Writer's Routine

This week, we chat to multi-million New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, Gregg Hurwitz. He's written many screenplays, comic books, took charge of Batman, and is known for the 'Orphan X' series. The newest one, 'The Last Orphan', sees Evan Smoak, the Nowhere Man, on one last mission after he was taken from a group home as an orphan and trained as an assassin.We discuss how he made a plan at the start of his career, in order to make writing a regular job so it could last as long as possible. Also, you can hear how he's managed to get back to a state of pure writing, without any of the distractions that surround success. We chat about how even though he's written and published many books, he still gets stuck in the baggy middle like everyone else. Gregg runs through his extensive research, which has seen him jump from planes, train with Navy SEALS, and go under cover in mind control cults.Support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Georgina Moore has worked in PR and publishing throughout her career. She understands how books are sold, where they are place and what makes them commercial. She has just published her first novel, 'The Garnett Girls'. It tells the story of Rachel, Imogen and Sasha, struggling to escape their alienated family. It's set across the wild beaches of the Isle of Wight and the glamour of luxurious London. It asks whether children can ever escape the mistakes of their family.We discuss how to make sisters as characters that are similar, but also different and unique. You can hear how tough it is to realise some characters aren't as fully developed as others - how much do you need to change things and alter your plot to flesh them out more.We chat about her busy life in PR and how well that has set her up for a career as an author, and how she balances a social life with waking up early to write. She also reveals some embarrassment about what she has asked writers to do for publicity in the past, and why now she's an author herself, she's realised how much more pressure she must have placed on their time.Send over the best book you have read this year! Suggestions to writersroutine.com please.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom Hindle published his successful debut, 'A Fatal Crossing', in 2022. It drew comparisons to Agatha Christie and propelled him to the list of mystery writers to watch. He's back with a second whodunnit, 'The Murder Game'. It tells the story of nine guests trapped in one house, when a murder mystery night goes wrong. We talk about how his writing life has changed since he packed in the full time job, and how he switches between writing for work and for pleasure. You can hear how he tries to be a plotter... but always ends up pantsing, what it was like meeting a major childhood hero, and how he solved the problem of getting two people in the same room at the same time.Thanks for sending over the best books you've read this year to [email protected]. This week's picks were:'Before You Knew My Name' by Jacqueline Bublitz, 'The Art of the Gathering' by Priya Parker, 'The Mandrake Company' series by Ruby Lionsdrake, and 'Garden of Lamentations' by Deborah Crombie. Thanks to Andrea, Kate and Cynthia for sending those over.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alison Stockham's new book is 'The Cuckoo Sister'. It tells the story of Maggie, who has a seemingly perfect life, only... she's cracking under the strain of it all. One day, when Maggie walks out on everything, her sister Rose is all too willing to step into her life.We talk about why she's half and half between planning and pantsing, also how she overcomes the doubt of good it is, and why every book is brilliant and awful at the same time.Alison works for the Cambridge Literary Festival, and has worked in documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4, and we discuss how much this experience set her up for writing novels. You can hear why reading aloud to her kids helped her understand pacing and structure, also what questions she asks herself to begin, and what to do when the computer screen stares back at you.We also run through your best books of the year so [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hugh Montgomery is a someone who, if he wasn't so darned lovely, you'd probably have to envy quite a lot. He's a practicing clinician, a UK lead on climate change, he's written screen-plays, runs ultramarathons, learns a new skill a year, holds a world-record, and is now releasing his first full-novel.It's called 'Control' - a thriller set in the medical-world (write what you know) all about a bullying, over-bearing Doctor, and the way he treats colleagues, which comes back to haunt him. We talk about brooding over the idea for the story, escaping to France to write it, and where he thinks the story actually came from.As he manages to fit in so much into his day, we talk about where he finds the time and why he rations sleep. Also, we talk about why he learns a new skill every year, and how he believes it to be crucial to make time stop flying by.Also - you can hear a distinguished routine from history with Mason Currey, and grab his new book 'Daily Rituals: Women at Work' here - https://masoncurrey.com/If you can, please do support the show! - patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eleanor Shearer's debut is the acclaimed, 'River Sing Me Home'. It follows Rachel, a slave set free in 1834, and now searching the Caribbean to find her children, stolen from her and sold to other plantations.We talk about why her ancestors look over her writing, also about the exhibition she attended which reminded her of the stories that she'd wanted