Lest We Forget

Earlier this year, I read The Rabbit Hole Book, which derives from the podcast, The Rabbit Hole Detectives.

It's a collaboration by Richard Coles, Cat Jarman and Charles Spencer and is full of quirky stories that
would undoubtedly be useful in a pub quiz.  For instance, did you know that the 385 yards added to the 26 miles of a marathon came about because Queen Alexandra asked the 1908 London Olympic committee to move the start line in Windsor so that the royal children could see it from their nursery?

I'm sure you also know that over 4 billion LEGO mini-figurines exist* and that LEGO manufactures the largest number of (albeit tiny) tyres in the world, which I'm sure you'll agree is a marvellously useless piece of trivia.

There is more in the book that piques an interest and other tales that give pause to reflect.  As we approach Remembrance / Armistice Day, I'm reminded of one of the chapters in the book relating to Cathays Park in Cardiff, where there is a celebrated suite of memorials in its civic gardens, some of which remember the fallen from historic battles.

On 11 November, many around the world will remember those who fell in the Great War and subsequent conflicts, which nicely segues into my book recommendation for this month, a fabulous novella from an author friend of mine, Rodney Strong.

"The saying goes, a person dies twice, once when they draw their last breath, and the second time the last time someone says their name."

The Last Time You Say A Name evokes powerful emotions about how fleeting life is and how the mark we leave is transient. It’s a beautiful story about acknowledging the lives of those we’ll never know and how a legacy is created through one man’s act of remembrance.

If you have a Kindle, for $1.99 you can treat yourself to this heart-warming story. I loved it.

As well as the above recommendation, I also wanted to say thank you to those that bought or are reading Dignity. I've had some lovely feedback and I'm pleased that it's resonated with so many of you.

In promoting the book, I had a wonderful evening talking about it with Jim Crockatt on his show Art for Art's Sake on my local radio station, Kennet Radio.  That session is available to hear on my website if you wanted to learn more about the book's genesis.

What I particularly enjoyed was the format.  Borrowing from the BBC's Desert Island Discs, I got to choose the songs for the evening.  As Dignity was inspired by the Deacon Blue song of the same name, I decided that my choices for the show should include songs that tell great stories.

Given time constraints, we were only able to play six of these, but there are others that I'd chosen for the evening which you can find in this Spotify playlist.

One of these tracks is also the inspiration behind another novel that I recently started writing, which will see Katie from Dignity making a cameo appearance.

That's it from me, there's no Dad joke this month, but I will leave you with the words of Laurence Binyon from his poem, 'For the Fallen'.

Cheerio for now

Craig

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

For the Fallen, Laurence Binyon

* A number growing annually by 340 million.

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Craig Brown is an author living in Newbury.  To follow his work visit craigbrownauthor.com

Facebook/BlueSky/Threads/Instagram: @GOMinTraining

Copyright © Craig Brown, 2026

1 November 2026.

From the bookshelf

As much as I lament the end of summer, I'm a little relieved to see that September is behind us.  It's been a busy month, with Dignity finding its way into the world and all the promotion that has entailed.

The marketing associated with launching a book is my least favourite part of the process, so I'm pleased to take a step back from that now and revert to some good old-fashioned writing and editing.  The Writer's Cap has been exercising significant patience, waiting for me to return to its pages, and I'm looking forward to moving it on in the coming months.

Although my creative muscles have had little exercise in the last few weeks, I have maintained a healthy approach to reading, so I thought I'd share some some of the books that I've enjoyed in recent weeks.

I loved Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka.  It provides a different perspective on the life of a serial killer awaiting execution.  Most often, writers focus on the killer in such a scenario, placing them and their crimes at the centre of the novel.  This novel differs from that trope, with Danya Kukafka giving centre stage to the victims and women in the story whose lives have been affected.

It's a powerful take, and the shift in emphasis makes for a brilliant story.  If you follow me on Facebook, you'll know that I've already lauded one particular piece of writing where Danya writes:

"The night was an open sore. The heart was an organ that beat on and on. The trees creaked their unanimous sorrow."

