Tag Archives: Write Way to Stop Smoking

Now

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A friend of mine has ‘NOW’ written in large letters on the face of his watch. What time is it? It’s now. What year is it? It’s now. When will I be happy? Now. When will I choose my thoughts? Now.

It’s all we have. Just this moment. The past is gone. The future never comes. There is just this moment.

I’ve finished my book. After a very long time. Finally. Sure, there may be some tweaks to be done to it. It’s the hardest job of work I’ve ever had to do – harder than a degree. OK, not as hard are leaving religious life – that was the hardest thing I ever did. But professionally, it’s the most arduous journey I’ve taken. I’m very proud of the result; and a little scared too.

I’ve just finished reading Charles Dickens: a life by Claire Tomalin. It’s a brilliant book: I loved it and highly recommend it, especially to writers.

I’m delighted that President Michael D. Higgins will be presenting the Irish PEN Award to Joseph O’Connor in February.

As the new year begins, I’ve been cycling quite a bit. I did an hour and three-quarters today – not sure how far I travelled as the mileometer needs to be re-calibrated after I inserted a new battery. The day before yesterday it provided dodgy readings.

I’m doing a detox during January after the excesses of the Christmas. There’s a time for feasting and a time for fasting – well, detoxing.

If anyone out there wants a copy of the book I did a few years ago on how to stop smoking, they can get a copy at www.writeway2stopsmoking.com.

Let’s all have a happy new year. Enjoy each moment. Live in the now. Let’s all be thankful for all we have and for all we are – now!

 

A Step Into the Dark

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Hello friends!

Welcome to my website. One step forward, two steps back. I set up this website for a different purpose – to help academic writers and editors in getting their books published – but that ambition for a site has had to be parked for the moment. (Although I invite scholars needing help to get their work published to contact me at editor@joearmstrong.ie) So here I am, a writer, finding myself with a blank canvas and a potential intergalactic readership of six billion. Well, sort of…

Nature abhors a vacuum, so I’ve a hunch this site will become something of worth as I take a step into the dark with it.

I used to be a columnist with The Irish Times, which was a great privilege for me. I wrote at least one column a week for that famous newspaper for seven years, and two columns a week for five of those years. One column I wrote, called Man Alive, looked at men’s health. It was subsequently published by Gill & Macmillan in the Common Sense series, entitled: Men’s Health-the Common Sense Approach. I got a real buzz out of that – it was translated into several languages. Imagine my delight, one Christmas Eve to receive some book which I thought I’d been sent to review only to discover it was my own book in Hebrew! Of course, I wasn’t even able to recognise my name on it.

I also self-published a book called Write Way to Stop Smoking. I learned a lot about publishing by doing that. That was launched by the then Irish Minister for Health, Micheal Martin, who introduced the smoking ban in public places in Ireland. My book was widely acclaimed, with many doctors and psychologists, including a leading light in the World Health Organisation, saying very nice things about it. I’m still a journalist and a columnist. I write for Reality and Face Up, two magazines published by the Redemptorist Fathers. I love writing for ‘the Reds’. Gerry Maloney, who edits both magazines, is a delight to work with.

I’d another book published last year. It was my first co-authored book and it was a history of Muckamore Abbey Hospital in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. I’ve also had other books and booklets published. For example, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions commissioned me to write the booklet Workplace Stress in Ireland, which was well received. I’ve written heaps of reports over the years, edited others and I’ve hundreds of published articles. For the past three years I’ve been commissioning books for an academic publisher, as well as writing columns, reports and having a new book published.

I’m currently on the committee of Irish PEN and I’m a member of the AFEPI, the Association of Freelance Editors, Proofreaders and Indexers (not that you’d believe me with the typos I let pass here!). I used to be a school teacher. I spent five happy years teaching at St Bonaventure’s Comprehensive School in Forest Gate in the East End of London. It’s now a Technology College. Michael Wilshaw, the head teacher at that time, did such a good job he was knighted for his services to education.

I’m married and have two children. If you have an academic book that you’d like to have published, send me an email to editor@joearmstrong.ie Drop me a line too if you’d like me to write a column or report or if you need stuff edited. I don’t have heaps of time, but if the column or report interests me you’ll have my attention. I look forward to hearing from you.