#TenThingsYouMayNotKnowAbout – Author #SallyJaneSmith

/ Marcia Meara

It’s time for another #TenThings post, folks, and today our special guest is author Sally Jane Smith. I know  you’ll enjoy learning more about Sally and some of her adventures, so without further ado, let’s get going! Sally, you’re on! 😀

#TenThingsYouMayNotKnowAbout #SallyJaneSmith

Thanks Marcia – after reading so many great #TenThingsYouMayNotKnowAbout posts, I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to participate 😊  Here goes…

TEN THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ME

  1. I’ve lived for a year or more in five countries on five continents: South Africa, Chile, the Republic of Ireland, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia.
  1. I’ve also been lucky enough to visit thirty-three countries, many of them multiple times. People have been telling me for decades that I should write about my travels, but it wasn’t until my first visit to Greece that I found the book inside me. When non-Greeks ask what was so special about Greece, I explain that it was the country that made me fall in love with my own life again. When Greeks ask, I say, “It was Greece that gave me my kefi”
  1. I’ve been bitten by a lion. (And I know I’m not the only author featured on this blog who can say that – what are the chances?) It was just a young cub, but, to be fair, so was I. We were at a small tourist park when the rangers invited me over for a photo opportunity. The lion cub was in a playful mood, I think, but its play-fighting was a bit on the rough side, and it took four grown men to pull the cub off me.
  1. After a traumatic solo travel accident in 2006, a series of events led me to move to Australia to help manage a wildlife sanctuary for two years. Insights from working in animal conservation make me wonder, now, about that long-ago lion cub and how that 1970s park was run. These days, I am sceptical of animal experiences marketed to tourists. If I’m not 100% sure they are reputable care initiatives that cause no direct or indirect harm to the animals in their charge, I don’t participate.Not my usual author photo: here I am with “Dexter the demented cockatoo” who is living his best life at Walkabout Park after a lovely woman rescued him from an unhappy existence in a small cage. This photo was taken around 2010, when I was still his best buddy. Now,  although he is happy to see me when I visit, he lives in a large aviary where he has learned how to be a bird again. Which, although it’s a little sad, we consider success!
    PS: I’m also sporting a dashing scar that runs more than halfway around my neck – a memento of the Sri Lankan bus accident.

 

  1. After dogs, my favourite animals are Australian flying foxes. These large bats aren’t at all scary (although I respect that some people have phobias – I have a couple of my own). Instead, they are like puppies with wings! When I was hanging up their fruit buckets, the mischievous bats at Walkabout Park would surreptitiously pinch my scrunchie from my hair or make away with my glasses. All for the fun of dangling them just out of my reach, making me jump – and maybe getting a tickle at the end of the game.
  1. I am clumsy and uncoordinated, forever walking into doorframes or tripping over nothing at all. When people ask why I don’t drive, I say, “Have you seen me walk?”
  1. It might not be a surprise, then, that I was the only girl at my high school who was let off participating in the compulsory sports program without a doctor’s certificate. Yes, I was that bad at sport. Instead, I became the scorer for the school cricket team. The other girls might have pitied my gawkiness but, hey, I got to go on national tour with the hottest boys in the school. Last laugh was mine 😉
  1. I love to dance, and don’t feel the slightest bit clumsy when I’m moving to music. The problem is, I also like to be in bed with a book by 7.00 pm. I’m usually up around 4:00 am, getting in a few hours of writing before heading out to the paying job. On weekends, I might sleep in till 5.30. If only there were all-day dance parties! As it is, I hardly ever get a chance to let my hair down on a dance floor.
  1. I have three university degrees, and I’m not directly using any of them (although my long-ago studies continue to enrich my experience of the world). After multiple intercontinental moves, I found that a knowledge of anthropology wasn’t hugely transferable to the jobs on offer. Instead, I discovered a surprisingly enjoyable talent for administration. I confess, I do have a fondness for a cleverly constructed spreadsheet. After six years working in a rewarding but stressful PA role, I moved to a lower-paid, part-time job in an art gallery so I could have more mental energy to write. Being surrounded by creativity in my workplace is a bonus.
  1. Unpacking for Greece was crafted as a Bill-Bryson-style travelogue, but most reviewers focus on the inner journeys of the story, both in recovering my wanderlust after the Sri Lankan bus accident, and in making peace with memories of my mother. I found an unexpected travel companion in her 1978 travel journal, and since that first trip I have returned to Greece again and again with her scuffed red diary in my pocket. At first, I tried to follow her footsteps. Now I take it with me to places she never got a chance to visit while she was alive.

My mum’s diary in Naxos in April 2023, my most recent trip to Greece.


Blurb

 Join Sally as she embarks on a solo journey across the magnificent Greek mainland and islands.

When Sally sets out for Europe with her mother’s 1978 travel diary in her pocket, she is searching for the wanderlust she lost in a devastating overseas road accident.

