While Brit Author Jacqueline Lambert doesn’t write specifically about Greece, it’s surely inspired her writing. Read on to learn more about her and her books.
Q&A with Jacqueline Lambert
Author Jacqueline Lambert is a bit of a nomad. And she’s published seven travel memoirs. Keep reading to learn more.
ABOUT JACQUELINE LAMBERT
Where are you from? Tell us a little about you.
I am from Blackburn in Lancashire, in the soggy north west of England. It is famous for having 4,000 holes in the Beatles’ song A Day in the Life, ‘The Blackburn Bullet’ – world superbike champion Carl Fogarty (who lived opposite me when we were kids), and for Blackburn Rovers, the football team who famously won the FA Cup in 1928.
Where do you live now?
My base is in Bournemouth on the sunny south coast of England, although for the last nine years, my husband Mark and I have lived on the road full time.
We love travel and adventure and always dreamed of touring full time. Our lifestyle came about when we were both made redundant and accidentally bought our first ever caravan (RV trailer). You know those days when you say, “Let’s just go and have a look,” – then by tea time, you find you’ve signed on the dotted line?
A month later, in June 2016, we had rented out our house, sold most of our possessions, and set off to tour Europe with our four dogs. It was supposed to be a three-year trip, but we love touring so much, we see no reason to stop. A few years in, on Friday 13th December 2019, the UK’s general election result made Brexit (Britain’s exit from the EU) inevitable. You know those days when you say, “I’ve had enough of Britain. Let’s go to Mongolia…” and find you’ve bought a 24.5-tonne 6×4-wheel-drive army lorry blind off the internet to convert into a fully off-grid expedition vehicle? We named our new home The Beast, and since July 2021, she has given us safe conduct through over twenty countries.
Do you write full time or do you have a “day” job? Tell us about your work.
I am fortunate to be retired from the world of ‘proper’ work – in other words. the need to earn a living. My career trajectory was unusual, because I thrive on change and prefer to follow the road most interesting. A fascination with the chemical machinery behind life itself prompted me to study biochemistry. That led to employment as a research scientist, beer taster, and fridge magnate – selling specialist refrigeration units into hospitals, industry, academia, and research institutions.
Mark and I managed to retire at 50 because we were frugal, saved hard, and now live an inexpensive lifestyle in a self-sufficient vehicle. Rental income and savings grant us financial freedom, which gives me the time to sate my passion and need to write. It also affords me the privilege to keep writing as a pleasure, rather than a chore or fiscal necessity.
THE GREEK CONNECTION
Have you been to Greece?
Of course! Even as a child, magical stories of Greek mythology and enigmatic ancient civilisations lit the fuse of my imagination. My first visit was to Crete, that jewel amid the wine dark sea. Immersing myself in the dusty ruins of Knossos and connecting with the mystical realm of bull jumpers and the Minotaur, felt like a dream come true. Greece was also the catalyst for another of my obsessions – which was more about hot air than history.
It started with Eric, a regular afternoon visitor to Vassiliki, on the beautiful island of Lefkada. Eric is a strong thermal breeze, accelerated by the local topography. In Vass, I learned the rudiments of windsurfing and bloody-mindedness – an essential trait for success in board sailing. Determined to avoid being thwarted by a sport, Lefkada launched me on a multi-decade discovery of the panoply of ways one can be hurled off a windsurf board.
A thousand duckings later, a trip to Prasonisi taught me to appreciate another local phenomenon. A strait between a small island and the southern tip of Rhodes forcefully accelerates the Meltemi wind. There, you can experience waves to one side of the isthmus, a flat water speed strip on the other, and a rustic café which serves the most deliciously fresh grilled octopus I’ve ever tasted!
WRITING
When did you start writing?
I have always been a writer. Pre-school, even before I learned the alphabet, I recall putting pen to paper and spending happy hours scrawling pages and pages of ‘writing’ in a notebook. Once I mastered language, I was unstoppable. As a youth, my rather imperious maiden aunt, Lilian, commented on my literary leanings. She said, “Jacqueline can write pages and pages about absolutely nothing!” I viewed this as an enormous compliment and testament to my versatility.
