It’s not often that I read a book on this topic that impresses me with new material, but the innovative pie concept that Bormans created for her workshops is a winner. The idea that most postings require compromise on the part of the accompanying partner and that they will have to choose which of the five crucial elements (slices of pie) can go on their plate while others are relegated to the fridge is both inspiring and useful. The third section of the book is dedicated to the  crucial element no career should be without –  ‘flow’. We learn how to identify it and ensure it has a part in your own career planning. It’s spot on, frankly. Until now I’d assumed flow was flow and like being in the zone.  Now I discover there are two types of flow – central flow and flexible flow. Intriguing.

So, this book does indeed have something new to offer. It is written in a clear accessible style and is backed up by case studies, research, expert opinion and statistics. I particularly enjoyed the authors’ own stories and how they too related to pie and flow.
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Of course, I’m likely to think pah, it’s not as good as our book. And I’m delighted to see that Colleen and I get plenty of mentions (thanks for that!) but it’s different. It brings plenty of new ideas to the table and deserves to a place on any bookshelf.

Speedwriting, freewriting, stream of consciousness, writing longhand for ten minutes, putting the thoughts that pop into your head down on the page while ignoring the internal censor may be the best thing you ever learned to do. Join us and try it for yourself. Meetings are free of charge and take place using Zoom every Friday afternoon.

Speedwrite live on Facebook. Jo will give a topic at the start and then all participants will write for ten minutes, after which up to ten people will share their work while you can give feedback in the ‘chat’ section.  Stay as long as you like. Be inspired and awaken your writer within.

During continued social restrictions due to the coronavirus, Jo Parfitt is  running online virtual events until further notice. 

Author, Tom Evans, recently published his 15th book, Soulwaves and back in 2009 he published the excellent Blocks, which Jo needed badly at the time. Soulwaves took a massive 15 years to see the light of day because, you guessed it, Tom too had writers’ block – not with his other books but with this one. Why do we suffer writers’ block and how do we get over it? Watch Jo's interview with Tom on Zoom live/Facebook live video on Thursday 2nd April to find out for yourself. 

A writers’ circle is a fun, inspiring, informative, safe, supportive space for writing, sharing and feedback. Events take place twice a week using Zoom.

​In the 15th century the Japanese turned piecing broken porcelain back together into an art form using golden glue. They call this kintsugi and believe the cracks make the jar more precious.
 
The pieces are your stories and the golden glue is the magic of sharing those stories.
 
This is the story behind the Life Story Jar.

​To honour Lindsay, Summertime Publishing and Springtime Books have introduced the 2020 Lindsay de Feliz New Writer of Expat Memoir Award. The lucky winner will receive a bursary to cover the full cost of our publishing package – big picture edit, proofread, design, production and distribution for worldwide sale.

Submissions are invited until the end of July 2020, and the winner will be selected in September 2020 by our panel of expatriate authors and writers from the Dominican Republic. The winning book will be published in 2021.