Amanda Jennings has just published her 5th novel, 'The Storm', which is set in a lonely, isolated Cornish fishing village. It's about Hannah who seems to have the perfect marriage, but is desperately controlled by her husband, Nathan, behind closed doors, and how its linked to a tragic storm of years before. Since her debut, 'Sworn Secret', she regularly tops the Kindle bestselling chart. Her novels all focus on a haunting aspect of loneliness, of being withdrawn, and of secrets which affect fam...
Aug 22, 2020•54 min•Season 1Ep. 120
Jo Thomas has carved out a fantastic niche in fiction. She writes escapist romance set in idyllic locations across the world. To accurately tell these stories, she takes amazing research trips all over the globe, diving straight into it, getting a feel of the food and drink, before dreaming up a love story that fits everything. She's told stories about Galway, Puglia, Sicily, and her new book is set in Provence. 'Escape to the French Farmhouse' is about Del starting a new life in France, happy a...
Aug 16, 2020•43 min•Season 1Ep. 119
Christopher Fowler writes everything - novels, screenplays, video games, graphic novels, and he's back with his 19th 'Bryant and May' book. It's called 'Oranges and Lemons' and sees the Peculiar Crimes Unit investigate a bizarre accident involving the Speaker of the House of Commons, and a truck full of citrus fruit. We talk about how he got the idea from a strangely gruesome nursery rhyme. He is the author of more than forty novels and many short story collections. A multiple award-winner, incl...
Aug 07, 2020•48 min•Season 1Ep. 118
Sophia Money-Coutts is a journalist and author who writes for ' The Sunday Telegraph' and the 'Evening Standard'. Her 3rd novel is 'The Wish List', about Florence who writes down her ideal man, and is then shocked when he wanders into her bookshop. You can hear how she got the idea at an...adult party, and how her family then influenced how she wrote the story. We talk about genre, about the conventions of rom-com and whether she's bothered about sticking to them, and when ideas tend to pop into...
Jul 31, 2020•42 min•Season 1Ep. 117
Sabine Durrant has just published a brand new psychological thriller, it's called 'Finders, Keepers' and it tells the story of Verity who becomes obsessed with her new neighbour. You can find out how the story was inspired by a mission Sabine and her kids undertook to rescue a lost rabbit. We talk about the convention of genre and how much Sabine plays with it, how much she needs to know before she starts a story, and how her routine has changed over time. As this show is a show about process, t...
Jul 23, 2020•45 min•Season 1Ep. 116
Welcome to the second Writer's Routine Roundtable! We're back with 4 of the best uplit/ rom-com authors around to talk us through how they do it. Laura Jane Williams - She took us through her writer's routine last year, ahead of 'Our Stop'. She talks about how writing that book made her a believer, as her second 'The Love Square' has just been published - https://amzn.to/39bd4M6 Nicola Gill - Joined us earlier in 2020, to talk us through a day writing her debut, 'The Neighbours'. She's been busy...
Jul 20, 2020•44 min•Season 1Ep. 115
Melanie Blake is one of the UK's most successful entrepreneurs, running a global talent agency, she's been a music manager, worked behind the scenes in TV, and has published a new book! 'The Thunder Girls' is the story of an 80s girl group reunion show, mixed with a hint of murder. We talk about what drives her as a creative and in business, and why she feels the need to tell stories in between all her other work. To do this she needs to get away to make sure she can't be bothered, we talk about...
Jul 16, 2020•35 min•Season 1Ep. 114
Jasper Fforde is a sublime storyteller, who has the rare gift of using words in a sequence many people would never think of. He's known for the 'Thursday Next' series, 'The Last Dragonslayer' YA books, and many other unique looks at the world. His new novel is 'The Constant Rabbit' which sees a group of anthropomorphised rabbits being kicked out of Britain by the United Kingdom Anti-Rabbit Party. It's a bizarre but brilliant take on the politics of the last 5 years. We talk about how he had the ...
Jul 10, 2020•55 min•Season 1Ep. 113
Peter James has sold over 20 million books, publishing across 37 languages. Many of them star DS Roy Grace, who is back in the new one 'Find Them Dead'. We talk about how Peter's writing routine and style has changed through the years, and what he now needs to know before he starts work. You can hear how he charts the flow and beats of the story before he starts writing, and how ruthless editing helps him keep things tight, and keep the listener wanting more. 'Find Them Dead' sees Roy Grace on s...
Jul 02, 2020•44 min•Season 1Ep. 112
Chris Whittaker seems like one of the busiest people in the world. He works as a City Trader, volunteers at his local library, is renovating a house, looking after his family, and has had the time to write his 3rd crime thriller. 'We Begin at the End' is Duchess Radley, out for revenge against the murderer who killed her Aunt. It's American Noir. We talk about what that is, and how he does justice to such an evocative genre with words on a page. We also chat about why he devotes such attention t...
