Kelly Weekes answers listener questions on discovering who your readers are in a conversation that takes in social media, comparable authors, visualising your readers, writing to market, goals, pain points, and why authors should think of themselves as CEOs of their own business. Kelly has worked in the marketing departments of the biggest UK publishers, and on the marketing strategies and campaigns for the likes of Stephen King, Jodi Picoult and Philippa Gregory, as well as debut writers. She's...
May 26, 2023•7 min•Season 6Ep. 450
Sue Watson was BBC TV producer until she wrote her first novel and was hooked. Now she’s a USA Today bestselling author and has sold over a million copies, but that success came as a second act in a writing career where she switched from romcoms to thrillers. Sue tells about that pivotal change, her latest thriller The Wedding Day, and how crime writers tell stories that take us to dark places to find difficult truths.
May 22, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 6Ep. 449
Jonathan Whitelaw started out as a journalist, writing darkly satirical fiction on his commute to work. Jonathan tells us how he went from thinking that he could never write a crime novel, to creating a new cosy crime series with The Bingo Hall Detectives and The Village Hall Vendetta featuring a son-in-law and mother-in-law crime solving duo!
May 15, 2023•59 min•Season 6Ep. 448
Jessie Keane has Romany heritage and her Gran — who had ’the sight’ — foretold that that Jesse would not only write, but be famous for it. 6.5 million copies later and with each book becoming a Sunday Times top ten bestseller, that prediction has come true. Jesse celebrates fifteen years since her debut novel, Dirty Game, with her latest thriller, Never Go Back. She tells us how she found her voice as a writer and why she never takes no for an answer. The Two Marks also answer the questions, ‘Wh...
May 08, 2023•50 min•Season 6Ep. 447
Katy Brent is an award-winning journalist whose debut novel How To Kill Men and Get Away With It is perfect for fans of How To Kill Your Family and Killing Eve. Katy tells us how the novel evolved from a fun idea to something that drew on the Me Too movement to and the anger around the victim blaming of abused women. Katy talks about her journey from writing articles in lockdown to writing a provocative novel that tackles difficult issues with satire and humour.
May 01, 2023•1 hr 4 min
Amita Parikh’s debut novel The Circus Train took six years to write and has been earning praise worldwide, but it might never had happened if she hadn’t found herself lost in London, asking for directions. Amita tells us how she bounced back from rejection, why sport is the best way to train for writing, and how she created a writing habit.
Apr 24, 2023•43 min•Season 6Ep. 445
Jeevani Charika is the author of Playing for Love, Picture Perfect and more, but she’s also a scientist and has been experimenting with ChatGPT to discover if writers should fear our AI Overlords or embrace them.
Apr 21, 2023•8 min•Season 6Ep. 444
JS Monroe worked as a foreign correspondent in Delhi, becoming a full-time writer. His psychological thriller Find Me became a bestseller in 2017, and, under the name Jon Stock, he is also the author of five spy thrillers. Warner Brothers bought the film rights to the Dead Spy Running trilogy hiring Oscar-winner Stephen Gaghan ( Traffic, Syriana ) to write the screenplay for Dead Spy Running , and now he’s back writing as JS Monroe with NO PLACE TO HIDE, a thriller with a Faustian pact at its he...
Apr 17, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Season 6Ep. 443
In this special deep dive episode we speak to Jenny Geras, Managing Director at Bookouture. Jenny tell us what it is that makes this innovative digital first publisher so different, and she answers our listener questions on submissions, the difference in trends with digital and physical books, and if it pays to be prolific.
Apr 14, 2023•9 min•Season 6Ep. 442
Delilah S Dawson is the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Phasma and many more titles across an incredibly diverse backlist, and she returns with a new thriller called The Violence which explores themes of women of escaping domestic violence and reclaiming their power. Delilah also gives us tips for writing for big intellectual properties like Star Wars and Minecraft, and the writing habits that have made her so prolific and successful.
