From Shared Interests to Co-Authors

Father-son duo, David and David Sangster, are amongst The Book Guild’s line-up of June 2026 debut authors. Not only do the pair share a name, but also a passion for science fiction and world-building. So, it only made sense for the pair to team up and write a debut novel together. 

Hell Space Revelations Book One (yes, book one!) is set in 2179, when humanity’s spacefaring golden age collapses after an ancient warship erupts beneath earth, triggering a global catastrophe. Caught between warring alien powers with ties to humanity, survivors flee to the stars. As alliances fracture and dark forces rise, a final battle will decide humanity’s survival, or extinction. 

This science fiction is not only a brilliant debut, but an inspiration for any aspiring co-authors. Why did the father-son duo opt to co-author? How did they manage the writing process together? And how does it feel to share a publication with your father, or with your son? 

The Start of Their Journey: Creating Their Concept 

How does co-authoring begin? What brought this publication journey to the fore? 

In the case of The Davids, it was David JNR’s idea for them to collaborate. He had always enjoyed English language and essay writing when he was at school, but ended up doing a science degree. Although life took him down the path of law, where he was a partner in a law firm for 25 years, the idea of writing a book was always with him. “My wife recalls that on one of our first dates I said I would write a book one day,” he says, “when I retired from law I decided to give it a go. I have always had ideas for stories in my head, mainly sci-fi and comedy but I never wrote anything down. Until now.” 

He knew that his dad, David SNR, had read thousands and thousands of books, mainly sci-fi and science fantasy, and that he was deeply creative. 

“I remember when I was about 12 years old and into Dungeons and Dragons, Dad wrote a campaign for me and my friends based on the Stephen Donaldson “Thomas Covenant” books.  He even created Urviles as a D&D monster and everything. It was great fun and we loved it.  That showed me he had a creative side.” 

Recalling this, it occurred to him that his father would have a vast database of knowledge from decades of reading. “I wondered whether we could put that to good use and between us come up with an original story set in our own universe that we could create and expand upon.” 

“We were sharing a bottle of red wine one day and I suggested it to him. He was instantly keen and I knew we would have a lot of fun.” 

Despite being an avid reader, David SNR had never really written anything until his son suggested writing a book together. “Up until that point I hadn’t given it much thought but I figured why not? I felt privileged that my son wanted to write a book with me and was very happy to see if I could create an alternative universe. But the bonus was, and always has been, that we were writing a book together.” 

“I have always had loads of thoughts and speculations about Homo Sapiens rattling around my brain from reading not only Sci-Fi, but also quite a lot of mythology and creator legends, and have always been fascinated by the same resonance in legends and gods from afar from such disparate cultures of our globe. Writing Hell Space Book One - Revelations - allowed me to go into my imagination.” 

How Different Approaches Made a Powerful Narrative 

Although the pair have a shared love of sci-fi and fantasy and a desire to build their own universe, the way they approach writing, they say, has been quite different. 

David JNR says their different upbringings have impacted their approach to writing. “I was born in 1970 and grew up with TV shows like Star Trek and Blake’s Seven. I see scenes in my head and then try to describe them on paper, it’s very visual.” 

“Dad has read so many books that he sees a page and writes in that way.” 

In spite of these different approaches, it does not impact the fluidity of their narrative. “From what we’ve been told, the book does not come across as if it’s written by two different people, which is both surprising yet also totally to be expected given our relationship as father and son.” 

Hell Space Book One: Revelations is the pair's debut novel. 

How did the Writing and Publishing Process Work as Co-authors? 

Different authors have different approaches to their writing. How does that work, when combining your efforts into one narrative? 

For the Davids, it was highly collaborative, but very informal. 

“We would meet over lunch at least once a week and just talk through and refine the story in our own heads. We each had story arcs that we wanted to develop within the overall plot, and we would agree which bits we each wanted to write and go off and write separately at our own pace. We then read each other’s drafts, made suggestions, and agreed on the final version.”

“It was a very smooth and argument-free affair.” 

After receiving their publishing deal from The Book Guild, their collaboration only strengthened. “We live just a 5 minute walk away from each other, so it was easy for us to regularly meet up to discuss what needed to be done and have meetings about the book, usually accompanied by a glass of wine and some amazing home-cooked Spanish food from my mum. We’re very lucky.” 

Their Future Publishing Goals 

If writing one book is not enough, keen-eyed readers may notice that their current book is titled Hell Space Book One: Revelations. The father-son duo are combining forces again for Book Two which, they say, is going brilliantly. 

“We have an end game that we’re working towards which we’re excited by and hope will provide a few surprises.” 

“We set up a few characters and scenarios in Book One that we’re going to expand upon and explore further.” 

Whilst the publication of book one has taken its fair share of their time (and what an exciting time it is!) they envisage getting back into the writing over the late summer, with a view of finishing the first draft around 4-6 months later. 

Publishing as a Father-Son Duo

From a shared passion to co-authors, the Davids say “sharing this precious experience is truly wonderful.” 

“You don’t hear of that many active father-son writing duos. We’ve spent quality time together doing something we have both really enjoyed and had an absolute blast in the process. Not many people get to do that.” 

Alongside each other, they also had an incredible support system. Their immediate family, Maite, Amanda, Amber and Charlie have been massively supportive. “We couldn’t have done it without them,” the Davids say. 

So, would they recommend co-authoring? 

“We can only speak to our experience which has been overwhelmingly positive - we would definitely recommend collaborating but the father/son relationship is something extra special, at least it is in our case. Two heads are better than one, and all that. Our closeness is our superpower.  Writing with someone else may not be for everyone but why not give it a try? The mix of ideas and the ability to bounce them off each other has certainly worked for us.” 

Quality time spent over red wine and Spanish dinners, all leading to a debut novel? Sounds like a win to us. 

Hell Space Revelations is available on The Book Guild in paperback or ebook.