Author
Promises to Keep amzn.to/2Sp8e68
I Promise You This amzn.to/2SgQud9
Katherine Price’s adventure in the south of France continues. Is it too late to change your life and recover your joie de vivre in your 50’s? Never say never!
All of these books were written while I was spending time in France in the locations you visit in the story. Let me take you there! No passports or packing required … just pure pleasure.
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.
Happy Valentine’s Day! Treat yourself or your sweetheart to a heartwarming story about love and be transported to the south of France. No packing, no passport, pure pleasure!
Click here to order https://amzn.to/2THbVp6
This past month, with Canadian Thanksgiving and all the good things that are part of it, has been one big festival of gratitude and today I’m adding this post to the celebration.
First of all, I’m thankful to every person who purchased my novels and shared them with friends and those who took the time to write a review. Without your purchases and reviews, Amazon might not have become aware of what I was writing. There are a lot of authors to look at out there. In fact, statistics say there are between 600,000 and 1,000,000 books published yearly in North America alone. Yikes.
This month I’m grateful beyond words for Amazon’s relaunch of The Promise of Provence and Promises To Keep. The story that turned into the Love in Provence series thanks to the enthusiastic support of so many readers and requests for more of Katherine’s ‘mid-life coming of age’ journey.
Thanks to the amazing team at #LakeUnionPublishing, led by Senior Acquisitions Editor, Danielle Marshall, for their priceless support and to all the avid readers who keep me inspired ! Book 3, I Promise You This, will be published Spring 2016. The last round of edits has been completed and I’m thankful for the guidance of my superb developmental editor, Amara Holstein. Katherine’s journey continues!
As an indie author, I’ve been fortunate to reach a good number of readers 
and they have proven to be inspiring and ardent. Thank you to each and every one of you. I keep repeating that hearing from readers is the best reward for a writer! I’m constantly surprised and amazed at the personal and meaningful messages I receive along with simple “I loved the story” emails. Each one is special and I know I speak for my fellow authors when I express this: Writers love hearing from readers.
The other side of being an indie author is the endless support and collegiality that writers offer each other. Self-publishing is hard work: researching and writing the book, working with professional editors and proofreaders, and choosing cover designers is just the beginning. Books will not sell without marketing and promotion to spread the word. Did I mention it was hard work?
Thank goodness for the community of indie authors, professional editors, technical experts, virtual assistants, author service providers, book promoting websites, bloggers and reviewers who offer each other endless assistance and share information so openly.
Through Amazon I look forward to having my books in front of many more readers than I could ever hope to reach on my own. Thanks to Amazon’s amazing marketing people, I will have more time to write novels.
Yes, there is so much to be thankful for. I hope you feel the same with your life.
