Contributed - New Book of Short Stories set in the Algarve

New Book of Short Stories set in the Algarve in 2007 by Lisa Selvidge

A new book of interlinking short stories set in the Algarve in 2007. The stories chart the lives of locals, tourists and ex-pats alike while the media are focused on a little girl who has disappeared. Lisa Selvidge, a resident of the Algarve for 6 years and a graduate in Portuguese and Russian, has been inspired by the different inhabitants of the Algarve, both those who choose to make it their home and those who were born there, as well as the effects of one of the biggest media coverages the Algarve has ever known.

SYNOPSIS:
An English couple in search of an easier life in the sun, a German hippie with a singing dog, a UK property developer, a Portuguese waiter, a showgirl at the casino, a drug dealer, an old widow in the mountains and a fisherman’s son make up some of the memorable cast of characters that inhabit these interlinking stories. Minor characters become protagonists in others in this rich tapestry of life in the Algarve in the summer of 2007 when a little girl went missing.

‘Lisa Selvidge has brilliantly captured the essence of life in the Algarve, delving beneath the charming white-washed exterior to express a darker side to life in the sun for locals, ex-pats and tourist. Beyond the Sea is a bitter-sweet portrayal of on-goings that are not only fascinating, but unsettlingly realistic – like peeking through the neighbour’s window. I thoroughly enjoyed it.’ Carrie-Marie Bratley, The Portugal News

‘It's hard to get short stories just right. Lisa Selvidge unfurls her collection with a clear insight into the Algarve’s loosely woven workings with a worryingly perceptive grasp of the human condition - just right!’ Paul Rees, get real weekly
‘A delicious kaleidoscopic view of the sun-soaked polyglot Algarve.’ Natasha Donn, Algarve 123

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lisa Selvidge has an MA in creative writing from the University of East Anglia and taught creative writing for 9 years at both the UEA and the Norwich School of Art & Design. She is the author of The Trials of Tricia Blake, The Last Dance over the Berlin Wall and a Writing Fiction Workbook. She has also edited a collection of writings about the Algarve called Summer Times.

The book is published by Montanha Books on May 28 2010 and will be available from online bookshops and www.lisaselvidge.com for £8.95. It is also available as a download for £3.00 from http://stores.lulu.com/lisa9 and throughout shops in the Algarve including The Griffin Bookshop, Almancil, The Owl Story Bookshop, Lagos, The Magna Carta, Alvor and Lura dos Livros, Tavira.

There will be a book launch at the Galeria Porca Preta, Monchique on June 10 at 6.30 pm, 2010 including refreshments and live music, and at The Griffin Bookshop, Almancil on June 24 at 6.00 pm.