Why I Started Writing The London Tube

People often ask me why I started writing The London Tube. The answer is actually quite simple.
Around 75% of the novel was written during the COVID lockdowns in 2020. Like many others, I suddenly found myself with more time than ever before, and I needed somewhere to escape. I found that escape in books and games, especially Metro 2033. I was fascinated by its atmosphere, the underground world, and the feeling that humanity could survive beneath the surface.
One day I thought, What if London had its own story?
Some people might say that I copied Dmitry Glukhovsky, but the truth is quite the opposite. Glukhovsky himself encouraged writers from different countries to create their own stories set in the Metro universe. That’s why novels were written in countries such as Poland, Italy and France, among others. My goal was never to imitate his work but to imagine how London, its Underground and its people would face the same impossible circumstances.
The most rewarding part of writing wasn’t simply putting words on a page. It was living inside the story. While writing, I wasn’t sitting at my desk anymore. I was there. I could see the tunnels, hear every distant sound, smell the damp air and walk beside the characters through the darkness.
Since 2020, I have rewritten, edited and refined the manuscript countless times. Life and a lack of free time slowed the process more than once, but I never gave up on it. Every revision brought the story closer to what I had imagined in my head all those years ago.
Today, the novel is being reviewed by a literary agent, and for the first time I genuinely feel that publication is within reach. After years of work, frustration, rewriting and persistence, the finish line finally seems close.
If everything goes to plan, I hope to hold the published book in my hands this September.
And honestly, I can’t wait for you to step into the tunnels with me.