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Patricia Sands

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loveahappyending.com

#3 is here ~ and it just keeps getting better!

January 24, 2014 by Patricia Sands Leave a Comment

If it’s Friday, it must be France …

Nice-PSandsPhotos
Nice-PSandsPhotos

It’s an honour to be part of the team that works together to bring you this FREE Loveahappyending Lifestyle Magazine (LLm) four times a year.  I’m sharing the link on my Friday France page for two reasons. One ~ today is publication day. Two ~ I’m thrilled to have some of my photos and a short love letter to Nice La Belle included in this issue! Come and join us … I’ve got some rosé chilling  just for you …

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Nice-PSandsPhotos

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There are tons of great articles, beautiful photography and just plain enjoyable information in the magazine to keep you turning the pages. Pour a beverage of choice, put your feet up and stay a while!

Kudos to Linn B. Halton for the amazing work she does to ensure this book is of the finest quality in every way, from content to layout to editing. A special thanks to our team member Anneli Purchase for editing and proofing this issue.

This WordPress page doesn’t allow me to upload the ezine here and I’m in the process of upgrading. So simply click on the link and you’ll have it.

http://issuu.com/llmlifestyle/docs/issue_3?e=8377918%2F6408538

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Filed Under: Blog, France, If it is France... Tagged With: Anneli Purchase, Linn B. Halton, LLm, loveahappyending lifestyle magazine, loveahappyending.com, Nice, Patricia Sands, photography, The Promise of Provence

Perfect for a relaxing read ~ LLm ezine

December 29, 2013 by Patricia Sands 6 Comments

Have you a moment  to find a comfy spot to settle in and read? Put your feet up. Relax.

Treat yourself to a look at the Lifestyle Ezine our LoveAHappyEnding.com authors New-grey-LLm-and-purple-Twitterpublish quarterly. Download it to your computer or favourite reading tablet and enjoy the fabulous photography and articles on just about every topic you can imagine:

Travel

Sport

Decorating

The Arts

Food, Wine and other Good Eats

Books

Health

Personalities, Life, Humour

… the list goes on and on. It’s great fun writing with this group and I guarantee you will be happy to know the Llm Ezine is at your fingertips any time. Editor Linn B. Halton is a magician at putting it all together.

Bonus: IT’S FREE! Christmas all over!

Click right here and Issues 1 and 2 will be yours ~ Issue 3 will be coming soon.

Have you read our ezine before or is this the first time? Feel free to pass the link on to others you know will enjoy it too. Got ideas for articles? We would love to hear them!

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Filed Under: Blog, News Tagged With: ezine, lahe, Linn B. Halton, loveahappyending lifestyle magazine, loveahappyending.com, Patricia Sands

Spring is coming and Harvey Black is here

March 18, 2013 by Patricia Sands Leave a Comment

19_12_5_thumbI’m mixing it up a bit this week on my blog. I think I have spring fever!

Winter is officially about to draw to a close as the vernal equinox is reportedly starting at 7:02 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, March 20th.  Like  many of us, I always feel excited about the arrival of Spring. I love the herald it brings of new beginnings as the tips of  bulbs and perennials poke through the soil and appear like dear friends arriving for a visit (I guess that’s the gardener in me …).

As something new here, yesterday I published a post from the blog Asymmetric Insights, which  I like to follow for personal reasons. The topics covered are not those I speak about here because, quite frankly, I’m fairly illiterate when it comes to discussing money matters and the financial state of the world. However the young blogger hosting this site writes about those issues in an intelligent and clear manner that I find extremely relatable. For anyone interested, I thought you might appreciate what he has to say. There is a lot of talk today about what happened in Cyprus. Perhaps we all need to take notice!

Following on today’s “new” theme, I am pleased to introduce you to British author Harvey Black who writes military thrillers. His most recent gripping story, The Red Effect, the first of a trilogy set in the Cold War years, is due for release in April.

When you have read this interview, click here to go to his detailed website for complete information on all of his intriguing and suspenseful novels about this extraordinary time in history.

Cold War 9 Harvey Black 039A qualified parachutist, Harvey served with British Army Intelligence for over ten years. His experience ranges from covert surveillance in Northern Ireland to operating in Communist East Berlin during the cold war, where he feared for his life after being dragged from his car and attacked by Russian KGB soldiers.

