The Tea Splattered Birth of Bradley McBrave

I’ve always suspected my bookshelf was plotting something. Not in a sinister way, more in a

“I’m bored, and I refuse to sit here quietly any longer” way.

On the 9 th September 25, at precisely 6:52 a.m., it finally made its move.

I was halfway through a cup of tea, mentally preparing myself for a day of (yawn)

bookkeeping, when I heard a noise that can only be described as a… A thwip, a mega fwump,

and then a long, terrible sigh. (from me).

I turned around to find one hardback lying face down on the wooden floor like it had fainted

from the sheer effort of probably wanting to escape.

The rest of the bookshelf stared down at it in shock - or pride, I couldn’t tell.

I approached slowly, because you never know how a fallen book is going to behave. Ha-Ha!

Some sulk. Some demand attention. Some pretend they didn’t fall and insist you imagined it.

This one? This one looked up at me (don’t ask how, it just did) and said — in a voice that

sounded like a knight who’d been waiting far too long for adventure: “Finally. Someone

noticed.” (I did say I have a crazy imagination).

I blinked. The book blinked back. My dog, Roxi, trotted in, sniffed it, and immediately sat on

it, which did not help the situation.

I rescued the poor thing from under her bottom and inspected it. Slightly scuffed. A bit dusty.

A tiny tear on the first page. But determined. Fiercely determined. The kind of determination

you only see in characters who’ve been ignored for far too long.

And that’s when it happened… the idea-pop.

A thought sprang into my head so loudly I’m surprised it didn’t echo:

What if a book wanted to be read?

What if it had been waiting… counting the days… hoping for its reader?

What if it had a whole story inside it that no one had discovered yet?

So of course, why wouldn’t it plan its escape?

I stood there, holding this hardback, and the idea unfurled like it had been waiting for me:

A knight.

A book.

A long wait.

A big read.

Bradley McBrave marched into my imagination wearing crooked armour on the cover and

carrying a hopeful grin. He didn’t introduce himself politely, oh no, he barged in like he’d

been stuck on a shelf for 1,247 days and had absolutely had enough.

And just like that, the books stopped trying to escape. The books settled down.

The fallen hardback rested contentedly, as if its mission was complete.

Because that was the moment — the exact, ridiculous, tea-splattered moment —when

Bradley McBrave’s Big Read was born.

So welcome to my blog, where ideas fall off shelves, characters arrive uninvited, and even

my books have opinions.

If you stay long enough, you might witness the next escape attempt.