Here is the book synopsis of "Charlie and Me: 421 Miles from Home (film title: 500 Miles) by Mark Lowery:
How far would you travel just to say goodbye?
Thirteen-year-old Martin and his little brother Charlie are about to find out. Setting out on a 421-mile journey across England, they travel from Preston in the north all the way to the rugged tip of Cornwall in the southwest. By train, bus, and taxi, the boys are determined to reach a small harbor where a friendly dolphin returns each year—the same dolphin that made their family vacation unforgettable. But the trip may mean more than either of them is ready to admit.
At home, things have changed. Their mom rarely leaves her bed, and their dad is always working. Martin is trying his best to take care of Charlie and be the big brother he needs—but along the way, Martin begins to face the real reason behind their journey to Cornwall.
Charlie and Me is a moving story filled with humor, adventure, and heartbreak.
The novel is now adapted into a major UK motion picture in 2026 titled 500 Miles, starring Bill Nighy, Maisie Williams, and Roman Griffin Davis.
Mark Lowery was born in North Wales in 1979 and grew up in Preston, England. The youngest of four children, he insists his body is perfectly normal—though some people claim his head is a bit large and his legs a bit short. He once dreamed of playing football for Everton F.C., but that ambition ended at 18 when he realized he wasn’t very good at the sport. Instead, he trained as a primary school teacher and later completed an MA in Writing for Children at University of Winchester.
Mark has taught in Leeds, Ipswich, and even Italy while writing in his spare time. He now works part-time at a school near Cambridge, where his claim to be “the staffroom eye-candy” is strongly disputed by colleagues.
A father of three, Mark spends much of his time parenting, though he still enjoys football, swimming, music, and reading. He loves steak pie with mash and beans—and has yet to meet a cake he doesn’t like.
How far would you travel just to say goodbye?
Thirteen-year-old Martin and his little brother Charlie are about to find out. Setting out on a 421-mile journey across England, they travel from Preston in the north all the way to the rugged tip of Cornwall in the southwest. By train, bus, and taxi, the boys are determined to reach a small harbor where a friendly dolphin returns each year—the same dolphin that made their family vacation unforgettable. But the trip may mean more than either of them is ready to admit.
At home, things have changed. Their mom rarely leaves her bed, and their dad is always working. Martin is trying his best to take care of Charlie and be the big brother he needs—but along the way, Martin begins to face the real reason behind their journey to Cornwall.
Charlie and Me is a moving story filled with humor, adventure, and heartbreak.
The novel is now adapted into a major UK motion picture in 2026 titled 500 Miles, starring Bill Nighy, Maisie Williams, and Roman Griffin Davis.
Mark Lowery was born in North Wales in 1979 and grew up in Preston, England. The youngest of four children, he insists his body is perfectly normal—though some people claim his head is a bit large and his legs a bit short. He once dreamed of playing football for Everton F.C., but that ambition ended at 18 when he realized he wasn’t very good at the sport. Instead, he trained as a primary school teacher and later completed an MA in Writing for Children at University of Winchester.
Mark has taught in Leeds, Ipswich, and even Italy while writing in his spare time. He now works part-time at a school near Cambridge, where his claim to be “the staffroom eye-candy” is strongly disputed by colleagues.
A father of three, Mark spends much of his time parenting, though he still enjoys football, swimming, music, and reading. He loves steak pie with mash and beans—and has yet to meet a cake he doesn’t like.
1. List three adjectives to describe your book “Charlie and Me: 421 Miles from Home”?
Warm, emotional and funny.
2. What inspired you to write “Charlie and Me: 421 Miles from Home”?
I got the idea just before Christmas 2014. I went for a curry with my mates from football and made the regrettable decision to order off-menu. Fast forward a few hours and I was in bed, unable to sleep and doubled over in pain with chronic belly-ache.