Aged 14, I was fortunate to do a multi-day trek with native ponies, following ancient pack pony routes across the UK’s Lake District. My guide was Bob Orrell, who penned Saddle Tramp in the Lake District (among many of his other fascinating life stories!) He encouraged me to keep a journal, then write a piece about my trip. He entered my scribblings into a national competition open to all age groups. Pitched against adults, I won second prize!
Although I erred towards sciences in higher education, I was an A-grade English student who adored both creative and technical writing. It was a shame I had to choose, since further education didn’t permit me to pursue my love of languages alongside sciences. However, scientific writing hones the skill of conveying complex ideas or research succinctly. As an adult, I continue to study the craft of creative writing.
How did you get into writing?
I believe my desire to express myself through writing is innate – just as some people are inherently artistic or musical. Writing is something I have always felt compelled to do. Since childhood, I kept diaries and wrote long letters to friends and family. Throughout my working life, I sought outlets for writing, be it company newsletters, marketing copy, or magazine articles. I volunteered to blog for the UK’s National Watersports Festival and, once I started travelling, launched my own travel blog, World Wide Walkies. The encouragement to publish came when a blog subscriber commented, “You should write a book. No one writes like you!” Since then, I have released seven books, contributed chapters to various anthologies, and written articles and guest posts for international blogs and magazines.
What do you like to write?
My favourite style of writing is comic tales from real life, although I also enjoy tackling well-researched factual pieces. In my books, I combine the two, digging out obscure stories or unknown curiosities related to the destinations we visit and the characters we meet, as well as finding humour in observations of everyday experiences.
What inspires you as an author?
I love sharing insights into the world. Travel is undoubtedly a huge inspiration and provides a limitless source of material to write about. My life seems to be quite eventful. “It could only happen to you!” is a phrase I hear a lot. Perhaps I am unluckier than most, although I think it’s more likely because I put myself out there and am prepared to take chances. I consider this the best way to truly live. To me, life starts just beyond your comfort zone. I don’t mind sharing my blunders. They are often funny, but I also feel that being open might make people feel better about their own. Having the freedom to make mistakes helps us grow. A huge motivation for me is to inspire others to see that it is possible to follow their dreams. I do not sugarcoat reality. Choosing an alternative path is not necessarily easy, but I want to show it is achievable.
WRITING ABOUT TRAVEL
What made you choose to write about your travel experiences?
Mark and I are not millionaires, lottery winners, or beneficiaries of a wealthy relative’s will. We are ordinary people who found a way to realise our dreams of financial independence and full-time travel. It seems this is a dream we share with many others. When we started out, people were curious not only to hear accounts of our adventures, they wanted to know how we did it, to see if it was possible for them. In writing my books, I aim to entertain and inform, so I write fun travel stories which also document how you can live your dream on a budget.
BOOKS
How many books have you published?
I have published seven comic travel memoirs to date, with number eight being prepped for publication later this year.
Tell us about your books. When did you publish your first book?
I released my first book, Fur Babies in France: From Wage Slaves to Living the Dream in December 2018. It is the first of five volumes in my Adventure Caravanning With Dogs series, which follows our travels since we accidentally bought our first ever caravan (RV trailer), then quit work to tour Europe full time with four dogs. The books are chronological, although each is a standalone adventure representing around one year of travel.
The series is called Adventure Caravanning because it’s caravanning, but not as you know it… Our aim was To Boldly Go Where No Van Has Gone Before – to more off the beaten path destinations. For example, our caravan/trailer joined the Mile High Club at 2,042 metres (6,699 ft) when we towed her over the Carpathian Mountains in Romania via the Transfăgărășan, one of the world’s most dangerous roads.
A sixth book, Pups on Piste: A Ski Season in Italy, chronicles our first winter in a little-known ski paradise. It also documents my own personal skiing journey, which began with tears on the baby slopes and culminated with a fully fledged off-piste powder chick!
Talk about your latest book.
