Louise Swanson is the pen-name of bestselling and award-winning author, Louise Beech. Louise has 8 novels out, a memoir, and has picked up all sorts of prizes for her work. She has written the play based on her debut novel, 'How to be Brave', which is currently touring the UK, and has written columns for local newspapers. She's back with a Louise Swanson novel, called 'Light's Out'. Set in a strange version of the UK, where a state of emergency is declared and all electricity cuts out at 8pm eve...
Oct 24, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 330
Gareth Rubin is back with one of the few Sherlock Holmes books officially authorised and certified by the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle estate. It's called 'Holmes and Moriarty', and tells the story of two of fiction's greatest adversaries being forced to form an alliance, to face a threat bigger than anything that's gone before. It's Gareth's 4th published novel, coming after 'Liberation Square', 'The Winter Agent', and 'The Turnglass'. They're high-concept historical thrillers that twist the way stor...
Oct 17, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 329
Molly Green writes wartime novels that celebrate the women who stayed home and served their country. Her new novel is 'Courage for the Cabinet Girl'. Set in 19412, with Britain in the throes of the Second World War, it's about Katharina Valentine who feels sidelined. Employed as a shorthand-typist in the War Office, she is transferred to the basement below – home of the top-secret Cabinet War Rooms. Unexpected staff shortages present an opportunity to work directly for Winston Churchill himself,...
Oct 10, 2024•41 min•Season 1Ep. 328
Jodi Picoult is one of the world's most successful authors. She's written over 30 books, been translated into 34 languages, and has sold more than 40 MILLION books. Her novel, 'My Sister's Keeper', was turned into a huge film starring Cameron Diaz, and she's written as a librettist, with pieces performed across the world. Her new novel is 'By Any Other Name', which tells the story of Emilia Bassano, who back in 1581, like most women of the day, isn't allowed a voice of her own. When she starts w...
Oct 03, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 327
Ciar Byrne has worked as a journalist for 25 years, usually as a gardening journalist, she's written for The Independent, The Guardian, Private Eye and many more. It turns out that all that experience, didn't make it easier to get published. Ciar wrote 6 books before she got a deal. When it eventually arrived, it came through the strange route of a random email after a Twitter Submission Window she'd entered half-heartedely. After waiting so long to get a contract, when she was finally offered o...
Sep 26, 2024•52 min•Season 1Ep. 326
Jack Strange's debut is 'Look Up, Handsome'. It's a festive rom-com about bookshop owner Quinn, who is trying to save his business, only when romantic novelist Noah comes to town, he might provide an unwanted distraction. It's far from the first book he's written, having tried his hand at mysteries, crime, thrillers, but it's rom-com that's landed him a publishing deal, and we try to unpack why. We discuss why representation across sexualities and nationalities is very important to him, also why...
Sep 20, 2024•51 min•Season 1Ep. 325
Catherine Gray is an award-winning journalist who has written for The Guardian, Stylist, The Telegraph, Grazia, and many more. She's published 4 non-fiction books, which have sold over a million copies and been translated into 9 languages. She's best known for her book, 'The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober', which takes you through the benefits of going alcohol-free, and how it can positively impact your creativity. Her debut novel is 'Versions of a Girl'. It's a classic sliding doors story, which...
Sep 12, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 324
This week's guest is J.M. Hall, who has worked as a playwright, a primary school teacher, and is now a published novelist. Through lockdown he wrote 'A Spoonful of Murder', as a way to deal with a traumatic family situation, that was published in 2021. He's gone on to publish, 'A Brush with Death', and his most recent book 'A Clock Stopped Dead'. They tell the story of Pat, Liz and Thelma, retired teachers who turn to sleuthing. We talk about how, after recently retiring, Jonathan's routine has ...
Sep 05, 2024•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 323
This week, we're joined by Santa Montefiore. A bestselling author, published across the world, who has sold millions of copies of her 31 novels. She's known for her richly drawn characters, intricate plots, and a deep sense of place, often set in the countrysides of England, Ireland, and Argentina. Her books, including The Deverill Chronicles series and The Beekeeper’s Daughter , have been translated into more than 25 languages, captivating audiences worldwide. Beyond her novels, Santa is a pass...
Aug 29, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 322
Alan Rhode is a busy man. Working as a lawyer, with a full family, he's recently self-published his first novel. It's called 'The Eagle and the Cockerel', and was shortlisted for a 2024 Selfie Award. We discuss why Alan was so keen to become a published author, and he is very open about his reasons for wanting to be a novel, and what his ambitions are in the next few years. You can hear why concentration is subjective, why nature helps his writing, and why writing in a second language can make t...