to write about, and how post-memory affected her storytelling.You can hear why plotting for her is a very emotional thing, also why she likes to be surprised by structure, and how parking downhill is extremely helpful.Share the best book you've read so far this year! Let's start a (small-scale) book club, or more of a story sharing place at writersroutine.comYou can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cailean Steed began writing short stories and audio dramas. She won the 2020 Pen to Print Audio Play Award, and decided to go back to school to learn how to tackle a full novel. They ended up taking an idea that had been brewing for years, moving it from a grand teenage story of assassins and conspiracy, and turning it into a thrilling tale of sisterly love. Their novel, 'Home', tells the story of Zoe, trying to rescue her sister from a cult they grew up in, and she managed to escape from.We talk about why Cailean had to swap their entire story around and how that affected each chapter. Also, how they get by dedicating just one day a week to writing. You can hear why Cailean is extremely interested in the way other people see the world, and how much they plotted two timelines, with the same characters, both written in the first person.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rosie Andrews' debut novel, 'The Leviathan' was first published last year to much acclaim. It has just come out in paperback. It tells the story of Thomas Treadwater, a soldier who holds a very deep, dark secret that is about to be let loose. It's set in 1643, and is a beguiling tale of murder, myth and mystery. It combines two of Rosie's loves: history and fantastical fiction.We talk about building her own writing space, but how really all she needs to work is alone time and quiet. You can hear how her process is constantly evolving - she's aware of where she's come from, and where she needs to be. You can hear how the only inspiration she needs is to get out of the house, and how he writing routine needs to be flexible but she has little trouble getting the words out when she needs to.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Richard Armitage is a very successful actor, appearing in 'The Hobbit' movies, the Harlan Coben Netflix thrillers, and many more besides. He's also one of the most popular narrators for Audible audiobooks. So successful, they invited him to work on his own project for the platform. The finished story is 'Geneva', a psychological thriller which follows scientist Sarah Collier and her husband Daniel at a global conference, when they realise they're in a high stakes game with hidden players and worldwide consequences.We talk about his routine whilst staying in hotels all around the world, also how he managed creative exhuastion, and how acting actually gives you a lot of time to think through plot and to plan. You can hear how Richard's routine was mostly thinking things over before hand and working late into the night, often getting dragged off course by his characters.We learn when he decided to seek out Harlan Coben's advice on psychological thrillers, and how the whole Audible project came about.The connection Richard and I had was terrible, so you can blame the short run time, and slight editing leaps on that.Support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jonathan Whitelaw worked as a journalist in Scotland, covering sport, politics, and everything in between. He's recently moved to the wilderness of Canada, and we talk about the move, and keeping in touch with colleagues and editors half the world away.His newest novel is 'The Bingo Hall Detectives', which tells the story of Jason Brazel, an out of work journalist who tries to solve a local murder with his mother-in-law. We talk about the rise of cosy crime and why he wanted to write in the genre. You can hear how much he thinks through the puzzle aspects of the mystery, why he's too lazy to be a real plotter, and how the characters drag him away from the 2 page synopsis.This episode is sponsored by Marthe Jocelyn's new novel, 'The Seaside Corpse'. It's the fourth in the 'Aggie Morton Mystery Queen Series', inspired by Agatha Christie, and set in 1903 Lyme Regis, when a couple of friends discover a body while looking for Dinosaur bones. It's the perfect present for any kids you want to get engaged in reading. Find out more at marthejocelyn.comSupport the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we chat to Lucy Hooft. She's had an incredible, interesting career travelling the world. She worked in the UK's Foreign Office and for the Department of International Development, going to work for HRH Queen Rania of Jordan. Lucy has taken her experience in geopolitics and written her first spy thriller. It's called 'The King's Pawn' and is the first of the Sarah Black series, that looks at a young, female spy. Lucy has planned 5. We talk about planning so much before you even have a contract - did she feel guilty for devoting time to unpaid work?It's inspired by a real life event no-one has heard of, and takes place around the South Caucus region, which few people know about.We chat about why her genre demands concision, how it started with writing games to fend off baby brain, and why writing flash fiction helps with full-blown novels.You can also hear why she has started to structure her books like a Netflix mini-series, and how that's really helped with the plotting.Support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Pawlosky worked as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, was an editor for CNBC.com, and is now using that experience of sourcing scoops to write the Nik Byron Investigation series.The first is 'Hack', it looks at