At about two am, in my strange, semi-conscious state, I started to have this repetitive waking dream – a dolphin acrobatically leaping out of the sea and landing again and again. My feverish brain realized that this was quite a neat metaphor for life – you emerge from nothingness and you have this brief opportunity to do something beautiful before disappearing again, surrounded by droplets of water that each have your reflection in them.
This coalesced into a poem. And as this was happening, I sort of zoomed out my view, and I realized the dolphin was in a Cornish harbor at sunset, and two brothers were watching. By the morning I had the whole story in my head.
Looking back now, we were expecting our third child at the time and we knew he was going to be a boy. I guess I’d been thinking a lot about brotherly relationships and new life.
3. Was “Charlie and Me: 421 Miles from Home” the original title or were there other titles?
Originally, the book was called Leaping Dolphin. I remember a lot of to-ing and fro-ing with the publishers before we settled on it. It’s had lots of titles in different countries. In Italy it was L'oceano Quando Non Ci Sei, which means something like “The Ocean When You Are Not” (apologies for what is probably a terrible translation).
4. When you wrote the novel, did you map out the plots ahead of time or did it come to you while you wrote the story?
No – the whole thing seemed to just drop into my head immediately while I was in bed: there’s the dolphin, this is what it means, we’re in Cornwall, here are the two boys, this is why they’re here and this is the journey they’ve followed . . .
It was weird and it has never happened to me before or since. Maybe I need to go back to the restaurant and order another undercooked lamb curry!
5. What are your thoughts about the film being renamed “500 Miles” instead of the book title “Charlie and Me: 421 Miles from Home”?
It honestly doesn’t bother me at all!
6. Silly-Game question: From the novel (with your eyes close) could you please leaf through the pages and point at a random place. What is the full sentence? And what is the page number of this random sentence?
Page 15 – “I’ll tell ‘em you keep a . . . a pig in a shoe box and . . . you throw darts at it and make it smoke cigarettes. They’ll lock you up and then I’ll be safe.”
7. Congratulations on Charlies and Me: 421 Miles from Home (film title: 500 Miles) being made into a feature film, could you tell us how you found out that your story would be adapted?
This has been an epic eight-year journey to get here from my initial meetings with David Thompson at Origin Pictures. His son had been reading a huge pile of books, looking for something for the company to adapt. Something about Charlie and Me must’ve stuck with him because they chose to pursue it further. And I’m very grateful and humbled that they did.
8. What are your thoughts about director Morgan Matthews and screenwriter Malcolm Campbell taking on your novel? Were you involved, in any way, in the adaptation?
When I first met Malcolm and Morgan, we immediately hit it off. They’re great blokes, and they clearly loved and cared for the book. Malcolm’s copy of Charlie and Me was so covered in notes that I’m amazed he could still read it! It showed me that he was intensely in tune with the story, and determined to do a great job (which he has done).
Straight away I trusted them completely. We had a great discussion and they were very open about some ways that the story might have to change with the adaptation. They asked me if there was anything in the book that they couldn’t change. I told them that I wasn’t precious about anything at all, providing they protected the warmth and the spirit of the story. I think they’ve done this beautifully.
In terms of being involved, they sent me various iterations of the script and we had a few meetings here and there, but I was perfectly happy to take a back seat on that. At the end of the day, they’re the experts, and they needed the space to do their job. I think there’s a danger – particularly when there are going to be some fairly big alterations – that the author of the original novel might be a bit of a pain in the backside to the people doing the adaptation. I definitely didn’t want to be an obstacle to them.
9. The film has great cast members that include Bill Nighy, Roman Griffin Davis, Dexter Sol Ansell, and Malsie Williams. What are your thoughts on them participating in something that originated from you? Did you get a chance to meet them?
I’ve got to say hats off to everyone involved for assembling such a brilliant cast. As well as the actors you’ve mentioned (who are all brilliant), I thought that Michael Socha and Clare Dunne were inspired choices and put in superb performances as the boys’ parents.
