Podcast Episodes

Helen Fisher, author of 'Joe Nuthin's Guide to Life' - Writer discusses the rocky road to publication, writing when you're not writing, and the plot road map

Season 1 Episode 295

Helen Fisher's debut, 'Space Hopper' was acclaimed as one of the most unique debuts of 2021, recommended by Cosmopolitan, Woman's Weekly', Marian Keyes, and many more, it looked set to launch her to …

Published on 1 year, 11 months ago

Professor Emma Smith, author of 'Portable Magic: A History of Books and Their Readers' - Academic discusses commercial non-fiction, who Shakespeare really was, and why we can't throw books away

Season 1 Episode 294

Professor Emma Smith teaches Shakespeare Studies at the University of Oxford. She has published some academic non-fiction works before, but this is her first work of real commercial non-fiction. 'Por…

Published on 1 year, 11 months ago

D.V. Bishop, author of 'Ritual of Fire' - Historical fiction author talks his rules of writing, planning in the past, and tie-in novels

Season 1 Episode 293

Happy New Year! Let's start 2024 with a bumper episode from a fantastic historical fiction author. D.V Bishop has published 3 'Cesare Aldo' novels, and the 4th is on the way. He's won the CWA Histori…

Published on 1 year, 11 months ago

Jane L. Rosen, author of 'On Fire Island' - Turning screenplays into novels, the balance of writing and promoting, and how to capture a sense of place

Season 1 Episode 292

In our last episode of 2023, we chat to Jane L. Rosen, whose new boook 'On Fire Island' is out now. It’s all about Julia, a book lover that lives on Fire Island in New York, who… dies, and then we fo…

Published on 2 years ago

Amanda Prowse, author of 'All Good Things' - Prolific bestseller discusses creating a universe of characters, completely pantsing and why creativity helps trauma

Season 1 Episode 291

Amanda Prowse has written over 30 books. Her newest is 'All Good Things', which tells the story of life-long neighbours, the Kelleways and the Harrops, who couldn’t be further apart. However, when th…

Published on 2 years ago

Femi Kayode, author of 'Gaslight' - CWA nominated writer discusses writing through a Nigerian lens, chapter titles giving control, and being in the perfect place

Season 1 Episode 290

Femi Kayode's debut 'Lightseekers' was a book of the month in many national newspapers, it was longlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award, and was a commercial success.

His follow up is 'Gaslight', it's…

Published on 2 years ago

Katie Marsh, author of 'How Not To Murder Your Ex' - Crime writer talks about switching from romance, trying to clear distractions, and taking 2 months before starting

Season 1 Episode 289

This week, we're chatting to Katie Marsh. Katie has published 5 romantic fiction novels, ‘Unbreak your Heart’, ‘The Rest of Me’, ‘The Beautiful Life’, ‘A Life Without You’ and ‘My Everything’, and ha…

Published on 2 years, 1 month ago

Terry Hayes, author of 'The Year of the Locust' - Acclaimed bestseller talks about using song lyrics, cutting hundreds of thousands of words, and the pressure of the second novel

Season 1 Episode 288

Terry Hayes started his career as a journalist before heading to Hollywood. He found real success there, writing on 'Flight Plan', 'Payback', and penning, 'Mad Max II'. In 2013, he published 'I Am Pi…

Published on 2 years, 1 month ago

Freya Berry, author of 'The Birdcage Library' - Bestseller discusses writing hard and often, leaving space in the story, and giving yourself a year to write

Season 1 Episode 287

Freya Berry's debut, 'The Dictator's Wife', was a bestselling, critically acclaimed hit, and was a BBC 2 'Between the Covers' pick. She's back with 'The Birdcage Library'.

It tells the story of Emily …

Published on 2 years, 1 month ago

Denzil Meyrick, author of 'Murder at Holly House' - Bestselling writer discusses the baggy middle, avoiding distractions, and not being limited by genre

Season 1 Episode 286

Denzil Meyrick has published 11 bestselling DCI Daley books, many standalones, and is back with, 'Murder at Holly House'.

Set in 1952, it takes Inspector Frank Grasby despatched to investigate a stran…

Published on 2 years, 1 month ago