Another Fine French Book Giveaway!

Patricia Sands is one of the most peripatetic and prolific people I know. She seems to flit effortlessly between her homes in Toronto (main home) and Florida (vacation home) and then, once or twice a year, she pops up (for at least two months and often through home exchange) in the South of France, where she leads super-popular women's tours in Provence and on the Côte d'Azur.  She also loves to attend book signings, readings, authors conferences and other literary events in the US, Canada and beyond.

Plus, she's the happy matriarch of a large, Toronto-area blended family that includes seven adult 'kids’ and their partners and seven grandchildren (known as the Adorables).

And somehow, Patricia is also able to write books...lots of books...popular books!  Her award-winning debut novel, The Bridge Club, came out in 2010. Her second novel, The Promise of Provence, was followed by two more novels set in Provence...forming the bestselling Love in Provence trilogy. Her fifth novel, Drawing Lessons, is out this month. 

But wait, there's more!  In addition to writing for various Francophile websites, Patricia publishes a blog, a monthly email newsletter and a large number of social media posts--with beautiful photos--promoting things she and her friends feel passionate about. Her generosity with her online time is one of the many, many things I admire about her. She's constantly helping her followers and friends (both real and virtual) promote their own projects, their events, their blogs, websites, books and more. Those of us lucky enough to have found ourselves in her orbit can put up a post and be relatively certain she'll like it, comment on it, share it and/or re-tweet it, often at lightning speed. 

So now you know why there's no way I wasn't going to jump in and help spread the word about Patricia's newest book! Plus, the novel is set in Arles and the Camargue, two of my favorite places in Provence.  Plus, Patricia has generously offered a few copies for me to give away to my readers. Plus, this lady loves France as much as anyone I know!

Drawing Lessons is a portrait of a woman named Arianna who's forced to create a new life at age 62. She arrives in the South of France for a two-week artists’ workshop "full of anticipation but burdened by guilt" because back home in Toronto, she's been living with the devastating diagnosis of her husband’s dementia and the heartbreaking decision she’s had to make. Encouraged by family to take time for herself, she travels to Arles to paint in the same fields of poppies and sunflowers that inspired Van Gogh. Gradually, she draws strength from the warm companionship and gentle wisdom of her fellow artists...and gives herself permission to embrace the life in front of her.

Sound good? Then on to the giveaway! Patricia is offering us two signed print copies (one for readers in North America and one for readers in Europe) and  two ebooks (to readers living anywhere).  To enter, simply leave a comment under "comments" below. Please be sure to leave your email address or we won't be able to reach you if you win; signing in with your Google or Blogger account is not enough. When it says "reply as"...a good choice is "open ID" (use your name) or ID/URL (use your name and your website). If you can't comment for whatever reason, just email me at provenceblog@aol.com and I'll see that you're entered anyway.

If you'd like to go ahead and order the book, you'll find it in all the usual places...and on Amazon here. You may also order it from any book store.

Meanwhile, you can learn all about Patricia's background, books, trips and other activities on her website here.   

Bonne Chance!