• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to footer

  • Home
  • About
  • Now
  • Jo’s Journal
  • My Writer Within
  • Sign Up Page
  • Contact Me
  • Books

Writing

New Anthology Published Today

October 31, 2020 by JoAnna Leave a Comment

 

Some of you will know that over ten years ago, I began looking for expat writers like myself, looking for support and advice which they couldn’t get from a more traditional group. Writers Abroad soon emerged and over the decade grew into a thriving online community. Members have come and gone, and most I would like to think, taking something with them to strengthen their writing life.

Today, Writers Abroad launched it’s sixth anthology. All proceeds from the publication have been donated to charities relating to writing or reading in some form or another. This year, the proceeds from Far Flung: Celebrating a Decade of Writers Abroad will be donated to the World Literacy Fund.

The foreword to the anthology has been written by international best-selling author, Peter May who also took part in an interview in one of our magazines some time ago. He has captured the essence of the group with his words and as an expat himself is more than familiar with the nuances of living and writing in a different country.

The publication has stories, poems and articles written by members, both past and present and offers a rich picking from which you can dip into at your leisure.

For a short time the digital version of Far Flung  is available for 99p/99c and the paperback will be available from the 14th November. Enjoy the read!

 

Filed Under: Writing

Behind The Mask

August 5, 2020 by JoAnna Leave a Comment

So I took the month off, removed my mask and allowed myself to put me first. Felt very hedonistic, I don’t know why, but I’m feeling a lot happier, or perhaps at least, at ease.

  • I did have my month off from Writers Abroad although I had work to do on the anthology we’re pulling together to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. It was good to step back for a while, though incredibly difficult when I feel so responsible for it. I need to think about my role going forward, this month has given me time to reflect.
  • I did muse every day, apart from a couple of Sundays which have always been a ‘day off’ from everything. I’ve always got my head in a book, or a journal or at a screen and I think one day a week should just be to chill and relax. I’ve got some great potential stories, my battle now will be with making sure I develop something out of them. I shall resurrect my posts on My Writer Within as an incentive. I’ve realised that writing and publishing for myself is good enough. If you read and like it, that’s an added bonus.
  • I completed the Journalling Compendium–in a fashion. I read The Artist’s Way some years back and have been doing the Morning Pages, more on than off, since 2015. Doing the exercises made me realise that really I don’t have any baggage or reason holding me back. Maybe I’m getting too long in the tooth for all this reflection. It was confirmation. I am a writer, and I love my job. The only thing holding me back is me.
  • The final task I set myself was revisiting one of my projects, The Moon Series. And oh boy, did I do some world building. The thing is, as usual, I went down so many rabbit holes and ended up with bits and pieces of different systems. So I now have the job to pull it all together into something coherent. I love this part of the writing process . . .  and that’s okay by me.

The thing I’ve learnt – again – is that it’s all about choices. We all have the same hours in the day, but the difference is how we choose to use it. I’m going to choose to put my writing first despite my desire to ‘just get this done or that done first’ which always frustrates me.

And I shall continue to wear a mask, but only for Covid reasons. 😎

This Is Me.

“Be yourself. Everyone else is taken.” – Oscar Wilde

 

 

Filed Under: Writing

Fancy A Short Read?

April 29, 2020 by JoAnna 1 Comment

Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been making a concerted effort to place my short stories and flash fiction. I have a lot of stories, some polished some needing some work and many that will never see the light of day!

The trouble is the market is flooded and many do not offer any financial reward, some even charge a reading fee. It takes a lot of time to produce story submissions to meet a particular publisher’s requirements with no guarantees of success and selection is very subjective.

So I’ve made the decision to publish them myself. And why not? I’d rather commit the time to producing something I can share with others and under my control then see my work going into an eternal black hole for weeks, perhaps months.

Many of the stories will only take 5 minutes to read, some a lot less. We’ve all got five minutes somewhere, right? In these distracting times, I’m finding that a short read really hits the spot. And instant escapism. They are a mixture of genres, many  inspired by writing prompts from my online writing group, Writers Abroad.

“A short story is a love affair, a novel is a marriage. A short story is a photograph; a novel is a film.”
― Lorrie Moore

I shall post them regularly on my blog My Writer Within. It’s also a good exercise in accountability; writing, editing and polishing a piece of work. Creating a habit, a habit which I love to partake in.

Do let me know what you think in the comments and if you do something similar, please let me know, I’d love to have a read!

