My daughter Annelie took the photo, then posted it to me on WhatsApp with the title 'First Day At School'. 😆 Wouldn't it be nice if we could just turn back time like that?

But it wasn't school. I'm standing outside Salford Royal Hospital, 90 minutes after waking up from a general anaesthetic and an operation on my voice box, a laryngoscopy. I'm proudly showing off my discharge papers, and there's a big smile on my face because I'm happy to be fending off creeping old age. A big thank you to our wonderful NHS, who have prodded and poked and scanned me for a couple of months, repaired a few loose parts and declared me more or less roadworthy — for now at least.

The Marathon Years

It was while I was waiting for all the pre-op questions, instructions and warnings to be completed — taking in the hospital bed mechanism, the blue linoleum, the antiseptic fluorescent lighting — that my mind turned back to a previous hospital visit, six years ago in the early months of the coronavirus lockdown. Back then, it was Lena needing treatment, not me ... and I wrote a short story about it, called Love in the Emergency Room (pandering to my American readers, who might have  interpreted 'A&E' as the Arts and Entertainment Network). 

This is one of my favourite stories — one I'll be including in my next book, The Marathon Years, all about our decade-long journey with dementia (and marathons), which I'll be publishing later this year.

I first published Love in the Emergency Room behind a paywall on the online publishing platform, Medium, but the button below is a 'friend-link' — so you can read the story for free, without a Medium membership. Enjoy!

The Foreign Aide

Video reels

So now I've written my novel, published it. I've told a story of a Westerner who gets involved in a Middle Eastern conflict he doesn't understand, led on by people he shouldn't trust ... the theme couldn't be more topical. And with Lebanon in the headlines right now, The Foreign Aide gives important historical context to one of the world's most complex countries.

So does that mean readers will be snapping up my book? Absolutely not.

The hardest part of my job begins now. Letting people know that the book exists. Persuading them that it's worth investing a lot of time and a little money to read it. If they do, and the book's good enough, maybe they'll tell other people. Ideally they'll even leave a review.

That's why I've created two 1-minute video reels promoting The Foreign Aide — the first two of five planned. The idea is that these will be used in an ad campaign targeted at potential readers — people who are concerned about recent events in the Middle East, especially those who might have lived there; those who have shown support for humanitarian campaigns; and of course readers who favour literary thrillers and historical fiction.

It's been fun making these videos and learning lots of new techniques, but what do you think? Are they too long / short? Do they hold your attention? Would viewers be likely to follow the link at the end? (A link to the Amazon page, incidentally, customised so that no matter where the viewer is based, it opens the correct local version of Amazon.)

Click on the pictures (or the links below) to view both reels in my YouTube channel:

Where to buy the book.

At the end of my video reels, I direct viewers to The Foreign Aide via their local version of Amazon. Why? Because I can't deny, although I may detest, Amazon's dominance of the market for books ( ... and just about everything else!). The figures are staggering: my online research found that in 2025, Amazon accounted for roughly 70-80% of all print book sales and 90% of ebook sales in the UK!

It's not just about sales. For independent authors, Amazon reviews are like gold-dust. A series of positive reviews from 'verified readers' spreads a little magic on a book. Reviews generate sales which generate more reviews ... and so it goes. 

Of course there are other important review platforms, like Goodreads (where I was delighted to get a 5-star review for The Foreign Aide the other day). But who owns Goodreads? Why, Amazon, of course!

But, for those who are looking for alternatives to Amazon, I am also publishing 'wide' — in other words, using a number of alternative retail outlets. And thanks to Books2Read, there's a nifty way to see everywhere you can get your hands on The Foreign Aide. Just click on this link:

Last orders for my 40% discount!

The discount below is only for signed-up newsletter subscribers ... and if you're reading this, then you're probably not a subscriber yet. That's why the secret Coupon Code is blanked out below.

But if you'd like to take advantage of this offer — and receive future newsletters — then use the sign-up form (just below), and by return you'll receive an email containing the secret code, allowing you to place your order. But remember, the offer only applies for orders received before the last day of June!

If you haven't ordered The Foreign Aide yet, don't forget that as a newsletter subscriber you qualify for a 40% discount — whether you're ordering an ebook, a paperback, or a hardback — on any orders placed before next Tuesday — June 30th 2026. Just go to the Bookstore on my website and place your order there, remembering to enter LAUNCH40 when you see the box for 'Coupon Code' during checkout.

And in case you'd like to order for a friend too, you can use the discount for more than one copy of the book.

So, that's all for this week. Thanks for reading — and I'll see you in a fortnight.

Alan