I call Monday in my little village the Dia de Decepção or Day of Disappointment. The bakery next door is closed and on Mondays there is a steady stream of people walking up to the door and then sadly walking away. Most of the locals know it is closed on Mondays. The tourists learn. As…
Details
It is said that life is a series of trade-offs and I understand that very well. Prior to the pandemic, I was already, shall we say, a tad overweight. Then I gained the COVID 19, and my clothes were uncomfortably tight. Fortunately, we were all living in sweatpants for a year. But now that we’re…
Details
Seriously? How do you NOT find something to write about? Someone posted this question in a nonfiction writers’ group and I can’t even. I mean, yeah, I can see maybe asking that in a fiction group—they may be wondering what genres are hot right now or what a good place is to start as a…
Details
I feel like I am stating the obvious—of course you need income as an expat, yet so many people are sold on the idea of cheap living in foreign countries that they don’t have a realistic idea of how much income they will need. Yes, for US citizens, it is usually cheaper to live in…
Details
It’s a common question: How do you know your book is finished? I’m going to give you the answer right here and right now, but you’re not going to like it. A book is never finished. There’s always one more tweak, something that could have been written a bit more smoothly. A new development that…
Details
One of the hardest pieces of my day is resisting the urge to run downstairs to the bakery and get something delicious. I am trying to lose the weight I gained during COVID lockdown (and pre-lockdown, to be honest) and the bakery is not helping. It sits there, like a spider in a web, just…
Details
A book excerpt is a handy repurposing tool when it comes to marketing your book and building your list of potential readers and clients. One of the early discussion topics with my business book clients is about creating a lead generator. They all get that same expression in their eyes: “WAIT! WHAT? I just spent…
Details
I have spent many hours this week just watching the water. I’m watching the boats and the cars, the “self-walking” dogs and the people, too, of course. But mostly I watch the water. The tide doesn’t roll in here on the Ria Formosa. (Sorry, Otis.) It creeps in, it seeps in. It subtly edges into…
Details
Blogging isn’t for everyone, but that’s why they make chocolate AND vanilla. Because my clients are authors, I always recommend that they have a blog. But truth be told, not everyone is cut out to be a blogger. Not everyone has the time to blog. Not everyone has the perseverance or patience to keep going…
Details
Moving to Santa Luzia is my fourth move in five months and it should be my final move for at least a year, maybe longer. To qualify for Portugal’s D7 residency visa, I had to have six months of accommodations lined up. At the time I applied, you could have AirBnB reservations or even long…
Details