Apr 10, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 6Ep. 441
In the latest of our Academy All-Stars mini episodes, we talk to Kate Baker who tells us how being ultraflexible and never worrying about the word “should” helped her make the most of the Academy and publish her acclaimed debut novel Maid of Steel. We also discuss branded earrings, nails and Toblerone!
Apr 07, 2023•29 min
David McCloskey is a former CIA analyst and his smash hit debut novel Damascus Station was inspired by his time working in field stations in the Middle East. David tells us how the novel started as an exercise in processing his thoughts about the events in Syria, what he learned from writing for US presidents, how letting go of his ego helped him write a novel, and the role played in his career by a hot dog machine in Langley...
Apr 03, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Season 6Ep. 439
Stuart Gibbon is a former UK senior police detective who served in London and the East Midlands. In 2014, he launched his own business providing a consultancy service for writers. Stuart also appears on TV and radio as a policing expert. He's also co-written a series of books with Stephen Wade: The Crime Writers' Casebook, Being a Detective and Catching a Killer. And a series of indispensable guides on criminal investigation procedures. In this packed Deep Dive on UK police procedures, Stuart id...
Mar 31, 2023•10 min•Season 6Ep. 438
Jayne Davis is a leading Regency Romance author, with nearly 40 million KU page reads, and through sharing her research on her blog she has become a go to resource for authors in the genre. Jayne reveals the essential elements of period romance, tips for writing period appropriate dialogue, and why publishing more books creates its own marketing.
Mar 27, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Season 6Ep. 437
Derek and Dave Philpott have been writing strange letters to famous musicians for ten years now, and getting even stranger ones back. Their first book, Dear Mr. Kershaw, became a cult hit and the follow-up Dear Mr. Pop Star was released by Unbound Publishing to more acclaim. And now they return with a Punk edition, Grammar Free in the UK, which is raising money for the charity Crisis. Dave tells us how these extraordinary projects came about, and how it first gained momentum when his dad saw how...
Mar 20, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 6Ep. 436
Rosie Andrews’ debut novel The Leviathan is rooted in her passion for history and she tells us how she was inspired by the like of Thomas Hobbes to create page-turning historical fiction that’s relevant to readers today. And Rosie tells us why she abandoned her first unpublished historical fiction novel because she felt that it lacked an authentic voice.
Mar 13, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Season 6Ep. 435
Mark Edwards returns to the podcast to celebrate ten years since his first solo novel The Magpies. He tells us about his changing relationship with the book that changed his life, how he’s sustained a career writing standalone thrillers, and why it’s important to have a direct connection with his readers.
Mar 06, 2023•1 hr 15 min•Season 6Ep. 434
Matt Brown is the author of such wonderful children’s books at the Compton Valance series (about a boy who creates a time machine from a 13-week-old mouldy sandwich), the Dreary Inkling School books, and The Mab, a re-telling of the Mabinogi, which might be the oldest written stories in the history of Britain. Matt was also TV presenter, notably on Nickelodeon, and he’s a podcaster, but don’t hold that against him. He tells us what he’s discovered writing for children, why it takes a village to ...
Feb 27, 2023•1 hr 26 min•Season 6Ep. 433
Twin brothers Zack and Michael Urlocker write together as M.Z. Urlocker, and their debut novel The Man from Mittelwerk is a 50s noir thriller with a dash of science fiction. They take us through their collaborative process, how they defined their roles in the project, and whether or not they’ll work together again.
Feb 20, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Season 6Ep. 432
As well as starring in the likes of The Hobbit and Spooks, the actor Richard Armitage is also a prolific audiobook narrator. And now he’s written Geneva , an Audible original psychological thriller. Richard tell us how the project came about, and how his background in music, theatre and film helped him develop the characters. And he tells us the things authors do that can irk audiobook narrators.
