Love In Provence series

South of France Memories Tour 2019

January 20, 2019 by Patricia Sands

It’s that time again! Time to book your place with us from September 15 to 27, 2019, to come along on our awesome South of France tour.

My good friend, Deborah Bine aka Barefoot Blogger, and I have the pleasure of spending 12 memory-filled days with 16 women as we share our passion for the south of France. We visit the charming, historic towns and villages featured in my novels and on Deborah’s website. We only change hotels once in the 12 days 🙂

Bring along a friend or relative, but we also guarantee you will have a wealth of new friends after the first day! Read the testimonials from past tours to see what an unforgettable experience this is! Join us! ???☕️✈️?? Sept 15-27/19 ~ four spots left!
Click on this link for all the details http://absolutelysouthernfrance.com/memories-tour2019/

Click here to go to this page on my website. You can then follow along day by day on last year’s tour. The following photos tell a small part of the happy story!

Travel without packing or passports …

April 8, 2018 by Patricia Sands

Sharing my post this week from Women Writers, Women’s Books FB page, on the importance of location in the novels I write. What are some of the favourite locations from books you have read?

Location! Location! Location!

April 7, 2018 | By Patricia Sands

This may sound like an intro for a real estate ad, but not this time. Rather it’s an intro to considering the importance of location in stories. The sense of ‘place’ is often vital to the heart of a novel and, speaking from a personal perspective, it’s absolutely essential to the stories I want to share with readers.

My first novel, The Bridge Club, is set in Canada with locations ranging from the pastoral Eastern Townships of Quebec to the stunning Coast Mountains in British Columbia. When I wrote it, I was focussed more on character development since that is what drives this story. The fine details of the locations were secondary.

Not so, when I began to write The Promise of Provence. I knew I had two primary goals. One was to write a meaningful plot with complex characters, to which women over fifty would relate. The other was to share the love affair I have had with the south of France all of my life. There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted the reader to feel they were in settings with the characters in every respect. I hoped they would see, taste, smell, feel (as in touch) and even hear everything, just as the characters did.

In other words, all senses were employed.

That first Provence novel turned into Book 1 of the Love in Provence series, in good part because of the love my readers felt for the setting. Of course they became engaged with the characters as well, but it became clear that the majority of my readers are devoted Francophiles. They write and tell me they are transported by the stories and that’s my greatest reward.

When a woman living on a remote farm in Iowa writes and says, “Thank you for taking me somewhere I know I will never go in my life,” I know my work is done. My readers travel without packing or passports!

To continue reading, please click here.

Time to catch up!

July 1, 2017 by Patricia Sands

I have some catching up to do here on the blog … thanks for your patience!

I returned to Toronto last evening after two wonderful months in the south of France, spending time between the Côte d’Azur and the countryside of Provence.

It was good to get back in time to celebrate Canada Day! I hope everyone in our beautiful country has been enjoying this special 150th birthday. What was happening in your neighbourhood?

If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, I’ve been happy to have you along and you know what a busy time it was. For the first five weeks, my husband and I were is a charming little house in the old town of Antibes where I was able to absorb the atmosphere and history of the centuries-old streets that truly are a writer’s dream.

Making notes, taking photographs, observing details from the important to the mundane, talking to locals and asking questions, and listening as life unfolds each day, are all ways of researching the next story. I feel so grateful to have those opportunities.

Then I …

Well, instead of repeating myself, I’m going to post my most recent newsletter and let you catch up with it. If you happen to subscribe and did not receive it, please email me and let me know. There have been some technical “issues” and it will help to know if it is not getting through.

Here you go!

Greetings from beautiful Provence!

Newsletter #46 June 28, 2017

Bonjour!

Have you been battling a heat wave? I’m still in France, but I’ve been reading about the record hot temperatures in some parts of North America. I hope you’ve been keeping cool in one way or another.

Here in Provence it’s been hot, hot, hot too! La canicule! This header photo is one I took in Antibes last week. That shady doorstep was an inviting stop for a few minutes.

Remember the writing event on June 3 in Nice,which I told you about in my last newsletter? Well, it was a great success. Please check out my blog next week when I will post all about it. It was a fabulous afternoon spending time with fellow authors and so nice to meet and mingle with enthusiastic Côte d’Azur readers.

