Train journeys are the inspiration for Cawston author’s new book

Many will still remember a bygone era when steam trains ruled the tracks and a train journey was an adventure.
 
A new anthology from Cawston-based author Jeffrey BrettI Was On That Train – is a compilation of 20 short stories of humour and comedy, romance and crime, mystery and suspense, with perhaps the hint of a ghost to travel alongside too.
 

 
Published in October by Arthur H Stockwell of Ilfracombe, Devon, this 240-page hardback book recounts fictional travellers’ tales of what happened either on the platform, in the carriages or standing on the footplate, where events unfold that can or do have an effect upon their lives.
 
Mr Brett started writing more than 35 years ago in between answering fire calls while serving as a fireman in the London Fire Brigade. “Surprisingly, the story I started to write back then took me until the summer of 2015 to complete,” he said. “Reflecting upon the process I can only blame my true Virgo traits for being so self-critical. However, I am pleased with the result.
 
 “I find writing is a passion like no other. I am not sure from where the ideas emerge or exactly how an experience can suddenly produce the first line of a book, but when the last sentence is written and the book complete, the feeling of achievement is quite simply exhilarating. The fact is we all have a story or two to tell inside of us.
 
Mr Brett was born and lived in London, being educated at Highgate Wood Comprehensive, where his favourite subject by far was English literature. “In my early twenties I moved to Hertfordshire, changing direction personally and professionally, until finally landing on the shores of Norfolk in East Anglia,” he said.
 
“I have used the experiences from my life’s journey to help with my stories, applying some of the inspiration from the people I have come into contact with to begin writing the next novel.
 
“I enjoy the challenge a new book can present and admire the works of such authors as James Herbert, Stephen King, J K Rowling, Patricia Cornwell, Thomas Harris and Robin Jarvis, to name but a few.
 
“Writing is an indulgent expression that emanates from within; from where precisely I cannot tell, but we all have a level of creativity within us, which I am fortunate to use, enabling me to write.
 
“If you have read my published work, please feel free to leave your comment or rating and accept my grateful thanks for opening the first page, taking the time to read the content then turning over to the second and so forth – and for being honest.”
 
I Was On That Train (ISBN 978-0-7223-4580-1) is priced at £12.95 and available on Amazon, Amazon Kindle and Apple iBookstore. Waterstones will order the book for customers. Copies are currently on sale at Lucy’s Handpicked Home in Aylsham and the Holt Bookshop.
 
Contact: Jeffrey Brett 01603 879773 or info@jeffreybrettauthor.co.uk
 

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