Thanks for stopping by. My name is Chris Towndrow and I’m a multi-genre fiction author and a performed playwright.

e-books and paperbacks are available on Amazon here.

My favourite novel to date – “Tow Away Zone” – is a Coen Brothers-style romantic-comedy-fairytale which I originally conceived about fifteen years ago as a movie script. It’s a very accessible read that appeals to a wide audience… or at least that’s how it’s intended. 5* reviews on Amazon bear this out.

“A gripping yarn – quirky characters, a pacy plot and a setting like you’ve never read before. A fun ol’ read.” – BBC1 sitcom writer

In 2020 I published the sequel – “Go Away Zone“.

Before this, I’d written mostly sci-fi novels. “Imperfect Isolation” was published in 2018. Its near-future settings include such diverse locations as New York, rural Sweden, a French chateau, and a deserted mining base on an asteroid. The 2019 sequel takes the main characters into a new adventure – “Reprisals” focuses on the consequences of the first book, with many people out for revenge. It’s more “speculative fiction / thriller” than sci-fi.

The previous work, “Sacred Ground“, dating from 2004, is a space opera set in the far future after an intergalactic war. I was inspired by the style of Iain M Banks and the result was certainly a huge step up from my previous efforts.

Fiction in the works

I’m in first draft of the third spec-fiction novel featuring my heroine Enna, “Trip Hazard“, and hoping to publish in Winter 2020.

Also due out in Spring 2021 is a low-key period Western “Signs of Life“, which is the novelisation of a screenplay I penned in about 2004.

In early 2021, I’ll move onto “Stow Away Zone“, the third in the “Sunrise” drama romcom series.

Following that (probably) will be a fourth spec-fiction book in the Enna Dacourt series, as ideas are starting to form already.

Scripts For The Stage

After my first am-dram Pantomime script was performed in 2004, a major breakthrough in my writing for the stage happened in 2013. “Cinders“, a panto in full risque adult-only form premiered it’s 10-night professional run in Guildford in December, easily selling out all performances.

To follow this, in December 2014 I worked again with the Guildford Fringe Theatre Company on “D!CK” and sold out 17 performances to a total audience of over 1000. Summer 2015 saw my first foray into stage drama, with “The Setup” taking part in the Guildford Fringe Festival.

December 2015 brought two adult pantos to the stage, simultaneously on stage in Guildford (“Aladdin Rub My Lamp“) and Woking (“D!CK”). Again we sold very well, over 30 nights to a total audience of over 1700. I also enjoyed another performance of “D!CK” by an amateur group for a charity event in February 2017.

Winter 2017 saw “Jack and his Giant Stalk” premiering, and selling out a month-long run to great reviews and some 2000+ audience members. In 2018 another new script hit the stage, Adult Panto “Peter Pan & The Loose Boys“, and again the run sold out.

In 2019 came a new version of Cinderella – my pantomime “Ella” was debuted by an amateur teenage troupe in Spring 2019. In December 2019 it was performed in Lancashire. There’s a professional version available too.

Currently in first draft is a bawdy Greek romp entitled “Troy Story“. It’s all the historical characters you know and love, in a so-familiar tale, all ripped mercilessly apart and dragged kicking and screaming into a melee of questionable jokes.

Next will be a new one-act dramatic play – more of which anon.

After that (2021…) may well be my first foray into melodrama – a wry retelling of Romeo & Juliet, set in the 1980s.

Pantomime scripts are available to license.

Elsewhere

By day I am a corporate video producer and marketer at London Corporate Media. I help promote my clients businesses and generate more sales for them. This is a domain characterised by technical knowledge, marketing, filmmaking techniques, storytelling and creativity.