Local author Dale Bradford has just released his latest novel, The Time-Travelling Estate Agent 2, and here he tells Cwmbran Life what readers can expect from the second instalment of the trilogy set in Cwmbran.
๐๐ฐ๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐๐ข๐๐ (๐๐): ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ ๐จ ๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ, ๐ฐ๐ก๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ก๐๐ซ๐จ ๐จ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐๐ง ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ?
Dale Bradford (DB): Hey, whatโs wrong with estate agents? Actually, Iโd describe him more as the main character rather than the hero, but he does gradually grow into the role. I picked estate agent as his occupation principally for reasons of plot but also because so many other books feature the daring exploits of detectives, lawyers, doctors, and special forces agents, and I thought this would be a nice change.
Iโve always been fascinated by estate agents: their job is essentially marketing but how they do it has changed so much in the last decade โ or at least it should have. I asked a number of local estate agents if they would be interested in exploring joint marketing and promotional opportunities around the launch of the first book but, disappointingly, I received no replies.
๐๐: ๐๐๐ฏ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ง ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐?
DB: I did explore moving into the profession back when my hair was a different colour, but life took me down a different path and for the last 30 years I have been a B2B magazine editor. That might sound interesting, but it really wasnโt. B2B (business to business) is nothing like as glamorous as working on a consumer publication, and I left my job in February to devote more time to this project.
๐๐: ๐๐ฌ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎโ๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐๐ค ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฅ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐-๐๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ, ๐๐๐ง ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ?
DB: It was no Harry Potter, but it did find an audience and the support of Cwmbran Life was instrumental in that. The novel features Eric Meek, a 60-year-old non-achiever dissatisfied with how his life has turned out โ where do I get the inspiration for my characters from?
While valuing a property, Eric discovers a time portal capable of transporting him back to the 3rd of July 1976 โ the hottest day of the 20th century and the best, and worst, day of his young life.
The story is a blend of sci-fi, murder mystery, and mismatched romcom, with nods to Groundhog Day and 50 First Dates, and it is set in and around Cwmbran, where I grew up.
At one point earlier this year, The Time-Travelling Estate Agent was the top-selling title in two of its three Amazon categories, and it is still in the top 30 of all three of them seven months after it was published. It also proved popular with Kindle Unlimited subscribers, registering in excess of half a million page reads this year.
It was even covered in the property trade press under the headline, โFinally, a novel with an estate agent as its hero!โ and that news story led to me being invited on to โthe UKโs leading property podcastโ, which further increased coverage of the book. (I beg you not to go digging out that podcast โ I was a rubbish tongue-tied guest.)
๐๐: ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ๐๐จ๐๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค?
DB: That would have been good, wouldnโt it? Reviews were mostly favourable (85% of Amazon readers rated it either four or five stars) but I donโt think anything appeals to everyone. I mean, can you believe there are people out there who donโt like Mrs Brownโs Boys?
Some people have told me The Time-Travelling Estate Agent would make a great Netflix series, but sadly none of those people worked for Netflix.
๐๐: ๐๐ก๐จ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐๐ฐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฅ ๐ญ๐จ?
DB: Hopefully everyone who enjoyed the first one, plus people who lived through the long hot summer of โ76 or who have an interest in it, and anyone who would like to get away from todayโs gloomy news headlines and enjoy a few hours of escapist nonsense. And time travel enthusiasts, of course.
Time travel is a hugely popular genre, and I like to think I have made the โworkingsโ of it as believable as possible, without getting bogged down in the complex theories behind quantum mechanics and the many-worlds interpretation (MWI).
โMyโ method of time travel also makes the dreaded grandfather paradox redundant. (This is where the time traveller goes back in time and kills his fatherโs father while heโs still a child, thus preventing his father being born โ in which case the time traveller couldnโt have been born, so he couldnโt have gone back in time to kill his grandfather etc).
