Patricia Sands

Author

Janine Marsh

Win a signed copy ~ enter until January 22nd

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If it’s Friday, it must be France …

Until January 22nd, click right here to have your name entered for a draw to win one of two signed copies of Drawing Lessons in The Good Life France Winter magazine.

It’s as easy as that!

Once you’ve entered the draw, be sure to take a look through the rest of the magazine. The articles and photographs are always outstanding! The magazine is published quarterly by my good friend, the tremendously talented Janine Marsh. The day it arrives in my mailbox is one of my favourite times … and, as I like to say, it is FREE, FABULOUS AND ALL ABOUT FRANCE!

Speaking of Janine, have you read her hilarious memoir describing how she and her husband bought and restored a rundown old barn ( her words) in the Pas de Calais area?

My Good Life in France is a wonderful story that will have you laughing out loud and possibly will persuade you to follow a dream of your own. Pourquoi pas?

Have you ever considered spending an extended time in a foreign country? Another good book to read along this same line was featured here on my blog a few weeks ago. Click here to read about Keith Van Sickle’s, memoir, One Sip at a Time: Learning to Live in Provence.

On the subject of following a dream, here are a few photos that always stir my French fantasies and have me counting the days until I return to the Côte d’Azur. Enjoy!

Good luck with the draw!

Do you spend time dreaming of a life somewhere else?

 

 

My Good Life in France ~ Janine Marsh ~ pre-order

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If it’s Friday, it must be France …

I’m SO excited to share this news with you! May 4th is the publishing date for this long-awaited memoir by Janine Marsh!

Even more good news is that the book is available for pre-order on Amazon right now! Click here to purchase your copy of My Good Life in France.

As we all know, Janine is the founder and editor of the fabulous The Good Life France website and ezine. For all of us who love to dream about France and read about and see photos of and plan trips to and … well, you know … there’s no better resource!

And now Janine tells the entertaining story of how her life in France all came to pass. I was fortunate to receive an advance copy and am happy to share my review here with you:

 5*****

I’ve been eagerly awaiting the publication of Janine Marsh’s memoir, My Good Life  in France, and was honoured to receive an ARC for an honest review. It’s no surprise that this book is everything readers hope it will be. With her sharp insight after many years as an ex-pat in France and her engaging sense of humour, Marsh takes us on the bumpy road of highs and lows restoring a “truly awful” (her words) property in the north of France that captured her heart. 
 
Through the author’s eyes and experiences we discover the (relatively unknown to tourists) Seven Valleys area in the Pas-de-Calais, which is now on my “must visit” list. Easily drawn into Marsh’s entertaining narrative by her sharp observations and warm-hearted nature, we get to know her neighbours, the local traditions and her growing family of dogs, cats, and assorted feathered friends.
 
Thank goodness for an understanding husband who is also an enterprising craftsman. There are challenges that would deter most from staying the course. Yet not only do the Marshes survive, but a brilliant new career path is born.
 
This book is a delightful read that I highly recommend.
Click here to read an earlier post when Janine visited my blog.
If it’s cool and rainy in your part of the world, as it is in mine today, pour yourself a warm cuppa (a hot toddy sounds good to me!) and lose yourself in the pages of The Good Life France Spring Magazine. You’ll be glad you did!
Bon weekend!

Last day to enter!

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As you all know, I’m a huge fan of The Good Life France website and emagazine that are the extraordinary creations of Janine Marsh. Here’s a post from my blog when Janine visited a while ago.

Honestly … she is living my dream! And she makes dreams a reality for tens of thousands of subscribers with the fabulous photography, articles and information published on her sites. If you have never checked before, do it now. You won’t be disappointed.

It’s a pleasure to write articles for TGLF from time to time and it’s been very exciting to have this giveaway in the winter emagazine! The deadline to enter for this prize is tonight! This is a different giveaway than the one that was here on my blog, so it means you have another crack at it! If you haven’t entered, now is your chance.

Good luck! Bonne chance!

Click right here for the giveaway link …

Win Three Great Books by Patricia Sands – The Good Life France
Win signed copies of all three of Patricia Sands’ best-selling Love in Provence Series books. Provence, romance and starting over… It all starts on the eve of her…
THEGOODLIFEFRANCE.COM

Did someone say “Chocolat”?

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If it’s Friday, it must be France …

Val de Loire

This week I wrote a post  about chocolate in France for my friend Janine Marsh’s wonderful website The Good Life France.

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Click right here to see the post. Chocolate + France … two of my favourite topics. It was fun to write, as you can imagine. If you do go in and read it, please click on some of the links at the bottom of the article. It all helps!

If you follow me regularly, you’re probably already a subscriber to Janine’s amazing newsletter and ezine. There’s a link to the virtual magazine in the column here on my blog. ====================>

Or just click right here to see back issues of the magazine, too.

While I was doing research for that post, I spent some time revisiting the wonderful film Chocolat. Remember that?  I loved it so much, I own a copy. So we watched it again this week.

You also might want to read the novel by Joanne Harris and check out her other work including, Peaches for Monsieur le Curé.

This photo is one of my “shoot through the open window of the car as my husband zooms by shots” … otherwise I would be asking him to stop every two minutes … and he really is great about pulling over. But sometimes it is simply not possible. French roads often have no shoulders or there’s someone right on our tail. In spite of that it’s surprising how often the photo turns out!

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So, back to the movie. If, for some bizarre reason, you haven’t seen Chocolat, get on over to Netflix immediately. It’s a great story … and of course, there is Johnny Depp … but the setting ,,, ah oui … the setting … that’s what’s really delicious!

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It was filmed in the medieval village of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain in Burgundy and on the Rue De l’Ancienne Poste in the charming commune of Beynac-et-Cazenac, in the heart of Périgord Noir. These photos of mine are from that latter general area.

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Beynac is found on the banks of the Dordogne River with a well-preserved 12thC castle, clinging to a steep cliff, once besieged by Richard the Lion Heart. Just ten kilometres from Sarlat, this village is distinctive with “lauze” stone slab-roofed houses and well worth a visit.

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Are you a chocophile? Dark, milk, white? All of them? What’s your pleasure? Be sure to have a supply nearby while you watch the movie.  Bon weekend!

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