Building The Beast: How (Not) To Build an Overland Camper is the first in my Wayward Truck series. The series title is a nod to the John Steinbeck novel and film, The Wayward Bus. It’s basically the comic memoir of a crazy idea. It is the true story of a couple (us) with no knowledge of vehicle conversions, who buy a 30-year-old 6×4-wheel-drive army truck sight unseen off the internet. We had in mind a Grand Design – to transform it into a tiny home-on-wheels in order to escape post-Brexit Britain and drive to Mongolia. Not that we had the slightest clue how we would achieve that.
When a van life friend said, “I can convert that for you,” we thought all the pieces were falling into place. Until a global pandemic, international red tape, looming homelessness – and finding out the hard way that expecting your mate to act reasonably is not a sound premise for a business relationship – turned it into a truckload of trouble.
If you enjoy ‘moving abroad’ memoirs, Building The Beast is a quixotic twist on the renovating an old house story. I also hope it is an inspiration to those who choose to follow their dreams. In the book, I aim to prove that there is always a solution, and that with enough determination, you can overcome any challenge.
How have the books been received?
As an unknown, independently published author, I am delighted that all my books have been Amazon category bestsellers and have accumulated multiple five-star reviews from book bloggers and readers across the globe.
My favourite review (for It Never Rains But It Paws: A Road Trip Through Politics and a Pandemic by Ilana at Wild Writing Life) states, “Her nimble writing rivals Bill Bryson and Paul Theroux.” Wow! That’s a comparison to travel writing royalty! Other reviews describe my books as, “Inspirational”, “Laugh Out Loud Funny”, and “Armchair Travel Delight.”
My third book, Dogs ‘n’ Dracula: A Road Trip Through Romania won the Chill With A Book PREMIER Readers’ Award and was shortlisted in the Romania Insider Awards for ‘Best Promotion of Romania Abroad’. As a result, Britain’s ambassador to Romania, and Prince Charles (now King Charles III) – who has a special relationship with Romania (which you can read about in the book) – both have a copy!
My latest book, Building The Beast, was awarded the Readers’ Favorite Five Star Seal, and is a finalist in the nonfiction section of the Page Turner. And just this month it received the Bronze Award for adult nonfiction in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2024.
I am proud of my books and enjoyed writing them. That strangers enjoy reading them is a real bonus. However, the most rewarding thing for me is when I get feedback from readers who say, “You have inspired me to do something similar…” Then, I feel my work is done!
WRAPPING UP
Have you published anything other than books? (i.e. essay, short story, poetry, etc)
I blog about travel with dogs on my own blog, WorldWideWalkies.com and have contributed guest posts and articles on our lifestyle, travel, skiing, and windsurfing to other blogs and magazines. On my author website, JacquelineLambert.co.uk, I tackle the craft of writing and blog about the experience of being a writer.
What’s next for you?
The manuscript for my next book, More Manchester Than Mongolia: An Unexpected Road Trip Through Back Road Britain is approximately two-thirds complete.
Sometimes, the best adventures are the ones we didn’t intend to take, and this is the tale of the brave, perhaps foolhardy trip, which followed the hell of creating a vehicle fit for the adventure of a lifetime to Mongolia across the steppes of central Asia. When the COVID-19 pandemic slammed international borders shut, it abruptly rerouted our Mongolian expedition. Homeless, stranded in the UK, and embattled by mechanical mayhem, we had to come to terms with the eccentricities of a vintage vehicle laughably over-engineered for the quaint lanes of the British countryside.The war in Ukraine, closed borders, and geopolitical unrest in many other countries we would need to drive through to reach Mongolia, has taken that aspect of our travels is off the table for now.
However, we continue to tour and I already have a first draft manuscript for the third Wayward Truck. From B to A (Britain to Albania) will recount our exploration of Albania, including the Butrint marshes opposite Corfu, which Gerald Durrell brought to life so beautifully in his books. This year, we may explore the Nordic countries. And one day, we will definitely drive to Greece!
Anything else you’d like to share?
I just want to say a huge thank you to Peter. Not only for his wonderful, funny books, which are right up my street and have given me many a giggle, but for so kindly inviting me to feature on his website.
CONNECT WITH JACQUELINE LAMBERT
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