Writer's Routine
357 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 263 ratingsIn every episode we look inside the daily diary of a writer, to peak at the secrets of their success. How do they plan their day and maximise their creativity, in order to plot and publish a bestseller?Some are frantic night-owls, others roll out of bed into their desks, and a few lock themselves away for days in the woods - but none have a regular 9 to 5, and we'll find out how they've managed it.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
Gracie Hart, author of 'The Baker's Girl' - Saga novelist talks about being a proud Northerner, perfect drafts and writing fiction in history
April 21, 2022 23:25 - 32 minutes - 44.5 MBGracie 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 mis...
Laure Van Rensburg, author of 'Nothing But Us' - Thriller writer discussed learning to plot, writing around work, and writing what you don't know
April 14, 2022 23:33 - 40 minutes - 55.9 MBIt 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 tha...
Laure Van Rensburg, author of 'Nothing But Us' - Thriller writer discusses learning to plot, writing around work, and writing what you don't know
April 14, 2022 23:33 - 40 minutes - 55.9 MBLaure 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. Als...
Sara Blaedel, author of 'A Harmless Lie' - Denmark's 'Queen of Crime' talks about having an organised day, selling internationally, and killing for a living
April 07, 2022 23:21 - 37 minutes - 52.1 MBSara 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 befo...
Philippa East, author of 'Safe and Sound' - CWA New Blood Dagger nominee talks about being inspired by work, learning the craft, and the doubt demon
March 31, 2022 08:00 - 51 minutes - 71.4 MBPhilippa 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 ...
Danny Wallace, author of 'The Luckiest Kid in the World' - Storyteller talks about where ideas go, the guilt of not working, and saying yes
March 25, 2022 09:39 - 50 minutes - 69.1 MBDanny 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 somet...
Luca Veste, author of 'You Never Said Goodbye' - The pressure of full-time writing, sitting on an idea, and a year in the life of a writer
March 18, 2022 08:16 - 52 minutes - 72.6 MBLuca 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. W...
Claire Frost, author of 'The One' - Dedicating a day to write, learning from reviewing and when do you feel like a writer?
March 11, 2022 00:37 - 40 minutes - 55.3 MBUntil 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, Lotti...
Stacy Willingham, author of 'A Flicker in the Dark' - Crime writer talks about switching spaces, learning from work, and being optioned for TV
March 04, 2022 00:26 - 36 minutes - 50.2 MBStacy 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 fe...
Nadine Matheson, author of 'The Jigsaw Man' - Balancing work and writing, depicting your home town, and accidentally going back to school
February 25, 2022 00:10 - 41 minutes - 57.3 MBNadine 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 crimina...
Nadine Matheson, author of 'The Jigsaw Man' - Balancing work and writing, writing about your home town, and accidentally going back to school
February 25, 2022 00:10 - 41 minutes - 57.3 MBNadine 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...
Rudy Ruiz, author of 'The Resurrection of Fulgencio Ramirez' - Social activism, language and structure, and classic Mexican songs
February 18, 2022 00:15 - 37 minutes - 51.5 MBThis 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...
Ellen Alpsten, author of 'The Tsarina's Daughter' - Blending fact with fiction, what to research next, and writing extravagantly
February 11, 2022 00:29 - 43 minutes - 59.9 MBEllen 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...
Harriet Kline, author of 'This Shining Life' - Using work as inspiration, the monster that gets her started and the meaning of life
February 04, 2022 00:12 - 42 minutes - 58.9 MBHarriet 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 an...
Paul Bradley Carr, author of '1414 Degrees' - Journalist, novelist and memoir writer discusses debut novels, leaving things late, and the dark side of Silicon Valley
January 26, 2022 12:10 - 48 minutes - 66.8 MBPaul Bradley Carr has spent his career as a journalist uncovering the dark side of Silicon Valley. He's reported on it for The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, Private Eye, and many more. He founded NSFWCorp in Las Vegas, and hosted the nightly NSFWLive radio show. Now he's taken that experience to pen his first work of fiction, '1414 Degrees'. It's not Paul's first published book. He's written memoirs 'The Upgrade', 'Bringing Nothing to the Party', Sober is my New Drunk', and 'We'll Always H...
