A Lighter Look At One of Spain’s Worst Property Scandals

March 18, 2010 in Press by admin | No comments

Have you ever wondered what it’s REALLY like, living in Spain?

Perhaps you already do…

- Maybe you’ve been ripped off by rogue builders?
- Maybe you’re living in an illegal home?
- Maybe you’re a victim of harsh landgrab abuses?
- Maybe you want to buy in Spain but want to know the risks?

‘Crisis in Catral’ chronicles events as they unfold in a small village in the Alicante region of Spain – Catral – which is now the notorious site of some of Spain’s worst property horror stories.

As interpreter for the local ex-pat community, the author, Linda Palfreeman – a British expat originally from Teeside, and living for many years in Leeds – found herself drawn into the centre of the events behind the stories.

Linda says, “In an attempt to come to terms with the unpleasant predicament, I began to commit my sometimes tragic and often hilarious experiences to paper. Crisis in Catral is the result.”

A funny and captivating account of a poignant and alarming situation, Crisis in Catral, makes interesting reading.

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“Crisis in Catral: True Stories Behind One of Spain’s Worst Property Scandal Hotspots” by Linda Palfreeman ISBN:1907498141 is available to buy from Amazon and all good bookshops now.

ENDS
170 Words

NOTES FOR EDITORS/JOURNALISTS

REVIEW COPY
Please request a review copy of “Crisis in Catral” here:
http://www.leanmarketingpress.com/contact

COMPETITION PRIZE
If you’d like to offer your audience free copies of this book as a competition prize along with a review then tell us your plans and we’ll do whatever we can to help:
http://www.leanmarketingpress.com/contact

WEBSITE LINKS

Publisher’s Website:
http://www.nativespain.com

Author’s Blog:
http://crisisincatral.com

Sales pages and book preview on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1907498141
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1907498141/ref=nosim

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK

“In Crisis in Catral, with great humanity, personal knowledge and irresistible humour, Linda Palfreeman analyses what is, for many ex-pat Brits, a disagreeable dilemma. Its serious insights combined with the witty and engaging style of the tale make for a delightfully entertaining read which is a must for ex-pats in Spain, those thinking of joining them and, above all, for those unable to do so and therefore secretly hoping to hear that it is not all sun, sex and sangría.”
- Paul Preston – Leading British historian and author of many books on contemporary Spain

“Despite the very serious side to the story, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud at some of the comical anecdotes. In Crisis in Catral Linda Palfreeman demonstrates a wicked sense of humour and a tremendous ability to involve the reader in her story. Thoroughly entertaining and well written, I found myself making favourable comparisons with Chris Stewart’s accounts of life in Southern Spain and Peter Mayle’s Provence tales. Well done, Linda. This is a book I can truly recommend.”
- John Joyce, Ex-pat entrepreneur and radio broadcaster

“Linda Palfreeman displays a rare talent of creating humour from adversity. Together with her observations of Spanish life, this makes for a superbly entertaining and informative book which is a delight to read. A great addition to Expat literature in Spain.”
- Rob Innis, Freelance writer, editor and photographer

“Linda has created a thoroughly entertaining and absorbing narrative of some of the serious problems many of us face, and has pulled no punches in describing the pitfalls that émigrés to Spain encounter – especially we Brits, who tend to expect processes to be carried out in the defined and strictly-controlled manner to which we were accustomed in our native land, and flounder in the morass of mis-information, misdirection and downright lies we meet here.”
- Deborah Fletcher – British ex-pat living in Spain and author of Bitten By Spain

“This is a must read – especially for those thinking of relocating to Spain. Crisis in Catral offers a down-to-earth, no-nonsense insight to the reality behind any romantic notions people might hold about life in a foreign country. It’s made even more enjoyable by the witty, self-deprecating style and often hilarious anecdotes of real life in rural Spain.”
- Malcom Smith, Author, journalist, www.costa-news.com

“Hilarious. I couldn’t put this down. Crisis in Catral gives an informed account of what must be a truly worrying situation for many people – including the author. Linda manages to laugh, however, in the face of adversity, and the reader is compelled to laugh with her.”
Pete Skinner, English Teacher & Schools English Examiner

“I live and write on the Costa Blanca and my books are published in the USA. I have no doubt that the American public would be totally captivated if they were to read Linda Palfreeman’s Crisis in Catral.”
- Colin Peck, Author

ARTICLES/INTERVIEW
Linda is a long-term resident of Catral and works as a translator. With a wealth of experience on expat- and property-related subjects, she is happy to provide free content/interviews in return for a “plug” for her book. She is also available for exclusive commissions. Contact
http://crisisincatral.com/contact/

LINDA PALFREEMAN

Linda Palfreeman was born and raised in Teesside, before moving to Leeds. After completing Degrees in Media and Linguistics she taught at secondary school and university level, before moving to Spain. She now teaches Advertising and English at the University of Cardenal Herrera, Elche.

When not traipsing around the campo of the Vega Baja with the family pets in tow, she enjoys tackling DIY building projects and researching into the Spanish Civil War. Linda spent her first years as an ‘expat’ in Albatera, in the province of Alicante, an experience which inspired the first of her Spanish memoirs, ‘Costa Blanca Christmas’, a light-hearted account of a British family’s move from the
cold and damp of Yorkshire to the warm and welcoming shores of Spain’s Costa Blanca.

The family later moved to Catral, the small town set to become the centre of one of the biggest housing scandals in Spain and the setting for Crisis in Catral. The illegal housing situation has caused, and is continuing to cause to this day, very real anguish for many innocent people caught up in a network of mass deception from which there is no easy escape. Through her writing, Linda seeks not to make light of the desperate circumstances, but merely to use humour as a means of helping to deal with the unpleasant predicament in which, like numerous others, she and her mother presently find themselves.

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