Patricia Sands

Author

The Promise of Provence

Weekly Photo Challenge: STREET LIFE

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If it’s Friday, it must be France …

La Vieille Ville-Nice

 

Yay! It’s another Daily Post weekly photo challenge. This is actually last week’s theme, but I couldn’t resist it for today’s post. Some weeks there just isn’t enough time to dive into my photo albums but, when there is, you know how I love to share my photos of France.  Come on along and check out some typical “Street Life” in a few of my favourite spots on the Côte d’Azur.

Part of the fun is checking out other photo blogs! 

http://beautyalongtheroad.wordpress.com/2014/04/01/a-slice-of-scottish-streetlife/

http://theurgetowander.com/2014/04/01/les-rues-de-paris/

http://mondasiregar.com/2014/04/01/weekly-photo-challenge-street-life/

http://williamsdavid.me/2014/04/01/weekly-photo-challenge-street-life-reflections-of/

http://quotidianhudsonriver.com/2014/03/28/3-28-14-weekly-travel-theme-street-life/

http://gideonquick.wordpress.com/2014/04/01/weekly-photo-challenge-street-life/

http://maulzxxx.wordpress.com/2014/04/02/indonesian-weekly-photo-challenge-street-life/

http://quotidianhudsonriver.com/2014/03/29/3-29-14-weekly-photo-challenge-street-life-a-water-view/

http://sherrimatthewsblog.com/2014/04/01/wpc-the-streets-of-old-city-dubrovnik-croatia/

http://rjbailey.wordpress.com/2014/04/01/weekly-photo-challenge-street-life-and-some-excitement/

Take some time to wander your neighbourhood streets to see what’s going on!

Bon weekend tout le monde!

 

France Book Tours – My Wish List

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My Wish List banner

If it’s Friday, it must be France …

Oh, this has been SO much fun for me!

Once I’m on the homestretch with a manuscript I’m writing, there’s barely enough time to read my own work let alone other books. That’s the case at the moment as I complete the first draft of my next novel, a sequel to The Promise of Provence, in response to tremendous reader response.

When my online friend Emma, who organizes the exceptional France Book Tours, approached me about participating in this blog tour, she knew I was deep in my own writing cave. She also knew this was a book I would love to read … and not simply because it is set in France. She was right!

My review is going to be short and sweet as I would not want to give away anything more than is included in the synopsis. I’m so glad I took the time to read this delightful novel (really a novella length) and I hope you will read it too. Well-written and fast-paced, you will fall in love with unassuming Jocelyne Guerbette from the beginning of the book. Not only does the story contain well-developed characters and unexpected twists, it also encourages us to examine our values and consider what truly matters in life. Not a literary tour de force, this is a compelling and quick read and I could not put it down!

The author has offered to give away a print or ebook to residents in the US and Canada. If you would like to try and be the winner (it’s our own little lottery draw!), simply leave a comment below. All the names will go into random.org selection software and I’ll announce the lucky winner on my blog next Friday, March 29th. Good luck!

SYNOPSIS

 A cathartic, charmingly tender, assuredly irresistible novel, MY WISH LIST imagines one answer to the question: If you won the lottery, would you trade your life for the life of your dreams? With sales of more than half a million copies in France alone, rights sold in twenty-five countries, and a major motion picture in development, this slim yet spirited tale has sewn up the interest of the literary world.

Jocelyne Guerbette is a forty-seven year old who runs a modest fabric shop in a nondescript provincial French town. Her husband—instead of dreaming of her—wants nothing more in life than a flat-screen TV and the complete James Bond DVD box set. And to Jocelyne’s two grown-up children, who live far from home, she’s become nothing but an obligatory phone call. Perpetually wondering what has happened to all the dreams she had when she was younger, Jocelyne finally comes to terms with the series of ordinary defeats and small lies that seem to make up her life.

But then Jocelyne wins the lottery: $25,500,000! And suddenly she finds the world at her fingertips. But before cashing the check, before telling a soul, she starts making a list of all the things she could do with the money. While evaluating the small pleasures in life—her friendship with  the twins who manage the hairdresser next door, her holidays away, her sewing blog that’s gaining popularity—she begins to think that the everyday ordinary may not be so bad. Does she really want her life to change?

My Wish List cover

MY WISH LIST is an essential reminder of the often-overlooked joys of everyday life and a celebration of the daily rituals, serendipities, and small acts of love that make life quietly wonderful. (Provided by the publisher –  Penguin  ISBN: 9780143124658  $15.00)

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Release date: March 25, 2014
at Viking and Penguin Books ISBN-13: 978-0143124658
176 pages

“A runaway bestseller that looks set to follow the success of The Elegance of the Hedgehog.” — Elle (France)

 “Delacourt has hit the jackpot… [He has a] knack for finding exactly the right words and for evoking feeling” — Le Nouvel Observateur

 “Delacourt has a keen eye for everyday life and for the extraordinary challenges that ordinary people face” — Le Parisien

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Grégoire Delacourt was born in Valenciennes, France, in 1960. His first Grégoire Delacourtnovel,L’Écrivain de la Famille, was published in 2011 and won five literary prizes. MY WISH LIST has been a runaway number-one bestseller in France; publication rights have been sold in more than twenty-five countries. Delacourt lives in Paris, where he runs an advertising agency with his wife.

