Back in March, I discovered that my latest memoir, Building The Beast: How (Not) To Build An Overland Camper had been chosen as a finalist in the Adult Non-Fiction section of the Wishing Shelf Book Awards!
I was delighted to get so far in an international book award, and felt anything else was purely icing and cherries on top…
When the winners were announced on 1st April 2025, I got icing, cherries – and a MASSIVE scoop of ice cream – when I found Building The Beast had WON bronze in its adult non-fiction category!
I am still working hard on the sequel, More Manchester Than Mongolia, although recent events where my husband skied off a mountain and was airlifted to hospital on my birthday have hampered progress. For the last two months, I have been full time slave to Mark and The Fab Four, although as Mark regains mobility, I am still on course to release the book later in 2025.
Building The Beast is the comic memoir of a crazy idea. It follows the true story of how one married couple bought a 6 x 4-wheel drive, 24.5-tonne army truck blind off the internet to convert into an off-grid home-on-wheels fit to undertake an expedition to Mongolia with The Pawsome Foursome, their four dogs.
Reviewers have described it as, “A quixotic twist (on the ‘renovating an old house’ story)”, “Hugely Inspirational!” and “So much more than the build. So far away from a ‘how to’ manual.”
Within months of release, Building The Beast was awarded a Readers’ Favorite 5* seal and was a finalist in the Page Turner Awards 2024.
Building The Beast is Jacqueline’s seventh book. Her previous books follow the couple’s life since they quit work, rented out their house, sold most of their possessions, and set out to tour Europe full time with The Pawsome Foursome.
All have received multiple 5* reviews. Her third book, Dogs ‘n’ Dracula: A Road Trip Through Romania won the Chill With a Book PREMIER Readers’ Award and was a finalist in the Romania Insider Awards for ‘Best Promotion of Romania Abroad.’
As with all of Jacqueline’s books, Building The Beast is available to purchase as an e book or paperback on Amazon, or you can read it for FREE on Kindle Unlimited.
the wishing shelf Book awards
The Wishing Shelf Book Awards is run by award-winning children’s author Billy Bob Buttons (Edward Trayer), who says, “I want this award to be where the ‘big boy’ publishers go when they want to find the next bestseller.”
It is recommended by ALLi, the Alliance of Independent Authors, and also supports a very worthy cause, Blind Children UK. If you are an author, you can enter the 2025 Wishing Shelf Book Awards here. It costs just £59/$75 to enter the awards, or £109/$140 if you want feedback, quotes, and reviews on Bookbub.com and Goodreads.
The Wishing Shelf Book Awards is different from other book awards.
It is also the only independent book award which is not ‘in it for the cash’. Wishing Shelf is not the front for a dodgy vanity press which plans to sell you lots of stuff. “You will not be charged for the certificate or asked to buy dodgy stickers for the cover of your winning book. I will not be trying to sell you a bogus editorial service, a licensing fee, or promise to publish the winners’ books if you pay me a ton of cash. If you win, you win. The entry fee is there to cover the costs of the Award, not to fill the pockets of the organisers.”
Firstly, Edward says, “We think this Award is the only independent book award run by an independently published author.”
It is the only independent book award judged by schools and groups of readers who love to read, and not by anonymous so-called experts.
About Jacqueline Lambert
Jacqueline (Jackie) Lambert is an award-winning travel writer and blogger. A dedicated adventurer, B.C. (Before Canines) she rafted, rock climbed, and backpacked around six of the seven continents. A passionate windsurfer and skier, she can fly a plane, has been bitten by a lion, and appeared as a fire eater on Japanese TV.
A.D. (After Dog), she quit work in 2016 to hit the road permanently with her husband and four pooches.
To date, they have toured more than 20 countries.
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The Fab Four at Shakespeare’s Birthplace, Stratford Upon Avon
Jacqueline Lambert 