This week we’re joined by Alyson Sheldrake who gave up a career and walked away from Britain’s grey skies to relocate to Portugal.

As well as being a prolific writer, she’s a self-taught artist who uses the colours and ambiance of the Algarve to create her unique style of Abstract art. ~~ Jay

Author Interview:  Alyson Sheldrake

My husband and I always seem to have lots of things happening to us, from battling bureaucracy, trying to learn the Portuguese language, or getting to know the quirks of our new neighbours. The first memoir was a feast of different stories and incidents from when we first bought a house out here almost fifteen years ago, to our eventual move to live here full time. The second book is the sequel, and tells about our last two-and-a-half years here, since we moved house to live in a more peaceful and rural town.

I am now busy compiling an anthology of stories about other expats that have moved out here to live in the Algarve. This has been a fascinating exercise, interviewing a wide range of different people, all of whom have their own story to tell. From entrepreneurs that have set up their own business, to people that have set up charities, run a yurt B&B, or live off the beaten track, they are all incredible stories. I have also tracked down some residents that have lived in the Algarve since the early 60s and they have described what life was like out here back then, before tourism really became a big thing. I am aiming to publish this in the Spring.

What publishing elements do you most enjoy and most like to avoid, and why? (e.g. design, marketing, formatting etc.)

I enjoy absolutely every step of the process. Writing is something that I really love. Seeing words come together on the page is very satisfying; and knowing that I have made people laugh – or cry – and created something tangible and enjoyable gives me a real buzz.

When we moved out here to live permanently almost ten years ago, my husband and I both said that we didn’t want to retire (I was only 42 – a bit young to sit in a deckchair all day!) and we set up our own businesses, both following childhood dreams. I had always wanted to paint and Dave had loved photography since he was a young lad, so we branched out and created our own successful creative enterprises. Neither of us had ever worked for ourselves before, and we learnt so much in the ensuing years about how to market and promote our work. We gained valuable links with the media out here and made lots of connections and links with a wide range of people. All of those things helped enormously when it was time for me to publish my first book.

Covid meant that I couldn’t physically launch anything—no book signings or events—all of which I had started to plan, so I had to rely heavily on social media. Lots of people tried to say that launching a new book during Covid wasn’t a good idea, but I thought differently. People were forced to stay home, with more leisure time, and I figured that they would need more things to occupy them – like books and reading! It was definitely the right move. Sales have been really buoyant since the day I launched, and I am delighted with how things have turned out.

I am an artist and designer at heart. I set up a society for artists out here, and for two years designed an online quarterly art magazine from scratch. I was confident that I could design my own covers for my books, but the actual for

matting of the text and the layout was something that I was happy to leave to the experts.

With the hindsight of being a published author, anything you would have done differently?

Well, I have joked that putting the following words at the end of book one:

“perhaps I will write a sequel to this book and call it ‘Living the Quieter Algarve Dream’.”

– just as we had sold our first house, and we were about to move to our new home – was asking for trouble! So many readers contacted me and said ‘can’t wait for the sequel to come out’ that I then had to sit down and create it.

I started writing again. I also joined lots of Facebook groups, including one set up by Victoria Twead which was specifically designed for memoir authors. I didn’t even really know there was a specific genre called ‘memoir’ until then. The ‘We Love Memoirs’ Facebook group and stable of authors have been so encouraging and supportive.

I discovered tools like ProWritingAid and took on board fair comments from readers of my first book about grammatical errors and the need for better editing. In reality, paying for a professional editor when you are a brand-new author is not always possible, so I went off and put myself through an online recognised proof-reading and editing qualification. I also gained a lovely group of beta readers for my second book, and I am very proud of my sequel, as I know it is a much sharper, and more professional text. It took me almost three years, on and off, to write the first book, and seven months, from start to finish, to write the sequel.

What tips or advice would you give an aspiring indie author who is looking to self-publish?

Just go for it! Write the very best book that you can, join lots of online support groups for writers, learn as much as you can about the processes of writing and marketing and then be brave and launch your book out there into the world. And then – write another book!

Don’t be afraid to ask others for help and advice, too. I have found the author community to be extremely supportive – maybe I have been lucky – but the ‘We Love Memoirs Authors Group’ on Facebook has been a brilliant source of information and friendly faces. For inspiration and goal targets, the 20Booksto50K Facebook group is also excellent. There are so many indie authors in that group that are actually making a good living from their writing, which is very encouraging.

• www.facebook.com/groups/welovememoirs
• www.facebook.com/groups/20Booksto50k

What marketing or promotional tools or techniques do you use to reach your readers?

