1--What is the title of your latest release?
THE DAY TRIPPER
2--What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
What if you woke up each morning in a different, random day of your life? This is the situation twenty-year-old Alex Dean finds himself in after a perfect evening in 1995 ends in disaster. Doomed to never knowing where – or rather when – each new dawn will take him, he must navigate his way through the years and piece together what happened after that fateful night.
3--How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
London is a city of contrasts, of opulence and destitution in close proximity. It’s a natural home for Alex’s story, his life veering between success and failure but for a few fatefully timed decisions. Also, a lot of the action takes place on the banks of the River Thames, the ever-flowing, murky waters themselves taking on their own mystical role in the story.
4--Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life?
Absolutely I would! I’d probably agree to meet him for a quick beer after work and end up rolling home at four the next morning. He’s a bad influence like that!
5--What are three words that describe your protagonist?
Talented, fun, troubled.
6--What’s something you learned while writing this book?
Research is one of my favorite parts of the writing process. The Day Tripper involved all sorts, from gaining a deep understanding of addiction, to reading up on theories of the very nature of time itself. But perhaps the thing I enjoyed most was immersing myself in each date I was writing about, reminding myself of the news stories of the day and listening to the music of the moment. I hope the nostalgia trip I was taking myself will send the reader on one too.
7--Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I’m always editing as I go. I won’t let myself turn the page until I’m content I’ve written to the best of my ability. It’s makes for slow progress.
8--What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
There’s nothing quite like a great Sunday roast - preferably beef and including (but not limited to) several Yorkshire puddings, fluffy roasties and a cauliflower cheese. Yum.
9--Describe your writing space/office!
As well as the writing I run a business fixing cars, so I mostly write at a desk in the corner of my draughty workshop. It’s a typical British February right now and my fingertips are going a touch blue as I type this!
10--Who is an author you admire?
There are many! Forced to whittle it down to just a couple, I’ll say Laurie Lee for his powers of evocation (you can smell his words!), and Zadie Smith for her extraordinary talent for getting under the skin of every single character.
11--Is there a book that changed your life?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. It’s the book that, at age 31, inspired me to take up writing. I’d not penned anything longer than a best man’s speech till then.
12--Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published)/Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
An out-of-the-blue call from my agent on a Friday in late 2022. Not only had he sold my latest manuscript, but it was going to America! Shortly afterwards came the news that the screen rights had sold to one of the major streamers. It was a surreal time.
13--What’s your favorite genre to read?
I especially enjoy what have become known as ‘book club’ novels. Essentially, books that have literary merit, but a great commercial concept too. This is very much the genre I’ve found myself writing in, too.
14--What’s your favorite movie?
The original Willy Wonka movie, starring Gene Wilder. So colorful, yet so dark.
15--What is your favorite season?
I’ll take a good summer, please. The pub gardens, the long tides and calm seas, those magical dark nights as warm as day.
16--How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
As quietly as possible.
17--What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
Two recent Netflix book adaptations have been truly outstanding; that of Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See, and David Nicholls’ One Day.
18--What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
Forced to pick just one, I’ll go for Italian.
19--What do you do when you have free time?
I love to spend some time out in nature with my wife and little boy. I enjoy playing a bit of blues piano too, or just kicking back and listening to some records.
20--What can readers expect from you next?
I’ve got something new on the way. I can’t say much, but if you dig THE DAY TRIPPER, you’ll probably like this next one too.
The right guy, the right place, the wrong time.
It’s 1995, and Alex Dean has it all: a spot at Cambridge University next year, the love of an amazing woman named Holly and all the time in the world ahead of him. That is until a brutal encounter with a ghost from his past sees him beaten, battered and almost drowning in the Thames.
He wakes the next day to find he’s in a messy, derelict room he’s never seen before, in grimy clothes he doesn’t recognize, with no idea of how he got there. A glimpse in the mirror tells him he’s older—much older—and has been living a hard life, his features ravaged by time and poor decisions. He snatches a newspaper and finds it’s 2010—fifteen years since the fight.
After finally drifting off to sleep, Alex wakes the following morning to find it’s now 2019, another nine years later. But the next day, it’s 1999. Never knowing which day is coming, he begins to piece together what happens in his life after that fateful night by the river.
But what exactly is going on? Why does his life look nothing like he thought it would? What about Cambridge, and Holly? In this page-turning adventure, Alex must navigate his way through the years to learn that small actions have untold impact. And that might be all he needs to save the people he loves and, equally importantly, himself.
Science Fiction Alternate History [MIRA, On Sale: March 19, 2024, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9780778369646 / eISBN: 9780369748706]
James Goodhand has written two YA novels. His YA debut, Last Lesson, was called "a powerfully charged study in empathy," by the Financial Times. This is his adult debut. He lives in Englad with his wife and young son.
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