Alyson Sheldrake interview
AUTHOR INTERVIEW
A little introduction:
Alyson Sheldrake is the author of the award-winning Algarve
Blog. She is also a feature writer for the Tomorrow Magazine in the
Algarve, and editor of the Portugal Letter for the Live and Invest
Overseas Group.
Originally from Birmingham in the UK, she worked as a police
officer then latterly a Director of Education before moving to the Algarve in
Portugal to live in 2011.
She is an accomplished and sought-after artist working
alongside her husband, Dave, a professional photographer. She is also a
self-published author with six books and an eBook box set for sale on Amazon.
When she is not painting or writing, you can find her
walking their rescued Spanish water dog called Kat along the riverbank in
Aljezur.
When did your love of books begin?
I have always loved reading from a very young age. I used to
hide under the bedclothes with a torch, devouring first Enid Blyton, then the
entire Sherlock Holmes series. Terry Pratchett was next, and any books about
animals. Secondary school introduced me to Shakespeare and Thomas Hardy. Then
along came Danielle Steel. I love finding a new author that I can dive into,
and always have a book on the go. I try to read every day. As you can see from
the list above, I like an eclectic mix of genres.
When did you start to have the wish to become an author?
I started writing a blog when we first moved to
live here in the Algarve, initially just to keep friends informed of what we
were doing. It soon grew into an award-winning blog with over 100,000 views a
year. I thoroughly enjoyed researching and writing our articles, all liberally
sprinkled with Dave’s photography.
Many of our personal stories didn’t seem to fit
the blog format, so I put them all to one side, and then eventually realised
that I had a lot of material sat on my computer. People kept saying to me, “you
should write a book”, so I sat down one day and started writing. It wasn’t long
before I had written almost 80,000 words, and Living the Dream – in the
Algarve, Portugal was born.
It was a steep learning curve from that moment.
Self-publishing was a whole new world to explore, and I relished it all.
Pressing the ‘upload’ button on Amazon and seeing my book go live was an
exhilarating – and slightly scary – moment.
How have you found the process for becoming an author?
There is something new to learn every day! The one thing I
am most grateful for is finding a tribe of fellow travel memoir authors who
have all been so helpful and supportive. Together they have made the journey
less scary for me, as I always know there is someone I can contact for help if
I get stuck. I am still finding my way – Amazon Ads I’m looking at you! – but
each day I get a genuine thrill knowing that people are buying and reading my
books. The feedback I receive is priceless, and every time I get a 5-star
review or a reader sends me a lovely email, I dance a little jig inside my
head.
What would you say to those wanting to become an author?
Just go for it! Try to picture just one person who you are
writing for. It could be a friend, relative, or a complete stranger. Imagine
they are sitting opposite you and you are curled up on the sofa chatting to
them with a cup of tea or coffee in your hands. What stories would you tell
them?
Sit down at the computer, or with pen and paper, and just
start writing. Let all your words just spill out onto the page and don’t worry
about sorting them all out until you have exhausted all your ideas. Then you
can start to fashion your words into a coherent set of chapters, and before you
know it, you will have written a book.
There are so many great guides, web articles and books out
there to help you, whether you are a ‘plotter’, a ‘panster’ or a ‘planster’!
The most important thing, though, is to enjoy the process.
Tell us about your book/books:
I have published three books about our Algarve Adventures: Living
the Dream – in the Algarve, Portugal; Living the Quieter Algarve Dream;
and an anthology of expat stories entitled A New Life in the Algarve,
Portugal.
My next writing adventure took me into the world of anthologies
with my Travel Stories Series. The first book, Chasing the Dream – A
new life abroad, was released in June 2021, quickly followed by Itchy
Feet – Tales of travel and adventure, and Wish You Were Here – Holiday
Memories. In December 2021, I published the Travel Stories Collection,
an eBook box set featuring all three books in the series, together with a
further 17 exclusive bonus chapters.
I am now busy working on my next book, which is all about
our rescued Spanish water dog.
What do you love about the writing/reading community?
As I mentioned, I have found there is a genuine sense of
camaraderie and support amongst my fellow memoir writers, and I have a fabulous
team of beta readers now that I can rely on to pore over my work for me. The
team also includes some loyal readers who are always honest with their
feedback. I’m always open to new members joining the team too.
If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?
Thank you to everyone that has bought my books. You have no
idea how exciting that is for me as a small independent author. I hope you
continue to enjoy my work and please do send me your feedback and comments. I
love hearing from my readers.
Where can people connect with you?
I write a monthly newsletter which has grown into a 40-page
glossy magazine. It’s packed full of articles, travel memoir book reviews,
interviews with authors, together with a splash of art, photography and news
about the Algarve.
And it’s free to subscribe!
If you are interested in signing up, just click the link
here:
https://www.alysonsheldrake.com/news/
If you click the link above, you can also scroll down and
read the latest edition.
You can find out more about my books and art on my website:
Thank you so much for inviting me to be a guest on your
blog.
All paintings – CAPTION: Original acrylic painting © Alyson Sheldrake
All photographs CAPTION: © Dave Sheldrake Photography
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