My blog is well established, and thanks to our work previously, I already had a healthy subscriber list to work with as we have sent out our own monthly art and photography newsletter for the last eight years. Adding books to the content was a painless process, and we have gained new readers as a result. I am a member of lots of Expat based Facebook Groups and our links with local media outlets have been very useful.

I even had an hour special on a local Portuguese media site that broadcasts via Facebook and YouTube every day. They kindly invited me to take over the show one evening and launch my latest book. That was great fun.

I revamped my art website, which was already well established, to incorporate my writing as well as my art, and I blog about my creative endeavours on there. I am a big fan of BookBrush, and although I am well-versed in Photoshop, their site makes creating eye-catching media much quicker and easier.

I plug away with social media and hope for the best. It is sometimes difficult to see where or how you are being most successful. I still believe that word of mouth and personal recommendations are worth everything in this media-driven, frenzied world we live in. So far, I have not paid for any advertising, or delved into the world of paid ads on Amazon or Facebook. If I am honest, this is quite a daunting prospect for a new author, and not something I am in a hurry to investigate.

What impact do you want your books to have on your readers?

I love hearing from my readers that my books have transported them to the Algarve. For many, they may have visited here or have a home here, and my book brings back memories and stories—and places and foods—that are familiar to them. For others, that may never have visited the Algarve, I bring a taster of a different way of life and maybe encourage them to think about visiting here in the future. I hope I can make people chuckle, and that they feel as if they have got to know a little more about me and our dream life out here.

I think one of the nicest comments I have received about my writing was this review of my first book ‘Living the Dream – in the Algarve, Portugal’ by Tom George Carroll, Playwright:

“[Reading it] felt like I was sitting outside a local pastelaria with a new-found friend, drinking a galão and sharing a plateful of warm, freshly baked pasteis de nata while she told me her story.”

What’s your book’s elevator pitch or key selling points?

Could you leave everything behind and start a new life in the sun? Have you ever been on holiday abroad and wondered what it would be like to live there?

Alyson and Dave Sheldrake did. They fell in love with a little fishing village in the Algarve, Portugal, and were determined to realise their dream of living abroad. They bought a house there, ended their jobs, packed up everything they owned and moved to the Algarve to start a new life.

Follow them as they battle with Portuguese bureaucracy, set up their own businesses, adopt a rescue dog and learn to adapt to a slower pace of life. Laugh with them as Alyson propositions a builder, they try to master the Portuguese language, and successfully navigate the ‘expat’ world.

Living the Dream is part guidebook, mostly memoir. It’s a refreshingly honest and often hilarious account of life abroad.

What’s next on your writing journey?

My compilation of Algarve expat stories, entitled ‘Why the Algarve?’ will be released in the spring. I am also planning my next three books, which will all be anthologies. I intend to keep busy, both writing and painting, for the foreseeable future.

About the Author

Alyson Sheldrake was born in Birmingham in 1968. She has always loved art and painting, although she found little time for such pleasures, working full-time after graduation. She joined the Devon and Cornwall Police in 1992 and served for thirteen years, before leaving to work in education. She became the Director of Education for the Church of England in Devon in 2008.

Once her husband Dave retired from the Police, their long-held dream of living in the sun could become a reality. Alyson handed in her notice, and with her dusty easel and set of acrylic paints packed and ready to move, they started their new adventure living in the beautiful Algarve in Portugal in 2011.

Alyson is the author of the award-winning and popular Algarve Blog, and has also been a keynote speaker for several years at the annual ‘Live and Invest in Portugal’ international conference. She is also a feature writer for the Tomorrow Algarve magazine.

She is now an accomplished and sought-after artist working alongside her husband Dave, a professional photographer. Being able to bring their much-loved hobbies and interests to life has been a wonderful bonus to their new life in the Algarve.

Her first book ‘Living the Dream – in the Algarve, Portugal’ was full of useful advice, enjoyable adventures and hilarious accounts of their Algarve life in the sun. The sequel, ‘Living the Quieter Algarve Dream’ continues their story.

She is now busy writing her third book, which will be a compilation of expat stories about the people who have made the Algarve their home.

Media Links:

• Website www.alysonsheldrake.com
• Facebook Author Page https://www.facebook.com/AlysonSheldrakeAuthor
• Twitter https://twitter.com/AlysonSheldrake
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/alysonsheldrake/
• Algarve Blog https://algarveblog.net/
• Newsletter Sign-up https://www.alysonsheldrake.com/news/

All Images © Dave Sheldrake Photography

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