In the context of the novel, it is astonishing what those words convey.  They took my breath away, and should you choose to read the book, I hope they do the same for you.  It's just phenomenal storytelling.

Another of the reads that I really enjoyed was Next Time Will Be Our Turn by Jesse Sutanto.  It's a book that Mrs B passed across the bed when she finished reading it, suggesting that perhaps I should give it a go.

It's not a genre that I am naturally drawn to, so without the intervention, I might not have read it, but I'm so glad I did.  I don't think I've read a book with a title that fits so well.

Next Time Will Be Our Turn is a poignant read that explores love and loyalty.  It is both uplifting and heart-breaking and illustrates the sacrifice that comes with meeting others' expectations.  It also paints a glorious picture of the liberation that comes from pursuing our hopes and dreams, but also the cost that must sometimes be borne.

There Are Rivers in the Sky is the third novel that I've read from Elif Shafak and I confess to being somewhat of a fanboy.

Her prose is gorgeous and the premise of this novel, that lives are interlinked across millennia in a single drop of water, is fabulously wrought.  Shafak is a wonderful storyteller and this is yet another excellent tome from her pen.

Often when I read one of her books I wonder how she's going to pull everything together, knowing that she will, and knowing that the payoff will be delicious.  Again, she didn't disappoint, the way she wrapped this one up was just peachy.

If you fancy reading any of these books, you can get hold of them by clicking on the cover or the underlined titles.  That will take you to an affiliate link on bookshop.org, so as well as supporting these writers, you'll also support independent booksellers, and that's just a little bit splendid.

With the nights getting longer in the northern hemisphere and the weather driving us indoors, what better way to fill your evenings.  Of course, if you're occupying a land Downunder, there are days on the beach to come where any of these will contribute to a lovely day out.

That's it from me, cheerio for now

Craig

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Craig Brown is an author living in Newbury.  To follow his work visit craigbrownauthor.com

Facebook/BlueSky/Threads/Instagram: @GOMinTraining

Copyright © Craig Brown, 2026

5 October 2026.

It's finally here ...

When I sat on a plane heading from JFK to Long Beach sometime in 2002/03, I didn't expect that the two chapters of Dignity that I wrote on that flight would sit in a draw for the best part of two decades before I got around to fishing them out.

It was the first book I turned my attention to when I decided to focus full time on writing, completing the remainder of the initial draft between 16 March and 20 August 2019, before once more leaving it to gather enough dust to cause a sneezing fit while I wrote my debut novel, A Little Something to Hide.

I always knew I'd come back to Dignity, it's a story with which I've maintained a sustained fondness. The inspiration came from the Deacon Blue song of the same name, which tells the story of Bogie, a binman who saves his money to buy a boat.  

When I paid attention to the lyrics, I was reminded of a man from my hometown who kept our streets clean, very much keeping to himself.  I wondered what happened to him and before I knew it, I was conflating the song and his life and inventing his story; telling it through the eyes of a pre-teen boy who befriended him.

It's a tale of friendship, overcoming adversity, and staying true to oneself - I hope you'll enjoy it. It's set in the New Zealand of my youth, which you'll find woven into the fabric of the book. As I wrote it, I was transported to another age, as vivid and alive to me today as it was when I was a child. I hope you'll find it as fresh and as vibrant on the pages of the book as it is in my mind.

An unlikely friendship; an incredible bond

When Bogie's ambition to escape his daily drudgery burns in the November night sky, a pre-teen boy becomes an improbable hero by rekindling the older man's dream.

A click on the image above will take you to Amazon's US site, where the book is available as a paperback, eBook, or on the Kindle Unlimited platform.

If you prefer your shopping from somewhere other than the Kingdom of Bezos, you can get it here or if you're reading this in the States and you want to support your favorite independent bookstore, you can order through bookshop.org. There are also numerous links to Amazon's country specific sites on my website, craigbrownauthor.com.

