From Sex Shops to Supermarkets to Sci-Fi
Dale Bradford, author of ‘From Sex Shops to Supermarkets: How Adult Toys Became A Multi-Billion-Pound Industry’ – has gone back to the 1970s with his new novel, ‘The Time-Travelling Estate Agent’.
While his previous title chronicled the phenomenal growth of the sex toy sector this century, his new novel is pure escapism. Bradford expects it to appeal to 1970s nostalgists, enthusiasts of the time travel genre… and those with a professional interest in the business of selling properties.
Bradford explains: “The book was published a few days ago and I contacted a property business trade publication called The Negotiator as I thought it might make a light-hearted ‘And Finally…’ snippet. I was astonished to see the story appear on The Negotiator’s front page, with the headline ‘Finally, a novel with an estate agent as the hero!’, and from this came an invite to be the guest on a leading property podcast, which is going out in early December. I very much hope the hosts are expecting me to talk about the book rather than offer any unique insights into the business of selling houses.”
The initial welcome ‘The Time-Travelling Estate Agent’ has received is in stark contrast to its predecessor, as Bradford recalls: “Attempting to launch From Sex Shops to Supermarkets, I experienced the same issues that many adult businesses have faced. Despite the book being a serious study of the pleasure sector, its title and cover resulted in every mainstream marketing channel I tried declining to take my money. Even Amazon, one of the world’s biggest sellers of sex toys and the actual publisher of the book, would not allow me to promote it on its platform.”
‘The Time-Travelling Estate Agent’ is set in December 2019 in a small Welsh town, and 60-year-old estate agent Eric Meek is invited by an elderly lady to value her property. But contrary to what the vendor believes, the garage conversion does not contain her husband’s photographic ‘dark room’ but a hole in space-time that has been developed into a traversable portal. A by-product of her husband’s attempts to emulate the work of pioneering electrical engineer Nikola Tesla, the portal allows movement between 2019 and the day it was first powered up, 3rd July 1976: the best – and worst – day of 16-year-old Eric’s life. Presented with a chance to right the wrongs of the past, Eric revisits the moment he believes defined his future.
With gentle nods towards ‘Groundhog Day’ and ‘50 First Dates’, ‘The Time-Travelling Estate Agent’ blends elements of sci-fi with a mismatched romance and a murder mystery.
The Time-Travelling Estate Agent is available now in ebook (£1.99), paperback (£11.99), and hardback (£16.99) and is free to read on Kindle Unlimited. The first four chapters can also be read online instantly via Amazon’s Read Samplefacility.
Dale Bradford has been editing B2B magazines since 1995 and ‘The Time-Travelling Estate Agent’ is his third book. He is currently editor of UK-based trade publication ETO.