Nik Byron getting the story of how top secret US surveillance technology was stolen. He needs to expose the plot and get the story before he, and it, is silenced.We talk about brevity, why it's important to keep things tight and not waste everyone's time. Also you can hear why his process is mostly re-reading and re-writing, and why he thinks good writing is re-writing.And be jealous of Mark's very own, purpose-built, writing room.Support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Melvin Burgess had critical acclaim with his novel, 'Junk'. It looks at heroin use among teens in Bristol. It's a hard-hitting novel for teenagers, and won the Carnegie Medal, a prestigious award for Children's and YA writing. We talk about why he chose such a divisive subject, and what he thinks is the secret to writing for teens.His new novel is 'Loki', it tells the story of the politics of ancient Asgard, and is a heartfelt plea to overthrow the gods of authority. We discuss the idea for the book, and why it was partly inspired by recent political events. You can hear why he's interested in the process of powers lying. Also about the strange badge of honour he prides himself. Melvin wrote furiously for about 20 years while supporting a family, but has since been enjoying himself more. We discuss why he's returned to writing, his first novel for adults, and what to do when you've worked extremely hard on something that turns out to be naff.There is swearing in this episode.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we're chatting to S.K. Tremayne. He's a travel writer and novelist, whose new novel is 'The Drowning Hour'.Sean has written many books, under many different names. He had success during the Da Vinci Code book of the mid 2000's, under the name Tom Knox, with his book, 'The Genesis Secret' and its sequels.His new novel follows Hannah, a publicist for The Stanhope, a once grand hotel in Essex. On it's re-opening, some drunken guests disappear into the ocean, and Hannah has to figure out what happened, and handle the scandal. We talk about why, when he's writing, it doesn't matter where he is, the only thing that needs to be good is the idea. Also, why he likes to escape to write, and we get to the big question... how DO you become a travel writer?You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philip Wilding is a fantastic storyteller, and a brilliant talker of storytelling. He's worked as a radio producer for many national stations, written as a journalist following bands across the world, and has ghostwritten memoirs, including Carl Barat of The Libertines.His newest novel is 'The Death and Life of Red Henley'. It's a noir novel about 1980's New York, a religious commune in Tennessee, and the myriad characters entwined in the death of Red Henley. We talk about how it was written because of old ambitions and checklists he about writing a novel, also how working for him is a bit feast or famine, and how that infects the attitude of how his work is going.You can hear why he leaves time between writing books, and how he switches on different parts of hid brain depending on the work he's doing.Support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we chat to Cristina Bendek. Her novel 'Salt Crystals' was published in 2018, and won the Elisa Mujica National Novel Prize. It's about the island of San Andres, and Victoria trying to make sense of everything. It's just been translated and published in the UK.We talk about how it's a slightly autobiographical novel, reflecting on Cristina's own time in an island trying to figure out its place in the world. We talk about the geopolitical situation of it, and how that influenced why she wanted to write the book. You can hear why rain is the best thing for her writing, why setting a word count doesn't work, and how much she thinks about words and language in her prosaic writing.You can hear why chatting to yourself is key, why she needed to plan this one out more before she started, and what it was like working with a translator.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we chat to Felix Francis. His new book is the next in the 'Dick Francis Series', it's called 'Hands Down' and features Sid Halley looking into a conspiracy that threatens the heart of horse-racing.Felix is carrying on the prolific work of his dad, Dick Francis. Dick was an RAF pilot, a champion race jockey, and then a phenomenally bestselling author. Between them they've publish 50 books and sold over 80 million copies. We talk about the transition of him taking the reins (!) of the writing, how he learned from his father and many other authors, and how he's developed his own style. You can hear how he challenges himself with different styles and viewpoints to keep things fresh, also why writing easy reading isn't a challenge, and how much he thinks about getting new readers.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pascal Engman is the bestselling Swedish novelist of his generation, called 'the next Steig Larsson'. He has sold plenty of books around the world, and they're now being published in the UK. His new one is 'Femicide, it looks at 'incel' culture. Involuntary celebates who hate women, and what happens when they switch off their laptops and do something about it in real life. We chat about completely different parts of the world he writes in, and how much pressure he puts on 9 months of his year to try and write a book in the last 3. Also, you can hear why he tries to make his first draft as perfect as possible, because he hates editing so much. We chat about why he wants to entertain and teach in his novels, and how much he thinks about the international audience when he's writing... particularly the jokes. You can hear about the original blueprint for the novel and how much it changes, how he deals with time away from writing, and what his favourite font is.