In getting Dignity ready for publication, I've had a bit of fun with the marketing of the book. I posted this picture of our Maisie demonstrating zero interest and a complete lack of support for my work. A couple of friends who were early readers decided to share further canine raptures and sent photos of their faithful friends with copies of my book, and #DogsWithDignity was born.

In the gallery below, you'll find LEWIS, MONTY, WREN, GERTY and CHESTER, who have all joined MAISIE in the pack and you'd thrill me no end if your pampered pups joined the party.

If you've added Dignity to your TBR pile and you have a dog, I'd love to see how they're tackling my latest novel.  Send a picture to me at craig@craigbrownauthor.com so that I can caption it and add it to my socials.  It's just a bit of fun and I hope you'll join in.  Note well - this is strictly an AI free zone and don't forget to tell me your dog's name.

Canine capers aside, I have another ask, and this matters more than you might think.  If you enjoyed Dignity please leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads - a few words is perfect.  Discovery of us indie-authors is greatly improved by that small act of kindness.

It's been a busy few months getting to this point and not many original words have landed on the page.  I'm very much looking forward to getting back to creating something new.  I've got a couple of short stories bubbling away, which I'm keen to finish and a couple of novels that need editing.

In the meantime, thanks for your support and your continued readership. 

That's it from me, cheerio for now and let me know what you think of the new book.

Cheers

Craig

I give you, your #DogsWithDignity catalogue.

 

 

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Craig Brown is an author living in Newbury.  To follow his work visit craigbrownauthor.com

Facebook/BlueSky/Threads/Instagram: @GOMinTraining

Copyright © Craig Brown, 2026

2 September 2026.

Alea iacta est

I was chatting to a friend recently who was bemoaning Amazon's algorithmic offers.  He'd just bought a new vacuum cleaner, replacing one he'd buried in the great appliance grave in the sky after 14 years of use. He's hoping to get a similar life-expectancy from the new one, although not according to the retail behemoth, which gives him the opportunity to buy another one every time he lands on their site.

I too, have received my fair share of offers during the course of my online scrolling, one of which caught my eye given the impending publication of Dignity.

It was from Zeely, a company that claims it will transform online advertising results through the use of its AI tools for creative and campaign management.

It immediately placed me in a quandary. Like many authors, I view the use of AI to write books as detestable. My choice to write stems from a life-long desire to put my words on a page in the hope that someone will want to read them. Sure, I aim to make money from my work, but that's not what motivates me, it's the creative process that fuels me, so why would I subcontract the thing I love to an AI engine?

And yet, I found myself dipping a toe in the Rubicon. Despite my motivation, I do want to sell some books, and I'd love as many people as possible to buy it, so I looked at what Zeely had to offer, learning after several irretrievable hours that it was ... now what's the word I'm looking for?  Yes, that's it, crap.

In all probability, Zeely would suggest that the failure was down to user error, and they may have a point. However, the tools to refine ad copy, allowing me to incorporate my choice of words, not AI's, led to dreadful image degradation, making everything look like I'd popped it through a washing machine.

That, however, was as nothing compared to this gloriously awful image generated by Google's Gemini engine.

I simply could not resist the opportunity to put this on my socials with the wording:

This book is so good you'll grow an extra hand so you can read it twice, adding with no hint of modesty that it is, A beautiful tale of humanity, written by a human.

Both experiences have led me to overcome my curiosity.  I won't resort to generating ads using AI and will attempt the creation of my own ad set. I doubt they'll be pretty, but they will be mine, which will allow me to continue to rail, without the accusation of hypocrisy, about AI generated books that dilute the market and compete with authors trying to create art.

That said, I do acknowledge that I started to make an AI bed, but I'm not going to lie in it.  When dear old Julius Caesar said, Alea iacta est, the die is cast, he had already crossed the river.  I found the AI waters too cold and unforgiving for a swim - though imagine how fast I could reach the other side with that extra hand.

