During the first Covid lockdown, Mr Fox (Head of Sixth Form) fulfilled a long ambition to complete his debut novel. Thrillingly, Dreams by C D Fox is published by Arrow Gate this week. We caught up with him to ask about his writing process.

So, Chris, how does it feel to have the physical book in your hands?

It’s pretty surreal, actually. I’ve got a copy on my bookshelves, currently sitting next to Shuggie Bain [Man Booker Prize winner] and an unread Salman Rushdie. I might need to put it in another less lofty place!

Give us the ‘elevator pitch’.

The tagline is, ‘What if reality is worth than your most devastating nightmare?’ It’s the story of Hugo Swann, an undergraduate at Oxford University. He’s had a slightly tricky past at home and at school, and it’s a fresh start for him at Oxford, with new experiences to look forward to and a new girlfriend, Alice. But there’s this slight fly in the ointment – he’s starting to have these strange dreams. It’s like he’s watching a box-set, each episode building on the last, building up a picture of someone else’s life, and it’s down to Alice to find out what’s going on. As the story progresses he comes into the orbit of a mysterious woman who herself has a troubled past, and all the while the dreams are getting worse and worse. Alice does her research and finds out the truth behind the dreams – but will Hugo want to know?

Did the plot come to you fully formed?

It definitely developed. I came up with a vague idea when I was about 22 or 23. It began with a modern-day take on The Taming of the Shrew screened on the BBC about 20 years ago. When I saw a classical production of another play (and I can’t tell you which one, or I'll spoil the plot!) I thought, maybe I can use the hook of that particular play and put it in a modern context. I started writing and actually it took me in a completely different direction. I would say the plot and characters revealed themselves to me as I was writing. Writers are often asked, ‘Are you a “plotter” or a “pantser” – flying by the seat of your pants?’ Stephen King claims to be very much the latter, so if it’s good enough for him…!

What was your writing routine?

I had various attempts at writing the book in my twenties, but I had to put it aside when I did a Masters in my 30s. And then the Covid lockdown came along, and I thought, ‘it’s now or never’. I went back to the 40,000 words I had, and managed to salvage about three chapters, but I knew I was going to take it in a completely different direction. It took me about six months to write the first draft. I sent it to an editor who – rightly – tore it to shreds. So I did another rewrite (another six months), and then it was a case of dotting the ‘i’s and crossing the ‘t’s in terms of the plot.

In terms of my routine, I’m restricted to weekends and holidays. I tend to write from about 8 in the morning till 11. And it always begins with a cup of coffee.

How did the editing process work?

I was paired with an editor through a publishing agency. She had a look through and gave loads of critical feedback on the narrative, the characters – about five or six different areas. For example, she advised using stronger verbs that you don’t have to qualify with adverbs.

What was it like pulling work out of the drawer and re-reading what you’d written ten years ago?

That was probably the hardest thing. It taught me the value of having a period away from what you’re writing before you go back to edit it, so that you can almost view it as a reader, rather than the writer.

Who would you say were your greatest influences?

When I came up with the initial idea in my early twenties, I would have been influenced by writers like James Herbert and Sebastian Faulks. I read The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro when I was well on the way, and I was blown away – how do you get to that standard? But for me it was more about having a go – trying to create something that will be in the British Library at the very least, even if nobody else buys it!

Dreams by C D Fox is published by Arrow Gate on Tuesday 6 December.