The Time Travelling Estate Agent by Dale Bradford
Author interview with Dale Bradford and Free Extract
What inspired you to embark on a writing career, and how did your journey as an author begin?
I was totally captivated by HG Wells’ The Time Machine when I was a boy. I have always wanted to write a time travel story of my own so, in December 2019, I took four weeks’ holiday to make a start on it. The introduction of lockdown a couple of months later allowed me to spend more time on it than I was expecting, and I fully developed the story that summer. Returning to the day job – I have been ‘writing’ for over 30 years, as a journalist and B2B magazine editor – slowed my progress, but I finally completed The Time-Travelling Estate Agent in 2024.
Can you describe your writing process? Do you follow a structured outline, or is your approach more organic?
I adopted the same approach to writing a novel as I did to writing a lengthy magazine article. Once the ‘start’ and ‘end’ points have been determined, it’s a matter of creating the steps necessary to get from one to the other. The spaces between these stepping stones can then be filled in and fleshed out during the writing process. I am aware that some authors are able to just start writing and see where it takes them, but I need a structure. Having said that, I would not like to plan every aspect of a novel in advance, as characters, and indeed subplots, benefit from having the space to develop and grow during the writing process.
Which authors or books have significantly influenced your writing style and thematic choices?
I have already mentioned HG Wells, who kickstarted not just my interest in time travel but the whole sci-fi subgenre, but the authors I return to the most are Philip K Dick, John Wyndham, and Douglas Adams. I think I own every title they have written, either in paperback or audiobook, with quite a few in both formats. Philip K Dick had an incredible imagination, John Wyndham’s writing is so effortlessly elegant, and Douglas Adams still brings a smile to my face. If I had to choose just one book from any of that trio it would be Trouble with Lichen by John Wyndham. He is best known for The Day of the Triffids and The Midwich Cuckoos but, to me, Trouble with Lichen is his masterpiece. It was published in 1960 but the subject matter, and the way the story plays out, could be contemporary. I re-read it, or listen to it, every couple of years. If someone was to say they could detect the influence of those three authors in my writing I would be absolutely delighted.
How do you balance writing with other aspects of your life, and what strategies do you employ to maintain this equilibrium?
While it’s tempting to stay ensconced in the writing place for as long as possible, particularly when we’re ‘on a roll’, writers do need to leave the house occasionally and to interact with people. I left my day job at the end of February to allow me to devote more time to writing, but every day I try to do ‘something else’ as well. It could be meeting up with family, playing padel tennis, or even just shopping for groceries.
What challenges have you encountered in your writing career, and how have you overcome them?
When I was writing and editing a magazine full-time, one of the biggest challenges I faced was coming home and trying to switch into ‘creative’ mode. I was often exhausted and the last thing I wanted to do was more writing. The best workaround I found was to allocate a certain amount of time to writing, depending on what else I was doing that day. So I might push myself to only write for half an hour on a weekday evening, while I could spend up to four hours writing on a free day. But now every day is a ‘free’ day, the biggest challenge I face is distraction: whether it be social media notifications, email alerts, or calls to my landline from representatives of ‘Microsoft’ telling me my computer has broken the internet.
Could you share insights into your current or upcoming projects that you're particularly excited about?
The Time-Travelling Estate Agent was originally conceived as a trilogy, and seeds to its sequels have been scattered throughout its pages, but now I am working on book two I am getting so many great ideas that I am starting to think it’s going to have to be a longer series. I used the word ‘great’ back there, but nearly all ideas appear great when you first think of them – I am making no guarantees at this stage!
How do you handle periods of writer's block or creative stagnation?
I read somewhere that writer’s block is just another term for procrastination, which might have an element of truth in it, but I suspect everyone gets stuck occasionally. My solution is to leave my computer and find a mundane job to do that I usually put off, such as mopping the kitchen floor or cleaning the outside bin. A few minutes of hard labour and I’m raring to get back in the saddle.
What advice would you offer to aspiring authors navigating the path to publication?
I’m still in the early stages of my own creative writing career, so it would be remiss of me to offer any advice on the publishing business, but the most helpful tip I picked up was not to edit during the writing process. It is so easy to read over yesterday’s work and want to start improving it, but as Winston Churchill reportedly said, perfection is the enemy of progress: it’s much better to plough on and to keep writing and editing separate.
How important are book reviews to you?
I’m not sure I believe those writers who say dismissively, ‘Oh darling, I don’t read reviews’, because they are hugely important to those of us just beginning our writing journey. A positive review from someone who enjoyed the book is a genuine thrill. If you have enjoyed any author’s work, please leave a review somewhere. They will greatly appreciate it.
CLICK HERE to read a FREE extract from The Time Travelling Estate Agent
Follow Dale on:
Are you a published author who would like to be featured? Please CLICK HERE to complete the author questionnaire. We cannot guarantee you will be featured, but we will alert you if your interview has been selected.
 | A guest post by
|