Tauck’s Tom Dumbrell has published his fifth book after becoming an author during the pandemic.
Essex-based Dumbrell, the US operator’s national sales manager for the UK and Ireland, celebrated the release of ‘A Killer and a King’ on June 17.
The mystery novel is a departure from Dumbrell’s previous four books – a trilogy and a novella – which told fantasy, coming-of-age stories.
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“I’m really, really pleased to be releasing a book this year,” he said. “It’s amazing and exciting to be doing something new.”
His debut novel was written over a six-week spell in 2020 after he was made redundant during the pandemic.
He had always wanted to write a book, he said, but that period was the first time that “an idea and an opportunity aligned”.
“I very much needed to continue with a sense of structure to my day, so it was my instinct to continue to work from 9am until 5pm or 6pm in the evening,” he said.
The end result was about 70,000 words on paper and a self-published book available on Amazon in March 2021.
A second book followed seven months later and the trilogy was completed in June 2022, with a complementary novella added in August last year.
“Since I got the first book finished, I’ve been trying to write a book a year to sustain that momentum,” Dumbrell said.
He expects a ‘A Killer and a King’ to reach a new audience in addition to fans of his previous works.
His latest effort is more directly aimed at adults, he said, whereas the previous books were for all ages.
He said writing a mystery story was an enjoyable task and he hoped readers would “get a good buzz” from the twists and turns of the tale.
The new book is the first to be sold through brick-and-mortar retailers, though it is also available on Amazon.
“The distribution that Amazon provides has enabled me to hit many countries worldwide so it’s been really good for me, but as someone who works with small independently-run travel agencies, I wanted to carry that world into my books,” said Dumbrell, whose latest effort is available in shops including Waterstones and Foyles.
His writing has built a considerable following within the travel industry, he said, though he has tended to avoid creating too much overlap between his two careers.
“I do occasionally go into [travel] meetings and before we’ve started, people will say: ‘I’ve just finished your second book’,” he said.
He added that he would be happy to offer guidance to anyone in the industry who would like to pen their first book.
Dumbrell was 33 when he started writing the opening instalment of his trilogy and 34 when it was published.
“It’s hopefully a reminder that you can pick things up a bit later on in life,” he said.
“I’d be delighted to help anyone else who wants to do what I’ve done and finally be able to achieve that long-term ambition to write that book. This is an industry for sharing so I’m happy to share if I can,” he added.
Since the birth of his daughter, Steele, he said it had been “a little bit more difficult” to find the space for creativity, but he would ideally like to maintain his current rate of output.
He thanked his wife Breana for being the editor of his books.