This is my last week in France for 2017 and June has been a busy month. From June 6th to 18th, my friend Susan Sommers and I led our third tour of Provence. Sixteen women from the UK, the USA and Canada joined us for twelve specially-planned days, and we all had a fabulous time. The women were great travellers and interested in everything we had scheduled. Most had read my books and were delighted to visit places they had become familiar with in the stories.

We could not have asked for a more congenial group and it was great fun to watch everyone get to know each other and become friends. This is one of my favourite photos of the entire group, including Susan and me. That’s the beautiful village of Roussillon in the background.

I posted photos of each day of the tour on the Womens Travel Network blog. If you would like to see all the beautiful days we shared, just click right here and enjoy!

I want to send out a special “thank you” once again to each of the sixteen women. It was a pleasure getting to know you and you certainly helped create memories that will last forever.

The two months here in France have flown by. The weather has been wonderful, even with the extreme heat of the past three weeks. I’m not complaining.

I spent many afternoons writing on the roof terrace of our rental house … and many hours dreaming there too!

Even though it was a little early for lavender this year, we did see some fields in bloom. And we found sunflower fields, as well as the last of the poppies. It’s hard to catch everything at its peak, so we were thrilled with all that. Even though those are the most popular flowers to find this time of year, the south of France is full of colour from the many other plants and shrubs that create such beauty all around us here.

For this last week, I am in St. Remy with two of my best friends from Toronto. We’re having a girls-only getaway and I’m reminded every day of what a special thing it is to share such meaningful experiences. I hope you have similar types of priceless friendships in your life too.

And while I’m talking about France, I hope you have downloaded The Good Life France summer magazine. You know how I always like to say it’s free, fabulous and all about France. Click right here if you haven’t seen it yet. You’ll be glad you did.

In the midst of this, I’m also working my way through the final proofread of Drawing Lessons. And for that reason, I’m going to keep this newsletter short and catch up on more news with you next month.

Congratulations to the winners of last month’s giveaways: Tara Brown, Ruth Thomas, Jana Leah Burkhardt, Catherine Lemanski, and Jane Coward.

Amy, my irreplaceable right hand, is always on top of things so I’m certain you have all heard from her by now. If not, please let us know.

And now for this month’s exciting giveaways! You will recognize these writers from their bestselling releases last year. Now they both have new novels out for us!

Giveaway #1 is for two ebooks of Camille di Maio’s brand new release, Before The Rain Falls.

Camille always dreamed of being a writer, and those dreams came true with her bestselling debut novel, The Memory of Us. She and her family have just completed an exciting move to live in historic Williamsburg, VA.

Connect with her at www.camilledimaio.com

From an Amazon reviewer: “5 Stars ~ A wonderful story with rich, well defined characters set in west Texas spanning 70 years with lots of twists and turns.”

Giveaway #2 is for two ebooks of Suzanne Kelman’s new novel, Rejected Writers Take The Stage (Southlea Bay Book Two).

This is the follow up to Suzanne’s debut novel, The Rejected Writers’ Book Club. An award-winning screenwriter, Suzanne was born and raised in the United Kingdom. She now lives in Washington State in her own version of Southlea Bay with her husband, Matthew; her son, Christopher; and a menagerie of rescued animals.

Connect with Suzanne at suzannekelmanauthor@blogspot.com

From an Amazon reviewer: “One terrific book to read, makes you laugh throughout the story. Just shows how a small community can bond together to help one another. Highly recommended reading for anyone.”

If you didn’t win in our giveaways last year for Camille’s and Susan’s debut novels, perhaps this will be your turn to do so! Good luck!

To have a chance to win, just send an email to patriciasandsauthor@gmail.com. Let us know which novel you would like or take a chance on winning both. You never know! It just may be your lucky day!

I hope you enjoy meeting authors who might be new to you and connecting with those you already follow. Savour their books, find out more about the writers and pass along their information to your friends. The best way to hear about a good book is by word of mouth from dedicated readers like you.

If you have time to write a short review, even better, and always appreciated. Good luck! Bonne chance!

And now, here’s a date to mark in your calendar! On July 18th, from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. EDT, I’m inviting you and your friends to our Women’s Fiction Fans (Facebook Group) Summer Party. Join me and Bette Lee Crosby, Ashley Farley, Grace Greene, Barbara Hinske, Andrea Hurst, Dete Meserve, Nancy Naigle, and Christine Nolfi.

