Patricia Sands

Family, writing and travel are my passions ... okay, and chocolate ... and I'm seldom without a camera. Toronto, Canada is home for me most of the time, Florida some of the time, and the south of France whenever possible. There are benefits to getting older!

Beginning with my first Kodak Brownie camera at the age of six, it seems I have told stories all of my life through photography. With our happily blended family of seven adult children and, at last count, six grandchildren, life is full and time is short.

Becoming an author in my ... gasp ... 60's ... (I'm too young to be this old!) was not on my agenda. But here I certainly am and writing is what I will continue to do. My debut novel, The Bridge Club, was published through iUniverse in August 2010 and my second novel, The Promise Of Provence, was released in April, 2013. Readers are asking when the next book will be out so I'm back at the drawing board!

My stories celebrate the rewarding friendships and bonds women share and examine the challenges life often throws in our paths. The Promise of Provence is set in Toronto and the south of France (where my husband and I have lived intermittently through the past 15 years). Thanks to tremedous response from readers, my next two novels will follow along this story. As I write this, I am in Nice for a month and will have a book launch in Antibes on October 4th, 2013 at the English Bookshop. If you are in the area, please join us!

A bonus of being published is being asked to speak with women's groups on the subjects of writing and self-publishing as well as the importance of valuing our personal stories. At other events (as one half of Sommers & Sands) along with my speaking partner, non-fiction author Susan Sommers, through keynotes, workshops and conferences, audiences are encouraged to embrace change and see challenges as opportunities.

I live by the philosophy that it's never too late to begin something new, to seize each day and be a possibilitarian! As the saying goes, just do it!