I was lucky enough to meet all of them. I tried not to be too star-struck, and they were all lovely. At the end of the day, I’m a pretty low-key, boring primary school teacher from Preston. It’s not my world, and it’s still not really sunk in that these amazing actors have been involved with something that came from my weird brain!
10. Were you ever on set? If so, could you talk about your memorable moment?
Yes. I went over to Ireland with my wife and kids, and we turned it into a little holiday. They were filming at a lovely caravan park overlooking the cliffs in Wicklow. It was a gorgeous setting and such a cool experience. I think the best moment was watching Bill Nighy and the rest of the cast acting in person. It’s incredible to watch these talented actors in the flesh, then watching it back on the monitors and seeing how everything comes together.
11. Did you make a cameo in the film?
No. Sadly there was no call for a short middle-aged background artiste with an enormous head on the days I was there. My kids got to be in it though, shouting for help when Charlie has an asthma attack. They absolutely loved it. Well, for the first twenty-three takes anyway! It turns out that the film industry isn’t quite as glamorous as it looks!
12. which novel/novella/article/short story have you read that you would like to see a film adaptation?
Wow! Great question. There’s a children’s book called A Boy and A Bear in A Boat by Dave Shelton about . . . well . . . the clue’s in the title really! I would love to see that given the full BBC Christmas Day animated treatment. Oh, and my favorite picture book of all time is The Giant Jam Sandwich, all about a wasp infestation in an English village. I must’ve read it about 4,000 times, and I think it would make a really funny, quirky British film.
13. If you have your own talk show, who would your first three guests be?
Hmm . . . I think I’d be a terrible chat show host – as soon as I met my heroes I’d either freeze up or jabber on about nonsense. I guess it depends on what kind of a show it was. If it was a Jeremy Paxman-style interrogation then there are plenty of politicians, business leaders and educational “experts” I’d love to see trying to see squirming around while trying to justify themselves.
But, if it was more of a love-in, then the first name would be Paul Simon. I think he’s a genius, and his music has had an enormous impact on my life. I’d love to know about his creative process, and maybe get some tips on how to not be such a klutz on the guitar. Then I’d interview the late Jane Goodall, a trail-blazing scientist, a tireless advocate for nature, and someone whose books really influenced my love of wildlife. After that, I’d have to go for David Moyes, the Everton manager! Although, as part of the interview, I’d probably have to apologize for the time I asked him to sign my forehead in a Preston nightclub when he’d just got North End promoted, and I thought he was going to chin me. Then I’d ask him if he ever drank the cheap bottle of wine I took round to his house back in 2004 when he got Everton into the Champions’ League.
14. What was your favorite book when you were a kid? Do you have a favorite book now?
I’ve had so many favorite books down the years. When I was a kid it was probably George’s Marvelous Medicine. It’s such a simple story but one that still grabs children today. Which child hasn’t wished they could get their own back on a stupid, cruel grown-up? As an adult, I think it’s Mario Puzo’s The Godfather. I think it should be mandatory reading for any fifteen-year-old boy who says he doesn’t like reading. Although Holes by Louis Sachar pushes it a close second.
15. Last question, what is the one thing everyone should eat, drink, or check out if one should visit Preston, Lancashire?
Preston is a great city. Although I don’t live there any more, I love going back to see my family and my old friends. It’s a friendly place and the people are a great laugh. For food, you can’t beat a Lancashire pie. If you’re going out for a drink, there are still some great pubs in the city centre and out in the villages. There’s nothing like a proper pint of bitter – in the north they serve it with a creamy head. As much as I love living down south these days, it’s hard to find a decent pint! For something to do, the Lancashire countryside is beautiful. I used to love hiking in the Bowland Fells with my Dad or my mates.
Novelpro Junkie Exclusive(photos): The first photo is Mark Lowery at the film set in Wicklow. The second photo is Mark Lowery at the red carpet for the film premiere in Dublin
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