Anna Kent, author of 'The House of Whispers' - Domestic Noir writer talks about the 3 act structure, pseudonyms, and learning to write genre
January 21, 2022 00:30 - 32 minutes - 44.8 MBThis week, we're joined by Anna Kent, with her sort-of-debut novel, 'The House of Whispers'. See Anna Kent, is also Annabel Kantaria, who has already published 4 books. This is her first as Anna Kent. It's domestic noir, so treads the line between eerie psychological thriller, and chilling whodunnits at home. We talk about how she learned to write genre, and what she pays attention to when structuring the novel, also how she knows when to carry on writing. 'The House of Whispers' tells the...
Sarah Alderson, writer of 'The Stalker' - Author and screenwriter talks about writing for TV, strategic thinking, and the 10-day drafts
January 14, 2022 01:00 - 39 minutes - 53.8 MBSarah Alderson is busy. Busy, busy, busy. So busy, she takes a break from her writing job to write the novels she loves. Sarah works as a screenwriter in LA for S.W.A.T on CBS, and finds tiny slithers of time to get books down. In the past, this has led her to getting a draft done in 10 days. She's written YA, psychological thrillers, her novel 'The Weekend Away' has been adapted for Netflix, published romance stories under a pseudonym, and her new novel 'The Stalker', is out now. It's abo...
Rosanna Amaka, author of 'The Book of Echoes' - Debut writer talks creative places, plotting, and a novel 2 decades in the making
January 07, 2022 14:06 - 35 minutes - 49.2 MBOur first guest of 2022 is Rosanna Amaka. Her debut novel is 'The Book of Echoes', which tells the story of 16 year old Michael, always in trouble, who falls in love with Ngozi, a young Nigerian immigrant. It was shortlisted for The Author's Club First Novel award, also the RSL Christopher Bland Prize, and the HWA Debut Crown Award. It's a story Rosanna has tried to get published for 20 years, and she reveals the secrets to how it finally happened. We talk about the creative buzz of the a...
Alice Hunter, author of 'The Serial Killer's Wife' - Psychological Thriller writer talks about working in a prison, genre tricks, and a chaotic work space.
December 10, 2021 09:11 - 37 minutes - 50.9 MBFor our last episode of the year, we chat to psychological thriller debutant Alice Hunter. Her book is 'The Serial Killer's Wife', and tells the story of Beth Hardcastle, whose perfect marriage is obliterated when the police show up and report her husband Tom is missing. Alice worked in prisons, part of a team offering rehabilitation courses to in-mates, often those who'd committed violent crimes. That, and her psychology degree, offered her vast experience to write the book. We talk about ...
Joanne Harris MBE, author of 'A Narrow Door' - Hugely successful author discusses genre, rebooting your brain, and the pressure of success
December 03, 2021 09:07 - 49 minutes - 67.7 MBThis week, we're joined by Joanne Harris MBE. She became phenomenally successful over 20 years ago for her novel 'Chocolat', which became an Oscar nominated movie starring Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche. Her new one is called 'A Narrow Door', it tells the story of the first headmistress at a traditional school who discovers a body in the grounds. It's billed as 'magical realism', we discuss how much she considers genre while she's writing. She's best known for her novel, 'Chocolat', whic...
Ken Follett, author of 'Never' - Multi-million selling writer talks about the pressure of success, keeping things simple, and the important outline
November 26, 2021 00:32 - 38 minutes - 53.2 MBThis week, Ken Follett shares his writer's routine. He's one of the UK's most successful authors, selling over 170 million books across 80 countries. He has a staff of over 20 working on all aspects of book selling, so he can concentrate on book writing. We talk about whether that puts pressure on his writing, knowing he has staff relying on him for a salary. Also, what his writing routine of a year looks like, and why his outline is the most important thing he works on. Ken's made a care...
Helen Paris, author of 'The Lost Property' - Debut author discusses book club fiction, memories and escaping the routine
November 19, 2021 13:46 - 49 minutes - 68 MBThis week's guest is Helen Paris. She's worked in performing arts, writing, performing and directing, for 2 decades, and has just published her debut novel, 'The Lost Property'. It's all about Dot, who strives to reunite lost property with their owners. It all came from a spell of unusual research she undertook at the London Transport Lost Property Office, the characters she met there, and their poetic conversations. We discuss memories, how the characters drove the story, and why she had ...