Since then he has lived a more sedate life in the private sector as a Director for an International Company, but now enjoys the pleasures of writing. Harvey is married with four children.

P.S.  What started you writing?

H.B.  I have wanted to write a novel since I was a teenager. Enthralled by Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, E.E. Doc Smith’s Lensmen series and Edgar Rice Burroughs, I felt sure my first would be of the SF genre. Joining the army changed all of that and my passion now is for military history. ‘Devils with Wings’, a military thriller, based around the adventures of two young Fallschirmjäger paratroopers during the early part of World War II, is a fictionalised adventure based on the famous assault on the impregnable Belgian fortress, Eben Emael.

P.S.  What makes your books special?

H.B. I try to visit the locations in person. For Devils with Wings: Silk Drop, I walked the routes,Berlin5 002 (1) up to 18 miles, in Crete, during the hottest part of the day, where my characters would have marched. Most of the descriptions in the novel, of what they can see, was written in situ. I have just finished the first of my Cold War trilogy of novels, The Red Effect. Having spent a number of years in British Army Intelligence during the Cold War years, I have a deep insight into the undercurrents and flashpoints that occurred between the Soviet Union and the West.

P.S.  What authors inspire you?

H.B. There are a number of authors I follow, ranging from Stephen Leather, Simon Scarrow, Bernard Corwall, Gerald Seymor to Ian Rankin. Since I have been writing my own novels, I have developed a close interest in newer authors, such as S.J.A.Turney and Stephen England. I am currently reading ‘Marias’ Mules’ IV.

P.S.  What is your plan going forward?

H.B.  There will be ten books in the ‘Devils with Wings’ series, Book 4, will be published towards the end of the year.  With The Red EffectRedEffect72dpi now finished, I will focus on Book 2, The Black Effect, where the confrontation between East and West continues.

P.S.  Will you do anything differently as the series progresses?

H.B. As I continue to write, a plan develops: more structure to my chapters in advance, greater focus on my characterisation and improving my dialogue, all key to keeping the story moving.

P.S.  Lessons learned so far?

H.B. Edit, edit, edit! Even when you have your editing done professionally, you still need to check your manuscript again and again.

Out in April, 2012! The Red Effect – In this panoramic novel, readers travel from centres of power to the front lines. A war is brewing and events are happening at every angle. Is the Cold War about to turn hot? Can NATO forces endure a mass strike by thousands of Soviet tanks? Can the West survive?

Harvey is a fellow author in the UK-based group, LoveAHappyEnding.com Lifestyle. Once again, Harvey Black’s website can be found here with detailed links to his extensive library, photographs and fascinating stories.

Thanks for stopping by today, dear readers, and I hope you are as delighted about the arrival of spring as I am. What’s new in your world? Are you a history buff? I remember the Cold War years very clearly. Do you?

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Filed Under: Author Promotion, Blog Tagged With: Asymmetric Insights, Harvey Black, Justin Anis, loveahappyending.com, Patricia Sands, The Red Effect

Meet Anneli Purchase!

July 9, 2012 by Patricia Sands 22 Comments

A few weeks ago I had a visit here from the talented Tele Aadsen, fisher person and writer, trolling the dangerously magnificent waters off the coast of Alaska.

Today I’m happy to introduce you to Anneli Purchase, a writer whose life these days also very much revolves around the ebb and flow of the ocean. A fellow Canadian, Anneli and her husband live on breathtaking Vancouver Island, a part of our country that is very dear to my heart.

My late parents loved living there for five years in the 1970’s and two of the women from my real-life Bridge Club are now settled fairly close to each other near the town of Comox. When my Bridge Club had a one-week reunion on the Island two years ago, I took my parents’ ashes with me and scattered them in the majestic Pacific from the shore of a ruggedly beautiful beach. Our family all agreed that would have pleased mom and dad, so we felt we had truly honoured them.

If I had known Anneli then, we might have had a chance to meet up for a chat. Next time!

To demonstrate, yet again, the fabulous global reach of the online writing community, Anneli and I met through a writers/readers’ group that originated in the U.K.

LoveAHappyEnding.com is the bright idea of British writer, Linn B. Halton and is now a strongly established literary community … with a tremendous knack for hilarity and having a good time, as well as serious writing and offering great support to each other!