Jun 25, 2020•37 min•Season 1Ep. 111
Here's something brand new! A kind of bonus, hopefully semi-regular thing! This is the first Writer's Routine Roundtable, where we get authors together to chat about how they do what they do. How they plan, plot and then publish. In this episode, we have 3 fantastic crime authors, who all used to work for the Police... they say write what you know. Merilyn Davies published her first 'Carla Brown and Nell Jackson' thriller last year, called 'When I Lost You'. The sequel 'If I Fall' is out next ye...
Jun 22, 2020•45 min•Season 1Ep. 110
Rachel Abbott is one of the best-selling Kindle novelists in history. Her debut 'Only the Innocent' became a number 1 bestseller on Kindle, since then she's published 11 books, sold over 4 million copies and been translated into 21 languages. We talk about what changed when she got 'properly' published after that, and how an editor made her see her work in a different way. We chat about why she focuses mainly on writing psychological thrillers, and how her storytelling process has changed throug...
Jun 19, 2020•48 min•Season 1Ep. 109
Anthony McGowan is a highly acclaimed, multi-award winning author of novels and children's stories. He's written across almost everything, adult thrillers, YA books, children's fiction, even philosophy books for dogs. His new novel is 'Lark', it's part of 'The Truth of Things' series, which is a trilogy that has ended up being four books. They're all short novellas, written for reluctant readers, telling the story of hardship and love growing up in a forgotten town in northern England. We talk a...
Jun 11, 2020•47 min•Season 1Ep. 108
David Baldacci has storytelling in his bones. He's published books across all types of genre, thriller, mystery, fantasy, crime, even kids books too. He's written well over 40 novels, and plans his year of writing fairly thoroughly in order to publish 2 new books a year. He has a huge array of characters to choose between, and we learn about how he decides which one he'll write about next. His new one is 'Walk the Wire', about Amos Decker, 'The Memory Man', who is sent to the North Dakotan badla...
Jun 05, 2020•51 min•Season 1Ep. 108
James Swallow is one of those writers who has stories burning inside him, itching to get out. He has written anything and everything. James writes sci-fi, fantasy, TV tie-ins, video games, audio dramas, and his new one is a spy thriller, 'Rogue'. It's about Marc Dane, an MI6 worker who usually spends time behind a desk and screen, but is thrown out into the field. We talk about how it's a pay-off for many readers who have stuck by the series from the start. Also we chat about how he first had th...
May 29, 2020•49 min•Season 1Ep. 106
Adele Parks has just published her 20th book in 20 years! 'Just My Luck' is about a group of friends who always pool in to buy a lottery ticket with the same numbers every week, only one week after a big fall-out, one couple buys the ticket alone... and wins. How do they cope with the fall out, betrayal and fights that come with that? We talk about how Adele had the idea whilst asking a stranger questions at a dinner party, and in fact... why she gets quite a lot of her story ideas like that. We...
May 22, 2020•47 min•Season 1Ep. 105
Nicola Gill's debut novel is 'The Neighbours'. It tells the story of Ginny and Cassie, two unlikely friends who are thrown together when they both reach rock-bottom. It's a funny story of friendship, love and adventure. We talk about how Nicola got that first idea, how she crafted her day to make sure she got it down properly, and why she got to work incredibly early to make that happen. Also, we chat about what her day-job taught her about writing, in creativity and efficiency. We talk about ge...
May 15, 2020•35 min•Season 1Ep. 104
Neil Lancaster has published 2 'Tom Novak' books. His most recent is 'Going Rogue', which sees Tom up against a wave of far-right terrorism. Neil has an advantage in writing crime thrillers - he was in the Army, then worked in the Met Police for 25 years. We talk about how he took all the knowledge from his career, and made them into thrilling, page-turning stories, that are accurate... but also allow for the fantasy of fiction. We also chat about the stuff every book and TV show gets wrong abou...
May 08, 2020•49 min•Season 1Ep. 103
Lorna Cook's new novel is 'The Forbidden Promise'. It's a dual-narrative, set in two timelines. In 1940, Constance finds a crashed Spitfire in the Scottish Highlands and must keep the pilot safe, against her families wishes. In 2020, Kate arrives in a Scottish B&B, and discovers a house with a dark history that has some connection to Constance. We talk about why she writes dual-narrative, and why it's taken her a while to learn the tricks of writing it. Also, we chat about why she loves the ...
May 01, 2020•39 min•Season 1Ep. 102
Russ Thomas has just published his debut, 'Firewatching'. It's a police procedural. It stars DS Adam Tyler, on the hunt for a serial arsonist around Sheffield. It grew from a short-story Russ had been writing over 20 years, changing and turning along the way. We talk about the key moments in that process, what advice he was given from teachers, and how different characters would suddenly snap the story to life, and take it in a different direction. We chat about his time working in a bookshop, l...