Steve Cavanagh, author of 'The Devil's Advocate' - Award-winning author discusses ideal routines, writing America, and why he's always learning
November 12, 2021 00:30 - 48 minutes - 66.6 MBThis week we're chatting to Steve Cavanagh. He's won the CWA Gold Dagger Award, the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, has published many Sunday Times Top 10 Bestsellers, and his new book has just been named as one of the Best Crime and Thriller Books of the Year by Waterstones. It's called 'The Devil's Advocate', and is the newest Eddie Flynn book. Telling the story of Andy Dubois, sent up for a killing Alabama, and the lawyer who tries to get him free. He talks about the jaw-...
Random Routine - Thriller author Lucy Foley discusses decadent writing days
November 09, 2021 10:10 - 8 minutes - 11.3 MBLucy Foley joined us back at the start of 2020... pre-pandemic! She spoke about her 2nd mystery thriller, 'The Guest List'. It's 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 fr...
Xanthi Barker, author of 'Will This House Last Forever' - Memoir writer talks about poetry, art as a world view, and her father, Sebastian.
November 05, 2021 11:59 - 35 minutes - 48.7 MBXanthi Barker has published novelettes and short stories, penned columns and articles, and has just released her debut book, 'Will This House Last Forever'. It's a memoir of her time with her dying father, the poet Sebastian Barker. She is also the granddaughter of George Barker and the cult novelist, Elizabeth Smart. We discuss whether because of her highly and successfully creative family, she was destined to be a writer. Her relationship with her father was troubled, and we talk about w...
Random Routine - Dystopian Thriller writer Rob Hart runs us through months of work
November 03, 2021 07:48 - 8 minutes - 11.3 MBFor this week's Random Routine, we chat to Rob Hart, who came on back in 2019 to talk about 'The Warehouse'. 'The Warehouse' is in the mold of 'Farenheit 451' and '1984', and focuses on one big business that suffocates all others, and the stories of 3 people who work there. Because of this, his characterisation needs to be truly believable and authentic, we talk about this struggle and how he became his characters in writing. It's also his first proper foray into standalone novels, having m...
Joe Thomas, author of 'Brazilian Psycho' - Award-winning writer talks about routine changes, escaping to write, and social awareness.
October 28, 2021 23:18 - 43 minutes - 59.4 MBThis week we're joined by Joe Thomas. He's just released the 4th in his 'Sao Paulo Quartet', with 'Paradise City', 'Gringa', 'Playboy' and the new one 'Brazilian Psycho'. He grew up in Hackney, before spending 10 years in Sao Paulo, and being inspired to tell its story. It mixes fiction, true crime, historical fact, and high literature, in an utterly compelling style. We talk about how his routine has changed since having a child, where he likes to escape to write, how perfect his first dr...
Random Routine - Award-winning Trent Dalton runs through a day as a journalist and a novelist
October 27, 2021 07:09 - 7 minutes - 10.9 MBThis week's random routine, our bitesize chunk of inspiration, comes from Trent Dalton who came on the show back in 2019. Not many authors have debut success like Trent Dalton. His book 'Boy Swallows Universe' won the 'Debut Fiction Prize' and 'Book of the Year' at the Australian Indie Awards, and went straight into the top 10, selling over 100,000 copies. It's a semi-autobiographical story about all Eli, in Brisbane in 1983, muddling through family life, trying to not be coaxed into drug-d...
Zen Cho, author of 'Black Water Sister' - Ghost storyteller talks about switching genre, playing with language, and words spawning ideas
October 21, 2021 23:00 - 45 minutes - 62.2 MBZen Cho is a multi-award nominated and winning author. She's published 3 novels and many short stories, and is back with her first ghost story... although that's not what she thought it'd be at the start. It's called 'Black Water Sister', and all came from one word she read in the dictionary. It's based on ancient Malaysian folklore, and Zen has taken great joy in playing with old language, and presenting it in a ghostly manner. We talk about switching genre, and how having a baby helped w...
