In Conversation with Jo Parfitt Podcast

Jo Parfitt talks to Amanda Graham, a British therapist and expat who also runs a yoga and wellness retreat in Charente, France, about the healing power of journaling. Discover how and why putting pen to paper can be so helpful when dealing with depression, anxiety and other mental health issues while picking up some tools you can start using right away.

Jo Parfitt talks to Berni Nason, a British writer,  actress and expat now based in Austin, Texas, about her latest memoir, Stealing Baby Jesus. This is her second memoir, the first being Tea in Tripoli. During our chat Berni explains how she turns real life into books that are both compelling and amusing and how she then goes on to use her acting and playwriting skills to create take those stories to the stage.

In this masterclass I spoke to journalling expert and author of Black and Abroad, Carolyn Van Es-Vines, about how journalling can be adapted and used for self-reflection, insight and increased self-awareness. In this session we will also put her ideas into practise and did some journalling together. Find out more about Carolyn's amazing approach to journalling – not to mention the benefits for mental health, self awareness and wellbeing – on her website: writingforselfreflection.com [//www.writingforselfreflection.com]

Kristin Duncombe has already written two terrific memoirs, Trailing and Five Flights Up. Now she is writing her third. A practising psychotherapist and expatriate, she understands many of the issues her clients battle with. But the difference is that she writes about them too.  Frank and funny, you will love her books. In this In Conversation Masterclass we talked about the tricks and tools she uses to write about issues that many would find painful to revisit, express and share with the world including divorce, identity, coercion and abuse.

Want to know how to get your book in the press? Or want to know how book marketing even works? Georgina Shaw of Shaw Marketing Services [https://www.shawmarketingservices.com/] has helped many author clients, especially expat, get media coverage on a range of platforms, press and magazines. We talked about what kind of media platforms are available, and how to choose the most valuable ones. We discussed pitching to publications and how to pitch a winning idea even without an existing writing portfolio.