On June 15th, they hosted their first literary event, A Summer Audience, in Tetbury to outstanding reviews. Although some of us were not there in person, our novels were on display. Anneli and I watched with pride along with other members of the group  from this side of the Atlantic.

P.S.  Welcome, Anneli! I’m delighted to have you here for a visit.

A.P. Thank you for having me as a guest on your blog, Patricia.

P.S. Let’s begin by talking about your novel, The Wind Weeps. One review states, ” This is a Canadian tale of love, betrayal, and triumph, told with gusto, humour, and bold insight.” What an intriguing story!  What prompted you to write this novel and how long did it take you?

A.P I’m a retired teacher, but in the summers I sometimes went along to deckhand with my husband on his salmon troller in the Queen Charlotte Islands. For me, fishing in waters that were anything but a glass pond was torture because I always got seasick in the slightest bit of rough water. Nausea aside, the experience of being a part of unspoiled nature is unforgettable. We were talking about the ups and downs of the fishing life, and all the colourful characters we’d met on the coast. I thought, “There’s a story in this,” and away I went scribbling down the outline of a story. Three years and many, many rewrites later, I finished “The Wind Weeps.”

P.S.  Please tell us about your life on Vancouver Island and your involvement with your husband’s work as a commercial fisherman. Your writing has such a strong environmental voice that brings the savage beauty of British Columbia vividly to life.

A.P. After a few summers of trying to fish in spite of my seasickness, my husband said to me one day, “You look awful. Why don’t you go home?” I guess he thought I would be as tough as he is and say, “Oh, no. I couldn’t leave you to do this all alone.” Instead I shocked him with a small, quavery, “Okay….” I became a landlubber and have only gone on boat trips closer to home, in the summer vacation spots around Vancouver Island. But even these “sissy” trips provided wonderful adventures and background for my stories.

P.S. I know you grew up in Peace Country in northern British Columbia. How would you define the differences between life there and on the coast of B.C.?

A.P. The Peace Country has a beauty of its own, but life there can be hard, especially in the winter. I loved it there, but I do like to be warm and I would miss the ocean if I moved back. Surviving in the harsh northern winters makes it necessary for people to care for each other. In the populated areas of southern BC people are more insular and shut themselves off with an “every man for himself” attitude, but you’ll find that as you travel up the lonely coast, and survival becomes an issue again, coastal characters are there for each other.

P.S. Are you working on any new projects at the moment?

A.P. I’m in the process of publishing a second book. Like The Wind Weeps, this one is a contemporary love story complicated by unexpected twists and by the characters’ undisclosed secrets. This novel is set in the remote areas of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula.

P.S. How has your perspective on writing changed since you became a published author? Is there something from your experience you might want to share with other writers?

A.P. Becoming a better writer is a continuous learning curve. Writing groups, critiquing groups, writing conferences, and workshops all have their place. If we pay attention to writing tips from the experts, we can always improve our own writing style. I’m glad I didn’t publish my first book as soon as I thought it was finished. The Wind Weeps is actually the third novel I’ve written. I feel good about what I’ve learned since writing my first unpublished novel. I’m now rewriting the first two and am pleased with how they are shaping up. I see too many poorly written books out there, especially, but not only, self-published books. That’s not to say, “Don’t self-publish.” I do believe it’s the way to go. But get yourself a good copy-editor!

Anneli, I wish you the best of luck with your new novel and look forward to more stories and photos from your life on beautiful Vancouver Island. I’ve also been meaning to tell you I think your name is simply lovely!

Here are all the links we need to connect with Anneli, order her books or send her messages. Take note she also is available as a copy editor. She’ll be delighted to hear from you!

Webpage: anneli-purchase.com

http://wordsfromanneli.wordpress.com

Amazon.com (paperback or Kindle): http://amzn.to/KpAB7G

Smashwords  (Kindle and other e-book formats): http://bit.ly/yPQvEP

Twitter: @anneli33

Facebook: facebook.com/anneli.purchase

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Filed Under: Author Promotion, Blog Tagged With: 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist, Anneli Purchase, ForeWord 2010 Book Of The Year Finalist, Indie Reader Discovery Awards Finalist 2012, loveahappyending.com, Patricia Sands, The Bridge Club, the power of friendship, The Wind Weeps, Vancouver Island, writing

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