See more on his French website: Grégoire Delacourt
Follow him on Facebook  | Goodreads
I am SO glad Emma asked me to read this entertaining and thought-provoking story. I mean … let’s be honest … who among us has not fantasized at one time or another about winning a lottery … I know I have!  I urge you to read My Wish List. You will be glad you did! 

Got an hour? It’s worth it!

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If it’s Friday, it must be France …

Nice-PSandsPhotos
Nice-PSandsPhotos

I’m deep in my writing cave with some self-imposed deadlines, but I simply could not miss sharing this wonderful video with you.  I discovered it thanks to the über-magnifique Ida Young-Bondi, french instructor extraordinaire and founder of the E-French Café.

The French Riviera: A History of Pictures is a series produced by the BBC.  Richard E Grant follows in the footsteps of artists who have lived, loved and painted on France’s Cote d’Azur. Enjoy Part 1 here!

A glass or two of wine would be a fine accompaniment and be sure to put this on full screen.

Part 2 is also available on YouTube, when you have the time! Bon weekend!

BEAUTY OF A WOMAN 2014~Hear us ROAR!

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It’s that time of year again! The fabulous August McLaughlin, had an idea three years ago that continues to blossom … just like a woman! It’s the Beauty of a Woman BlogFest. Everyone who joins in the celebration, blogs on the same day about aspects of beauty we women share. All the links are on August’s blog so click here to get right on over and check them out. The more explicit #Girl Boner edition is featured first and the original version for posts like mine begins Feb. 27th.Closeup decorative grunge vintage woman with beautiful long hair In 2012, I mused about how it feels to be getting older and the joys of being a grandparent. Let’s face it, you have to be old to get there! Last year I shared a treasured book, She Walks In Beauty, and Lord Byron’s exquisite poem. When I considered how I would celebrate this year’s theme, a very familiar song kept playing in my mind. I had turned 30 the year this hit the charts and, as Bob Dylan sang, “the times they were a-changing”. They had been for a decade. So let me take you back to 1975. (I know, I know … a lot of you weren’t even born then!) helen-sizedThe United Nations had declared it to be InternationaL Women’s Year (IWY)  with Helen Reddy‘s song, I Am Woman, as the theme. This was an empowering time for women with Gloria Steinem, Betty Frieden and other groundbreakers leading the way. Women’s liberation was a hot topic as feminists spoke out, demonstrated and lobbied governments. In the United States, the focus was on the success of the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, state by state. It’s hard to believe that to this very day it still has not been ratified!  Visit this site for the complete history and advice as to how you can add your voice to this cause. Take a minute to watch this video clip. Let me know if you realized this was the situation. I didn’t know! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxHLnQZLq20 Unbelievable. Every year since 1975, March 8th has been recognized as International Women’s Day. Have you marked it on your calendar? I’ll wait while you do … no worries … I hope you will take a stand for the ERA on that day. Let’s continue to show what a beautiful anthem can be heard when women raise their voices as one! And now,  get your disco clothes out of that storage box, call up your BFFs, and celebrate the beauty of women everywhere! Make it loud! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUBnxqEVKlk As I researched what I wanted to share in this post, I came across this interview and helen-reddy-picture_612x817… to be honest … it caused me to wipe a few tears and then cheer. I discovered that today, at age 73, Helen Reddy continues to exemplify the beauty of a woman. Please take seven minutes and 14 seconds to watch this video. I have a feeling you will see what I mean and agree. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP-Zb5HoPjM It’s what we’re talking about. Choose to be yourself and be proud of your choice! Erm … update … I had lunch with my friend Evelyn Hannon today (she’s the fabulousJourneywoman and you should subscribe to her newsletter … okay, that’s another story )… anyway, she told me that coincidentally she had also been talking about I Am Woman and someone told her Helen was performing in Las Vegas this month! I just checked it out and sure enough … see here. I guess they made her an offer she couldn’t refuse and she decided to take a break from her quiet life, after all. Choices, people, that’s what it’s all about! Here are the lyrics, in case you get the urge to sing along! The meaning is every bit as strong today as it was 40 years ago. I Am Woman I am woman, hear me roar In numbers too big to ignore And I know too much to go back an’ pretend ’cause I’ve heard it all before And I’ve been down there on the floor No one’s ever gonna keep me down again CHORUS Oh yes I am wise But it’s wisdom born of pain Yes, I’ve paid the price But look how much I gained If I have to, I can do anything I am strong (strong) I am invincible (invincible) I am woman You can bend but never break me ’cause it only serves to make me More determined to achieve my final goal And I come back even stronger Not a novice any longer ’cause you’ve deepened the conviction in my soul CHORUS I am woman watch me grow See me standing toe to toe As I spread my lovin’ arms across the land But I’m still an embryo With a long long way to go Until I make my brother understand Oh yes I am wise But it’s wisdom born of pain Yes, I’ve paid the price But look how much I gained If I have to I can face anything I am strong (strong) I am invincible (invincible) I am woman Oh, I am woman I am invincible I am strong FADE I am woman I am invincible I am strong I am woman Transcribed by Robin Hood with help from Maid Marian -Artist: Helen Reddy from “Helen Reddy’s Greatest Hits”: EMI ST 11467 -peak Billboard position # 1 for 1 week in 1972 -Words and Music by Helen Reddy and Ray Burton These lyrics were transcribed from the specific recording mentioned above and do not necessarily correspond with lyrics from other recordings, sheet music, songbooks or lyrics printed on album jackets. ROAR!!!! Now hop on over to August’s blog and feast on the other posts!