Apr 24, 2020•52 min•Season 1Ep. 101
Lucienne Boyce is a jack of all writing trades. She's published non-fiction, historical fiction, and is mid-way through writing a biography. She's just published the 3rd 'Dan Foster Mystery Book', called 'Death Makes No Distinction', a novel set in 18th century London all about the Bow Street Runners. We talk about why she loves writing in the past, how she makes it authentic, and how thoroughly she plots a story before she'll tell it. We also talk about the non-fiction books she writes, mostly ...
Apr 17, 2020•49 min•Season 1Ep. 100
Nell Pattison's debut thriller is 'The Silent House', which tells the story of a crime happening in a full house, and no-one has a clue how. It stars Paige Northwood, as a British Sign Language interpreter called in to help the police. Nell herself is a BSL interpreter - they say write what you know - and we talk about how she had the initial story idea, why it took a while to brew in her mind, and how it's inspired by real life. We also chat about the novels she's finished but never published, ...
Apr 10, 2020•43 min•Season 1Ep. 99
Sam Lloyd has written sci-fi and fantasy before, but when he got the idea for 'The Memory Wood' he knew it had to be a thriller. It tells the story of Elissa, who is kidnapped from school and locked away in the woods, and Elijah who finds her, but won't tell a soul. It's a blend of two ideas - one he had while killing time at his son's school, the other was of Elijah... a character that wouldn't go away, and whose story he had to tell. We talk about how much he plans every day, why he has such a...
Apr 02, 2020•45 min•Season 1Ep. 98
Eleni Kyriacou is a journalist and editor, and has worked on stories for national newspapers and magazines. Her debut novel 'She Came to Stay' tells the story of Dina who leaves Cyprus for London in search of a better life. They're taken around by Bebba, a strange character with a secret past, and is absorbed by grimy 1950's Soho. It's a murder-mystery with an edge. She was selected as part of the 'Future Bookshelf' open submissions programme which helps find unpublished authors from under-repre...
Mar 27, 2020•45 min•Season 1Ep. 97
Louise Hare's debut novel, 'This Lovely City', tells the story of Lawrie Matthews. A jazz musician fresh of the Empire Windrush, takes rooms in a tiny South London house, and immediately discovers a tragedy which threatens to tear the city apart. We talk about why this idea grew from a short-story, which she couldn't quite put down, also why she took on a Masters in Creative Writing, and what was special about this story that got her published, when some books before had failed. Also, Louise rec...
Mar 20, 2020•44 min•Season 1Ep. 96
Rory Clements has just released the 4th book in his 'Tom Wilde' series. It's a historical mystery called 'Hitler's Secret', in which Tom is enlisted to carry a valuable document out of Germany. If it is uncovered, it threatens to destabilise the Nazi party - and Tom must decide whether it's his duty to find out more. He's also written the 'John Shakespeare' stories too - more historical fiction set further back in time. We talk about how he accurately writes about life in World War 2, and what r...
Mar 13, 2020•35 min•Season 1Ep. 95
This week our guest is SD Sykes. She's just released the 4th in her 'Oswald de Lacy' thriller series,'The Bone Fire'. It's set in the 14th century, in the murky Kent countryside, and it's a locked-room mystery. We talk about why she locked Oswald in a castle to tell the story, and how she manages to blend crime and mystery whilst bringing the 1300's to life. Sarah is a big believer of the 'Hero's Story' method of storytelling - perfectly arching a character's journey through challenges, adventur...
Mar 06, 2020•35 min•Season 1Ep. 94
Pete Brown has one of the best jobs in the world. He's a food and drink writer. He is the chair of the British Guild of Beer Writers, been British Beer Writer of the Year 3 times and also won 3 Fortnum and Mason food and drink awards. Yet, all that seems to do him a disservice. Pete is a fantastic cultural commentator, drawing on history to talk passionately about society. His first book, 'Man Walks into a Pub', is a pub-crawl through the history of beer, and Pete began working on it after disco...
Feb 28, 2020•51 min•Season 1Ep. 93
An Yu has just released her debut, 'Braised Pork'. It's tipped to be one of the literary debuts of the year, was acquired in a 7 way auction, and tells the story of nocturnal Beijing. It focuses on Jia Jia, who returns home to find her husband dead in the bathtub. Next to him is an image that she won't ever forget. It's an exploration of myth-making, loss and her journey to find herself. We talk about why she writes in her second language, why this story took time to develop and how her characte...
Feb 21, 2020•41 min•Season 1Ep. 92
Lucy Foley has just released her second mystery thriller. It's called 'The Guest List', and is set at a dream wedding, on a remote island, where someone gets killed and everyone has a motive. We talk about the fundamentals you need to include in writing whodunnits, and how to flip the tradition on its head. It comes after the huge success of her first whodunnit, 'The Hunting Party'. It was also set on an island, and we chat about where she got that idea from, why she likes the idea of locking he...
Feb 14, 2020•42 min•Season 1Ep. 91
