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Patricia Sands

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the power of friendship

CHRISTMAS IN PARIS

December 30, 2011 by Patricia Sands

If it’s Friday, it must be France …

Joyeux Noël! Have you taken some time to enjoy beautiful light displays in your neighbourhood? Some of the set-ups around our place have been spectacular. Perhaps it’s to make up for the shortage of snow? It was definitely a green Christmas in the Toronto area this year although I’m happy to say it is snowing tonight. Finally!

Here’s a little history about Christmas lights. In 1882, the first Christmas tree was lit by the use of electricity. Edward Johnson was one of Thomas Edison’s muckers, an inventor who worked under his direction. He lit up a Christmas tree in New York City with eighty small electric light bulbs and created the first string of electric Christmas lights that were then mass produced around 1890. By 1900, department stores started using the new Christmas lights for their Christmas displays.  Johnson became vice-president of Edison’s electric company.

The use of lights for Christmas decorations is popular around the world. Our guest blogger today is going to take us on a stroll through Paris to look at the holiday displays there.

I’m really pleased to introduce you to the fabulous Nicole Basaraba,an adventurous  young Canadian blogger/writer, living in Brussels, Belgium at the moment. Nicole shares many of her travel experiences on her entertaining and informative blog Nicole Basaraba’s Uni-Verse-City. Make a point to stop by some time!

Growing up in Western Canada, Nicole Basaraba was always skipping to her own beat. Not being a hockey fan, having no skills in skiing or snowboarding, always being cold, and having never tasted maple syrup, she is what you might call a “bad” Canadian. Having studied some history in university and always dreaming of seeing Europe, Nicole moved to Brussels, Belgium to live, work and travel of course. She soon discovered that there is more to Belgium than just its delicious chocolate so she decided to stay in Europe for an undetermined period. Working in print publishing and website content management by day, she writes travel articles, book reviews and other lifestyle/culture articles about her fun and crazy experiences in Europe by night.

Here’s what Nicole has to tell us about Christmas in Paris:

If you haven’t been to Paris for Christmas, you’ll enjoy seeing some of the traditions there. Every town and village in France has a Christmas market and Paris is no exception.

When you think of Paris at night, the first thing that may come to mind is the Eiffel Tower glittering in the dark. At Christmas time, there are so many more lights to enchant you in this beautiful city.

The first place to start is the Champs Elysées. The entire boulevard is lined with trees decorated in dancing lights, blue, purple, green, red and orange. The trees sparkle with the light reflecting off the diamond-like strings of circles hanging from the branches.

While admiring the lights show, you can wander past all the booths lined up bearing Christmas goodies, food and gifts. Fresh meats, cheese, Gluhwein or vin chaud (warm mulled wine), delicious pastries, wooden games, stuffed animals, winter wear; there is sure to be something for everyone on your Christmas list.

The Champs Elysées, being one of the most popular areas for tourists, has the more commercial Christmas market. When it gets darker the area becomes even more enchanting with the purple lights.

If you want to see a Christmas market that is more reminiscent of the original German style, take the metro to La Défense and enjoy the over 350 chalets. In a small village on its own standing between the modern mirrored skyscrapers, it’s a clash of tradition and modernism that works so well together. The Christmas market in La Défense has more chalets, including many from around the world such as Canada and Germany.

Don’t forget to stop at Notre Dame to see the beautiful Christmas tree in the courtyard. It’s a great place to stand and enjoy the Christmas spirit as you snap photos.  I’m sure it would look stunning from a boat cruising along the Seine.

You can’t visit Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower. Whether you go to the top or not, you can admire it looking like the most glamorous tree you’ve ever seen.

