Firstly, because I know who is sitting in those chairs and that fills my heart every single time I see the image. Secondly, it reminds me of a time when some of our family was visiting with my husband and me in Antibes one summer. Different family members (have I mentioned we have seven ‘kids’ … and now some of the grandkids are old enough to visit on their own too!)and friends often came to stay for a while during our summers there and we loved every minute.

I posted this quote on Instagram the other day and am happy to share it here with you. “There is nothing that can equal the treasure of so many shared memories.” ~ Antoine De Saint-Exupery, author of Le Petit Prince.

So true, is it not? Hold onto that thought, dear friends. Go back and linger in some of your photo albums and treasure the memories.

I’m dropping in here today to remind everyone that the three Love in Provence ebooks are on sale for September for .99 US each. Thanks to Amazon! I love it when they put my books on sale.

So if you have not begun the series yet … or never got around to finishing it … what? You definitely should! Or gift some copies to friends … easily done on the Amazon page. Let me know if you don’t know how. I will be happy to help!

Have you read all three novels? (Did you know that the Villa des Violettes series carries on the stories of the same beloved characters?)

It’s so satisfying creating graphics using my photography and this shot of Tourrettes sur Loup is dear to my heart! It’s a view that is suddenly in your face when drive round a corner on the winding road from Grasse to Saint Paul de Vence. I can’t tell you the number of times we’ve stopped so I can capture this image … it is irresistible to me!

In fact, our September #southofFrancememories tour is specially planned so we make this same stop. Then our group stays to have lunch and explore this enchanting village.

In The Promise of Provence, Kat first has this same experience from the back of Philippe’s vintage motorcycle! Quelle surprise!

Here’s a link that will lead you to all three books … or you can find the book links here on my website.

If you are free an hour from now at 8 Eastern, Friday, join me and nine author friends as we have some fun on The Write Review helping to celebrate Kerry Anne King’s fabulous new book, Other People’s Things! It’s a great read. Come and party with us! Here’s how to play!

Bon weekend and bonne lecture tout le monde. Stay safe this weekend and enjoy a good book! Perhaps one of these!

À très bientôt! See you soon!

Pinch me!

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If it’s Friday, it must be France ...

Ooops – I’m late again  – I know it’s Saturday, but we have company and I’m attempting to sneak this post in while still being a somewhat gracious hostess. Good thing we have understanding friends who realize writing and blogging are  consuming my life  somewhat distracting at times.

What I want to say today is this: if you have a dream, keep pursuing it.

You never know when unexpected opportunities will become a reality.

Taking a deep breath and publishing our writing, into which we put our hearts, minds, and bare our very souls a good chunk of our lives, sometimes opens doors we might never having imagined.

PSandsPhotos

Here are the best parts of writing for me (without getting into the satisfaction, frustration, challenge and all-around buzz of crafting stories): connecting with readers ~ becoming part of amazing communities of writers and bloggers all over the planet ~ receiving invitations to share thoughts, knowledge and experience ~ hearing the same from others ~ discovering ways to give back through what we do ~ listening, learning, laughing ~ feeling inspired to keep writing.

Yin-Yang – Image from Wikipedia

To be sure there’s another side: the search for the right words and ideas ~ the questioning and self-doubt that sneaks in ~ the hours of researching, editing, rewriting ~ the demands on time and money and presence that may be needed elsewhere in our lives ~ the inevitable struggle that is part of any creative process. And for many, that’s just the short list.

The yin and yang.

And then, out of the blue, may come something totally unexpected.

For example being invited to lead, along with my good friend, non-fiction author and speaking partner, Susan Sommers, a tour of 16 women (sorry, guys … this an all-girls’ party) to the south of France for 12 days in October, 2013.

It’s part of the innovative Broad Horizons program  of Uniglobe Instant Travel based in London, Ontario

Seriously.

It happened.

And you know how I love the south of France.

I’ve been guiding friends around that part of the world for years and love to do it.

Here’s the fabulous itinerary – South of France Itinerary 2013. We’ve worked hard to ensure it’s going to be a very good time – inspiring, energizing, providing memories for a lifetime.

There’s just the right combination of literary, art and laughter: enjoying café au lait or sipping pastis in the shadow of authors we have read, walking in the footsteps of great artists, touring, shopping, wining (including wine tasting at an ancient vineyard) and dining (including a cooking class in Provence), and relaxing. Call your bestie and  come if you can. It’s going to be superbe, magnifique, and fantastique … and if you can’t go with us, rest assured I’ll be writing about it  to share here with all of you.

We’ll be here …

EZE – PSandsPhotos

And here …

Nice,FR – PSandsPhotos

And here …

Monaco-PSandsPhotos

And in the countryside of Provence strolling streets like these …

Provence-PSandsPhotos

Provence-PSandsPhotos

Visiting places like this …

Antibes-PSandsPhotos

Marché Provençal-PSandsPhotos

And taking endless photos of these

Valbonne-PSandsPhotos

Tempting? There’s more info on my website too. Click here if you would like to see it.

Keep dreaming. Keep believing. Keep writing. You just never know …

What are the lows and highs of the yin and yang in your creative process? How do you find the balance for which we all search? Share your dreams. What doors have opened for you?You know we care.

Villefranche-Sur-Mer – PSandsPhotos

Hey girls – want to play hockey?

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I am such a fan of the Canadian Women’s Foundation! A public foundation, it consists of committed supporters, donors and volunteers across the country and diligent, enthusiastic staff workers that passionately believe in the importance of social change.

In the simplest terms, CWF invests in programs that move women and girls out of violence, out of poverty, and into confidence. In part these programs strive to:

 teach young people about healthy relationships;

 counsel children who have witnessed violence, to help them heal and prevent them from becoming victims or abusers themselves;

  support women as they rebuild their lives after abuse.

On Wednesday of this week, the CWF organized a wonderful evening at the headquarters of the YWCA in Toronto to celebrate some of the dedicated people from across the country who put programs in place and keep them running, often under the most difficult conditions. Having the opportunity to speak with these people was beyond inspiring.

With an increase from 14 programs offered last year to 28 this year, there is still so much work to be done! The surface is barely scratched. Please take a look at the CWF website and consider how you can be involved.

To top off this evening, the guest speaker was Sami Jo Small, a proud Olympic gold medal winner and enthusiastic co-founder of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League. I must admit it was quite a thrill to hold that magnificent medal as it was passed around!

Sami’s message was powerful, as she led us on her journey from being the only girl on a boys’ hockey team in Winnipeg at the age of 5 to joyfully standing on the podium at the Olympics. She stressed how things didn’t always go as she would have wished in her career but the lesson she learned was this: you can’t always choose the role you want in life but you can choose how you play the role you are handed. Words to live by.

Investing in the power of women and the dreams of girls.

Are you involved in any work that helps to inspire young girls or educate impoverished women  to assist them in building a new life for themselves and their families? And how about girl’s or women’s hockey? Have you ever played the game or attended a women’s hockey game? Strap on your skates and give it a try!