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Marthe Jocelyn is about to publish her 50th book. It's called 'The Seaside Corpse', and is the 4th in the Aggie Morton Mystery Queen series. It's based on a young Agatha Christie, who solves crimes with her best friend Hector Poirot. The new one takes place in 1903 Lyme Regis, when searching for dinosaurs, Aggie comes across a dead body.We talk about how much she plots mysteries, and why this story has made her mix that up a bit. Also, you can hear how accurate she wants to get her story to real-life 1903 Lyme Regis, and how she researches it. You can hear how much she thinks about how her books look, how a form of peer pressure helps her write, and how using writing exercises, like only using one-syllable words, can really help you think about the story.You can find out more about Marthe's work at marthejocelyn.com!Support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we chat to author and lecturer David Bell. He's just published his 12th book, 'The Finalists'. It looks at a group of prospective college students, and the lengths they might go to gain a prestigious fellowship. Think 'The Breakfast Club' with murder.His novel, 'Kill All Your Darlings', was nominated for an Edgar Award, and he's written his books whilst lecturing English and writing at University. We talk about how he balances his time teaching writing, and actually writing. You can also hear how he makes a locked room story consistently engaging, when your characters can't really go very far... how do you make it gripping for a reader?We talk about making stock characters unique, whether deadlines change, how knowing you've done it once can really help you believe you can do it again, and why he absolutely loves a routine.Support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gordon J. Brown has just published his 9th novel, it's called 'Six Wounds' and is published under the name Morgan Cry. We talk about why he's started writing under a different name, and how a certain ex-Prime Minister played a part in that.The book was inspired by a conversation in a Spanish pub, investigating how an ex-pat can be in two places at once. You can hear the process of moving that idea into a full book. It's about Daniella Coulstoun, the prime suspect in the murder of a notorious gangster, who must find the real killer fast.We talk about how Gordon can write anywhere, how Stephen King inspired his writing routine, and how he copes with writing words he know will be cut. You can hear about his confusing filing system, how putting someone on a flight cut almost 40k words, and why he thinks Scotland is so synonymous with crime-writing.Gordon is a co-founder of 'Bloody Scotland', one of Europe's biggest crime-writing festivals. Find out more at bloodyscotland.comSupport the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emily Houghton managed to write the entire draft of her very first novel on her phone, whilst travelling around the world. That novel, 'Before I Saw You', was a huge success and she's followed it up with 'Last Time We Met'.It's about Eleanor and Finn, who make a pact to marry each other if they're single at 35. Then, 15 years later, they bump into each other... what do you think happens?We talk about how writing her new book has been completely different than getting her first down on her phone. Also you can hear about her re-drafts, why she's had to be more structured in writing, and how she plans scene breakdowns.Emily talks about uplit and rom-com, and how she strives to make hers different, also about finding your voice, and what she perceives her own style to be.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robert Murphy has worked as a news reporter for many years. Over the last decade or so, Robert followed the tragic story of Melanie Road. Melanie was murdered in Bath in 1984, after a year long enquiry with 94 arrests being made, no-one was charged. Then in 2009, Detective Superintendent Julie MacKay found something that changed everything.Julie has co-written the story with Robert. We talk about how that worked, how he discovered every facet of the story, and moved that into a plot. You can hear how much thought they gave to the standards of genre fiction, when dealing with true crime and peoples lives - how much can you manipulate the story to be gripping and thrilling, when you're talking about such a tragic tale?We discuss how he organises a full-time creative job, with a creative hobby, and what his home life is like with a partner who also writes... and works in TV news.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lexie Elliott accomplishes things. She graduated from the University of Oxford with a degree in theoretical physics (?!) became a championship-winning swimmer, and even swam the English Channel. She's just published her third novel, 'How to Kill Your Best Friend'. It tells the story of 3 friends who met on the college swim team. Years later, one is found dead in the ocean near a remote island. Can an elite swimmer really have drowned, or is something else going on?We talk about why she wanted to make the location of the story one of the central characters, also how she's had to be much better with deadlines after becoming a full-tiime writer, and how lockdown has changed where she writes.You can hear why she's pushed to be a writer in amongst everything else she's achieved, when she got a hold on her writing voice, and how quite rarely... the title came before the plot.