Miles takes readers on a journey

Miles Hewitt has written Miles and Miles, A Lifetime of Travel Adventures in Asia and Latin America.

Elaine Cusack and Jane Roberts-Morpeth, from The North Tyneside Writers’ Circle, helped Miles on his creative journey from manuscript to Kindle.

It was one of three books published by Morpeth authors at around the same time.

The book details his travels, and when Miles decided to write the book he didn’t realise how creative he would get.

He said: “When I made the decision to write Miles and Miles, I had no idea that I was about to hurl myself into a creative oblivion. I set about acquiring the skills needed to navigate through this unknown world.

“The entire project took three years of determined anguish driven by an innate desire to share my travel experiences.

“In the early stages, I gave various chapters to close friends for their honest feedback, which indicated that it was a good story. My confidence was given a boost. All I needed to do now was learn how to create an interesting travelogue written as a novel.

“Once the initial draft was in place, a grammatical mentor helped make the necessary adjustments. At this stage, I believed that I was 80 per cent of the way through to completion. When Elaine Cusack came into focus, I instinctively knew that she was my route to enlightenment. Her literary demeanour and creative countenance had a calming effect on my aspiring persona.

“However, aspiration turned to shock and awe when she stamped all over the manuscript with her muddy boots and slashed at the copy with scrawls of red ink. Elaine’s professional observations were valid and her wondrous mentoring was under way.

“The realisation that I was in fact a mere 20 per cent into the process was juxtaposed with Elaine’s comments, including ‘I like the pace of Miles and Miles...it has an exciting narrative’.”

On the final lap, Jane Roberts-Morpeth added a new perspective with some positive input, which included a slight structural change here and there, plus further polishing before Miles & Miles came to life – published by Northumberland’s Limelight Classic Productions.

The book’s cover image was the only surviving photo from the 1970s of Herat in Afghanistan, which Miles found in a drawer after his mother died.

It is available to buy and download on Amazon.