Random Routine - Screenwriter Tom MacRae runs through a day in the life of writing a movie
October 19, 2021 12:31 - 7 minutes - 9.88 MBAlong with Dan Gillespie-Sells, from The Feeling, Tom MacRae wrote the hit musical 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie'. It follows Jamie New who is determined to wear a dress to his school prom night. It's based on a a real story, explored in a BBC documentary. The musical is now a film, also written by Tom, which you can watch on Amazon Prime now. In this bitesize chunk, you can hear about his writing routine in the sun, how exercise gives him space to think, and why weekends are sacred. Y...
Claire Allan, author of 'Ask No Questions' - USA Today Bestseller talks genre-switching, 10k word starts, and planning a year of writing
October 15, 2021 00:00 - 44 minutes - 60.5 MBThis week, we chat to Claire Allan. Her new book is 'Ask No Questions', a psychological thriller about Ingrid Devlin, on the search to find the truth of her best friend's disappearance 25 years ago. Claire started her career as a journalist, has written women's fiction under the name Freya Kennedy', and is back with a brand new psych thriller. She's written almost 20 books across different genres. We talk about how switching genre changes style and method of plotting and planning, also abo...
Piers Torday, author of 'The Wild Before' - Children's author talks about bookshops, prequels, and being a magpie.
October 07, 2021 23:00 - 51 minutes - 71.2 MBIt's a BOOKSHOP DAY SPECIAL. Bookshop Day is on Saturday 9th October, and Books Are My Bag are encouraging you to spend time in your local bookshop, be it big or small. This week, we're chatting to children's author Piers Torday. He's published 7 books, they've been translated into 14 languages, he's won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, and been nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal. His new book is 'The Wild Before'. It's a prequel to 'The Last Wild' trilogy, and tells the story of...
Bella Obsorne, author of 'The Promise of Summer' - Romantic writer talks about how characters meet genre, about busy years, and NaNoWriMo
September 30, 2021 13:46 - 47 minutes - 65.1 MBBella Osborne has had a busy year. In the last 3 months, she's had 2 different books out with 2 different publishers. 'The Promise of Summer' is a romance novel with Avon. 'The Library' is a bookclub read with Aria. We try to talk about both of those, but it's mainly about the former. All in, Bella has published 9 books. 'The Promise of Summer' is about Ruby and Curtis, trying to reunite a engagement ring with its owner, and find love along the way. We talk about how these two characters ...
Alex Michaelides, author of 'The Maidens' - Critically acclaimed writer discusses following up on success, pushing through at a low point, and discovering he wasn't a screenwriter.
September 10, 2021 13:35 - 46 minutes - 64.3 MBAlex Michaelides is the only ever UK debut writer to go straight in at number 1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. His novel, 'The Silent Patient', was the 2nd bestselling novel on Amazon in 2019, they named it their 'thriller of the year'. He's followed it up with 'The Maidens', about an exclusive set of students at a University under the influence of a sinister Professor, and a murder he knows more about than he lets on. We discuss his screenwriting career in Hollywood, why that didn...
Paul Rudnick, author of 'Playing the Palace' - Screenwriter discusses changing the script on set, writing for your heroes, and the precious writing space.
September 03, 2021 08:00 - 31 minutes - 42.9 MBPaul Rudnick is an acclaimed Hollywood scriptwriter. He's worked on 'Addams Family Values', 'The Stepford Wives' and the 'Sister Act' movies. Now, he's just published his 3rd novel, 'Playing the Palace'. It's about a New York event planner who falls in love with England's gay Crown Prince, Edgar. It's a satirical look at romance stories and Royal life. We talk about writing for movies, working with improvising actors, changing things on set and coming up with at least 10 jokes for every li...
Random Routine - Critically-acclaimed author Bridget Collins runs us through her space and day
September 01, 2021 07:40 - 8 minutes - 11.5 MBA few years ago, Bridget Collins came on the show to talk us through her novel, 'The Binding'. It was a huge, genre-defying success, and she's gone on to publish 'The Betrayals' to equal acclaim. Before then, Bridget published 7 Young Adult books, a few plays, and she's beavering away on her 3rd book right now. Here's a little snippet from our chat, as Bridget runs us through her writing space and working day. Scan back in your podcast feed to hear the full episode. You can support the ...