Aug 22, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 321
Catherine Steadman had a very successful acting career, starring in 'Downton Abbey', 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen', 'Fearless' and many more. In her early 30s, she started to think about how her future as an actor might pan out. It's been well documented that roles for older women are depressingly stark, and often frustratingly uninspired. Giving that some thought, Catherine decide to switch things around, and trusting that her story-telling and improvisational abilities learned from acting woul...
Aug 15, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 320
Milly Johnson is one of the top 10 Female Fiction authors in the UK, with over 3 million sales in the country alone, and many more across the world as she's been published in more than 20 different countries. She's been honoured with the Romantic Novelists' Association's Outstanding Achievement Award, and has just published her 21st novel in 20 years. It took her a long time to finally get published, and we discuss her desperate quest to become a novellist, and how it, at last, happened. Also, y...
Aug 08, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 319
Crime writer B.P. Walter has always been around books. From beng submerged in reading growing up, to studying storytelling, to working in bookshops, it makes perfect sense that he's now a full-time author. His newest novel is 'The Garden Party', which tells the story of a wealthy family celebrating the engagement of son, Raphael. Only, his adopted brother chooses this day of celebration to expose what he really thinks of the family that has taken him in... and soon the bodies begin to drop. It's...
Aug 01, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 318
Amy Neff's new novel is 'The Days I Loved You Most'. It's taken 10 years to get to shelves. Amy has spent 10 years refining the story, sending it to publishers, even hiring her own editor to help get it into shape. We discuss how she stayed positive through that time and learned to deal with rejection. It tells the story of Joseph and Evelyn, once childhood friends now, 60 years later, married with children. One summer, they reveal the staggering news that Evelyn has received a life-ending diagn...
Jul 25, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 317
Julietta Henderson's debut novel, 'The Funny Thing about Norman Foreman', was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick and sold around the world. Her second is, 'How to Get a Life'. It tells the story of Danny Mulberry, a man who could do better... better at life, better at being an adult... generally better than everything. When a photo of him accidentally ends up in the papers, people across the country start to think he is actually a man with all the answers... and suddenly Danny becomes the guru wh...
Jul 12, 2024•49 min•Season 1Ep. 316
Shaun Bythell runs 'The Bookshop' in Wigtown, it's Scotland's largest second-hand bookshop, and is now incredibly popular. Back in 2017, Shaun published, 'The Diary of a Bookseller', a book filled with his daily experiences running the store. People fell in love with his wry musings, the life of a bookseller, and it became a Sunday Times bestseller. He's followed it up with 'Confessions of a Bookseller', and 'Remainders of the Day', in the 'Bookseller Series'. We talk about why everyone finds th...
Jun 13, 2024•47 min•Season 1Ep. 315
Jonny Sweet won the 'Best Newcomer' Prize at the 2009 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, created a sketch group with 'The Inbetweeners' Simon Bird and Joe Thomas, and appeared in many TV Comedies, including 'Chickens' and 'Him and Her'. He wrote the movie 'Wicked Little Letters' starring Olivia Colman, which was released this year. He has also just published one of the most acclaimed novels of the year. 'The Kellerby Code' tells the story of Edward, living in a world he can't afford and to which he does...
May 30, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 314
Our special guest this week is Kate Storey. Under the name Lisa Timoney, she's published 3 books, 'Her Daughter's Secret', 'Her Mother's Lies' and 'His Secret Wife'... but a change of genre means a change of name. Kate's back with book club fiction now, and has published, 'The Memory Library'. It's all about Sally Harrison, who has been building a library for 43 years. Every year she adds a new book to it, dedicated to her estranged daughter Ella who has fled to Australia... however, when disast...
May 23, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 313
After writing around 7 books and getting many rejections or near-misses, Alina Khawaja finally has a published novel. It's called 'Maya's Laws of Love', and tells the story of Maya on her way to Pakistan for an arranged marriage she hopes will end with love. Only, after a disastrous journey, she begins to wonder if Mr. Right might actually be someone else she meets along the way. Alina is well read and decorated, with a degree in English, History and Creative Writing, and a Masters in Literature...
May 16, 2024•48 min•Season 1Ep. 312
Samuel Burr has worked as a TV executive, creating shows like 'The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds', 'Eight Go Rallying', and 'The Secret Life of Cleaners'. Many years ago he worked on a documentary in a retirement home, now it's given him the basis for his debut novel. 'The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers' looks at Clayton Sumper, an enigma who was abandoned at birth on the steps of the puzzlemakers, ending up being raised by some of the sharpest minds in the country. The hope is that he's learned from t...
May 09, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 311
Caz Frear was launched to debut success after winning the 'Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller' competition. Her novel, 'Sweet Little Lies', won the prize and found the bestselling status they searched for. What happens next? How do you follow up on debut success? Caz discusses how she dealt with that writing her 2nd and 3rd novels, and why she's constantly looking to make her day better and improve how she works. We talk about the tech problems she attempts to deal with, how the process ha...
