Vibrant Imaginative People ~Your VIP Newsletter ~ September 2026, No. 54

Hello my dear VIP

How are you? What's happening in your part of the world? I was getting all geared up for autumn (and I still am!) but England has had a welcome late-summer hoorah and I am back in my flowing skirts and strappy tops. On Monday, after a few days of feeling unwell, I did three loads of washing, hung them out to dry and sat in the shade reading... it was a gentle and most welcome start to the new week. My baba dropped off some fallen apples and I baked a crunchy oat-topped crumble with a generous sprinkle of cinnamon and brown sugar. Just perfect with a mug of tea!

Eleni and I have been collecting "nature-things-and-treasure" finds and it has been a delightful experience which has taken me back to foraging in the park with my boys when they were still in primary school.

Do you find yourself repeating experiences you had many years ago but with different people or in different places? I'd love to hear about them.

It's funny (and so heartwarming) that I am now doing those same things over twenty years later with my granddaughter and I love how they have which prompted part of the content for this month's newsletter... carry on reading!

Planning Cosy Autumn Vibes

I have been thinking about the things I most love about the transition from the heat of summer to the crisper days of autumn and asked ChatGPT to design an image for me. What do you think?

There's nothing quite like cosying up with your favourite new read or flicking through the pages of a beautiful coffee-table book, listening to music which reminds you of happy moments shared with loved ones or wrapping up and crunching your way through the fallen leaves as you take a walk.

I don't know if it's my age... I will be sixty this year... or whether it's just my soul pulling me back but I am stepping away from drama, easing into each week with self-care rituals and spending more and more time with my loved ones. I am really loving this new pace of life and, without a big publisher behind me now, I am free to write at my own pace, consider my stories the way I want to share them and trusting my heart to lead me more than ever.

What tweaks are you making to your life to bring more joy and stillness?

Captain of My Own Publishing Ship

I've talked to you before about the changes my writing and publishing journeys have undergone recently and I am feeling much happier - especially now that I am in control! And I don't know if it's just a coincidence or serendipity but I have had the most beautiful conversations with people about publishing recently. A new author who has written his memoir reached out to me from Cyprus, another brilliant cook contacted me from Canada asking to meet the next time she is in London and a lovely lady, who lives twenty minutes away from me, chatted to me about her project.

It feels like the reigns have been set free and I am connecting with a whole new group of people. It feels good. It feels good to be sought out and consulted about my experiences of being a self-published author, a hybrid-published author and a traditionally published author. All processes have had their ups and downs and as sad as I was to see my publisher close its doors, I am grateful for the new opportunities this has led to.

I read in FLY AWAY HOME by Jennifer Weiner that in Chinese the word for crisis is the same as opportunity.

And it seems, that after all the panic which strangled me at the prospect of having to think about the next steps to republish five titles, there have been many new paths and conversations which I otherwise would not have experienced. All is good!

And I welcome you to The Soulla Christodoulou Collection. Six stories. Six journeys. One Voice. Which one will you be cosying up with next?

One Rhythm, One Cyprus For Peace.

It's a huge honour that I have been invited to take part in the 3rd Bicommunal Cypriot Festival next month and I hope to see those of you, who are close enough to the venue, to join us. I was last a part of this celebratory event two years ago and I am excited to be going back. It was a great day and I even had photos taken with the Mayor of Haringey, Lester Buxton!

I ate too many lokmathes (light puffy donut balls drenched in syrup) and met two people who went on to read The Village House and were so inspired that they got married in Omodos a few months ago... unbelievable, right?

It promises to be a fabulous day out with Cypriot food and desserts, dancing and singing, literature and poetry... and of course the many conversations which often transcend from like-minded individuals and those with a connection to our Cypriot heritage, culture and traditions.

What do you enjoy most about meeting the stallholders at events near you? Do you have a story to share?

Goodbye from Sunny London

As I sign off on this month's newsletter I want to say how much joy

your messages and emails bring me...

keep in touch and keep smiling my lovely!

I appreciate you being here.

Until next time,

Lots of love, Soulla

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