We are having a bookclub theme and the winner of the grand prize will receive nine ebooks and a virtual visit to their bookclub from one of the nine of us. It will be great fun! We love visiting with bookclubs … and readers in general!

If the winner doesn’t belong to a club, then other friends can be invited to join in the visit.

Of course, there will be plenty of other prizes and surprises!

I hope to see you and your friends there! My time slot is 8 p.m. but I’m certain I’ll be watching everyone else’s visits to the party too. There are always a lot of good things going on when we all get together!

Thanks and mille mercis to everyone who has pre-ordered my new novel, Drawing Lessons. If you still haven’t, you can do so by clicking right here! I’m excited it will be ready for you in October. Poppies play an important part!

I’m going to sign off now and get back to finishing up the work on my proofread so I can send it back to my patient Amazon editor, Danielle Marshall. Then I can have more fun exploring with my BFFs this afternoon. They’ve gone into the village for coffee so I can finish my newsletter. True friendship!

Here’s the salad I had for lunch yesterday. It was scrumptious and I want to share it with you. So easy for any of us to make … just fresh greens, a round of chèvre (goat cheese – this one has poppy seeds on it but you can change that up), ripe figs, and raspberries. Just add a light vinaigrette and there you go!
Fresh baguette on the side, bien sûr!

Stay well, my friends, be kind to one another, read a lot and appreciate every single day. Profitez de tous les jours! I’m reminded on a regular basis that the best part of being an author is hearing from readers. I value the messages I receive from you. Thanks also for sharing my books with your friends and for the reviews you write. It’s all most appreciated and inspiring. See you next month!

Happy Canada Day and Fourth of July to all celebrating those holidays next week! I better get this June letter out before then!!!

Bon appétit et à bientôt!

P.S. If you would like to read some of my past newsletters, you can do so at this page on my website.

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April Newsletter

April 28, 2017 by Patricia Sands

If it’s Friday, it must be France …

Happy Friday to you! I’m doing last minute organizing and packing … as you will see below, we are off to the Côte d’Azur on Monday. And you know me … I couldn’t be happier!

So I’m posting the newsletter here that just went out yesterday. If you already received it, I hope you enjoy the photos again! It’s got all the news I want to share and … full disclosure … I’ve got to finish packing!

Fasten your seatbelt and prepare to take off with me on Monday. It will be magnifique over there and, if you like, I’ll be delighted to take you everywhere with me!

*****

APRIL NEWSLETTER

Bonjour!

Are you ready for some warm spring weather? I am! It really hasn’t reached Toronto yet, although we’ve had some nice sunshine. I’m ready to stop wearing a jacket! Bring on the sandals!

Hopefully this time next week I won’t be grumbling about the weather. We will have arrived in Antibes! As most of you know, this header shot is one of my favourite views of the town that stole my heart.

My husband and I have rented a quaint, restored fisherman’s cottage for 5 weeks in the vieille ville, a few minutes from the daily marché. Yes … that marché where Kat met Philippe.

I can’t wait to take you along with me! Stay tuned for photos.

This is one of the neighbouring streets that I’ll stroll to go to the market, and I promise to take you along many other charming streets just like it.

When I’m in France, I’ll share a new photo or short video every day on Instagram. Click here for the link to my gallery. Apart from sharing my photos, I love IG because of all the other amazing photography you find there from all over the world, and on just about every topic you can imagine. It’s a free app on your phone. If you enjoy photography in one way or another, check it out! Be sure to say hi to me if you do.

In my last newsletter, I mentioned I had completed the developmental edit for my new novel. Today I returned the copy edit to my editor at Lake Union, and now I wait for the proofread to come to me and the cover design. As you can see, it’s a lengthy process! But I love every bit of it and always learn something. Most importantly, it means we’re working hard to bring you books of the highest quality.
I hope to show you the cover in the next newsletter, before anyone else sees it.
What I can tell you now is the title ~ Drawing Lessons ~ I mentioned the story about the title in my last newsletter … and I give full credit to my husband!
Here is Amazon’s book description. You are seeing it before anyone else!
*****

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.
*****

After falling in love with all of my characters in the Love in Provence series, it was a challenge at first to get connected to an entirely new collection of personalities. That’s part of the fun of writing fiction! It didn’t take long before all of these characters became very special to me as the story unfolded and I got to know and love them! I think you will like them too!

This is one of the streets I often visualized as the characters were strolling in Arles, taking notes and sketching in their art journals.