 Thanks for that stroll past some of the Christmas lights in Paris, Nicole!  I’m looking forward to reading about more of your adventures and travels in Europe in 2012! Happy New Year to you!
Christmas markets in Paris and elsewhere in France have their origins in the northern Alsace region, which has belonged to Germany at various junctures in history and therefore draws on German Christmas market traditions stretching to as early as the 14th century. The most famous– and largest– marché de noël in France is in Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace.
Are there Christmas markets or something similar where you live? How about spectacular light displays?
Check this one out. The music is heard on a radio station and there is a box for donations to the local hospital.  Happy holidays!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45tPeUSi_8Q
My sincere thanks and a big holiday hug to each and every one of you for taking the time to visit my blog. Some of you I know and many I don’t, but your interest is so appreciated and very motivating. You can’t imagine how satisfying it is for bloggers to see the “clicks” on our site statistics continue to grow. Thank you, thank you! May 2012 bring the best of health and happiness to you and yours! MUWAH!

Filed Under: Blog, France, If it is France..., Photo blogs Tagged With: 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist, Brussels, Christmas in Paris, Christmas lights, ForeWord 2010 Book Of The Year Finalist, Georgetown ON, Happy New Year, lifelong friendship, Nicole Basaraba, Paris, Patricia Sands, The Bridge Club, the power of friendship, travel in France, Uni-Verse-CIty

WLC YEAR OF THE INDIE CELEBRATION

December 24, 2011 by Patricia Sands

Got some last minute gift purchases to make? Click here for a one-stop shopping solution and THE BRIDGE CLUB is part of it. Take a look! Happy shopping and I wish you all a joyful holiday!

The Year of the Indie Celebration
Begins TODAY! Dec 24-31
110 Authors! 110+ eBooks!
*Buy 3 Get 1 FREE

Filed Under: Blog, Contests Tagged With: 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist, facing problems, follow your dreams, ForeWord 2010 Book Of The Year Finalist, friendship, indie e-books, lifelong friendship, Melissa Foster, Patricia Sands, The Bridge Club, the power of friendship, WoMen's Literary Cafe

A warm welcome to Bonnie Trachtenberg

December 21, 2011 by Patricia Sands

Today I’m delighted to have author Bonnie Trachtenberg as a guest. We’ve become friends through our connections with the awe-mazing WoMen’s Literary Cafe and also the fabulous Love A Happy Ending, both of which are sites you should definitely visit as a writer or a reader.

 Here’s an idea of the type of woman she is. If you were having a bad day and wanted to call a truly reliable friend who would listen to you, give you good advice, and make you laugh … no matter what …then you would call Bonnie. She just has that way about her.

To quote from her website:

“Bonnie Trachtenberg graduated from New York University with a major in Film and Television Production. She promptly found a job on a B movie you never heard of. Four days later she retired from her film career after working the craft service truck and throwing her back out while attempting to lift a man-sized coffee urn.

Realizing she was meant to be a writer, Bonnie worked 4,749 crappy jobs (give or take) on two coasts before being published in a national magazine.”

See what I mean? She is hilarious! She went on from that not-so-illustrious beginning to write seven  children’s book adaptations, countless magazine and newspaper articles, and recently published her  award-winning novel Wedlocked.  All of her contact information can be found below and when you have finished reading her novel, be sure to let her know how much you enjoyed it. That kind of feedback means more to us writers than anything!

Before she shares some information with you, here’s just one of the many excellent reviews Wedlocked has received.  Oh, and by the way, you will laugh out loud when you read the story. I did!

“Wedlocked is a delight, filled with humor and heart. You’ll surely cheer as you follow Rebecca Ross’s trials and triumphs as she navigates her way to finding her true self—and true love—at last.”
—Francine LaSala, author of Rita Hayworth’s Shoes

Take it away, Bonnie!

