writing

It’s June already and this newsletter was hot off the press last week. I squeaked it out just in time!

Every once in a while I post a copy of my monthly newsletter here on my blog. If you already subscribe, then you’ve seen it and there’s nothing new here. If you would like to subscribe, just click on the link in the right column of this page. I’m still learning how to deal with the WordPress changes to setting up posts, so I apologize for the disparity in the size of some photos. I’ll keep working at it!

With almost 5,000 subscribers, I want to say thank you to all of you who enjoy my news and enter the great giveaways from my author friends. Now I have to begin thinking about the one for June! Bon weekend!

Newsletter #68                                                                       May 28, 2019

Bonjour

How are things in your neighbourhood? I’m happy to report that today we have windows and patio doors open with joyful birdsong wafting in. And I would say it is about time, Toronto!

Wisteria is just beginning to bloom here, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to share these photos from visits to France at this time of year

Do you have wisteria growing in your garden or neighbourhood? Send me a photo if you do! I know it is prolific in some of the southern States.

Ta-daaaaaaa ~ Here’s a cover reveal we released last week of Book Two in the Villa des Violettes series. We have a few small details to finalize and then the book will be published! Stay tuned!

We’re all very happy with this new cover! The same talented artists who created the cover art for Book One, Donna Fedele and Clare Strohman, transformed the winter look into a glorious spring profusion.

In this new story, Molly refers to the explosion of purple blooms around the door of the Villa des Violettes as wisteria hysteria. It’s quite fitting, isn’t it? And yes, Molly comes to visit Kat and Philippe!  I’m pleased to announce the book will be out in just a couple of weeks.

The photo below, with cover artists Clare and Donna, was taken on our South of France Memories Tour last September … and no, we did not colour co-ordinate!

While we’re waiting for my new release, I’m happy to let you know that Amazon is offering each of the Love in Provence ebooks at a special June rate of $.99 US. NOTE:  JUNE 1 TO JUNE 30. If you already have your copies, that will be a great time to gift some to your friends. It’s so easy … just click on the “Give as a gift” link on the buy page! Instant gift shopping solved.  

The past couple of months I’ve been busy with edits and rewrites, but there’s also been an exciting change with our Women’s Fiction Fans group. As many of you may have already discovered, the name of our book loving community is now Blue Sky Book Chat and we are bigger and better than ever.

Part of the reason we changed the format of our page was to let readers have the option to post comments about books they like or other topics. In the past, only we authors could post to you and we wanted to give all members the same opportunity. We look forward to conversations with you about literature, laughter and life! The month of June is going to see thirty days of giveaways and other prizes to celebrate our new community. Tag a few friends and join us! Just click right here!

Speaking of books, here are this month’s giveaways. As usual, there’s an excellent selection and I wish you good luck with the draws.

Giveaway #1 ~ Lisa Barr has a new release coming next week and I couldn’t be more excited about it. THE UNBREAKABLES is set in Chicago and Paris as well as the south of France (no wonder it caught my attention!).  Lisa is offering two ebooks and if you don’t know her, you definitely should!

Along with writing novels, Lisa is also the editor and creator of the popular parenting blog GIRLilla Warfare: A Mom’s Guide to Surviving the Suburban Jungle.
Lisa has served as an editor for The Jerusalem Post, managing editor of Today’s Chicago Woman, managing editor of Moment magazine, and as an editor/reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times. Among the highlights of her career, Lisa covered the famous “handshake” between the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the late PLO leader Yasser Arafat, and President Bill Clinton at the White House in 1993.
She lives in the Chicago area with her husband and three teenage daughters.

Connect with Lisa here.

Here’s the blurb: The worst birthday ever might just be the gift of a lifetime….
It’s Sophie Bloom’s forty-second birthday, and she’s ready for a night of celebration with Gabe, her longtime, devoted husband, and her two besties and their spouses. Dinner is served with a side of delicious gossip, including which North Grove residents were caught with their pants down on Ashley Madison after the secret online dating site for married couples was hacked. Thirty-two million cheaters worldwide have been exposed … including Sophie’s “perfect” husband. To add insult to injury, she learns Gabe is the top cheater in their town.

Humiliated and directionless, Sophie jumps into the unknown and flees to France to meet up with her teenage daughter who is studying abroad and nursing her own heartbreak. After a brief visit to Paris, Sophie heads out to the artist enclave of Saint-Paul-de-Vence. There, for the first time in a long time, Sophie acknowledges her own desires—not her husband’s, not her daughter’s—and rediscovers with painful honesty and humor her essence as she reawakens both her sensuality and her ambitions as a sculptor.

As she sheds her past and travels the obstacle-filled off the beaten path, Sophie Bloom is determined to blossom.

Allowing her true self to emerge in the postcard beauty of Provence, Sophie must decide what is broken forever … and what it means to be truly unbreakable. (FYI – it’s described as a steamy beach read, and it is in parts … oh là là … but more than this, it is a well-written story about family, forgiveness and starting over).

