When I first published The Promise of Provence, Home Base Holidays very enthusiastically contacted me and embraced this story of a home exchange in the south of France. And why not? This is a fabulous company that offers precisely the same opportunities to their members that Katherine, my main character, experienced.  I was pleased to offer them two copies of my novel as giveaways on their site.

Congratulations to the winners:  Linda & Rob from Fort Worth, Texas, USA and John & Eveline from Auckland, New Zealand !

Click here to go to the Home Base website and read the rest of the post about the giveaway and comments from the winners. If you have not explored home exchange yet, this might just be the tipping point to get you started. You know I am a huge fan of home exchange and happy to answer any questions. I can assure you the friendly, knowledgeable folks at Home Base are only too willing to send you any information you wish.

MY NEWSLETTER IS LIVE!

I’ve entered into another aspect of this wonderful world of publishing by sending a newsletter every now and then. I’m not going to post each one here but thought I would share my first with you! You know how “firsts” are …

Pull up a chair and join me ~ here we go with my first newsletter!Thanks to all who sent emails after reading The Promise of Provence or left your email address at an event with me. I’m blown away by the response and will be sending out a brief newsletter from time to time to stay in touch, offer giveaways and share information.If you would rather not receive my newsletter, by all means click below to unsubscribe. No worries!Two weeks ago I attended the Romance Writers of America’s national conference in Atlanta, Georgia, along with approximately 2000 other writers at every stage of their careers. It was a dizzying four days of excellent workshops, presentations and extraordinary networking. Along with that was the wonderful opportunity to meet a group of writers with whom I’ve been connected online for two years. We have become like family so to finally meet in person was phenomenal!I returned with a firm vision as to where my writing is directed and I’m excited to say that part of the plan keeps Katherine’s story moving forward with unexpected twists. I’ll share details and give you some sneak peeks as time goes on. On September 9th, my husband and I will be leaving for a month in Nice to visit friends and favourite places while I spend some time doing research. On October 4th there will be a lively launch party for The Promise of Provence at Heidi’s English Bookshop in Antibes. If you are in that part of the world, please join us! The details will be on my blog. If you sent me a message saying you would like a postcard from Katherine, please be sure you left your postal address and not just your email. I’m excited to report our first women’s tour to the south of France for next June quickly sold out, so another has been added from June 25 to July 5. It was fun to hear from some of you already booked! Click here for more information and by all means let me know if you are joining us! FYI – I’ve posted a reading list on my blog and would be happy to have any suggestion you may have. I love hearing from you so don’t hesitate to contact me. Catch my news on my blog. In the meantime, click here for one of my favourite recipes: Provençal New Potatoes. Bon appétit!

If you want to join my newsletter, find the sign up form HERE.

On another note, I am dashing off with my DH to spend a few days with friends at a cottage … WITHOUT INTERNET OR CELLULAR SERVICE … GASP!

Do you ever go “unplugged”? I’m kind of looking forward to it … might even get some uninterrupted writing accomplished and find time to spend with my camera! My DH is tapping his fingers waiting for me to get out the door! See you at the end of the week – have a good one!