Beyond the Sea

Algarve 123: What made you decide to use Madeleine McCann’s disappearance as one of the common threads in the book?

Lisa Selvidge: “Well, I was amazed by how much impact her story had on the world. I mean, children go missing every day, but this particular case caused such a media frenzy. I found it fascinating – but as you’ll see, I don’t directly mention anything about Madeleine in the book. It’s just there, in the background. I focus more on how different people reacted to the news and the impact it had on people’s lives here in the Algarve.”

This is the second book you’ve brought out in a matter of months. You run creative writing workshops and online prose fiction courses, have your own publishing company, edit other people’s work … where do you find the time?

“Both books were developed over quite a long period. «The Last Dance over the Berlin Wall» (2009), for instance, took me almost seven years to complete. I tend to work on a number of projects at the same time. «Beyond the Sea» took roughly two years. It doesn’t have the same depth as the «The Last Dance over the Berlin Wall» but I hope it opens a window onto the many different lives that exist side by side in the Algarve. It is due to be launched on 28th May, and I’m hoping to have it translated into Portuguese and German. Finding time is a struggle but I think you always find time for things you are passionate about.”

Tell us a bit about what it is like to be a writer?

“It’s not really a choice! If I didn’t write, I would get very depressed – but it’s a very lonely process. There is only you and your characters. You could say it’s the only accepted form of schizophrenia! But, seriously, no-one writes for the money because it is very hard to make any money from books these days. Seventy-five percent of UK writers earn less than 5,000 pounds a year. But there is always the chance that you might hit the jackpot…

But both your recent books could make perfect films…

Thank you. I see my work as scenes as I write them but I think all writers do. As to which books are picked up, it’s a question of luck to a certain extent.

What makes a writer, then?

“Apparently, I’m quoted as saying ‘an unhappy childhood’. This is not always true of course but it is something that many writers talk about. Perhaps it compels people to want to communicate, or to escape into a fictional world. The trick is then to never give up.”

Lisa’s experience teaching people to write goes back to the years when she ran courses at Norwich School of Art and Design, in England, and then her stint as Academic Director for Creative Writing for Continuing Education at the University of East Anglia. She still teaches online courses in creative writing for universities in the UK.

“I also run workshops twice monthly up here in Monchique. Everyone is welcome and there are two lovely groups – one fiction and one memoirs/life-writing – with some excellent writing. Some people come simply because they want to spend an afternoon being creative, others because they have specific projects in mind.”

“The courses are in English, but one day I would like to teach creative writing workshops in Portuguese, but my written Portuguese is not there yet.”

“Creativity is essential for a country”, she adds. “Without imagination, there is no development”.

Which brings us to her choice of address. Up in the clouds, way “beyond the sea”, among the pines and eucalyptus on the west side of Monchique.

(Smile) “It’s not the most happening of places, I know, but there are a lot of creative people up here – and space! So much space! And I love the almost anarchic attitude of the people here. I feel very differently about the coast where many places (not all) are essentially tourist destinations. People come and go from the coast – there isn’t the sense of permanence that you find in Monchique.

While she works on her next book, again a novel – “about addiction and religion, and how people need to find a set of rules to live by” – Lisa is putting the finishing touches to the launch of «Beyond the Sea».

“We’ve decided to do something a bit different. There is going to be a small party - open to everyone - at the “Porca Preta” centre at 6.30pm, on June 10th (Portugal Day and Camões Day). There’ll be live music, snacks, glasses of wine – as well as a short reading from the book. I hope as many people as possible come.”

Following on, there’ll be a book signing at Griffin Bookshop in Almancil, on 24th June.

We left Lisa as the sudden unexpected deluge pitter-pattered away, echoing among the trees, while birds shook their feathers and returned to welcoming in the spring. There’s a lot to be said for the tranquility of these mountains beyond the sea, and it’s easy to understand how they can attract people reaching beyond the horizon.