๐๐: ๐๐๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ฅ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ง๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฅ?
DB: Yes, it was conceived as a trilogy and I was committed to seeing that through, even if nobody bought the first one. Thankfully, some people did, and Iโve been really encouraged that many of them have said they want to read more of Ericโs adventures in the long hot summer of โ76.
๐๐: ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ง ๐ซ๐๐๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐-๐๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐?
DB: More of Ericโs adventures in the long hot summer of โ76! Apologies for such a glib response but, you know, spoilers… Can I just say we get to know the characters more and weโre introduced to some memorable new ones? The book starts where the previous one finished off, and I think readers will be surprised at the direction the story takes.
๐๐: ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ โ๐๐ข๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฆ๐โ ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค?
DB: The relationship between a father and his son features quite prominently. Eric is, in some ways, a bit of a lost soul after the events of the first book, and he undertakes quite a journey in this one.
๐๐: ๐๐๐ง ๐ซ๐๐๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ซ๐๐๐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐ง๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ง๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ ๐จ๐ง๐?
DB: Not really, as they wonโt know whoโs who, their backgrounds, or motivations. Someone once told me they watched The Two Towers before The Fellowship of the Ring, which is why I kept things simple with the title of the new book: to prevent any confusion over the order of the series.
๐๐: ๐๐ฌ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐-๐๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ฐ๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐๐ง, ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐จ๐ซ?
DB: It is but itโs a fictionalised version of Cwmbran, rather than a faithful reproduction. I donโt want to be held responsible for inflating property prices in the townโs more desirable areas any further.
๐๐: ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ ๐๐๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ง?
DB: How could it not? It is integral to the story, and not just for the pivotal role it played during the first book. The Boating Lake is a wonderful facility, which is loved by so many people who grew up in Cwmbran. After enjoying it as children, many return to it with their own children and, eventually, their grandchildren too. Even the iconic red and yellow helicopter gets a brief mention this time.
๐๐: ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ฆ๐-๐๐ซ๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐ฅ๐จ๐ ๐ฒ: ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ง ๐๐๐ง ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ฅ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ?
DB: The Time-Travelling Estate Agent 3 is scheduled for an early 2026 release. If youโd like to subscribe to my Substack (https://substack.com/@dalebradford โ donโt worry about me spamming you, Iโve only ever made one previous post on it) you will be the first to know.
๐๐: ๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฒโ๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ง๐๐ฐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค?
DB: Amazon has a โRead sampleโ button just below the image of the bookโs cover. Click on that and you will be able to read the first three chapters online, which should be enough to give you a taste of whatโs in store. If you are a Kindle Unlimited subscriber you can read the entire book free of charge on your device.
Alternatively, you could live dangerously, throw caution to the wind, and splash out ยฃ1.99 on the ebook. Weโre only here once. Unless we discover a time-travelling portal.
๐๐: ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ, ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ง๐ฒ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ฐ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค?
DB: Itโs a great excuse to shut yourself off from the world for six months or so, and itโs more acceptable to decline awful social functions by saying โSorry, Iโm on a deadlineโ instead of โNo thanks, I donโt want to goโ.
At the end of your self-imposed exile, you might have something that other people want to read. Or you might not. I wrote and self-published my first novel, a murder mystery called The Honey Peach Affair, in 2015 and it died on its arse.
However, I had great hopes for my second book, which was published in 2023. It was a non-fiction title encompassing elements of business, social history, and popular culture which explored how a consumer electronics category once seen as a cheap joke grew into a global industry in the 21st century. Meticulously researched and peppered with exclusive interviews and unique insights, this book also died on its arse.
Buy the book
The Time-Travelling Estate Agent 2 is available now on Amazon platforms worldwide in ebook (ยฃ1.99), paperback (ยฃ9.99), and hardback (ยฃ14.99). It can also be read for free on Kindle Unlimited. More information about the author can be found at https://dalebradford.com