Giveaway time! Today we have three! It’s fun to see how many of you enter the giveaways, so I’m thrilled to offer these great books to you this month. Good luck! Bonne chance!

Giveaway #1 ~ Janine Marsh’s memoir My Good Life in France is available for pre-order and will be published on May 4^th! She is offering two ebook copies here. As the creator of The Good Life France website and magazine, you’re no doubt very familiar with her. It’s quite a ride to read the story of how her adventure has unfolded. Here’s my blog post about it.

Connect with Janine here.

Giveaway #2 ~ Popular crime writer (25 books! Wow!), Diane Capri, is offering two ebooks of Wasted Justice, part of her best-selling Willa Carson series. It’s a mystery involving mothers and her readers love it. Diane says she “writes mystery, thriller and suspense for the same reason she reads: for fun, excitement, to find out what happens, why people do what they do, and how to bring justice to an unjust world.” Full of thrills and tension – but smart and human too.” —Lee Child , #1 World Wide Bestselling Author of Jack Reacher Thrillers

Connect with Diane at her website.

Giveaway #3 ~ Kay Bratt is the author of eleven full-length novels and two children’s books. She is offering one ebook and one print copy of her touching novel Wish Me Home. In her first work of contemporary women’s fiction, bestselling author Kay Bratt draws on her own life experiences to create a raw, yet inescapably warm, novel about friendship and a wary heart’s unexpected capacity to love. And there’s a dog!

“In this inspiring story of a woman’s search for the deepest wish of her heart, Bratt paints a realistic portrait of the dark side of the foster care system, while simultaneously reminding us that there is always hope, and that home and family can be found in unexpected places.” —Kerry Anne King, bestselling author of Closer Home and I Wish You Happy

Connect with Kay at her website.

For those of you who are new to the newsletter, all you have to do to enter our giveaways, is send an email to patriciasandsauthor@gmail.com and let us know which book you would like. Please indicate if you would like an ebook or print. This time we’re asking you to share with us whether you read novels on your phone or not. Don’t be shy to admit it … I do! (Practically all the time, thanks to this chaotic schedule I seem to keep!) I love having all my books with me whenever I want them.

Congratulations to last month’s winners: Jackie Tansky, Beverly Eanes, Linda Kish, Jane Pinder, Barbara Mitchell, Athena Kelly, and Margaret Bostock. I’m sure you’ve already heard from Amy and received your books.

I will be sending the audiobooks to Jackie and Beverly in the next day or two.

News Flash ~ The Bridge Club is discounted to $.99 until the end of June because of some marketing promotions. If you already have a copy, gift some to your friends!

As I mentioned last month, a few writers have organized another Meet The Author event in Nice on June 3. Here’s the information about the venue and I’ll put the other details on my FB page in a week or so. I’ll also let you know in my May newsletter. If you have any friends in the area, please share the info with them. It’s always an entertaining few hours and we’re making it even bigger and better than before! Allez!

I’m going to dash now as I’m off to visit with a book club this evening ~ one of my favourite things to do! Don’t forget to let me know if you would like to organize a chat with your book club ~ we can always do it through Skype or FaceTime ~ no matter where you are. Talking about books is always fun!

And, since I’m dashing I thought I would leave you with one of my favourite quickie recipes for entertaining. We all have left over cheese from time to time, oui? I’m popping this cheese photo in just because I like it … and I love this cheese … but, seriously, you can make this yummy treat with any kind of cheese and mixing a few together often is even more delicious! Just pick up a fresh baguette and you are good to go.

Make some Fromage Fort … and if you do, tell me how it worked for you. Click here for the recipe.

My next newsletter will be from Antibes and I’m excited to chat with you from there again!

Bon appétit et à bientôt!

P.S. If you would like to read some of my past newsletters, you can do so at this page on my website.

SEE YOU NEXT WEEK FROM ANTIBES ON THE DAZZLING COTE D’AZUR!

South of France Memories Tour 2019

Travel without packing or passports …

Sharing my post this week from Women Writers, Women’s Books FB page, on the importance of location in the novels I write. What are some of the favourite locations from books you have read?

Location! Location! Location!

Time to catch up!

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Love In Provence series

Sharing my post this week from Women Writers, Women’s Books FB page, on the importance of location in the novels I write. What are some of the favourite locations from books you have read?

Location! Location! Location!

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