Published: Oct. 31, 2011
Words: 30764 (approximate)
Language: English

Ebook short description

I’ve been a British Soldier for 22 years and it has been a privilege to have served with some outstanding people; a crème-de-la-crème of the public. Without my work in the military, this work would not have found inception. The characters in the book are made up from a mixture of views that are perhaps stretched to extremes. You always get a bad apple in a basketful.

Extended description

I’ve been writing since I was 13. I’d recite tales of Conan the Stamp Collector in the schoolyard and have my friends in stitches. I saw my first story published in a newsletter back in 1992 for the Creative Writers’ Sig. They weren’t very good, but I certainly had a passion for it. My time in the Army has been rich with characters and events from various dangerous parts of the world. I began to think seriously about publishing short stories a few years ago after I completed a tour of Afghanistan. I churned out many stories; some science fiction, horror, comedy and some disturbing. To my surprise I found I hardly wrote fantasy, something I thought I’d do since leaving school.
I found success in a short story I wrote in 1999 and it saw itself as part of an anthology published in March 2009, some ten years later. I began to contribute fully to the Bykerbooks webpage and two more short stories saw print. By December of 2010 I had a large collection of short stories and... (Read more) I’ve been writing since I was 13. I’d recite tales of Conan the Stamp Collector in the schoolyard and have my friends in stitches. I saw my first story published in a newsletter back in 1992 for the Creative Writers’ Sig. They weren’t very good, but I certainly had a passion for it. My time in the Army has been rich with characters and events from various dangerous parts of the world. I began to think seriously about publishing short stories a few years ago after I completed a tour of Afghanistan. I churned out many stories; some science fiction, horror, comedy and some disturbing. To my surprise I found I hardly wrote fantasy, something I thought I’d do since leaving school.
I found success in a short story I wrote in 1999 and it saw itself as part of an anthology published in March 2009, some ten years later. I began to contribute fully to the Bykerbooks webpage and two more short stories saw print. By December of 2010 I had a large collection of short stories and had just read an article on Can Write Will Write. A Mensan had published an E-book and after a year this was on the market. I decided to give this a go and sent in a sample of my work. A lady called Sherry began to mentor me through the process and edited most of my work. She helped shape the stories and together we came up with a sizeable collection of short stories amounting up to 73,000 words.
Barry Tighe is the Manager of Can Write Will Write and I must say I thought scam and googled this organisation coupled with the word scam. No results, but found a lot of published work on the website. I had nothing to lose and decided to sign a contract with CWWW. Sometimes it can be difficult, as a novice to get things published. CWWW won’t take any piece of work, you need a good foundation and some talent: you need to work at writing and soon, with time and effort you get better at the craft.
Most of my work in ‘A Scattering of Ashes, Tales from the Frontline, Afghanistan to England’ is drawn from personal experience. Many of the characters in the stories are real people, taken from my experiences in both the Army and my childhood.
A little of myself is in some of the characters and when writing it sets me free to express myself. A contradiction to this would be my British Pride short story, which, at first received condemnation for its content. I gave myself a challenge by posing as an antihero who had questionable extreme right wing views. Being in the military and having this short story raises some questions as to whether the powers that be want to be associated with this ideology. It’s simple, it’s purely writing and I have the pleasure in its many guises and forms. In short, my work can be seen as controversial, slightly gritty and close to the bone, perhaps. But that’s the way I write.
I find the time to write only in the mornings prior to my family greeting the day. As my Army career draws to a close, I’m finding it easier to find the time. On previous tours this was a challenge, but I found the time. Sometimes at 3 in the morning while on duty or during the day whilst waiting for the inevitable call for fire. The views expressed by the characters in this work are the characters’ alone and not mine, or the British Army, as an organisation. I condemn any acts of violence and extreme right wing ideology, as does the British Army.
Perhaps the most difficult part of publishing this book is getting the word out there. Social networks are good, but I've had to search for support through the tabloids.
I’d like to reiterate that this is an e-book and would only be available in a physical medium if the work sells relatively well. I’m an unknown in the world of publishing, but hoping to change this in time.
(Less)

Adult-content rating:

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Tags

adventure, action, warfare, army, afghanistan, weapons, soldiers

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Reviews

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Review by: Darren Sant on Nov. 22, 2011 :
I first came across Craig Douglas in Byker Books Radgepacket series of gritty anthologies that pride themselves on being industrial strength fiction. Craig’s stories stood out as having more emotional substance. That I think is the nub of Craig’s talent for writing. I don’t know how he does it is so subtle but you feel a connection with his writing, with his characters it’s both magical and rare.

His descriptive writing is second to none. He pretends to be a Radgey character but underneath he has the soul of a poet not a squaddie. I know he’d deny this with fervour so here’s an example:

Dappled flashes played on the bed between the shadows of boughs. Dust rises from the windowsill, something displaces it.

I could fill this blog post with more examples but I’d rather you read them for yourselves in the fantastic collection. If you need any further encouragement he is donating 50% of the proceeds to the BLESMA charity for limbless veterans.

