We’re still in the UK escaping Schengen, but have booked our ferries to France and Morocco. Our application for a Schengen-busting French Long Stay Visa was successful, so we now have 180 days in France, with 90 days in Schengen either side. We depart these fair shores on the 7th August, so watch out for trip updates.
Originally, our plan was to wander down through France and Spain, although when heading to Spain, we have a strange tendency to turn left. Once, that took us to Romania. This time, we’re toying with the idea of Drenmark… So keep an eye on my travel blog, WorldWideWalkies.com!
- The Truth About Book Promotion!
- Posts You Might Have Missed on WorldWideWalkies.com
- Most viewed from the Archive on WorldWideWalkies.com
- Posts You Might Have Missed on JacquelineLambert.co.uk
- Most Viewed from the Archive on JacquelineLambert.co.uk
- Posts I’ve Enjoyed on Other Blogs
- What I’ve Been Reading
The Beast, our truck camper, has been plagued with water leaks in her engine. The first one was finally diagnosed as ‘pear drops’ and was fixed by Robinson’s of Bolton. The last thing we wanted to see on MOT day was a pool of water under her engine… By then, we’d gone south and phoned Crouch, our saviours in the Midlands. In an unconventional approach, they suggested we asked the MOT man to see if he could spot anything while he was under the truck for the test! He couldn’t see anything untoward. The Beast passed her MOT with flying colours, giving us a whole year before we need to return to Blighty. A quick visit to Crouch’s diagnosed a leaking drain valve, which was quickly remedied.
Writing-wise, I restarted my WIP AT LAST – at the beginning of July, on what would have been my Dad’s 90th birthday. Writing has stalled due to caring for Mark after his accident, and the frantic journey around the UK catching up with friends and inter-trip admin. I was able to meet up with one of my oldest schoolfriends, Sue, who is getting married in September. We can’t make the wedding as we’re away, but I’ve promised to provide some honeymoon reading, so I have a very real deadline! I’m not sure the final version of my next book, More Manchester than Mongolia will be fully ready, but it’s at the editing, rewriting, and formatting stage.
The Truth About Book Promotion!
I’ve been busy with marketing.
Amazon A+ Content is something I’ve been toying with for a while, but didn’t know how to progress. A tip from a fellow author, Beth Haslam, recommended Kathleen Harryman. Kathleen produced four slides and a couple of banners for Building The Beast for the very reasonable sum of £15, along with instructions to upload – without which I wouldn’t have had a clue. Hopefully it will enhance my Amazon profile and help sales. Do tell me what you think. You can see it here on Building The Beast‘s Amazon page.
Since it was Prime Day on Amazon, which promised lots of bargain-hungry shoppers, I ran a stacked 99p/99c price drop promotion on three of my books, the two first-in-series Fur Babies in France and Building The Beast, and the two award-winners, Building The Beast and Dogs ‘n’ Dracula. I also ran a Bargain Booksy promotion, which emailed Building The Beast to thousands more bargain hungry consumers of travel books.
Note Dogs ‘n’ Dracula chronicles what happened last time we set out for Spain and turned left. We ended up in Romania!
This is what success looks like.
I sold 5 copies of Building The Beast, and NONE of the other two discounted books, despite hours of effort promoting the offer on my blogs and social media. My Bargain Booksy promotion cost me $25 to sell one book for 99c.
I’m going to quit book marketing!
Posts You Might Have Missed on WorldWideWalkies.com
- 10 Things I’ve Learned from Life on the Road – Pack Light – but Never EVER Skimp on Underwear – and other killer tips from our near decade on the road.
- The Ultimate Road Trip Planning Guide for Campers, Motorhomes, and Trucks – non-prescription painkillers that can land you in prison & other lesser-known travel facts!
- How To Apply for a Long Stay French Visa (VLS-T): A Quick Guide for UK Travellers – a Schengen-busting strategy.
Most viewed from the Archive on WorldWideWalkies.com
- Reintroduction of UK Pet Passports: A Gateway to Freedom for British Pets
- Can I Get My Dog an EU Pet Passport?
- To Tow or Not To Tow? Is it Safe to Tow in High Winds?
Posts You Might Have Missed on JacquelineLambert.co.uk
Most Viewed from the Archive on JacquelineLambert.co.uk
Posts I’ve Enjoyed on Other Blogs
- Behind the Pages: Writing Echoes of a Season. I found this very interesting – a beautifully written, heartfelt piece from Wesley Baker’s website, where he talks about his memoir, and the writing process as he worked in it. Looking forward to reading his book. Here’s the universal link for Wesley’s memoir: mybook.to/EchoesofaSeason
- The travel blog, Wet and Dusty Roads, has been chronicling their trip to Namibia, a country I long to visit. I’ve very much enjoyed their wonderful posts and beautiful photographs.
What I’ve Been Reading
I’ve managed a bit more reading than usual, I’m pleased to say!
- The Parthenon Paradox: Rivers of Redemption by Peter Barber – A wonderful read to transport you to sunny Greece and discover what it’s really like to be welcomed into a Greek family, the local community, and become embroiled in real Greek vendetta! Here’s the full review of The Parthenon Paradox: Rivers of Redemption by Peter Barber
- The Wild Guide to Morocco, by Lola Culsán, John and Danny Weller. A useful guide for planning a trip to Morocco, but lacking information on travelling with dogs.
- Burning Braincells in Cambodia by Richard John Currie – Cambodia through a haze of beer & bars: one man’s mission to drink Cambodia dry. This was quite a laddish memoir but had some genuine sparks of insight.
- Where Do I Belong – A Memoir by Sarah Carrington – an unflinching account of what happens when idealism collides with harsh reality. Aged only 13, Sarah is cast out by a religious community to fend for herself in a world she is completely unprepared to navigate. It’s a gritty story of survival and strength, which deserves to be read.
You can find other books I’ve read and reviewed on my Goodreads profile and find my Year in Books 2024 HERE.
Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy my content and find it useful. If you’d like to see more, don’t forget to subscribe, and I wish you a spiffing month!
Jacqueline Lambert 