So, I'm going to have a play on Canva, without using its AI tools, and see what I can conjure, remaining comfortable with the knowledge that every word of Dignity was written by me (well, apart from four words that featured in the lyric of a song) and the ads will be mine as well.

As I embark on my advertising crusade, I do so knowing that my artistic and copywriting skills may fall short of the book I'm seeking to promote. I'm immensely proud of Dignity and I hope you'll give it a chance.  The reviews are starting to come in, and so far, they're all positive, here's a snippet.

I hope you'll come to agree with Alija when you read it yourself.  If you want to be one of the first, you can pre-order now, using one of the links below and my appreciation will be far greater than anything AI is able to generate.

Pre-order by clicking on your preferred link below (please)!

 

 

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Craig Brown is an author living in Newbury.  To follow his work visit craigbrownauthor.com

Facebook/BlueSky/Threads/Instagram: @GOMinTraining

Copyright © Craig Brown, 2026

7 August 2026.

With a fair wind, Dignity will be launching soon!

If you follow me on Facebook, you might have noticed me teasing the cover of my new book recently. I'm hugely excited that we're getting close to its publication date, which I'm thrilled to say is set for 1 September 2026.

DIGNITY is a coming-of-age tale exploring the friendship between a young boy and a local street-sweeper, Bogie, a taciturn figure who prefers to pass through life unnoticed by those who look down on him. Providing support to each other, they navigate a path to achieving Bogie’s ambition of retiring to a sailboat, and the boy surviving the challenges of early adolescence.

It's inspired by the Deacon Blue song of the same name, but I've knocked the grimy streets of Glasgow on the head and given it a setting in 1980s New Zealand, which permitted me an indulgent stroll down memory lane.

At its heart, it is the story of a quiet man overcoming adversity and a young man finding his place in the world.

If you want to be among the small group of readers who get an early taste, I'm looking for people to join my ARC team. It's simple to do and you'll get a link to a free copy for the eReader of your choice - just click the button below.

All I ask in return is that you leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads (or both)!

Want to join the ARC team?

Sign-up deadline is 24 July, so get in quick - I can't wait for you to meet Bogie and the boy.

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Craig Brown is an author living in Newbury.  To follow his work visit craigbrownauthor.com

Facebook/BlueSky/Threads/Instagram: @GOMinTraining

Copyright © Craig Brown, 2026

8 July 2026

 

A new birthday suit

The old maxim of not judging a book by its cover applies to many aspects in life, but not I suggest, to books.

There is an entire industry out there dedicated to designing covers. The authors and marketers charged with selling books put tremendous emphasis on trying to find a winner.

That said, it's an inexact science, but trends emerge to reflect genres, with publishers commissioning artwork that will serve to attract readers looking for their next favourite read.

To illustrate my point, I did a search for thriller covers. The results included this lovely montage.* 

As a reader, if you liked Peter May's, A Silent Death, chances are high you'd pick up a similar looking title when looking for your next read if faced with such an array.

In the genre I write, literary fiction, it's a little more challenging, with no dominant form occupying bookshelves.

When I serialised the publication of A Little Something To Hide, my brilliant designer, Jason Heffer, came up with a fabulous device for illustrating each of the individual parts.  That worked well and delivered what I was hoping to achieve.

However, you'd be forgiven for thinking that with a tweak to the colour scheme, the cover for the full volume could just as easily sit among the other books in the thriller genre shown above.  Given the similarity to those covers, this leads some readers to believe it does, but that is a mis-characterisation.  It's not even a distantly related cousin to the category. 

So on this, the second anniversary of the publication of Bobbie, the first part of the A Little Something To Hide series, I'm gifting my book a new set of clothes.

Happy birthday to ALSTH!

... and here it is, in all its technicolour glory - the new look A Little Something To Hide.

Inside, the story remains the same, but outside, there's a world of difference - it's blue for a start ... and has a different picture. Anyway, I love it.

If you want a copy, click on the gorgeous new cover.**

New cover aside, I also wanted to forewarn that excitement is getting the better of me.  Next month's newsletter will come out a little earlier than usual containing news about what's coming next from my desk.  I'm really looking forward to sharing it with you in more detail.

