‘Malmesbury: A Flying Monk, A Fallen Spire, & England’s Forgotten Capital’ Writers’ Open House

Posted byJacqueline Lambert @WorldWideWalkiesPosted inAD (After Dog), Guest Post, UKTags:,
Malmesbury Abbey lit up with evening light

Author Robert Fear runs a creative writing showcase every year on his Fred’s Blog. This year, he is running it as a Writers’ Open House which is free to enter and open to all genres. You can find the Writers’ Open House submission guidelines HERE. The main stipulations are that it should be previously unpublished, and not AI generated. Multiple contributions and photos are encouraged!

Selected contributions may be published in a future anthology, although permission will be sought prior, and copyright remains with the author.

You can read Robert’s intro and my author bio here, with a link to the story, or go straight to:

‘Malmesbury: A Flying Monk, A Fallen Spire, & England’s Forgotten Capital’

The piece is a modified excerpt of a chapter from my upcoming book, More Manchester Than Mongolia: An Unexpected Road Trip Through Back Road Britain, which I am currently writing furiously! It is due for publication towards the end of 2025.

Manchester is the sequel to my award-winning book, Building The Beast: How (Not) To Build An Overland Camper. The e book has been chosen for an Amazon Deal for the month of September 2025 and is currently on sale at the bargain price of 99p/99c.

Image showing Jacqueline Lambert's e book Building The Beast : How (Not) To Build An Overland Camper with its awards and the text 'e book on sale now, limited time offer, 99p/99c on Amazon. The comic memoir of a crazy idea: for readers who love interesting characters interspersed with the practicalities of a nomadic lifestyle and the challenges of life on the road (or trying to get there) this book is a gem. Review from Reedsy Discovery

If you would like some further reading to enjoy with your morning coffee, check out the other entries from some of my favourite writers. Check out the Fred’s Blog 2025 Writers’ Open House HERE.

For Authors – Writers’ Open House

If you are an author and would like to participate, the showcase is open to submissions from April 2025 until further notice. You can find the details on Fred’s Blog. If you subscribe to the newsletter, you can stay informed.

Depending on the level of support, selected stories may be published in future anthologies

Robert’s 2022 anthology 40 Life Changing Events features my story, A Street Dog Named Blade, based on events that happened in my third book, Dogs ‘n’ Dracula: A Road Trip Through Romania, when we adopted a Transylvanian stray.

Welcome to Kosovo was published in the 2023 travel anthology, 50 Intriguing Personal Insights 

Kidnapped by Aliens in Slovakia: The Perils of Being A Brit Abroad and Ladies Who Launch: My First Ever Windsurf Race appeared in 30 Evocative Reflections 2024.

And in 2025, ‘That Was So Hebden Bridge!’ and ‘A Symphony of Horrors: Oravský Castle, Slovakia’ were published in 25 Treasured Memories.

Our Previous Adventures Immortalised in Print!

Want to read more about how we gave up work in 2016 to travel permanently with four dogs? Follow my blog or find my books on Amazon:

Read My Award-Winning Books FREE with Kindle Unlimited

Image of Jacqueline Lambert's award winning books with reader reviews

For a Limited Time, The Award-Winning ‘Building The Beast’ is 99p/99c!

So bag your copy now!

A picture of Jacqueline Lambert's book Building The Beast: How (Not) To Build An Overland Camper with its three awards, overlaid on a background of a sunset picture of The Beast, a Volvo N10 Camper conversion at lake Vidradu in Romania, and the camption 2024 Winner The Wishing Shelf Book Awards

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The Fab Four at Sigulda, Latvia

Published by Jacqueline Lambert @WorldWideWalkies

AD (After Dogs) - We retired early to tour Europe in a caravan with four dogs. "To boldly go where no van has gone before". Since 2021, we've been at large in a 24.5-tonne self-converted ex-army truck called The Beast. BC (Before Canines) - we had adventures on every continent other than Antarctica!

8 thoughts on “‘Malmesbury: A Flying Monk, A Fallen Spire, & England’s Forgotten Capital’ Writers’ Open House”

    1. Thank you so much, Debby. I’m working furiously and have almost completed the manuscript. It’s hard to keep up with everything while travelling, and I had a huge setback at the start of the year with Mark’s accident, but we’re having some down time between October and December, so I’m hoping to crack on and get the thing finished!

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      1. I admire your tenacity to write and publish a book while traveling this crazy world. Don’t push yourself. It will be ready when it’s ready. That’s how I managed along with my new upcoming book. Whenever it comes out, I’ll be there for my copy. Stay safe and well. Hugs xx

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  4. Hello Jackie and noticed Building the Beast on Amazon. We live full time in our van and just finished as wardens on a campsite in Scotland. About to head north to the Hebrides. I have a dream about having a truck based camper however my skill set does not match my ambition! Have a great Autumn and winter on the road. Both seasons challenging for van life however also the most rewarding in our view. Thanks David and Jo plus Tam (MS) Mad Springer

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  5. Hi David, Jo and Tam,

    Thank you for dropping by and dropping me a line. It’s always a pleasure to connect with fellow full-timers!

    I wouldn’t let skill sets put you off… It’s fair to say we were as green as our truck when we bought The Beast, blind off the internet, with no real plan beyond ‘convert her into an off grid home on wheels fit for a trip to Mongolia’!

    I’m not saying that is an easy route, as Building the Beast attests, (the How NOT to in the title says it all) but we got there in the end!

    Enjoy your trip to the Hebrides – it’s one of the places that’s been on my bucket list FOREVER, although I think your van may be more suited to the roads.

    If you yearn for a truck, I would really recommend visiting some of the shows. There’s a list of them here: https://worldwidewalkies.blog/2023/11/30/2024-uk-van-life-festivals-rv-caravan-camper-motorhome-overlanding-self-build-events/ The one in Stratford is probably the best one for trucks – or the one in Bad Kissingen in Germany.

    As I’m sure you know from van life, there is a wonderful community. https://www.facebook.com/groups/493156608052821 LorryLife Campers UK is a good place to start.

    Have you come across the Orkney Overlanders? They are great friends of ours!

    We’re cheating a bit for Autumn and Winter. We’re currently in the South of France, and are heading to Morocco in January! I’ve been working feverishly on my latest book, which follows our first year in The Beast, so I haven’t been able to keep up with my blog, but I hope to remedy that soon. The new book should be out by Chrismas. (I said things like that last year, then my husband skied off a mountain which rather scuppered the concept of ‘free time to write’ for several months!)

    Have a great trip, and do keep in touch!

    Jackie xx

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