7 Splendid Things You Should Know About Wedlocked: A Novel

by Bonnie Trachtenberg

  1. Wedlocked: A Novel is inspired by true events. In 1999, I had a brief, disastrous marriage, the events of which were so bizarre I knew they had to be turned into a book. Wedlocked, my debut novel, is the result. As difficult as that time in my life was, I was able to transform the unfortunate episode into an entertaining romantic comedy—my way of turning lemons in lemonade!
  2. The most unbelievable scenes in the book were not out of my imagination, they were taken from actual incidents. When I later conveyed the goings-on of my honeymoon to friends and family, I got used to seeing wide eyes and dropped jaws—another clue that convinced me the story lent itself to literature.
  3. Wedlocked was an award-winning finalist in USA Book News’ “BEST BOOKS OF 2011” (Women’s Lit/Chick Lit). It also made it onto Amazon’s Bestseller lists for Literary Fiction and Literature.
  4. I appear, phone in, or Skype in to book clubs who read my book in order to answer questions and talk about the story—as well as the story behind the story. I find that people are fascinated with determining the truth from the fiction and I am happy to oblige.
  5. Wedlocked’s biggest selling tool is word of mouth. I find this a huge compliment as it means that I’ve done my job well in creating a book that people not only enjoy, but enthusiastically recommend to friends, family and in their posted book reviews.
  6. Wedlocked is available in hardcover, softcover and ebook. You can now Kindle or Nook a copy for only 99cents. This is a limited promotion designed to encourage readers all over the world to familiarize themselves with my work and hopefully become fans!
  7. Wedlocked is available for sale at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Booksamillion.com and many other channels.

BIO:

Bonnie Trachtenberg is the award-winning, bestselling author of Wedlocked: A Novel. She was senior writer and copy chief at Book-of-the-Month Club and has written seven children’s book adaptations. She has also written for three newspapers and penned countless magazine articles. Trachtenberg lives on Long Island with her husband, four cats and a dog. Her second novel will be released in early 2012.

You can learn more about Bonnie and read her blog at: http://www.BonnieTrachtenberg.com.

Find her on Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/BonnieTrachtenberg and http://www.Facebook.com/Wedlocked

Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/writebrainedny

Buy Wedlocked on Amazon:

http://ning.it/qC1y2V

Buy Wedlocked on Amazon UK

http://ning.it/sEStFV

Buy Wedlocked at Barnes and Noble

http://ning.it/pPRGvC

You know from my tagline, I always say everyone has a story. Some are more unbelievable than others and it takes a strong character to turn some of life’s personal disasters into entertaining tales. There isn’t always humour to be found in many experiences but whether the situations have been good or bad, there are always lessons to be learned. How do you feel your story is going? May the next chapter be the best yet!

Filed Under: Author Promotion, Blog Tagged With: 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist, Bonnie Trachtenberg, divorce, ForeWord 2010 Book Of The Year Finalist, Italy, marriage, Patricia Sands, The Bridge Club, the power of friendship, the value of laughter, Tuscany, Wedlocked

A holiday gift for every one of you

December 15, 2011 by Patricia Sands

 No matter what holiday you celebrate at this time of year, this is a gift that has all sorts of great tips to get you through the season doing happy dances. You might even discover a new idea or a solution to some niggling dilemma! Hurry … take a look and then hit download … it’s FREE!

Free eBook: Girlfriendology Guide to Holiday Girlfriend Advice

I was delighted when the fabulous Debba Haupert, girlfriend extraordinaire and founder of the amazing Girlfriendology  website invited me to be part of this Holiday guide. My contribution can be found on page 17!
With a family the size of mine, I’m sure you can imagine what I’m talking about!
I’m super excited to share this 80-page gift from Girlfriendology where you’ll find everything from gift ideas to financial advice to traditions to baking tips and much, much more …  *stopping to catch my breath* … it’s just jam-packed with all sorts of information and ideas we girlfriends love to share!  It’s beautifully presented and you can give it away to all of your friends! Bonus!All you have to do to download the book is click on the link below!

Download the FREE Girlfriendology Guide to Holiday Girlfriend Advice eBook

Which holiday does your family celebrate? Is there a tip you would like to share? Feel free to add it here!

Filed Under: Author Promotion, Blog Tagged With: 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist, Christmas, Debba Haupert, follow your dreams, ForeWord 2010 Book Of The Year Finalist, free e-book, Girlfriendology, girlfriends, Hannukah, holiday tips, lifelong friendship, Patricia Sands, The Bridge Club, the power of friendship, Women

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