How to Build a Champion: A Novel by Dylan Cody
Book Blurb:
A feel-good story of courage, resilience, quick wit, and joy.
Book Synopsis:
How to Build a Champion is a picaresque story of courage, resilience, quick wit, and joy, which follows Cassandra, a bright, outspoken young woman, through a British summer in a multi-cultural working-class neighbourhood, peopled with personalities, where the inner-city skyline changes in ‘fits and starts’.
Living among artists, musicians, trade-unionists, bohemians, students, writers, and educators defining what it is to live ‘successfully’ in the face of ‘progress’ in their shared city, Cassandra works with her uncle, Bobby, and his partner, ‘Toria, in their community-minded osteria. All is well, until their landlord, Harry, throws their lives into a tail-spin when he considers an offer from speculators, gentrifiers, and property developers who seemingly know the price of everything and the value of nothing. Raising their voices in opposition, Cassandra and her friends, street artists Mc, Pat, and Teddy, band together in a fly-by-night adventure, making mischief in their fight for the osteria, while a cunning lifestyle journalist ‘helps’ their cause.
Learn to question your first impressions; to look twice at what you see. Learn to live life, fully, whatever your circumstances. Discover How to Build a Champion.
Book Details
ISBN: 9798245300146 (Paperback).
ASIN: B0FX16Q4GP (Kindle).
Publication date: April 9th 2026.
Publisher: Independently Published via Amazon.
Book Genres: Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction, New Adult.
Number of Pages: 228.
Author Q&A
Describe your writing process. Do you outline, plot, and plan, or is your writing more organic?
I couldn’t fly by the seat of my pants if I tried.
I begin with the writing’s purpose – is it to educate or to entertain the reader? (This purpose acts as an overarching aim which propels a project forwards; every scene I plot out is a ‘stepping stone’ in service of exemplifying the writing’s purpose.)
I think of the audience I’m writing for – what language do they use? What tone-of-voice are they most receptive to?
What does the reader need to ‘get’ by the end of this piece of writing?
What is the action I want them to take after reading?
In writing How to Build a Champion, I thought about the locations of where the story takes place; of the impact place has on people; of the personalities who would populate such a place, and the courage, optimism, resilience, and hope that they’d require to face the challenges placed on their intersecting paths. These dynamics informed the novel’s central plot, its conflict, and resolution.
I consider characters’ personalities, how their traits can shape a storyline. I wrote detailed character biographies – drawing inspiration from different media sources – and these biographies influenced the development of subplots, adding flavour, ‘colour’, and texture; all the components of an enjoyable meal.
When I had a central plot, and several subplots, I plotted the key points of each ‘scene’ onto post-it’s, and smoothed them onto a few sheets of coloured card. This was my ‘flimsy’ storyboard, outlined. I could see what was going to happen, when, and could easily move each ‘scene’ around to see if this framework, this ‘flimsy’ storyboard outline, worked.
Lastly: I found a deck of blank flash-cards, and I detailed each flash-card with a numbered ‘scene’ including INT./EXT. location; the time of day; which day it was; a cast list of the characters who are in the ‘scene’ (so I could refer to my character summaries while writing); and a brief, expanded summary of what happened in the ‘scene’ from the ‘flimsy’ storyboard outline. Then, I created a playlist of music that felt right, to cement each scene’s ‘vibe’ in my mind; listening to these songs for scenes before I began writing. Then, I wrote the first draft of How to Build a Champion.
What are some books or authors that you would recommend to our readers?
Colette – Break of Day; The Vagabond; The Cat.
Cookie Mueller – Walking Through Clear Water in a Pool Painted Black.
Mikki Kendall – Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women a Movement Forgot.
Bertrand Russell – The Conquest of Happiness; Authority and the Individual.
Sam Harris – Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality without Religion.
Christopher Hitchens – Letters to a Young Contrarian.
Virginia Satir – The New People Making.
Carl Rogers – On Becoming a Person.
Rutger Bregman – Humankind: A Hopeful History.
Eve Babitz – Slow Days, Fast Company: The World, the Flesh, and LA: Tales.
Allen Smith – The World, the Flesh and H. Allen Smith. (It’s from 1954, and it’s a compendium of his humorous writings; Babitz may or may not have “borrowed” her subtitle from Smith’s work – a copy of one of Smith’s books was found in Babitz’s archives at the Huntington Library.)
Tell us what you enjoy most about writing fiction?
Writing fiction is a fantastic way of putting words you wouldn’t – necessarily – say in characters’ mouths. (It’s also a great way to explore a topic you’re interested in from contrasting points-of-view.) And, if you’re looking to persuade someone of something, you’ll have more success in achieving that aim if your audience is entertained.
Describe the book or series in 10 words or less for people just learning about it.
A feel-good story of courage, resilience, quick-wits, and joy.
Is there anything you would like people to take away from your book?
A feeling of enjoyment; a sense of hope.
Do you have any odd (writing) habits?
I dislike writing in black ink; ‘funereal’ undertones.
What is your favorite line from your book?
The final sentences. (And yes, you’ll have to buy the book to discover those lines!)
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I read, a lot. (It’s how a writer learns how to improve their writing.) I enjoy athletics. (I lift weights; I cycle; I hike.) I’m teaching myself another language, for when I embark on my next adventure.
Author Biography:
Hi! I’m the author of the book, How to Build a Champion. Dylan Cody is a pen name. I live in Europe. How to Build a Champion is the first book to be published under this pen name.
Author Contact Information
Contact Name: Dylan Cody
Contact E-mail: dylancodyauthor@gmail.com
Author/Book website: https://www.howtobuildachampion.com
Author Social Media
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/dylancodyauthor.bsky.social
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/194888167-dylan-cody
The StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/authors/4ba1a1a1-5ec0-448c-a0c4-3b75b3b0625c
Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/DylanCodyAuthor-1/
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