Teardown
1) Hi there! Let’s begin with the basic introductions. What is your author name? You can use a pen name if you have one.
William Campbell Powell
2) What inspired you to write this book?
Teardown is at least semi-autobiographical. When I was younger I was in a band, much like the Teardown band. We’d not long finished university, and for the first time could afford proper guitars, and decided it would be fun to tour Germany. We managed to find about 3 gigs and so off we went – and did it again the following year. Some of the mishaps genuinely happened, though others are made up – you’ll have to make up your own minds about which are which.
But there’s a love story in there too (several, in fact), and those are largely fictional. In particular, I wanted to write a love story that worked, regardless of the gender/orientation of the narrator. That led me into a deeper understanding of the rich diversity beneath the LGBTQIA+ umbrella – and also the broad acceptance of identity choices there. That led to me choosing to make Kai non-binary rather than unstated gender.
3) What can we expect from you in the future?
Something very different! I’m currently querying a historical crime novel, set in the 1830s. It’s rather political, being about the early years of the union movement. Weekends didn’t really exist, nor paid holiday. If you didn’t have a job, there was no safety net, except for the workhouse. (Kind of where the billionaires are trying to shift society today.) There’s a burned-out soldier-turned-copper and a very bright widow trying to solve a murder.
And the work in progress – I’m halfway through writing a contemporary portal fantasy with feuding witch-clans. The main character is an IT project manager who learns that she’s the heir to the witch-throne. If she can stay alive…
4) Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in TEARDOWN?
Kai is our storyteller. Kai is non-binary and the drummer in the band, with ambitions to sing. When the singer quits, Kai is the one who doesn’t give up on the tour, and recruits…
Dominique. Or Dom. Dom shows up on an internet musician match site, with no photo, no history but a voice from blues heaven. Oh, and she is in Belgium. Desperate, and with no chance to rehearse, Kai signs her up anyway. Dom is everything they hope for – talented, attractive, confident, witty. But why did she pick Kai’s unknown band, when she could have her pick of bands to work with?
5) How did you come up with the concept and characters for the book?
(See ‘What inspired you to write this book?’)
6) Where did you come up with the names in the story?
The only tricky one was Kai, as I needed a name that didn’t have strong gender connotations. It works in the UK, but not in every country. It was something I debated with Elizabetta, my editor, and offered a few alternatives, but she was happy with Kai. I note here that Kai was called Stevie in earlier drafts of the novel.
7) What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I’m not sure if ‘enjoy’ is quite the right word, but Kai has no pronouns. Writing a book without ever using a pronoun for Kai was tough, but I’m weirdly proud in a writerly way that I managed it.
If that doesn’t count, then I definitely enjoyed working with Elizabetta at NineStar Press, who was my editor. Elizabetta really ‘got’ Kai, got the story – and then asked the hard questions. Those questions inspired some major improvements in the book. I would love to work with Elizabetta again, if the opportunity arose.
8) How did you come up with the title of your first novel?
Um. I didn’t. Neither of my published novels ended up with my working title. For the first, Tor Books even made it a condition of signing that my working title should go. For the record, I’m entirely happy with the title that they came up with – EXPIRATION DAY – and it was easy to let go of my working title.
9) Who designed your book covers?
In both cases the publisher provided the book cover with an in-house designer. For TEARDOWN, that was Jaycee DeLorenzo.
10) If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?
The book – set in 2016 – completely omits any mention of the Brexit referendum. I think half of Britain was in shock at the time, and hoped/prayed/believed it wouldn’t really happen. In hindsight, it would surely have been a topic of conversation when the band reached Berlin. That’s the only thing I would consider changing, for historical accuracy. It was something I considered doing, but I opted rather to keep it as written – a memorial to a better Britain than we have today, and to a Europe I loved (and still do).
11) If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?
That’s a hard one, because nowhere in the book will you find it stated what Kai’s biological sex is. That was a deliberate choice when I wrote the book. ‘But’, you may say, ‘surely you know what gender Kai is. You’re the author.’ Well, no, I don’t. Kai won’t tell me. And I won’t peek. That wouldn’t be respectful.
However, if you need to picture Kai, maybe look up the model Milou van Groesen.
If you want an actor, though, then on the basis of his performance in ‘The Danish Girl’ (2015), I’d have to pick Eddie Redmayne.
More recently, though, I was watching a gig by Texas, and when I saw their drummer – Cat Myers – I instantly thought “that’s Kai”.
12) Anything specific you want to tell your readers?
There’s something that Kai’s brother Jamie says. Kai recalls getting bullied at school:
“And so, when I got home, Jamie saw straightaway that something was wrong, and I told him everything they’d said. And he just sat there and thought, and after a while, he said two things. “First, he said, ‘Don’t let them put you in one of their boxes’. “Then, he said, ‘If you don’t like the boxes on offer, make one that’s just right for yourself’.”
13) What genre(s) do you write about?
LGBTQ+ Contemporary Fiction
14) What is the hook line for your book?
On the road to music fame, desire and dreams collide.
15) Can you tell me a bit more about your book?
Teardown
Growing up in a dead-end, Thames Valley town like Marden Combe, Kai knows there’s no escape without a lot of talent, hard work—and luck.Two weeks before the Clayton Paul Blues Band plans to set out on tour to Germany, their singer quits, and drummer Kai takes matters in hand. With bandmates Jake and Jamie, they recruit a talented new singer—the enigmatic Dominique—as the new face of the band and set out on the road to Berlin in a rickety white van.Dogged by mishaps and under-rehearsed, the band stumbles through their first shows, zig-zagging between chaos and brilliance. But as the first gig in Berlin draws near, the band begins to gel. They’re clicking with their audience, and even the stone-hearted Kai starts to crumble under the spell, first of Dom and then…of Lars.
As the end of the tour approaches, Kai must make hard choices. Dom? But she’s keeping a dark secret. Lars? Not after the acrimony of their last parting. The band? Or will that dream crumble too?
16) Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
William lives in a small Buckinghamshire village in England. By night he writes speculative, historical, crime and other fiction. His latest novel - TEARDOWN - is published by NineStar Press and is widely available in eBook and paperback formats. Previously, his debut novel, EXPIRATION DAY, was published by Tor Teen in 2014 and won the 2015 Hal Clement Award for better than half-decent science in a YA novel – the citation actually says "Excellence in Children's Science Fiction Literature". His short fiction has also appeared in DreamForge, Metastellar, Abyss & Apex and other excellent 'zines. By day he writes software and in the twilight he sings tenor, plays guitar and writes songs.
17) Do you have a Website? If so, what is it?
18) Where else can we find and follow you?
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WillCamPowell
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willcampowell/
Giveaway
Ends Sept. 28, 2026
$10 Amazon or Paypal
Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
thanks for running the interview - great questions!
booktour (aka William Campbell Powell)