Patricia Sands

Author

Promises To Keep

January 6th ~ Epiphany ~ la fête des rois in France

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January 5, 2025

Happy New Year … now Eat cake like a king!

January 6 is the official date of Epiphany, when this celebration occurs. However, many people in France this year would have taken advantage of the nearest Sunday to serve their King’s Cake. This date is said to be the day that the three kings (or magi) visited baby Jesus in Bethlehem. It is the end of the 12 days of Christmas, being 12 days after the 25th December.

If you are in France (or Louisiana, hello N’awlins!), it’s again time to celebrate  … oui …  bien sûr … more food! Don’t you love it? It’s the French way! This time it’s all about a rich, almond cream (frangipane) enveloped by layers of light, flaky pastry (feuilleté).

Another joyful opportunity to bring friends and family around the table to share La Galette des Rois/The Kings’ Cake, takes place on the first Sunday of January or January 6th and recognizes Epiphany, the arrival of the three wise men (Magis). The history of this special pastry can be  traced to Roman times.

If you read my Love in Provence series, Kat first finds out about the tradition in Book #2, Promises to Keep. 

During the French Revolution, the name was replaced with ‘Gâteau de l’Égalité’ (equality cake), as the word ‘king’ was a little out of fashion!

It’s so popular, many patisseries make the scrumptious cake through the entire month of January.

The cake is cut in the specific number of slices for the people present, with one extra symbolic slice for the first poor person passing by. The youngest child  (or the most innocent adult, if no children are present, which can result in great hilarity) goes under the table and calls out who will receive each slice to ensure fair distribution. The greatest excitement comes when one person discovers la fève (a lucky charm) hidden in a single slice. Just don’t accidentally bit down on it … they’re usually a small porcelain or plastic trinket!

This really is a lot of fun and a joyful time to celebrate with family and friends.

Bon appétit!

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Click here to read an excellent account of the history and traditions of this special fête by my friend, Margo Lestz.

Happy New Year everyone! May 2026 bring you and your loved ones the best of health of happiness … peace in the world would be nice too. We can only keep hoping.

I’ve been so pleased with the response to my new novel, THE FRENCH EFFECT. If you haven’t read it yet, here is the link to all the platforms where you can purchase it…either ebook or print. I’m excited to announce that the audiobook will be out in February.

Just one week left!

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Happy left over whatever day to all those who have been celebrating American Thanksgiving. We used to simply say left over turkey day but the times have certainly changed and I wonder what the percentage of turkey dinner for Thanksgiving is in 2023. There must be a statistic somewhere.

Whatever was on the table where you dined yesterday, I trust this special holiday has left many happy memories for you.

To make it easy for you, here are the links:

Promises To Keep, Book Two

I Promise You This, Book Three

And did you also know that when you finish these three books you can dive into the Villa des Violettes series? These stories are all about Kat and her family and friends and were written because so many readers wanted to know more about them and how their lives are progressing. I am so thankful for the motivation to write these books and spend more time with the characters that I love too!

I am waiting for my editor to return the manuscript for Book 4 ~ Deck The Halls at the Villa des Violettes. Coming soon!

Don’t over eat and enjoy the rest of this weekend of Thanksgiving. I’m so thankful for all of you and the wonderful books that unite us through good times and bad!

Happy reading! Bonne lecture!

Six more days!

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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 ~ Joyeuse Saint Valentin

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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