Art • Books • Photography • Algarve Life • Rescue Dogs • Inspiration • Special Offers
☀️ My free monthly newsletter — with a little Algarve sunshine thrown in! ☀️
Join me!
Once a month, I send out a fun email packed with things I love — and I truly hope you’ll subscribe.
Expect a colourful mix of art, books, photography, rescue dogs, interesting people, things to do in the Algarve, recipes, recommendations, book reviews, special offers and free gifts.
There’s always something to read, discover, and enjoy.
One email a month. No spam. Your details are never shared.
Subscribe here ... just fill in the form below.
(You will receive an immediate confirmation email. If it doesn't arrive - please check your spam folder)
🎁 Your free gift when you subscribe:
My Top 5 Algarve
The best of the Algarve in one handy guide.
Sign up for my free monthly newsletter, and I’ll send you a copy of my special My Top 5 Algarve guide — absolutely free.
It’s packed with some of my favourite Algarve discoveries, including beautiful beaches, restaurants, places to visit, days out, places to stay, events and a few hidden gems along the way.
Whether you’re planning a holiday, have recently moved to Portugal, have lived here for years — or simply love the Algarve — I hope you’ll find something useful inside.
One free guide. One lovely newsletter each month.
So, what’s inside?
Every month is different, but you’ll usually find a mixture of:
🎨 Art & Creativity
A peek at what I’ve been painting, creating, and experimenting with — including my latest artwork and some of the new digital creative projects that seem to appear whenever I think I’m going to have a quiet month.
📚 Books
News about my books, new writing projects, reading recommendations, book reviews, and interesting authors I’ve discovered along the way.
📷 Photography
Beautiful Algarve photography from my husband Dave, along with places we’ve visited, local Algarve events, and some of the images that have inspired my own work.
🐾 Rescue Dogs
Because dogs have a habit of becoming part of the story, don’t they?
There will always be a rescue dog needing a new home, an animal charity, or a heartwarming tale — and, of course, the latest antics of our darling rescued Spanish water dog, Zara.
☀️ Life in the Algarve
The places we discover, things we enjoy, food, recipes, events, beaches, villages, useful tips, and the occasional story about what it’s really like living here in southern Portugal.
🎁 Special Offers & Surprises
Subscribers are always the first to hear about new books, artwork, events, giveaways, special offers, and other things I haven’t announced elsewhere yet. And there’s often a free gift to download each month too!
Almost 15 years. Every month.
This newsletter has been around for a surprisingly long time.
It all started back in June 2012, when I sent a little four-page PDF to a handful of friends.
Somehow, it grew.
Then it grew some more.
For a while, it even turned into a 100+ page monthly magazine!
These days I’ve sensibly returned to something a little less demanding of my time — but the idea remains exactly the same:
One email. Once a month. Lots of interesting things to discover.
And the wonderful thing is that many of the people who started reading all those years ago are still here.
"Thanks for another packed newsletter - I look forward to Dave's Silves photos - it's a remarkable event. Love the Algarve collection and I always love reading about Zara's antics and seeing her goofy grin!"
—Rebecca Hislop, newsletter subscriber
"You’ve done it again you two! It’s another fabulous, INTERESTING!, and thoroughly inspiring newsletter. It is by far the best thing relating to living in the Algarve/Portugal that’s out there. And then there’s Dave’s photography. Which is sublime."
—Jan Rowe, newsletter subscriber
"I absolutely love the concept of your new digital art project. I shall be requesting a commission soon! Hugs and thanks to you both for another fantastic read, and for all you do to help animals in need. ❤️"
—Beth Haslam, newsletter subscriber
Want to see what you’ve been missing?
I’ve been writing these newsletters for so long that there’s now quite an archive!
The earlier editions started life without even having a name. Later they became Snapshot! — the newsletter that thought it was a magazine.
You can browse through previous editions, discover some of the stories I’ve shared over the years, and get a feel for what lands in my readers’ inboxes each month.
Click the image below to view previous editions:
No spam. No bombardment. No nonsense.
Just one email on the 1st of each month.
I know how annoying it is to sign up for something and suddenly find yourself being bombarded with emails.
That’s not me.
I always send just one newsletter a month.
I won’t sell or pass on your details to third parties, and you can unsubscribe whenever you like.
It’s simply my little monthly way of keeping in touch and entertaining you.
"I'm just getting around to reading your wonderful newsletter because I wanted to take the time to sit and savor every word of it and to enjoy the beautiful pictures! Your newsletters give us such an amazing view of beautiful Portugal and the many, many wonderful people and organizations there. It has meant a great deal to both of us!!! Thanks again for sharing with us!!"
—Jan & Gene, newsletter subscribers
Come and join me!
If you like art, books, photography, dogs, the Algarve, interesting stories, and discovering something new each month, I think you’ll enjoy my newsletter.
Sign up today and I’ll send you my FREE My Top 5 Algarve guide.
Subscribe here ... just fill in the form below.
(You will receive an immediate confirmation email. If it doesn't arrive - please check your spam folder)
Thank you for your interest
One email a month. One free Algarve guide. And hopefully, something that makes you smile.
See you in your inbox!
— Alyson