WITH pubs the venue for many a political debate, one Musselburgh debut author has used the premise of a pub crawl by a nationalist, unionist and swing voter to write about the forthcoming independence referendum.

‘The Mile’, a comic and action–packed tale by Craig Smith, features three friends and their alcohol-fuelled travels through Edinburgh drinking establishments the week before the crunch 2014 referendum.

While self-employed website designer Craig will be voting ‘yes’ next September 18, the nationalist in the novel is not him, and he thinks he is reflected in both of the main characters, having only become pro-independence in recent years.

His novel, bringing to life many of the debate’s key issues, raises the question of whether the three can reach a consensus on Scotland’s future, despite their many differences.

Said the 45-year-old: “I was up at [Edinburgh] Castle with my children and was just passing the Ensign Ewart [pub] at the top [of the Royal Mile], at the castle, and it struck me I’d never been in it in years.

“As I went down the Royal Mile, [the idea for the book] just came to me. My head was full of the independence debate at the time and the story just came together quite quickly in my head.” He added: “At the time I thought about it, the Royal Mile became a good metaphor for the journey taken and the crossroads we are in at the bottom.” Not wanting to date the tale post-referendum, the book itself does not speculate on the vote’s outcome.

There were a few late nights in the course of two-three months as Craig, of Inveresk Road, penned parts of the tale after children Sophie, eight, and Riley, six, had gone to bed, and he was “delighted” it got picked up by a publisher, Pilrig Press, fairly swiftly.

“I’m not particularly nationalist-minded, but because I was never pro-independence either until a couple of years ago, it was quite easy writing the viewpoint of the unionist guy – that was me until a few years ago,” he explained.

Former musician Craig, married to Fiona, 46, a teacher who also runs Cupcakes & Ribbons, hopes that the tale will encourage readers to look into the referendum issues and get more information.

‘The Mile’, described by fellow author Doug Johnstone as “a much-needed injection of booze-soaked banter and comedy into the independence debate – assured and heartwarming stuff”, is currently available to buy on Amazon in e-book format.

The paperback edition is out next Friday (November 1) and a launch event is provisionally due to be held at Blackwell’s on Edinburgh’s South Bridge on November 21.

Updates will be posted at facebook.com/themile