We caught up with Godstorm author and Faber Academy graduate Solitaire Townsend to talk about her journey from writing courses to a two-book deal, the value of peer feedback and how her career as a sustainability expert shaped the world, themes and climate questions at the heart of her novel.

How valuable was your time with Faber Academy to the writing of your novel?

The Faber Academy helped transform me from a hobbyist into a novelist. I started on the very first rung, Beginners’ Fiction, and fell in love with both writing and Faber courses! I graduated to Writing A Novel and then Finish Your Draft. The manuscript from that course, Godstorm, eventually won me an agent and two-book deal. The Faber courses are rich in craft and support, but they also offer permission, the right to treat your writing seriously. In some ways, the latter was what I needed most.

Did you make writing friends during your Faber Academy course? How important has peer feedback been?

Many budding authors are anxious about feedback. Desperate for validation and guidance but terrified of being criticised so harshly you lose the will to write. Peer feedback in a controlled setting like a Faber course hits the perfect balance. There’s moderation, so you won’t be attacked or dismissed. Instead, my peers helped me see where I was being indulgent, where I was being timid, and where the story wanted to be braver than I was letting it.

Could you tell us more about Godstorm and its inspiration?

Godstorm is set in a Roman Empire that never fell after inventing the combustion engine – seventeen hundred years early. It is a world of petrol-fuelled chariots, forbidden green technology and increasingly violent storms. The world-building was glorious fun, but my characters are what kept me writing. At its heart, Godstorm is a story about family. My MC, Arrow, is a gladiator turned governess, who must save the child she’s come to love as her own.

Can you share your journey to getting published?

Slow and stubborn! I wrote, rewrote, cut and rebuilt the novel multiple times over years. I took feedback seriously and tried to treat my ego lightly. I queried agents when the book was ready, not when my patience ran out. My process was more methodical than magical. Faber courses, especially Edit And Submit Your Novel, prepared me well.

Who are your biggest literary influences?

I am drawn to writers who combine bold storytelling with real-world themes. Becky Chambers for dangerous utopias. Kim Stanley Robinson for grand arcs with world-spanning themes. N. K. Jemisin for human-sized hope nestled in ashes. Godstorm is where those influences meet my own obsession with flawed and anxious people forced into extraordinary roles.

How did your experience as a sustainability expert influence your writing?

After almost 30 years fighting for sustainability (and against climate change) it’s seeped into my fingertips. I’m not sure I could type anything outside that frame if I tried. I spend my professional life thinking about how culture responds to crisis, how stories justify extraction, and why humans cling to destructive systems long after they know better. Godstorm is fiction, but it is informed by those questions. I wanted to explore climate chaos without lectures, and to let readers feel how belief systems trap us, and what might change them.

What are your top tips for writing fantasy?

Take worldbuilding seriously, but characters more so. Remember that fantasy is not an escape from reality, it is a way of exploring it more honestly. Then the hardest tip of all: finish the damn book. No fantasy world ever became convincing halfway through a draft.

Could you tell us about your writing routine?

I write in stolen hours and sprints. Early mornings, Eurostar trains, hotel rooms, anywhere with momentum. I balance writing with a demanding professional life by treating it as non-negotiable. Which all sounds more disciplined than it feels on an average day! If I can’t make myself write, I’ll edit. If I can’t edit, I’ll research. And if I can’t face my own words, then I’ll snuggle on the sofa with a cup of tea and someone else’s.

What do you hope readers take away from your book?

Enjoyment! If someone is seeking a compelling adventure story, and nothing else, I hope to fulfil them. Then, perhaps, questions. I hope readers close the book entertained, moved, and quietly unsettled about what we choose to worship, excuse and protect.

What’s next for your writing?

Godstorm is only the beginning of this world, and the sequel is already with my editor. I am also exploring new stories that blend myth, politics and desire. After decades working at the highest levels of politics, business and systems, I’ve learnt that stories are the basic programming language of the human mind. That’s a powerful code to wield.

Writing a Novel is designed to support aspiring fiction writers to develop their craft over six months, with courses in London (at Faber’s HQ in Hatton Garden), Newcastle and online.

A six-month programme of seminars, sessions will cover all the essentials of novel writing – including character, story, structure, plotting, voice, dialogue, conflict and more.

Find out more about the next iterations of Writing a Novel.