Interview With Author Dylan Cody
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hi! I'm the author of the book, How to Build a Champion. I live in Europe. How to Build a Champion is the first book I'm publishing under the pen name, Dylan Cody.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
How to Build a Champion.
The catalyst for writing the book was learning that a friend was writing a book, too. I thought: "If they can do it – why not me?"
As for the story, itself: I wanted to remind readers of what 'community' is; of what it means – to me – to belong to a community; of how our lives overlap and intersect; how we can choose to support each other when circumstances beyond our control throw our lives into a tail-spin. So, I centered the book around an osteria which sits within a multi-cultural working-class neighbourhood, peopled with personalities, where the inner-city skyline changes in ‘fits and starts’. (The cast of characters is composed of artists, musicians, trade-unionists, bohemians, students, writers, small business owners, architects, gentrifiers, and educators defining what it is to live ‘successfully’ in the face of ‘progress’ in their shared city.)
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I dislike writing in black ink; ‘funereal’ undertones.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
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, and Authority and the Individual.
Sam Harris – Waking Up.
Noam Chomsky – How the World Works.
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.
Herman Hesse – Siddhartha.
Eve Babitz – Slow Days, Fast Company: The World, the Flesh, and LA: Tales. (And the 1954 book Babitz may or may not have "borrowed" the subtitle from: H. Allen Smith – The World, the Flesh and H. Allen Smith. (It's a compendium of his humorous writings; a copy may or may not have been found in Babitz's archived papers at the Huntington Library.)
What are you working on now?
Promoting How to Build a Champion.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
It's best to take a targeted, multi-pronged approach. You can find me at my book's website (its URL is the same as the book's title) where I share essays, and answer readers' questions; you'll find me sharing book updates, additional content, and thoughts, on Bluesky; sharing curated EPs prior to a full book soundtrack being shared on publication day – April 9th 2026 – on Spotify; providing answers to questions whose contents are adjacent to my book's themes, too, over at Quora… I'm on Goodreads, and the Storygraph, too! (When I'm not conducting consistent outreach on social media, and to individual book bloggers' sites, in search of obtaining free, unbiased reviews for my work.) Awesome Gang is actually the first, detailed, author interview I've given.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
To quote an answer I gave on Quora: "Writing a book, and writing the promotional materials to accompany the book, requires you to wear two different hats. It’s great to have an idea in mind for a story you want to tell. However, if it’s a time-sensitive topic, it can be pretty difficult to find the time to write, edit, and do all the due diligence you need to prior to promoting it – or even in tandem with writing the book – so you don’t leave yourself open to any legal troubles further down the track.
What I’m trying to say is: context is key. An author needs to ask themselves: Why are you writing this story – is it because you have a need to get this story written down, for yourself, or are you writing with an audience in mind and so creating a saleable product? (Because the end goal, and so the ‘success markers’ along the way to completing these respective journeys are very different.)
When you know what it is you want to do, and why, you’ll be in a much better space to plot out not only your book, but also the best way to bring it to market (if that’s what you’ve decided to do) and reach your target audience. (That said, even then, ‘success’ isn’t guaranteed. But then, that depends on how you define ‘success’, and how much cash you’re willing to throw at promoting ‘the product’ aka your book.)"
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
All advice depends on the context in which it's delivered: "Be selfish." (i.e. Put yourself first.)
But also: "You're responsible for what you say, and for what you do; you're not responsible for what anyone else says or does to you – their actions and words represent them, they don't reflect you."
What are you reading now?
Rosalind Russell's Life is a Banquet. (I'm fascinated by places you can no longer visit; Old Hollywood is one of them.)
What’s next for you as a writer?
There's a few things in the pipeline. Will I publish again? Who knows.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I'd bring 3 or 4 people, instead. (I'd rather share stories with each other, and makes notes in the 'quiet times' of our shared experience; when we're rescued, I've got a manuscript of our adventures.)
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Dylan Cody’s Social Media Links
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