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Barnaby Jameson Q.C is one of the country's top counter-terrorist lawyers, involved in notorious cases involved bomb-threats and plans to assassinate MPs. In his time between cases, he's worked on a new thriller, 'Codename: Madeleine'.It's inspired by the story of Poor Inayat Khan, an agent behind enemy lines. We talk about the idea, how he researched it and plotted out a story inspired by fact. Also you can hear how his writing is a curated stream of consciousness, where he escapes to write, and how he switches off part of his brain to write instead of lawyer.We chat about how he gets better at telling stories in court, what the first kernel of a plot-idea was, and how unique the politically-charged landscape is right now.I'll be hosting two sessons at Bloody Scotland, if you fancy a nice weekend break hearing from the best crime-writers in idyllic Stirling.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ruth Ware is an international bestseller, who has just published her 7th crime thriller, 'The It Girl'.It tells the story of April, a vivacious, bright girl at the University of Oxford, who quickly draws a group of friends into her dazzling orbit. Until, one morning she is found dead. 10 years later, new information surfaces about the crime, and changes Hannah's life... her testimony was key to sending a man to prison. It means, one of her friends might have done killed 'The It Girl'.Ruth's books, 'The Lying Game', 'The Woman in Cabin 10', 'In a Dark, Dark Wood', 'The Death of Mrs Westaway', 'The Turn of the Key', and 'One by One' have all been huge bestsellers, and there's a lot of noise about her new novel.We discuss her move from YA to adult, crime fiction. Also why the hardest part of writing crime, is figuring out why someone will try to solve the mystery. You can hear how she gets through the tricky 30k word mark, and why her writing space is almost perfect.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we chat to Sarah Pearse. Her debut novel, 'The Sanatorium', was the best selling debut fiction book of 2021. It was a New York Tiimes and Sunday Times bestseller, a Waterstones Thriller of the Month, and a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick.Her new one is called, 'The Retreat'. Set on an eco-wellness retreat on an island near Devon, it promises rest and relaxation, yet the locals believe it to have a cursed past. When a young woman is found murdered nearby, DS Elin Warner is called in to investigate.We chat about how her writing routine is slightly dictated by family, where she moves for inspiration, and how she changes scenes that she wrote in the first few days of an idea.You can hear how much she thinks about pacing and structure when writing genre, why her best thoughts come at night, and how she found moving from short stories to full on novels.This week's episode of the show is supported by 'Believe Me Not', the fantastic new novel by Natalie Chandler.Support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrew White is a do-er. He's written factual pieces for BBC Countryfile magazine, Rail Britain, written AA Guidebooks, and runs the Walks Around Britain YouTube channel and presents its TV shows.During lockdown, Andrew found that there wasn't much call for long-form walks around the country, when everyone was told to stay inside, so found a new outlet for his creativity. He started coming up with plot-lines for his first novel. He came up with over 30 of them, and 'The Walker Mysteries' were born. The first is 'A New World', which sees DCI Charlotte Walker investigating a local mystery. We talk about how wrote a female character around 20 years younger than him, also why he chose to self-publish, and why he's currently writing 3 books at once.Also you can hear how technology really helps him as a dyslexic writer, how he spreads his creative energy across different things, and how far in the future he's thinking with these stories.Support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emma Bamford is a journalist and memoirist whose debut novel, 'Deep Water' is out right now. About a decade ago, Emma quit her job and escaped to Borneo with a complete stranger. She told this story in her memoirs, 'Casting Off' and 'Untie the Lines'. We talk about writing memoir: why other people want to read about your life, and how you keep records of adventures to write them later on.'Deep Water' tells the story of Jake and Virginie, who after a traumatising experience at sea, find sanctuary in a remote island... until the island starts to reveal more secrets than they know. We talk about the exact moment she had the idea for the story, how she reverse-engineered her scene breakdown, and how much the story changed whilst she was writing it.You can hear why she's moving house with a new office in mind, how challenging she found moving from writing memoirs to fiction, and what she does when the words aren't coming out.Support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Benjamin Wood has been shortlisted for the Costa First Novel award and the Commonwealth Book Prize, he's a CWA Gold Dagger nominee and a finalist for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year. He also lectures creative writing at King's College.His 4th novel is 'The Young Apprentice'. It looks at Charlie and Joyce, recently released from borstal and starting a new life as an architecture apprentice. Until a figure from Joyce's past creeps back into her world, trying to drag them back to their old criminal life. We talk about the separation between work and creativity, and how that's affected where he writes. Also why he uses longhand to get a different angle on a story, and what people learn in a creative writing lecture.This week's