I’ve written a little something about each of the stories below to further whet your appetite:

Murder Among Comrades - Mistrust, suspicion & paranoia define this exciting tale as bullets fly overhead.

The Last Veteran - A touching tale told with emotion & beautifully descriptive writing.

Trial Of Meat - Short. Brutal. Real.

The Trouble With Milkmen - A strangely touching ending. Men no matter how tough are still hurt little boys at heart.

Thunder on the horizon -
Scarily prophetic, sharp incisive brilliant social commentary.

Digging Up The Past - A simple act brings back memories of the past.

Flesh & Blood - Douglas writes melancholy so well. This story set in the Falklands is so sharply realistic that it could be a documentary. A sad tale that speaks true to the heart.

Welcome Home - The harsh reality of war

Scargill’s Man - A very sad tale that Craig brings to life expertly. A world weary melancholy atmosphere that is almost off the page it's so tangible.

The Incident At Wedzendorf Woods - Hollywood never tells the full story of the things that go on in war. Craig Douglas does here.

British Pride: A Nazi's Tale - A bigot released from prison finds the world a very different place. His crimes unforgivable

Rejoice In Thy Youth - Could there be hope for the future with a new life?

Homecoming - A cracking realistic story that could easily be expanded into a novella.

Time Split - An interesting little sci-fi tale very different to the rest of the collection

Magic in the Land of the Pathans - A bittersweet tale of magic & murder

Equal in his Eyes - a cursing shell shocked preacher shows great compassion.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Darren Sant on Nov. 22, 2011 :
I first came across Craig Douglas in Byker Books Radgepacket series of gritty anthologies that pride themselves on being industrial strength fiction. Craig’s stories stood out as having more emotional substance. That I think is the nub of Craig’s talent for writing. I don’t know how he does it is so subtle but you feel a connection with his writing, with his characters it’s both magical and rare.

His descriptive writing is second to none. He pretends to be a Radgey character but underneath he has the soul of a poet not a squaddie. I know he’d deny this with fervour so here’s an example:

Dappled flashes played on the bed between the shadows of boughs. Dust rises from the windowsill, something displaces it.

I could fill this blog post with more examples but I’d rather you read them for yourselves in the fantastic collection. If you need any further encouragement he is donating 50% of the proceeds to the BLESMA charity for limbless veterans.

I’ve written a little something about each of the stories below to further whet your appetite:

Murder Among Comrades - Mistrust, suspicion & paranoia define this exciting tale as bullets fly overhead.

The Last Veteran - A touching tale told with emotion & beautifully descriptive writing.

Trial Of Meat - Short. Brutal. Real.

The Trouble With Milkmen - A strangely touching ending. Men no matter how tough are still hurt little boys at heart.

Thunder on the horizon -
Scarily prophetic, sharp incisive brilliant social commentary.

Digging Up The Past - A simple act brings back memories of the past.

Flesh & Blood - Douglas writes melancholy so well. This story set in the Falklands is so sharply realistic that it could be a documentary. A sad tale that speaks true to the heart.

Welcome Home - The harsh reality of war

Scargill’s Man - A very sad tale that Craig brings to life expertly. A world weary melancholy atmosphere that is almost off the page it's so tangible.

The Incident At Wedzendorf Woods - Hollywood never tells the full story of the things that go on in war. Craig Douglas does here.

British Pride: A Nazi's Tale - A bigot released from prison finds the world a very different place. His crimes unforgivable

Rejoice In Thy Youth - Could there be hope for the future with a new life?

Homecoming - A cracking realistic story that could easily be expanded into a novella.

Time Split - An interesting little sci-fi tale very different to the rest of the collection

Magic in the Land of the Pathans - A bittersweet tale of magic & murder

Equal in his Eyes - a cursing shell shocked preacher shows great compassion.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Vic Wats on Nov. 10, 2011 :
'Tales from the Frontline' is exactly what it says on the cover - it's a collection of stories inspired by Craig's time in the British Army. Serving in Northern Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Cyprus Afghanistan and Iraq, Craig got plenty of inspiration.

These short stories are beautifully written, with lots of description. Craig's writing is really evocative and I felt I was in the stories. Many of these stories are hard-hitting and difficult to read because you know Craig's stories really are happening. The stories are a mixture of humour, grit and poignancy. Craig tries to write in different styles, giving each of his individual characters a believable voice. Some of the characters aren't politically correct, nor do they hold back with colourful language - this just adds to the realism.

This is a really important read for anyone - it shows what war really means to those on the frontline: before, during and after service.
(reviewed the day of purchase)

Review by: Cas Peace on Oct. 31, 2011 :
This book contains a fabulous selection of short stories. Some are gritty, some amusing, some are poignant. Some are downright surprising! But all are written with passion, pride and tremendous talent. The author has clearly had some life-changing experiences and he shows an uncanny and enviable knack for involving his reader in them. I would strongly recommend this book, the stories make riveting reading. But be warned, it contains strong language as well as some vivid images and un-pc sentiments!
(reviewed the day of purchase)

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