Patricia Sands

Author

The Promise of Provence

A January Giveaway and a September Suggestion

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Happy New Year! The Bridge Club is one of the great fiction reads in this January’s Booksweeps giveaway along with some of my friends Michelle Cox, Jan Moran, Suzanne Kelman and Tara Ross, among others.

TWO lucky winners will each collect a 45-book pack of literary, historical and book club fiction great reads PLUS an eReader!

Just click here to enter. Good luck to all!

I’m happy to remind you that The Promise of Provence (Book 1 in the Love in Provence trilogy) is an Amazon Kindle Deal for all of January! I was SO excited when I received the email from Amazon’s marketing division letting me know this was one of their chosen books for the month. It’s been a while since it was on sale, so if you have not read it now’s your chance. And if you own this book, these sales are always a great opportunity to gift it to friends. Help them get started on Katherine’s adventure in Provence. I love telling her story about discovering it’s never to late to begin a new chapter in your life. Here’s the link.

While we’re talking about the Provence trilogy, I want to let you know that there are just three spots left on our September South of France Memories tour. Are you coming? I know you want to! And we would love to have you. Click here for all the details.

The first week of the tour we stay in the best location in Nice, right on the Mediterranean and a two-minute stroll to the heart of the old town. In short day trips we visit so many of the beautiful towns and villages you read about in The Promise of Provence, Promises to Keep and I Promise You This. Will we see Philippe at the market? It’s a question we are asked every year!

As an added bonus in 2023, we have managed to include a stop at the 2000-year-old Roman monument, Trophée des Alpes, featured in my latest novel The Secrets We Hide … also on sale, BTW!

After six days, we travel by private coach to Aix-en-Provence to catch the market and an unforgettable Cezanne tour before we continue on to the ancient and intriguing town of Arles, the setting for Drawing Lessons and our home for this second week. Roman ruins, the spirit of Vincent van Gogh, and the unique attractions of the nearby Camargue fill our days.

Click here to see all the details and discover how to grab those last few spots with your bestie, sister, book club or come on your own and still have a great time. That’s what happens every year and we love seeing women become such lifelong friends!

I hope your new year is off to a good beginning and you have been safe from the extreme weather in some parts of the world.

Good luck with the giveaway and happy reading!

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

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Happy New Year … now Eat cake like a king!

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? 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!

Bon appétit!

canstockphoto12196982

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

On another topic, I’m excited to let you know that our Sail Away series has launched! The prequel book Welcome Aboard is FREE and contains the prologue to each of the eight stories to follow! All the books are available to preorder! Just click here.

To celebrate the launch of the series, we have a fabulous giveaway. I hope you will join in the fun and wish you good luck! Here’s the link to enter.

Before I say au revoir for now, here’s more good news to start the year off right! Amazon let me know they have placed The Promise of Provence on sale for $1.99 for the month of January! If you already have your copy, now is a great time to pick up some for friends! Happy shopping!

Happy New Year! Bonne Année! I hope 2023 is off to a good start for you. Our hearts are with people struggling in so many places around the world either through war or weather. We hope for better days for all. At all times donations may be made to the Red Cross. Every little bit helps so we can all do our share.

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.

La Fête des Rois today ~ Cabin Fever Event on Saturday ~ two great reasons to celebrate!

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If you are in France, it’s again time to celebrate  … oui …  bien sûr … more food! Don’t you love it? 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). This special pastry’s history can be  traced to Roman times.

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.

Bon appétit!

canstockphoto12196982

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

If you are celebrating this day anywhere else in the world where there are French-speakers and Francophiles…. Quebec? N’Awlins? and want to experience this tradition for yourself, check your local bakery for une galette or consider ordering online at websites like this one ~ The French Delights.

You’ll find all the beloved characters of my Love in Provence series enjoying their Galette des Rois today … and all three ebooks are on sale for .99 ( I know!) through January. If you haven’t immersed yourself in this series, now is the time! Or gift them to your friends! This link to The Promise of Provence will take you to all three bestselling novels! Happy reading too!

Join us in Blue Sky Book Chat (Facebook) on Saturday, January 8th, ALL DAY for our Cabin Fever event. Over 50 guest authors from all genres will be with our author team to offer fabulous giveaways …books, swag, chat! Connect with some favourites and meet new authors to you. It’s a party! Apart from entering for individual prizes, one Grand Prize will be randomly awarded from commenters. Check out the graphic below and see which prize you would choose! See you there! On y va! Bonne chance!