episode is sponsored by 'Waiting for Jetpacks', the new short story collection, by John Lockhart. Grab a copy here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Waiting-Jetpacks-John-Lockhart-ebook/dp/B08GM4SC68Support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mary Adkins is the author of critically acclaimed novels, 'Palm Beach', 'When You Read This', and 'Privilege'. She has used her experience of writing, publishing and also teaching, to become a writing coach. Her 'Book Incubator' programme looks to help you on the difficult journey to publishing. It uses how creative you are, how outgoing you are, and what your day is like, to plan the perfect method for your writing, and helps you write, revise and pitch your novel.We talk about why she sets up her writing space to make her think she's playing, not writing. Also how she discovered she's a morning person, and how she uses music to change her place and space. You can also hear the best tips and tricks she's learned as a writing mentor, including how to get to know your character, what to do with an initial idea, and why people find it so hard switching between writing and editing.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Colette Dartford's debut, 'Learning to Speak American', was shortlisted for an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. She followed up this success with her second, 'An Unsuitable Marriage', was a Kindle bestseller for 18 months. For her new novel she's made an interesting decision. In August, she'll self-publish, 'The Mortification of Grace Wheeler'. She's done this to have more creative control over publishing, marketing and pricing, and is almost doing it as a one-book experiment. She gets deep into the reasons why she has done this, and there's some fantastic advice to help you make a similar choice.The novel is about Grace, in a marriage with a much older man, whose son leaves for University. She becomes an empty-nester, and in a bid for excitement, is drawn into an affair with terrible consequences. We talk about why she has stopped doing detailed summaries of characters, why all she needs to write is a quiet space and a laptop, and how much expert help she gets before sending the work off.Support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Janice Hallett career started as a magazine editor, journalist and speech writer. Her first feature film, Retreat, starred Cillian Murphy, Thandiwe Newton and Jamie Bell. She's written speeches for the Home Office, the Cabinet Office and many others. Her frustration at getting screenplays adapted for TV and film prompted her to start writing novels. What a decision.Her debut, 'The Appeal', has achieved phenomenal success. It's been shared widely online by book communities, sold lots of copies and was one of Sunday Times Crime Novels of 2021.It's a murder-mystery set in a tight-knit village community staging an amateur dramatic production, and is all told through emails and messages. We discuss why she set a book in this novel way, and how her career as a screenwriter helped with that.We talk about the moment she knew her book might be taking off, also why she works seven days a week, and how much she reverse-engineers a murder mystery. You can hear how she figured out who the killer was, how her characters mirror different parts of her personality, and about her newest novel, 'The Twyford Code'.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Ellis started work as a lawyer, then ran his own business, and is now 5 books into his own crime series. It's all about Detective Frank Merlin, who investigates crimes during World War 2, a time in which committing crimes was relatively easy. His new book is 'Dead in the Water', which looks at how a mangled body found in the Thames and a missing piece of art are connected. We talk about how much he plans long-term for his characters, why he overwrites his first draft and how he goes about cutting it down. You can hear how he gets ideas for Frank's adventures, and why sometimes it's easier to let the characters take care of things themselves.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jessica Payne had 3 failed attempts at getting published. It took a genre switch to finally get her book out there and on the shelves. Her debut is 'Make Me Disappear', about a woman so desperate to escape her sociopathic boyfriend, she's prepared to go to extreme lengths to get away.We talk about why she was so determined to get published, also how she balances a hectic work-life where her husband works 90 hour weeks, while she looks after her toddler and manages to write novels. You can hear how she got to know her characters, and how she keeps her creative time sacred.Jessica also hosts the #MomsWritersClub on Twitter, with lots of excellent writing and publication advice.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scott Kershaw has had an interesting route to being published. Leaving school with few qualifications, he signed up as a mature student in college. Whilst there, his work was spotted by the Head of Writing at Hull University, and despite having no A Levels or even filling in a UCAS application, he was offered a place and graduated with a First Class Degree in Creative Writing.It's all led to his debut, 'The Game'. It follows five strangers from across the globe who receive a warning that their most loved person is in danger, and the only way to save them is to play... the game. We discuss how he worked on the idea with his agent, also how he's managed to write in between renovating a house, and how music changes his writing mood.PLUS, you can hear the first full chapter of 'The Game' audiobook at the end of the show.Support us at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dervla McTiernan was an Irish lawyer for 12 years. After the global financial crash, she moved to Australia and became a crime-writer. After a short-story was nominated for a prestigious prize, her debut 'The Ruin' achieved great success, and she's become a runaway bestseller.Her new novel, 'The Murder Rule', looks at The Innocence Project, which looks to exonerate wrongly convicted criminals. Only this book turns it on its head when a woman doesn't want to save a man on death row... but bury him.We talk about her extremely thoroughly planned writing days, how she's always looking to grow and change as a writer. You can hear how new editing tricks, how she gets to know her characters, and exactly how hard it is to take on a novel.