May 02, 2024•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 310
Chioma Okereke's writing career started as a performance poet, even though she was terrified of performing poetry. From there she wrote short fiction, and was a highly placed runner up in the Costa Short Story Award, for 'Trompette de la Mort'. Her move into long-form began with her debut 'Bitter Leaf', which was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writer's Prize. Her new novel is 'Water Baby', which looks at a 19 year old woman trying to escape her community in Makoko in Lagos, Nigeria. It explore...
Apr 25, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 309
Paul Carlucci has published 3 short story collections and works as a copywriter, making other peoples work read better. He's just released one of the most hotly anticipated debuts of the year, it's called 'The Voyageur'. It tells the story of Alex, a motherless stockboy in 19th century Montreal, who is taken in by Serge, a drunken fur trader. After heading out on an expedition into the wilderness which goes awry, Alex must fend for himself at the mercy of stranger men, and a seemingly brilliant ...
Apr 18, 2024•57 min•Season 1Ep. 308
Kerry Andrew is an all-round creative. As a composer, they've won 4 British Composer Awards, as a writer they've been nominated twice for the BBC National Short Story Award. Kerry has published 2 novels, 'Swansong', 'Skin', and is back with a third, 'We Are Together Because'. It's all about siblings Luke, Connor, Thea and Violet, spending their first summer in their estranged father's house. Truth is, they don't even know each other too well, and when the worst happens, they discover if they can...
Apr 11, 2024•54 min•Season 1Ep. 307
Daisy Goodwin has created some legendary television shows. She's the brains behind 'Grand Designs', 'Escape to the Country', and the historical drama, 'Victoria', based on Queen Victoria, which was sold in 146 countries. She's published poetry, had 3 bestselling novels, 'My Last Duchess', 'The Fortune Hunter', and 'Victoria, which together have been translated into 17 countries. Her newest novel is 'Diva'. It tells the story of Maria Callas, one of the world's greatest opera singers, who falls i...
Apr 04, 2024•52 min•Season 1Ep. 306
One of the most frequent requests to writersroutine.com is for fantasy authors. World builders. Authors with the ability to take you on an adventure across times, dimensions and brand new maps. This week's guest, Max Moyer, has figured a way to do that. His new book 'Zodak - The Last Shielder', is the first in a new series, 'Tempest Rising'. There is a prequel novella already out, 'Throne Born', and this properly sets up a new world that's been in Max's head for 30 years. It started as an idea f...
Mar 29, 2024•51 min•Season 1Ep. 305
Mari Hannah is a prolific writer. Over the last 12 years she's won the Northern Writer's Award, the Polari First Book Prize, the CWA Dagger in the Library Award, and Capital Crime's Crime Book of the Year. She's a series authors, publishing books in the 'Stone and Oliver' series, the 'Ryan and O'Neil' novels, and the 'Kate Daniels' thrillers. Her newest novel is 'The Longest Goodbye', and it sees Kate Daniels involved in a case incredibly close to her. It's the story Mari never wanted to write. ...
Mar 21, 2024•44 min•Season 1Ep. 304
Triona Campbell worked as a TV producer and writer, creating many dramas and comedies for teens, and picking up 3 Emmy nominations. Through Lockdown (capital L?) she started writing a novel for teens... thus, a whole career change. Her debut, 'A Game of Life and Death' went down very well, and she's followed it up with 'The Traitor in the Game'. It's about Asha, who enters an eSports tournament in New York, when it becomes harder to keep the game under control. Triona has written radio plays too...
Mar 15, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 303
Yangsze Choo's debut novel 'The Ghost Bride', was released 10 years ago, and has been adapted by Netflix. Her follow-up 'The Night Tiger', was a BBC 2 'Between the Covers' pick, a Reese Witherspoon Book Pick, and was selected for the UK's Big Jubilee Read. She's a New York Times bestseller. Her 3rd novel in the last 10 years is 'The Fox Wife'. Set in 1908 Manchuria, it weaves in folklore and myth, it's a quest for love, and a murder mystery. We discuss changes in her routine over the last 10 yea...
Mar 08, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 302
Mandy Robotham has had many careers, and is busy. She's worked as a midwife, a journalist, and now is an author across genres. Her newest novel is 'The Hidden Storyteller', tells the story of reporter Georgie Young who, in 1946 returns to Germany and finds it unrecognisable post-war, she then teams up with detective Harri Schroder to catch a killer. We talk about historical fiction, how she knows the rules of the genre, and how much she thinks about the style of the writing. You can hear about t...
Mar 01, 2024•51 min•Season 1Ep. 301