Feb 13, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 6Ep. 431
Simon Scarrow is best known for his Eagles of the Empire series that began in 2000 with Under the Eagle featuring Roman soldier heroes Cato and Macro. 2022 saw the release of Death to the Emperor, the twenty-first book in the series, and he’s also just released Dead of Night, the second of his Berlin wartime thrillers. Simon takes us through his extraordinary career, with tips on historical research, co-writing, developing ideas, and creating a series where the reader can start with the twenty-f...
Feb 06, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Season 6Ep. 430
Digital-first publisher Bookouture are now applying their publishing model to science fiction and fantasy with their new imprint Second Sky. We speak to consultant associate publisher Jack Renninson who tells us what Second Sky is looking for, and he answers our listener questions on submissions, pitching to Second Sky, and what’s to come in the near future.
Feb 01, 2023•8 min•Season 6Ep. 429
Bestselling author Peter May returns to the podcast with his gripping new novel A Winter Grave, a near future thriller where climate change has changed the landscape. Peter talks about coming out of retirement to write without a contract or a deadline, but with passion and a sense of urgency. Mark Stay is joined this week by guest presenter Caimh McDonnell, bestselling author of the Bunny McGarry series and the Stranger Times books, including Love Will Tear Us Apart.
Jan 30, 2023•56 min•Season 6Ep. 428
Director Jon Wright joins Mark Stay to answer listener questions on the development of their new monster movie Unwelcome. They reveal what inspired them to write the script, how the story was developed (and was very early abandoned), how Jon blocks and shoots sequences and works with the cast and crew, they offer tips for screenwriters, and they start by discussing, er, chocolate bars.
Jan 27, 2023•49 min•Season 6Ep. 427
Lou Abercrombie worked in TV and film production and as a photographer, and a few years ago started writing children’s books combining her passion for swimming and mathematics. Her debut novel FIG SWIMS THE WORLD, was longlisted for the Bath Children’s Award, and her new book AMAZING MATHS makes the subject of mathematics accessible in a way that we wish was around when we were at school. Lou reveals how water solves her story problems and how she’s helped by a waterproof notebook...
Jan 23, 2023•51 min
Matt Cain endured rejections from thirty agents and fifty publishers before getting his debut novel published… and then it didn’t work out. Matt tells us how he made an extraordinary comeback, breaking crowdfunding records with The Madonna of Bolton, having a smash with The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle, and now he’s back with Becoming Ted, his latest heartwarming novel about following your dreams.
Jan 16, 2023•57 min
Cole Haddon is an Australian-American screenwriter and novelist whose first TV commission, Dracula, was produced by NBC and SKY and starred Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Psalms for the End of the World is his debut novel and Cole tells us how he was inspired by looking into the eyes of one of his young children, why he’s happy to fail, how he deals with notes, and he gives us tips for writing scripts and graphic novels.
Jan 09, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 6Ep. 424
Christian Cameron is an incredibly prolific writer and military historian who also writes as Miles Cameron. His new novel as Miles is Against All Gods, an epic set in the Bronze Age that gives a new twist to familiar myths and legends. Christian tells how he learned to write without doubting himself, how historical recreation has helped with research, and why there are no minor characters.
Jan 02, 2023•57 min•Season 6Ep. 423
The Two Marks don their terrible Christmas sweaters and hats to celebrate the festive season and look forward to 2023. Mark Stay tests Mr D with a super-duper mega quiz, we discover that Americans don’t have Christmas crackers, we reveal where Santa comes from, tell terrible jokes, and we discuss taking stock and setting goals for 2023… and much more!
Dec 26, 2022•52 min•Season 6Ep. 422
In 1983 Margaret Weis took on a job as a book editor at TSR, producers of the Dungeons and Dragons® role-playing game. Little did she know that the DRAGONLANCE® series she created with Tracy Hickman would go on to sell over 25 million copies and still be in print after almost 30 years. And now they’re back with a new trilogy! Margaret tells us about her incredible career, the three tips that Gary Paulsen gave her, she answers our listener questions and shares the words of encouragement that kept...
Dec 19, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Season 6Ep. 421