Christina Sweeney-Baird, author of 'The End of Men' - Debut writer talks about speculative fiction, editing pandemics, and writing sprints.
August 26, 2021 23:28 - 47 minutes - 64.5 MBChristina Sweeney-Baird works as a lawyer. It's a busy full-on job, working all hours under the sun, and she had barely any time to write. Until a life-changing moment changed everything, and forced to her sit up, to sit down and write. 'The End of Men' is her debut novel. It tells the story of a pandemic that wipes out 90% of the male population. We talk about the idea, how she developed it, planned it, and at one point had to cut 30 characters from it. We also chat what it was like writin...
Random Routine - Crime and historical thriller author Helen Fields takes us through a day writing around her family
August 24, 2021 09:31 - 5 minutes - 8.13 MBHelen Fields first came on the show back in 2018. Starting with 6 DI Callanach thrillers, Helen has written standalones, and her newest novel introduces a new cahracter, Dr Connie Woolwine, an American Psycological Profiler who arrives in Edinburgh to pursue the Shadow Man. After working in Law with police, social services and Doctors for many years, Helen has a peculiarly accurate insight into the crimes she writes. She's also told stories using every method available to her, running a fi...
Jamie O'Connell, author of 'Diving for Pearls' - Debutant talks places as characters, refining structure, and the 500 word limit
August 20, 2021 09:19 - 56 minutes - 77 MBThis week's guest taking us inside their working day is Jamie O'Connell. He's published short stories before, runs an editing and mentoring site called 'Blackwater Writing', and his debut novel, 'Diving for Pearls', is out now. It's a story set in Dubai, a mystical, alluring, divisive and controversial place. It's about a woman's death which influences a whole cast of strange and inter-connected characters. The most important character is Dubai itself, we talk about how he brought the place...
Random Routine - Crime supremo Mark Billingham likes to get things done whenever he can
August 16, 2021 23:00 - 10 minutes - 13.9 MBThis week's Random Routine comes from Mark Billingham. His new book is 'Rabbit Hole', his 4th standalone thriller, which comes after his 15th Tom Thorne novel, the series he's best known for. Mark joined us back in 2018 to take us through his writing day. Where we chatted about how Mark's writing style and method has changed in the 17-or-so years since he published his first novel 'Sleepyhead', which was later made into a TV show starring David Morrissey. Also, we found out if seeing his h...
Claire McGowan, author of 'The Vanishing Triangle' - Crime writer talks about planning the twists, switching genres, and stepping into true crime.
August 12, 2021 23:30 - 35 minutes - 49 MBClaire McGowan goes by two names. Claire for crime thrillers, Eva Woods for women's fiction. We talk about how she switches between the two, and how thoroughly she thinks through style and different readerships when she writes different genre. Her new work is an audiobook series exclusive to Audible, called 'The Vanishing Triangle'. It shines a light on the unsolved disappearance of at least eight women from mid-nineties Dublin; their bodies were never found, and no suspect was ever charged...
Random Routine - Bestselling geopolitical genius Tim Marshall on starting the day luxuriously
August 09, 2021 23:00 - 11 minutes - 15.3 MBThis week's Random Routine comes from bestselling Tim Marshall. He came on the show back in November 2018. Tim Marshall worked for some years as the Diplomatic Editor for Sky News, travelling and living all over the world to get the stories. His book 'Shadowplay: The Overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic' is widely regarded as one of the best accounts of life in the former Yugoslavia. Tim reported in the field from Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia during the Balkan Wars of the 1990s, and has since foun...
Michael Arditti, author of 'The Anointed' - Award-winning author talks about being a morning person, unpacking religion, and being told what he can't write.
August 05, 2021 23:38 - 58 minutes - 80.8 MBMichael Arditti is an award-winning author of 11 novels, he's written short stories, and worked as a theatre critic and book reviewer for national newspapers. His new novel is 'The Anointed'. It's a retelling of the biblical King David, as told through his 3 wives, Michal, Abigail and Bathsheba. We talk about how he put his own spin on history, and why he chose to write about such a specific time, and retell a famous story. His novel, 'Easter', won the first Waterstones Mardi Gras Award, h...