 

Filed Under: Writing

Hello April

April 1, 2020 by JoAnna Leave a Comment

jo lamb author

Well, since we’ve been on lockdown here in Italy since March 10 – three weeks now – I’ve not been anywhere. Only to the shops, where I dash in and out again donned in gloves, mask and misted glasses grab what I need and dash out again. But then, you all know what this feels like now, right? We’re all in this together and I’m not sure that we’ll ever go back to the world as we knew it. Maybe that’s not a bad thing… so

Where I’ve been @

@The Desk there’s been a lot in the news about now is the time to get all those things done that you haven’t had time to do before… well for me, working at home has been the norm since 2007. But not since the earthquakes have I found it so difficult to concentrate. The constant need to check the news has been stifling. So I’ve done a ‘List Of Everything’ and am trying to tick off one each day. Other than that my muse seems to be in isolation.

@The Reading Table Same kind of news with my reading, which is always affected when I’m distracted and anxious. It’s not helped by the fact that I hate reading on the Kindle but we have very little option for print books here. I’ve just finished The Strawberry Thief by Joanna Harris. I’ve loved all her stuff and this one didn’t disappoint, though it seemed a little familiar as it’s a run on from Chocolat. Must watch the film again 😛

@The Goggle Box There has been a lot of opportunities to watch stuff we might never have had the access to. Opera was streaming from New York and watched two of my favourites, La Boheme and La Traviata. This week, the National Theatre start streaming some shows which we’re going to have a look at. We watched Bird Box, of all films… about some alien virus which made people suicidal, perhaps not the best choice and started to watch Game of Thrones again from the start. I’ve read all the books but not managed to get through the TV series. So I have done a lot of sofa surfing, but in my defence the weather has been cold, grey, wet and we even had our first snow, just as Spring arrived!

@Home Well, that’s where we are for the foreseeable. A family get together over here in May has been cancelled and so I won’t get to see my son and grandchildren until this is all over… I’m finding that most  difficult to accept. At least with the earthquakes we could run away if needed! The animals continue to keep us well occupied and life would be so much more difficult without them. The best news we received this month is that Simon is to welcome his fifth grandchild into the clan in October. That will make seven between us and something positive to look forward to!

Here is Freya, our small donkey sized Italian sheepdog. This was taken one Spring some years ago, just after the daff’s I’d planted had started to poke their little way through!

freya

 

Filed Under: Writing

Writing Tool Box March 2020

March 25, 2020 by JoAnna Leave a Comment

I wish I had found a vaccine for my toolbox this month. On day 16… or is it 17 of lockdown here in Italy and I’ve found it very difficult to concentrate. In fact, I’ve fallen off my writing stool completely. And this morning we woke to snow. I know it’s Spring but it seems that Mother Nature has a plan.

  • Learn a Language – Easy Italian News: I’m always trying to improve my Italian, which is difficult when we’re on lockdown. Listening is one of the elements I struggle with. This does what it says on the tin, is broadcast four times a week and is relatively short and topical.

  • Writing Competitions – Patsy Collins regularly posts about competitions, usually related to words – which is the theme of her blog. A very useful site. Remember to comment and let her know that you are there!

  • Feedback on Writing – Critique Circle – is a large community of writers of all genres. Amongst other resources and forums you can give and receive feedback on writing – it’s credit based so a very fair system.

Ciao for now…

JoAnna Lamb

Filed Under: Writing, Writing Toolbox

My Favourite: Recipe

March 18, 2020 by JoAnna Leave a Comment

JoAnna Lamb

Just because I’m a writer doesn’t mean I don’t love to cook. And food treats can be a big motivation when you’re trying to get things done. Since moving to Italy in 2007, I discovered some of the things I missed about my home country, often involved food. Don’t get me wrong, Italy has some of the greatest cuisine, it’s just those comfort type foods or more international dishes, that I took for granted before.

I’ve also been more adventurous with cooking Italian style and now often make my own pasta rather than buy it pre cooked or dried. The Italians like to take their time with their food. There is no ‘fast’… though pizza is often thought of in that way.

Today I give you… the good old English Crumpet! I love it hot from the grill and slathered with butter. Sometimes with a lick of Marmite or a poached egg… but mainly butter. As I’m not a make it up myself kind of cook, I use the internet a lot to find good recipes and keep them in an app called, The Recipe Keeper funnily enough!

The link to the best recipe I’ve found for crumpets which are light and fluffy is at The Spruce Eats. You have to be brave with adding the liquid and add as much as you can without it getting too thin. It’s a matter of practice. I’ve just about perfected mine as you can see in the picture. And they are so much better than shop bought! Give them a go… you’ll be surprised.

English Crumpets

 

Filed Under: Writing Tagged With: english crumpets, joanna lamb, recipes

  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to page 4
  • Go to Next Page »

Footer

Follow Me!

  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

THANKS FOR VISITING MY SITE!

I hope you have found it interesting. Your privacy is important to me. You can find the privacy policy here and the cookie policy here.

Thanks JoAnna

Copyright © 2021 · Author Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.