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joanna Cannon's debut novel, 'The Trouble with Goats and Sheep' was an instant hit and became a Sunday Times Bestseller. She wrote it in very early mornings and in her lunch break, working in her car in an NHS car park, in between shifts as a Doctor. Becoming a writer is the third act of a busy life, Joanna left school at fifteen, worked as a barmaid, kennel maid and pizza delivery girl before qualifying as a Doctor in her forties. Now, she's a full-time author. Her new book, 'A Tidy Ending', about Linda, Strange Terry and Rebecca who used to live in the house before them. It's a character driven story, and Joanna loves learning about these characters as she goes. Jo knows the last line of a story when she starts and very little else.We talk about her ludicrously early starts, why she hands in an almost perfect draft, why theme is the most important thing, and how procrastinating is sometimes more important than actual writing.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gracie Hart is a saga novelist, her stories focus on a family's troubles through history. She loves writing of the late-Victorian era, and immerses herself in the place and time that she's looking at.Her new novel, out in paperback, is 'The Baker's Girl'. It tells the story of Meg who needs to keep her family together. Her mum is ill, her sister in school, and she is the breadwinner... and indeed, the breadmaker. She finds a job with Ted Lund in the local bakery, and in the face of his mismanagement and mistreatment, has to turn the failing business, and her family around.We talk about what writing saga fiction means to her, also what her fans expect from a Gracie Hart story. You can hear how the idea came from her own family's business and an idea off the telly, and why her first drafts need to be near on perfect.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Laure Van Rensburg has been highly acclaimed with short stories, been published in magazines, and her debut, 'Nothing But Us', is out now.It tells the story of Steven and Ellie, a professor and a student, on a romantic getaway to an isolated New York cabin. It's meant to be the perfect getaway, but he's not who he says he is... and neither is she. We talk about why she's set it in a part of America she's never been to, confounding most debut practice by writing what she doesn't know. Also you can hear how Laure writes around her full-time job, how she's learned to be a plotter and why spreadsheets have really helped with that.You can support the show on patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sara Blaedel is Denmark's 'Queen of Crime'. 3 million copies have been sold in Denmark alone. The country has under 6 million people living in it. She's published 25 books, and is best known for her Detective Louise Rick stories. The new one is 'A Harmless Lie', in which Louise has to rush back from holiday in Thailand, after a panicked phone call from her father. Her brother has attempted suicide, and everything is entangled in his estranged wife, and a girl who went missing a decade before.We discuss her organised and thorough work-day, also how much she thinks about an international audience when she writes in Danish, and why she returns to write about murders for a living, which can be hugely emotionally draining.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philippa East's debut, 'Little White Lies', was nominated for a CWA New Blood Dagger Award in 2020, one of the highest prizes in crime fiction. She works as a clinical psychologist, using inspiration from her work to write thrillers. Her new one, 'Safe and Sound', was inspired by a documentary she saw. It tells the story of Sarah Jones - pretty, charismatic, and full of life, who is found dead in her home. The strange thing is... she's been lying there for 10 months. We talk about what she did after having the first idea, how did she turn a true story from a documentary into her own novel, also how the names in the novel really matter, and how she finally knew the novel was done. Philippa is big into learning the craft. She vociferously reads writing books, talks to other authors and listens to this show. We chat about how consciously she makes the improvements that she learns about along the way.