As she ventures into the heart of the Mediterranean – wandering volatile landscapes, exploring historical sites, pairing books with places and savouring the tastes of Greece – she finds it is possible for a clumsy, out-of-shape woman on a budget to experience a life-changing journey.

In a story told with warmth, humour and a fascination with Greece’s natural and cultural heritage, Sally connects with her past, overcomes her fears and falls in love with life again, one olive at a time.

Author Sally Jane Smith

 Sally Jane Smith has lived on five continents and visited thirty-three countries, but she gives credit to Greece for turning her into a writer.  She has worked in museums, universities, a language institute, a residence for people with disabilities, an art gallery, a primary school and a wildlife park. She also co-hosts two book clubs and assists the organisers of a biennial book-themed convention. She is currently based in Australia.

Sally completed a Varuna residency in 2018 and has published travel articles in Gulf News and TripFiction, and craft pieces in Women’s Ink! and Brevity Blog. Sally’s story of her great-great-grandmother’s extraordinary life appears in the anthology Itchy Feet: Tales of Travel and Adventure. Her exploration of travel and grief is included in the Newcastle Short Story Award Anthology 2022.

Excerpts from the Packing for Greece series have been awarded First Place Non-Fiction in the Port Writers Open Literary Competition and shortlisted in the National Writing Competition organised by the Society of Women Writers NSW. 

In a story told with warmth, humour and a fascination with Greece’s natural and cultural heritage, Sally connects with her past, overcomes her fears and falls in love with life again, one olive at a time.

The best way to get a taste of Sally’s writing, view gorgeous travel pics and play destination-based games is to sign up to her newsletter HERE

You can find all Sally’s social media links collected HERE

Visit Sally’s webpage HERE

 

76 thoughts on “#TenThingsYouMayNotKnowAbout – Author #SallyJaneSmith”

  2. How great to get to know Sally and learn about her fascinating life. I can relate to #7 as I was rubbish at sports too. But the PT teacher was clever and let me keep score for the basketball team. I also got to travel with the team!

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    • Glad you enjoyed Sally’s post today, Darlene. I thought it was truly interesting and fun. As for sports, I never participated in, or even cared about watching them on tv, etc. I guess my “sport” is paddling down a river to watch the wildlife. (Not very competitive, I’m afraid, but lots of fun, anyway. 😀 )

      Thanks for stopping by this morning and sharing your thoughts. Hope you have a fabulous day, my friend! 😀 ❤

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      • Yes, we did get the best deal in the end. Although the humiliation of not being chosen for a baseball team will be with me forever. But you can’t blame the captains, if the ball was hit towards me I would run away instead of trying to catch it!

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  7. Sally, you had to muster up a lot of courage to begin traveling again after your life-changing accident. I found your Ten Things very interesting. My cousin, who is Greek on her Father’s side, is heavily involved in the Greek church and its community and your book would make a great gift for her. I’d read it first though! 🙂

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    • So glad you found Sally’s post as interesting as I did, Nancy. Hope she is able to connect with us at some point later, so she can enjoy your comments (and all the others, too). Thanks so much for stopping by today, and hope the rest of your week goes great! 😀 ❤

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    • Thank you, Nancy. Travel was such an important part of my identity when I was younger, and somehow I didn’t realise how much I’d shrunk from travel after the accident. I only knew that there was something missing in my life. I am so grateful, now, that I finally worked out what was wrong and got back on a bus. I hope you and your cousin enjoy the book. I don’t know where she is based but I will be dialling in to the Hellenic American Women’s Council book discussion on August 12th at 10am CT. I might not be my sharpest because it will be 1:00 am my time here in Australia, but I’m sure she’d be welcome to join in. The registration link is https://tinyurl.com/TraveltoGreeceAuthors

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  9. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen Sally around on social media, but it’s lovely to get more in depth. Your life sounds like it’s full of incredible stories, Sally. ❤ Thank you for sharing your site with us, Marcia!

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    • Thank you, Mar. Life is a funny thing – isn’t it? I do have a few good stories to tell, but really my life is like everyone else’s: When you’re living it, it’s just one day at a time, making decisions and hoping they’ll turn out okay. I have been lucky, though – I’ve had opportunities open up to me at just the right time, sometimes.

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  11. I was so impressed with the staying on five continents fact and then you mentioned the lion bite! It’s interesting that it led you to your work in the wildlife sanctuary. The accident, glossed over, sounds traumatic and all power to you for finding the courage to go back on the road – with your mother’s journal. The news of the fires on the continent, especially Greece, must make this bittersweet for you. I will be looking into your book now! Many thanks, Marcia, for this terrific series! ❤ ❤

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    • Thanks Alex. Wildfire threats have become so much more real to me since I moved to Australia, and especially since the two times we’ve had to partially evacuate the wildlife park as the fire got closer – that was scary and so exhausting. My partner is a firefighter too, and I know a bit of what he’s had to deal with. The Greek fires are awful, and I can just imagine how tired everyone is, because they can go on for weeks or even months.