Giveaway #2 ~ Bette Lee Crosby, a sister Lake Union Author and good friend, is offering one signed copy of her exciting new release, EMILY, GONE.

With 20 published novels, Bette Lee really needs no introduction to readers around the world and she has offered giveaways here before. It is the wit and wisdom of her Southern Mama Crosby that she brings to her works of fiction. The result is a delightful blend of humor, mystery and romance along with a cast of quirky charters who will steal your heart away. Bette is a sister Lake Union Author and I love all of her novels. She lives in south Florida with her husband, Dick, and her sweet Bichon, Sugar.

You can connect with Bette here.

Here’s the blurb:  A missing child sets the lives of three women on a collision course in this powerful and compelling novel by USA Todaybestselling author Bette Lee Crosby.

1971 – When a music festival rolls through the sleepy town of Hesterville, Georgia, the Dixon family’s lives are forever changed. On the final night, a storm muffles the sound of the blaring music, and Rachel tucks her baby into bed before falling into a deep sleep. So deep, she doesn’t hear the kitchen door opening. When she and her husband wake up in the morning, the crib is empty. Emily is gone.

Vicki Robart is one of the thousands at the festival, but she’s not feeling the music. She’s feeling the emptiness over the loss of her own baby several months before. When she leaves the festival and is faced with an opportunity to fill that void, she is driven to an act of desperation that will forever bind the lives of three women.
When the truth of what actually happened that fateful night is finally exposed, shattering the lives they’ve built, will they be able to pick up the pieces to put their families back together again?

Giveaway #3 ~ BEAUTIFUL STRANGERS is Camille di Maio’s newest release and she is offering two ebooks. Also from a sister Lake Union author! Award-winning writer, Camille Di Maio has lived in Texas, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and California, and spends enough time in Hawaii to feel like a local. She’s traveled to four continents (so far), and met Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II. She just about fainted when she had a chance to meet her musical idol, Paul McCartney, too. Now she lives in historic Williamsburg, Virginia with her husband and four children.

You can connect with Camille here.

Here’s the blurb: A legendary hotel on the Pacific becomes a haven where dreams, love, and a beguiling mystery come alive.
1958. Kate Morgan, tethered to her family’s failing San Francisco restaurant, is looking for an escape. She gets her chance by honoring a cryptic plea from her grandfather: find the beautiful stranger. The search takes her to Hotel del Coronado, the beachfront landmark on the Southern California coast where filming is underway on the movie Some Like It Hot.
For a movie lover like Kate, it’s a fantasy come true. So is the offer of a position at the glamorous hotel. And a new romance is making her heart beat just as fast. But as sure as she is that Coronado is her future, Kate discovers it’s also where the ghosts of the past have come to stay. Sixty years ago a guest died tragically, and she still haunts the hotel’s halls.
As the lives of two women—generations apart—intertwine, Kate’s courageous journey could change more than she ever imagined. And with Coronado wending its way through her soul, she must follow her dreams…wherever they may lead.

Congratulations to last month’s winners:  Ola Norman, Donna Neale, Andrea Stoeckel, Susanne Nadeau, Bev Farningham, Agnes Zelgert.

As always, send your entry for these giveaways to patriciasandsauthor@gmail.com. Names will be chosen randomly using random.org. This time we are curious to know what is growing in your garden right now. Finally, we have spring bulbs blooming everywhere in Toronto … it’s been a long time coming!

It’s a pleasure to offer these giveaways from my writing friends. Thanks for the great response each month. I’m glad you appreciate the opportunities and are so keen to enter. In case you wonder, we read every single one of your entries and appreciate them! I hope you enjoy meeting authors who might be new to you, and connecting with those you already follow. Savor their books, find out more about the writers and pass along their information to your friends.



The best way to hear about a good book is by word of mouth from dedicated readers like you. If you have time to write a short review, even better, and always appreciated.

This has nothing to do with books, but I couldn’t help mentioning it. Are you an NBA basketball fan? Toronto is recovering after a very noisy weekend celebrating the 6^thgame win of the Toronto Raptors over the Milwaukee Bucks to clinch the Eastern Conference title. For the first time since the franchise began in 1995, they are headed to the NBA finals. Most of these games were nail-biters and I think it’s going to be an exciting series against the Golden State Warriors.

There are times when a lot of the news we are reading is not very uplifting, and sports has a way of bringing people together. Whatever team you cheer for, enjoy the competition and the tremendous effort athletes put into what they do.

This month I want to leave you with an article about cheese. As you know, Philippe is a fromager in the Provence stories and cheese often makes an appearance in the stories. I hope you find this article of interest. I’m going to look into ordering some of those porous bags they mention for storing cheese. I’ll let you know how they work out! (This photo was taken at “Philippe’s” fromagerie at the Antibes market.)

Stay well, my friends, be kind to one another, read a lot and appreciate every single day. Profitez de tous les jours! I’m reminded on a regular basis that the best part of being an author is hearing from readers. I value the messages I receive from you. Thanks also for sharing my books with your friends and for the reviews you write. It’s all most appreciated and inspiring. See you next month!

À bientôt!