Sandy Gingras

Sandy Gingras's Paradise Girls features a broken engagement. A ruined vacation in paradise. One adorable little girl. The perfect recipe for the chance of a lifetime...Mary Valley is in a funk. She's a writer for home magazines, but she's lost touch with what home means. Her life seems meaningless. The last house she wrote about was a gazillion-dollar mansion with a moat Plus, she's estranged from her daughter, CC and granddaughter, Larkin and mired in a dead-end relationship with her boss. Daniel is a man adrift since his son Timmy was killed in Afghanistan. He's living on a houseboat in Florida with Timmy's three-legged dog, Tripod and taking tourists out on fishing charters. But his life is on the edge. He's painting his houseboat black, and he can't stop thinking about "getting lost at sea." When Mary's boss tells her he's spending Christmas with his ex, she books a trip with her family to The Low Key Inn, a hotel on the edge of the Everglades. But things go wrong from the get-go. CC bails out of the vacation, and Mary is stuck with an unhappy Larkin. The hotel is dated and down-on-its-luck, and perhaps its owner is a witch. Then Mary meets Daniel, casts a hook into his head and wrecks his boat. This is the story of how wounded people can help each other heal, how lost people can help each other find their way home. How life can become a love story...

There are times in life when all you need to find solace is a small gesture of consolation. 100 Hugs, a collection of everyday comforts, offers such solace. Each hug is a reminder to slow down and take comfort in the little things, from indulging in warm cookies and milk to watching fireflies on a summer evening. Sandy Gingras's "hugs" are the beacons of light that shine through the fog of everyday life. Sandy Gingras's uplifting words illustrated with her original watercolour art form pretty little "hugs." These hugs are perfect to give as a gift or to keep for your own personal growth. They are nourishment for the body, mind, and soul, reminding you to take a step back and become that flourishing version of you again.

A giftable read with a catchy title for anyone seeking promise, hope, solace, inspiration, and motivation through art and the power of words. "She went out on a limb, had it break off, and realized she could fly." We've all been there on occasion. We've over-reached and achieved success by reaching deep within, rallying, and overcoming life's difficulties and challenges that would keep us from our goals. For every woman who has said, "I can" in place of, "I can't," author and illustrator Sandy Gingras offers inspiration inside She Went Out on a Limb, an illustrated list book of positive and affirming phrases, some original, some quoted. She Went Out on a Limb offers the inspirational power of words for putting your heart on the line, the value of dreaming and hope, trusting yourself, combating fear and adversity, getting out of your own way, not thinking too much, avoiding procrastination, stirring up inspiration, loving yourself, believing in yourself, and just doing it. The thoughtful and poetic prose along with original watercolor illustrations combine to focus on the positive and remind you to combat fear and adversity through affirmation in your own beliefs and abilities. The limb may break, but the flight holds exhilarating promise.

Long ago, Sandy Gingras read "The Tortoise and the Hare," a fable that teaches "slow and steady wins the race." But she didn't learn the lesson! Instead she lived the race of hurry-up and do-it-all every day. And it was tiring. But now, Gingras presents readers with a different kind of lesson from a different kind of turtle in the charming book Lessons of a Turtle. And it's a good lesson: Go with the slow! Life is about enjoying what's around you now and finding your own path. It's about the beauty of the journey more than the achievement of the finish line. So be like the turtle . . . notice, savour, bask, risk, grow. Put some life back in your life! Gingras helps readers get through life by using charming "turtlisms" that complement her just-as-cute turtle illustrations. She teaches us about life's little lessons with little treats like, "You can't move forward until you stick your neck out." and "The slower you go, the more you see." The author's little observations make a big difference on the journey through life.

The perfect gift for anyone who appreciates a simple, relaxed lifestyle.In How to Live in Flip-Flops, Sandy Gingras helps readers forget the complicated in favor of the simple, wonderful things in life. Gingras's delightful watercolors and poetic prose showcase the benefits of slowing down and finding happiness in the things that really matter. Whether or not you're at the beach, everyone can relate to the laid-back easiness that comes with living in flip-flops. Includes charming maxims such as: Lose the uncomfortable shoes Be thankful Smell like a coconut Go slowly to see the little thingsThis is the perfect gift for family and friends - whether for those who already embrace an easygoing harmony with the world or for those who need a gentle reminder of what's truly important."Sandy Gingras evokes how good things can be when you and your environment are in happy agreement." Stephen Dunn, Pulitzer Prizewinning poet