Until then, that's it from me, cheerio for now

Craig

* Source

** Note that I said there's nothing different inside. Unless you're a serial collector of multiple editions, if you already have a copy, don't buy it again. Find another writer and support their work. If you're looking for ideas, here's an affiliate link to some that I recommend.

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Craig Brown is an author living in Newbury.  To follow his work visit craigbrownauthor.com

Facebook/BlueSky/Threads/Instagram: @GOMinTraining
Copyright © Craig Brown, 2026
25 June 2026

Throwing a spotlight on humanity

There are two high street presences that cause my family to groan when I spy them.  The first is an estate agent's office.  If we're on holiday somewhere and I see a display of houses in a window, they're often halfway down the road before they realise I've become lost in an imaginary world of home ownership in our latest setting.

The other establishment, which represents far greater peril to our timetable, is that most worthy of retailers, the bookseller.  If I slip through the door of a book shop, I may never be found. This is particularly true in Hay-on-Wye, where the density of book shops means that if they fail to spot which one I've sidled into, their searches are prolonged and often only end when I emerge with something to add to the library.

The Japanese have a lovely word to describe this compulsion, Tsundoku, which loosely, is the phenomenon of allowing reading materials to pile up in a home.

Umberto Eco refers to this habit as an Antilibrary, and is purported to have over 50,000 books across his apartment in Milan and his vacation home.

While nowhere in Eco's league, I am guilty of serial book acquisition, with the caveat that I do intend to read the content of my little library.  To aid in the process, I have developed a quirky system and accompanying spreadsheets.

The image below is my active to be read pile.  Although it consists of 19 books, in my convoluted system, that represents a TBR pile of 38 - there are other sources, both physical and virtual, from where I choose the alternate volumes.

They are the unread novels that sit on the shelves at home (387), books that occupy a spreadsheet I compiled from a variety of top 100 lists in the UK, the US and France (277), and my Goodreads 'Want to Read' list (53).

These numbers exclude the multiple volumes that I have loaded onto my Kindle in advance of Amazon's announced redundancy of its older models.

Most authors are prodigious readers. Consequently, the influence of others naturally seeps in to what we write.  Some of what I read informs my writing, not through plagiarism, but through imitation.  I can read a brilliant novel and discover that I have lost my 'voice' in the immediate aftermath and become a pastiche of another writer.

Of course, when that other writer is brilliant, that's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's impossible to sustain for the time it takes to write a novel.  Invariably, I rediscover my writing style during the editing process, sadly casting away some lovely paragraphs that resemble the prose of someone else.

If you've read my work, you'll know that I enjoy delving into the lives of my characters, most of whom are unremarkable on first blush, but on closer examination, have life experiences worth exploring.

It's the type of story I also like to read, and recently I finished The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri which left me in awe of her ability to capture the complexities of human nature in her storytelling. Her book is nothing short of extraordinary. It's both heart-breaking and up-lifting and if you wanted to gain a glimpse of what life must be like for genuine refugees, then I urge you to give her book a read.

Although a fiction, her book draws upon real life experiences, which serve as a reminder that many of those seeking to enter our country have endured horrific hardship.

While populists suggest that our country's woes lay at the feet of immigrants because it suits their purposes, it is worth remembering that behind many applications for asylum lie unimaginable tragedy and heart-breaking loss.  Lefteri's book gave me pause to think that we should perhaps be a little kinder to those who are hoping to join us for a better and safer life.

That's it from me. Cheerio for now

Craig

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Craig Brown is an author living in Newbury.  To follow his work visit craigbrownauthor.com

Facebook/BlueSky/Threads/Instagram: @GOMinTraining

Copyright © Craig Brown, 2026

28 May 2026

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Craig Brown is an author living in Newbury.  To follow his work visit craigbrownauthor.com

Facebook/BlueSky/Threads/Instagram: @GOMinTraining

Copyright © Craig Brown, 2026

28 May 2026