Novelist who published first books in her 60s splits time between France and Ontario

Whether you’re 55, 45, 35 or even 25, it can be easy to feel like you’re too old to start something new in life. It can feel embarrassing to change your goals, or pointless to learn something new when it feels like you should have started long before now.

Author Patricia Sands is here to prove everyone wrong by publishing her first book at 65, launching her on a brand new career path.

15 years later, Sands has written 12 books with another novel scheduled to come out before the year is up, showing that there’s no limit to what you can accomplish once you just decide to get started.

Even though her books focus on topics like aging and female friendships, she’s gained a readership of men and women who range in age from their 20s through to their 80s, and has won multiple awards for her books.

She’s been living the dream, splitting her time between Ontario and France, and now does a lot of writing there, working on books like her Love in Provence trilogy. Sands lived in Toronto until the pandemic led her and and her husband to move to the Blue Mountain area, and outside of lockdowns she’s made her annual trip to France a major priority.

“It’s never too late to follow your dreams” and “write what you know” are both common cliches, but they’ve proven true for Sands.

“I began writing in my early 60s, just for fun,” Sands tells YourCityWithIN.com.

Having worked as an elementary school teacher, she began with a story based on her real life bridge club of women who had been friends for over 50 years, publishing The Bridge Club in 2010.

“Until I began writing The Bridge Club, I had never considered writing a book,” says Sands.

She also led tours in France for about a decade before deciding more recently to keep her travels personal and focused on her passion for writing.

“I’ve been extremely fortunate in my writing career and have had no challenges other than writing new stories,” says Sands. “Don’t ever stop. Learn your craft, find your community and believe in yourself.”

She’s taking her own advice, currently hard at work on her 13th novel scheduled to be published before the year is out…and of course, it will be taking her readers back to her favourite place, France.