Random Routine - Irish Book Award Winner Liz Nugent takes us through her writing day
August 02, 2021 23:00 - 8 minutes - 12.3 MBLiz Nugent is an Irish Book Award Winner, whose 4th Novel is 'Our Little Cruelties', which is out right now. She came on the show back in 2018 to take us through a day writing her 3rd novel 'Skin Deep'. After working as a stage manager, running all over the place in a theatre, then being shackled to the desk writing for soap operas, Liz Nugent became bored with dull, desk-driven office work, and became an author. Well... became an author over 6 years of writing her first book 'Unravelling ...
Joy Ellis, author of 'The Patient Man' - Crime bestseller talks about starting new series, checking in with characters, and how she finally got published.
July 30, 2021 00:30 - 41 minutes - 56.9 MBThere was a time when Joy Ellis couldn't get her books anywhere near a shelf, one sale, anywhere. She was living in her car, she managed a bookshop, she had many almosts with publishers. She carried on, kept writing, self-published, and was finally tracked down by a publisher who stumbled across her in a newspaper. Now, she's sold over 2 million books, is an Amazon bestseller, and was nominated for 'Crime/ Thriller Book of the Year' at the Nibbies a few months ago. She's published over 20 ...
Random Routine - Carnegie Medal Winner Frank Cottrell-Boyce talks about hating writing... but loving re-writing.
July 27, 2021 11:24 - 7 minutes - 9.74 MBThis week's Random Routine is with Frank Cottrell-Boyce. Frank Cottrell-Boyce is a Carnegie Medal Award winning author - his 2004 novel 'Millions' is incredibly successful, and was turned into a film by Danny Boyle, for which Frank wrote the script. It was even Danny's idea that Frank should write the novel in the first place. He's published 10 novels, brought back 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang', and wrote the Opening Ceremony to the 2012 Olympic Games. We chat quite a bit about scriptwriting ...
Hayley Doyle, author of 'Love, Almost' - West End actress turned writer talks about juggling life and work, overwriting, and playing with genre.
July 22, 2021 23:30 - 46 minutes - 64 MBThis week we're chatting to Hayley Doyle! She's an actor who has starred in the West End, appearing in Mamma Mia and others. Recently, she's turned her hand to writing, publishing two novels, 'Never Saw You Coming' and her newest one, 'Love, Almost'. It tells the story of Chloe, whose boyfriend of just 5 months dies, so to come to terms with things, she does all the many things they had planned to do together, alone. We talk about when she first had the idea for the story, how it came to he...
Random Routine - Why worldwide bestseller Jeffery Deaver plans for 8 months
July 20, 2021 15:53 - 9 minutes - 13.1 MBThis week's bonus bite comes from crime writing behemoth Jeffery Deaver! Jeffery Deaver has published over 40 novels. He's a globally renowned author, writing crime and thrillers. To him, they're not lauded works of art, they're intricate puzzles, fun and games for the reader - and we talk about how he builds these. Jeffery works anywhere he can - any chance he gets to type away, if that's at home, on the plane, perhaps at a dog show, he will. We chat about how he finds time and space to ...
Alexis Landau, author of 'Those Who Are Saved' - Historical writer talks about mother/daughter stories, research and the opening flurry.
July 18, 2021 10:01 - 33 minutes - 46.4 MBAlexis Landau's new book 'Those Who Are Saved' builds on the true story of Los Angeles during World War II. It was a safe haven for artists, and was home to many exiled Europeans. It tells the tale of Vera, who is forced to leave her daughter and flee, and explores her path to find the girl she left behind. We discuss how Alexis writes around family time, how it all starts in a flurry of ideas and research, and how she blends factual history with her own creativity. We also chat about why m...
Random Routine - 'Queen of Crime' Val McDermid talks about how writing life has changed over more than 30 books.
July 13, 2021 09:45 - 14 minutes - 19.6 MBThis week's Random Routine comes from the 'Queen of Crime' Val McDermid. She appeared on the show back in April 2019 to run us through her working day. Val McDermid is one of the most successful crime authors in the world. Her novels have been translated into 40 languages, they've sold over 15 million copies and show no sign of letting up. She has written procedural crime, cold-case crime, and even penned the first ever 'cynical, socialist, lesbian, feminist journalist'. We talk about how ...