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Danny Wallace is an ideas-man and a doer. He's started his own kindness cult, tracked down all his long-lost friends, and spent a whole year saying yes to everything. Danny has published adult books, kids books, and has a new one out, 'The Luckiest Kid in the World'.It's all about a boy who is determined to be the most average child ever, and that very fact makes him extremely unusual. We talk about the having the idea and what he needs to know before he starts writing, also where he sometimes escapes to write and how he explored the pandemic for kids. You can hear how having children has affected his writers routine, where he writes now, and why he needs the radio on to tell stories.He runs a website called Assembly, and a podcast called Manatomy, which is a place for modern men. Also, hosts a weekly show on Radio X, and we discuss how he decides where ideas go. Are they a work of fiction, non-fiction, a podcast idea, or something to talk about on his radio show?You can read more about Danny here - https://dannywallace.com/Please do support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Luca Veste is fully immersed in the fantastic writing community. He's blogged, he podcasts with 'Two Crime Writers and a Microphone', plays in the 'Fun Lovin' Crime Writers', co-founded the 'Locked In Festival' and has published many books. He's most known for the 'Murphy and Rossi' novels, and for writing across many genres.His new one, 'You Never Said Goodbye', is about Sam Cooper who lost his Mum early in life, and then years later learns a secret from his Dad that changes everything. We talk about how it came from an idea Luca has sat on for a little while, also how he works with an editor, and what a year looks like in the life of a full-time author.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Until very recently, Claire Frost worked full-time as a book reviewer for 'Fabulous'. After years reading and chatting to authors, she chose to work 4 days a week, and dedicate a whole day to writing.She has published 3 books, 'Married at First Swipe', 'Living My Best Life', and her new book is, 'The One'. It's about Lottie Brown, who has finally found The One. Leo is everything she’s ever wanted – he’s handsome, kind, funny and totally gets her. Three months into their relationship, Lottie is in love and happier than ever before. When Leo tragically dies, Lottie learns more about the man she thought she knew, and starts to question whether Leo really was as perfect as he seemed.We talk about the pressure of needing to get stuff done in a day, what she has learned from book reviewing, and the moment she finally knew she was a [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stacy Willingham has just published her debut novel, 'A Flicker in the Dark'. The novel follows Chloe Davis, whose world was torn apart at 12 years old when her father confessed to the murder of six teenage girls in their small Louisiana town. 20 years later, Chloe is a successful psychologist in Baton Rouge. But when a local girl disappears, she starts to unravel. The rights have been optioned by the actress Emma Stone, and it's currently being developed for HBO Max. We talk about how it feels to have so many writers dreams seem to be coming true. Stacy worked full-time in marketing and copywriting before publishing novels and we discuss how writing snappy slogans has affected the way she tells stories. You can hear about her specifically designed writing space, also why she moves around for the second draft, and how other authors inspire what she writes.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nadine Matheson is busy. Busy, busy, busy. She works as a criminal lawyer, has found time to go back to school, and publish her debut novel, 'The Jigsaw Man'.The book is a police procedural about Inspector Henley, tasked with finding the killer of bodies found along the River Thames in London. It's set in the area she grew up and we talk about why she wanted, and how she managed, to accurately portray her ends of the City.We talk about how she gets inspiration from her work as a criminal lawyer, how comic books help her plot, and why she ended up back to school accidentally.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we chat to Rudy Ruiz, about his new novel, 'The Resurrection of Fulgencio Ramirez'. Rudy has been a finalist for the International Latino Book Awards, and has written extensively about the Mexican/ US border. The new book weaves that social activism into a novel, telling the story of a man seeking redemption and the American Dream in the face of a mystical family curse. We talk about where the idea came from, how Mexican songs helped shaped the story, and why culture and heritage plays such a big role in his writing.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ellen Alpsten has worked in TV, as a producer and presenter, she's won short story competitions, teaches creative writing, and has just published her second book, 'The Tsarina's Daughter'. It's based on Catherine the 1st of Russia's daughter, Elizabeth.We talk about research, how she knows want to look into next, and how she blends historical fact with fiction. Also you can hear how getting published completely changed the way she writes, and get inspired by her publication story.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Harriet Kline is an award-winning short story writer. 'Ghost' won the Hissac short story competition, 'Chest of Drawers', the London Magazine short story competition. Her work has been published online, in magazines and played out on BBC Radio.Her debut novel is 'This Shining Life'. It's all about Ruth, who loses her husband Rich, and sets out on a mission with her son Ollie to solve puzzles he left for them, in a bid to discover the meaning of life. It's funny, beautiful and about love and loss. It was inspired by the sad death of a friend, which oddly made her feel more alive than ever, and also her work as a registrar, where she is surrounded by life and death all day. We talk about how she tried to find the meaning of life while writing the story, also why it started out as many short stories, and about the monster that gets her to work in the morning.You can support the show at patreon.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.