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  13. Thank you so much for sharing your 10 things, Sally. As you know, I thoroughly enjoyed your book.
    I can’t believe there are so many of us who have been bitten by lions! 🙂
    We have other things in common, too. One of my favourite photos from my backpacking trip around the Antipodes was of a flying fox that eyed me up, then dived over to attach itself to my trousers. It folded up its wings, and decided to go to sleep dangling off my pocket! It was in a wildlife sanctuary, but it was in 1997, so I would have to look up where. It would be weird if it was the one where you worked. The little critters are so cute and have so much personality!
    I am also clumsy – Mark despairs of me. One of the first meals I cooked for him prompted him to ask, “Jackie, how did you get pasta sauce on the ceiling at the far end of the kitchen?” Today I put our campsite entry card on the dashboard and it slipped down behind the glove box into The Beast’s electronics. Mark had to take out the glove box to retrieve it. Who else can do something like that? I’m afraid I do drive – plus I’m licenced to get behind the controls of a truck and a light aircraft, although all things avian and heavy goods have been without incident.
    I so admire that you have spent time on five continents. One of the reasons I went backpacking and now travel permanently is so that I can immerse myself into countries and cultures in a way you can’t achieve in a couple of weeks’ holiday. Actually living and working somewhere is a whole new level.
    I can’t wait to read about it!

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    • Funny how many parallels there are – although I would never have guessed that you are clumsy, with your water sports!

      I wish I could tell you that it was the same wildlife sanctuary, but unfortunately there’s not chance of that. Walkabout Park only got flying foxes when a colony of rescue bats (all of whom couldn’t fly because of some or other injury in their past) was moved there in – hmmmm I want to say 2009. Let’s go with that, although I could be a year out either side.

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      • I am the most unlikely sports person ever.
        I once told my brother I fancied having a go at golf. He gave me such a disparaging look and said, “You’re not co-ordinated enough for golf!”
        I argued the point vehemently.
        Although the following day, I went canyoning in Wales.
        Within ten minutes of leaving the car park, I had slipped off a rock face and was chest high in a river.
        I had dried off by lunch time, but just after I finished my sandwiches, I sprawled face first into another river.
        The guide gave up on me very early. I was just the idiot at the back, squelching along in wet boots.

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        • Ah Jackie, this made me laugh out loud – not least because I’m nursing a sore back from a fall a few days ago! Love that you don’t let your clumsiness stop you – I try not to either, although trying to stand on a plank bobbing about on the water is something I won’t attempt.

          More importantly – did you get to play golf?

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          • I did play golf, although my area of expertise lays mostly with the Crazy variety. I don’t really have the patience to knock a ball around a course for four hours. I became a demon on our local Poole Harbour Crazy Golf Course, with its notorious Volcano hole. We used to take all our visitors there.
            I did once play crazy golf with my brother, who called me a rude word. I had a putter, but he kept going back to his car to select different clubs (not competitive at all!) On one hole, he said. “I think you need to lay it up a bit short on this one.” Then he topped the ball and it went about two inches. I was so helpless with laughter I was rolling on the floor!
            I don’t let my clumsiness and lack of co-ordination get in my way. Windsurfing is a challenge for anyone, although I would say that having the sail to hang on to and counterbalance with does help. In the early days, it is a hindrance, because the sail not only weighs 10 kg and can pull you over, it tends to act like a giant lever to fling you over the nose of your board. Mark recorded his top speed on a windsurfing GPS when he was being flung over the front, but once you get the hang it’s not so bad!

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  14. What a wonderful Ten Things feature, Sally. I enjoyed reading more about you and I’m glad you found a work environment that allows you to focus more on your writing. How cool that you lived in all those different places! Keep enriching yourself with your travels!!

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  15. It’s funny that I have something in common with this author. I was let off participation in the sports lessons too because of clumsiness but I hate to dance. We have even more in common (but I was not bitten by lion) I suppose this has to do with the lifestyle of a professional author.
    Anyway, thanks & cheers
    Klsausbernd 🙂

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  17. I was so rubbish at sport I would not have even been able to keep the score! I am still envious of people who did horse riding or orienteering for school sport.
    Everyone has a different reason for travelling and a different travel story. Sally’s will be very interesting to read.

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  18. A massive thank you to Marcia and to everyone who commented on this guest post. I had so much fun choosing my ten things – and even more fun chatting with you all over the last 24 hours.

    Marcia, I really admire your generosity in supporting other authors through your blog. It is very much appreciated, by me and I’m sure by many others. Thank you ❤

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  19. What a fun post! So nice to learn more about Sally. I had to laugh at #7, my achilles heel, lol. I know there are many other creatives who’s strongpoint wasn’t school sports, lol. ❤

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  20. I love the connection with animals! (and sorry you were bitten by a bitey one!) I’m sure living in Australia brings you in close contact with all manner of critters. Loved reading your answers/comments – thanks for sharing!

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