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People: Jo Black - Essex Girl Authoress
Jo Black is unashamedly an Essex girl who sold up her business in Ashingdon and moved out to Spain. Having lived there for a number of years she has now written her first book telling the story of the adventures she and her family have had out there.
We caught up with Jo at a book signing of the new book (you’ll see it below) and got her to say in her own words what it was all about. Here’s what she had to say.
We caught up with Jo at a book signing of the new book (you’ll see it below) and got her to say in her own words what it was all about. Here’s what she had to say.
Rochford Life: Ok, Jo, let’s pick up a little bit about you. How long have you been out in Spain and what took you there?
Jo: Eight years. I think it was the rat race of England. I had a hair and beauty salon in Ashingdon, Cuts & Curls, and I was there ten years and had a successful hair and beauty business. Then I had my daughter and that made me think,I want to slow my life down a bit. I guess I was running away from being a business woman really, and I felt I wanted to take more of a back seat and that perhaps in a warmer climate, and be more of a mum, so I thought what better place to do that than the Costa Blanca (For those whose geography is not too good, Costa Blanca refers to over 120 miles of south-eastern Mediterranean coastline in the Alicante province of Spain.)
RL: And that is what the book is about?
Jo: Yes, that’s right. It’s all in the book. Now I have done all those things, of being a mum and so on. We bought a bar and I have a salon in Spain now as well. The book tends to follow my life - me selling the salon in Ashingdon, moving to Spain, then buying a bar, dealing with all the colourful characters that went into that bar, and all the ex-pats, sending my daughter to school and experiencing the Spanish culture and the way the people are. I then sell the bar and buy a hair and beauty salon and I have wedding contracts where I do wedding hair, so that takes me all along the Costa Blanca, and this year I’ve done about thirty weddings.
RL: So when did you decide to write the book?
Jo: I think it was when I read Derek Lambert’s book ‘Spanish Lessons’ and I felt it needed updating because he’d written some time ago. Sadly he’s died but he lived in a little village called La Xara where I now live. I read his book and thought, I need to do something like this, but it really needs bringing up to today’s day. That started me thinking and so I started it but that was about eight years ago and I put it down for the next six years after writing about two chapters. Then we moved house to the village where he had lived and I was reminded of him and it felt it was all meant to be. I came across the manuscripts again and took it up from there. I joined a writer’s group, which I still belong to and here we are now.
RL: The crucial question has to be are you going to write another book sometime?
Jo: Yes, an Essex boy on the Costa Blanca, which I’ll write in the third person instead of the first person.
RL: May I ask, did you go out there as a family?
Jo: Oh yes, my husband, Michael, is out there and he owns and runs a property maintenance company. We’re in the book and the nice thing about it is that I think we’ve done it successfully. It has been hard but the routes we’ve taken, a lot of people could relate to. We’ve owned a bar and a lot of ex-pats have done that. We then sold it. My husband starting commuting back to England to work but that didn’t work out and again there are ex-pats who have done that. And then there was him starting up his property maintenance, which has been much more successful for him, and I can honestly say he is one of the ones who has done it right and he shows evidence of every job he does, and he’s running a very successful business now. It’s nice to be able to say we are a successful couple of Costa Blanca. I’m not saying we haven’t been robbed and conned because we have - and that’s all in the book - so if someone was thinking of moving abroad it would give them that guide.
RL: But you also have an ulterior motive for writing I believe?
Jo: Yes, I’ve written the book to help support the children’s charity in Spain, Friends of the Children of Emmaus, children’s shelters. There are nine shelters in Spain and they are 70% government funded but because of the current financial situation the government are not paying even that and it is really quite tight for them at the moment.
RL: Well, there it is. If you’d like to buy a copy of Jo’s book, you can do it online by going to her web site using the direct link below:
Jo: Eight years. I think it was the rat race of England. I had a hair and beauty salon in Ashingdon, Cuts & Curls, and I was there ten years and had a successful hair and beauty business. Then I had my daughter and that made me think,I want to slow my life down a bit. I guess I was running away from being a business woman really, and I felt I wanted to take more of a back seat and that perhaps in a warmer climate, and be more of a mum, so I thought what better place to do that than the Costa Blanca (For those whose geography is not too good, Costa Blanca refers to over 120 miles of south-
RL: And that is what the book is about?
Jo: Yes, that’s right. It’s all in the book. Now I have done all those things, of being a mum and so on. We bought a bar and I have a salon in Spain now as well. The book tends to follow my life -
RL: So when did you decide to write the book?
Jo: I think it was when I read Derek Lambert’s book ‘Spanish Lessons’ and I felt it needed updating because he’d written some time ago. Sadly he’s died but he lived in a little village called La Xara where I now live. I read his book and thought, I need to do something like this, but it really needs bringing up to today’s day. That started me thinking and so I started it but that was about eight years ago and I put it down for the next six years after writing about two chapters. Then we moved house to the village where he had lived and I was reminded of him and it felt it was all meant to be. I came across the manuscripts again and took it up from there. I joined a writer’s group, which I still belong to and here we are now.
RL: The crucial question has to be are you going to write another book sometime?
Jo: Yes, an Essex boy on the Costa Blanca, which I’ll write in the third person instead of the first person.
RL: May I ask, did you go out there as a family?
Jo: Oh yes, my husband, Michael, is out there and he owns and runs a property maintenance company. We’re in the book and the nice thing about it is that I think we’ve done it successfully. It has been hard but the routes we’ve taken, a lot of people could relate to. We’ve owned a bar and a lot of ex-
RL: But you also have an ulterior motive for writing I believe?
Jo: Yes, I’ve written the book to help support the children’s charity in Spain, Friends of the Children of Emmaus, children’s shelters. There are nine shelters in Spain and they are 70% government funded but because of the current financial situation the government are not paying even that and it is really quite tight for them at the moment.
RL: Well, there it is. If you’d like to buy a copy of Jo’s book, you can do it online by going to her web site using the direct link below:
