Interview With Author Jacqueline Lambert
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi, I’m Jacqueline Lambert, Jackie to my friends, and I am a full-time nomad for whom home is a self-converted, 6-wheel army truck!
My travel companions are my husband, Mark, and four cuddly canines – Cavapoos (Cavalier/Poodle) Kai, Rosie, Ruby, and Lani.
I’ve had a lifelong passion for travel and adventure, and have slid down, flown above, thrown myself off, and submerged myself beneath 6 of the 7 continents.
I have written 8 books about our life since we quit work to tour full time. We started life as Adventure Caravanners – our aim To Boldly Go Where No Van Has Gone Before – which included towing our caravan (RV trailer) across two cornfields, a footpath, and crossing the Carpathian Mountains in Romania.
Since 2021, we’ve been at large in The Beast, a 6×4-wheel-drive ex-army truck we bought blind off the internet and converted into a fully off-grid tiny home on wheels to facilitate an overland expedition to Mongolia.
My books have won multiple awards.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called More Manchester Than Mongolia: An Unexpected Road Trip Through Back Road Britain. It’s the second book in my Wayward Truck series, and is the sequel to Building The Beast: A funny true story of van life, DIY disasters, and one very big truck
Like all my books, it is a true story. It follws a road trip through England when we were unable to travel abroad due to COVID lockdowns. We designed our expedition truck, The Beast, for the steppes of central Asia, so it was not the most practical vehicle for exploring British country roads!
I found it fascinating to explore my home country in the way I would if I were touring abroad. We met wonderful characters, uncovered many hidden glories, and discovered the true beauty of our backyard, as well as enduring multiple mechanical mishaps with a temeramental vintage truck!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I suppose my most unusual writing habit is that I rarely write alone. My stories always feature dogs because they’re my travel companions – and because one of them is usually sitting on my knee while I’m juggling a laptop and a cup of tea.
They consider my keyboard a communal workspace, so part of every edit involves removing the occasional burst of canine creativity. Let’s just say ‘dog typing’ is a recurring… and enthusiastic… contribution I need to edit out of my drafts
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I came to memoir as a genre at a very young age. As a child, I absolutely loved James Herriot’s ‘It Shouldn’t Happen To A Vet’ series, and Gerald Durrell’s wonderful books about the natural world on Corfu. I was also rather a fan of Lilian Beckwith and her time on a Scottish Island, reputed to be Skye. I have come back to all of these books as an adult and thoroughly enjoyed them. I found them a magical insight into many different lives – and a different time.
Aged 14, I was fortunate to do a multi-day pony trek around the UK’s Lake District with Bob Orrell, who penned ‘Saddle Tramp in the Lake District’ (among many other of his fascinating life stories!) He encouraged me to write about my trip and entered my scribblings into a national competition open to all age groups. It won 2nd prize!
Nigel Barley, Tim Cahill, Joe Simpson and Andy Mc Nab certainly awakened my lust for excitement, travel and adventure, which has now become my life! As for humour, I have to mention the razor sharp wit of Patrick Campbell I keep going back to his hilarious short stories about the most mundane aspects of life.
Lately, one of the most wonderful and inspiring memoirs I’ve read is ‘I, Tarzan’ by Jean-Philippe Soule. If you want to learn about succeeding in the face of the most unbelievable adversity, this beautifully-written book will leave you speechless!
What are you working on now?
I’m working on my next travel book, which follows our adventures in Albania – a country that a man on the ferry warned us, “Don’t go there!”
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I have found the Facebook group We Love Memoirs to be a very friendly and engaged community of memoir readers and authors.
Readers are encouraged to post and share reviews, and receive free books as a reward.
There is a strict ‘no self promotion’ rule, which means the group is not just filled with authors screaming, “Buy my book! Buy my book!” – Although there are promotional opportunities for authors.
I have found it a very welcoming group, and have made some wonderful friends because of it.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
1. Write what inspires you.
2. Don’t forget the craft of writing.
3. But also don’t forget: finished books sell much better than unfinished ones!
4. Keep a directory called ‘Kind Words’ on your computer. When you get that nasty 1* review that makes you want to give up writing for ever, go and remind yourself of all the praise!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
What are you reading now?
The Tales of a Fly By Night by Val Karren. a thoroughly enjoyable collection of short travel stories. It’s some of the most beautiful travel writing I’ve ever read. As an author, I find that reading outstanding work like this is not only a joy – it’s an essential way to stay sharp and hone your own skills.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I have so many sotires to tell! I want to catch up on my travel writing – we have visited over 20 countries in our truck, The Beast. I also have some very comical adventures to explore from my life B.C. (Before Canines) which I think would make very entertaining stories.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The P-P-Penguin by Patrick Cambell – I never tire of dipping into Patrick’s hilarious short stories. It has an added nostalgic draw, because my Dad always used to leave a copy by my bed when I visited.
Am I allowed a box set? If I am, could I have the Conqueror series by Conn Iggulden? It’s fantastically exciting historical fiction following the extraordinary story of Ghengis Khan, who rose from being a pariah left to die as a child on the Mongolian steppes, to a leader who united the disparate Mongolian tribes and created the largest empire the world had seen.
Besides a latent desire to be a Mongolian horse archer, these books are a major reason why I want to visit Mongolia 🙂
Author Websites and Profiles
Jacqueline Lambert Amazon Profile
Jacqueline Lambert’s Social Media Links
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