Dominic Townsend interview

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A little introduction:

My name is Dominic Townsend, and I am a husband, teacher, father of two cats (and, terrifyingly soon, an actual human), and I am a writer. I am currently in the process of promoting my debut novel, The Conductor.

When did your love of books begin?

I have loved books for as long as I can remember. When I think back to my childhood, it’s remarkable how many of my fondest memories revolve around books in some way: visits to the library for story time at three years old; being read the first couple of Harry Potters by my dad before bed; staying up past my bedtime with a smuggled torch to get to the end of a book, because I couldn’t sleep until it was finished. I loved escaping into new and fantastical worlds, like they were made for me and no one else.

When did you start to have the wish to become an author?

I suppose I wanted to become an author from a fairly young age. In fact, it was around the age of 11 that I had my first idea for a novel, which would snowball into a series, and would stay with me for years until I eventually sat down during lockdown a couple of years ago and wrote the first one. It’s still a work in progress, but I hope to finish the series one day and bring my childhood idea to life.

What would you say to those wanting to become an author?

To those who want to be an author: do it. It’s one of the few jobs (if one can call it that) that is a reward all of its own. Never write simply to publish, or to make money. If you’re not enjoying what you’re writing, you’re writing the wrong thing, and possibly for the wrong reasons. Also, read. Read an awful lot. And never give up.

Tell us about your book/books:

I seem to perpetually have about a million irons in several fires, but I’ll talk about my debut novel. The Conductor is about - you guessed it - a conductor who works on a train and is fairly socially awkward. He keeps himself to himself, lives on the sidelines, and he likes it that way. He has always believed it makes life simpler, until, one night, he witnesses something at work that shakes his entire world. Over the next week, he goes on a journey - both literal and metaphorical - to learn more about himself, the world around him, and the value of connecting with other human beings. He faces demons from his past and ultimately comes out the other side with a different and fresh outlook on life.

What do you love about the writing/reading community?

The thing I love most about the reading and writing community is that it’s so supportive. Spend only a few hours interacting with other writers and you’ll quickly realise it’s the most helpful and encouraging bunch of human beings in the world. There is no vanity, no sense of competition; everyone is simply here to hold each other up and encourage one another to keep going. I love it.

If you could say anything to your readers what would it be?

I hope that my readers see a little something of themselves in The Conductor, and, more than anything, I simply hope they enjoy it. Like the best stories, I feel like it wrote itself, for the most part, and I hope in that way that it is relatable for as many people as possible.

Where can people connect with you?

I am on Twitter - I have two (ugh!) accounts, one for The Conductor and one personal which people can find me

@domtownsend117

I am in the process of setting up an Instagram account for The Conductor, but I am most vocal on Twitter - it’s the best place to reach out to other writers, while also getting my rather unhealthy daily mix of politics and funny cat videos.