Podcasts by Writers Routine

Femi Kayode, author of 'Gaslight' - CWA nominated writer discusses writing through a Nigerian lens, chapter titles giving control, and being in the perfect place from 2023-12-08T00:23:28

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 ...

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 from 2023-12-01T00:23:36

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’, a...

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 from 2023-11-24T00:56:17

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 ...

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 from 2023-11-17T00:07:27

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...

Denzil Meyrick, author of 'Murder at Holly House' - Bestselling writer discusses the baggy middle, avoiding distractions, and not being limited by genre from 2023-11-10T00:01:35

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 inv...

Dann McDorman, author of 'West Heart Kill' - Novelist and Emmy-nominated News Producer discusses twisting the genre, putting the reader in the mystery, and how news affects stories from 2023-11-03T00:22:47

Dann McDorman is an Emmy-nominated news producer, working for MSNBC in New York. His debut novel is 'West Heart Kill', which is something particularly unique. It places the reader at the heart o...

D.L. Douglas, author of 'Dr. Spilsbury and the Camden Town Killer' - Historical crime writer discusses switching genres and names, structuring challenges, and a busy year from 2023-10-26T23:59:24

This week, we're chatting to D.L. Douglas and Donna Hay at the same time. For D.L. see Donna, and Donna see D.L. Donna Hay has published many saga novels, and worked as a journalist across magaz...

Claire Daverley, author of 'Talking at Night' - Debut writer discusses forgetting genre, dealing with rejection, and preparing the mood from 2023-10-19T23:43:22

This week we're chatting to Claire Daverley. Her new novel is 'Talking at Night', which tells the story of Will and Rosie, two polar opposites who fall in love and are destined to be together fo...

Sarah Moorhead, author of 'The Treatment' - Speculative fiction writer discusses keeping busy, thinking of genre, and the classic What If? from 2023-10-12T23:05:59

Sarah Moorhead is busy. She's a doer who wants to achieve. She's been a teacher, a Chaplain, started youth-groups, has a black-belt in kickboxing, and writes novels. She published 'Witness X' in...

Nick Hunt, author of 'Red Smoking Mirror' - Travel writer discusses blending experience into fiction, debut novels, and how to travel and write for a living from 2023-10-06T15:14

This week, we're joined by Nick Hunt. He's worked as a journalist and travel writer, publishing 'Outlandish', 'Where the Wild Winds Are', and 'Walking the Woods and the Water'. We discuss how he...

Diana Janney, author of 'A Man of Understanding' - How poetry influences novels, exploring trauma, and whether your story needs a skeleton from 2023-09-28T23:48:37

Diana Janney is busy. She is a doer. She's worked as a barrister, a model, published two successful novels through the last 20 years, and has a new one out.

'A Man of Understanding' w...

Alex Hay, author of 'The Housekeepers' - Historical fiction author discusses shifting gears through the day, a work-space battle, and changing your routine from 2023-09-21T23:47:59

Alex Hay's new novel is 'The Housekeepers'. It won the Caledonia Novel Award 2022. It's all about Mrs King, a housekeeper from a world of con artists and thieves. She's dismissed from her positi...

Susan Wiggs, author of 'Welcome to Beach Town' - Multi-million bestseller discusses the joys of research, how to find your voice, and the sweet-spot that makes a classic from 2023-09-14T23:50:43

Susan Wiggs has written more than 50 books and sold more than 25 million copies in more than 20 languages.

Her new one is 'Welcome to Beach Town'. It's a warm, summer read, about the i...

Sara Ochs, author of 'The Dive' - Thriller author discusses the path to publication, how impatience affects drafting, and making characters authentic from 2023-09-01T15:14:36

Sara Ochs is an attorney, law professor, and now author. Her debut is 'The Dive'. It's inspired by her own time travelling through Thailand, and hearing about a grisly murder near her hotel.

Robert Thorogood, author of 'Death Comes to Marlow' - Mystery writer talks about making stories fun, cosy crime, and stopping the excuses from 2023-08-29T19:25:15

Robert Thorogood's newest novel is 'Death Comes to Marlow'. It's the 2nd in the 'Marlow Murder Club Mysteries', about a group of amateur sleuths who solve crimes in a quintessentially British to...

Jack Jordan, author of 'Conviction' - Thriller writer discusses getting lost in the work, the business side of it, and making the most of success from 2023-08-10T23:42:10

Jack Jordan's 7th novel is 'Conviction'. It tells the story of Neve Harper, a barrister who must make a terrifyingly tough choice: betray every principle she has and put an innocent man in priso...

Fiona Valpy, author of 'The Cypress Maze' - Historical fiction author chats mixing fact with fiction, challenging yourself, and looking through the compost bin from 2023-08-03T23:18:48

Fiona Valpy is a historical fiction author who has sold millions of books, her work has been translated into more than 30 languages, and she's always up for a challenge.

Her new novel,...

Nick Bradley, author of 'Four Seasons in Japan' - Writer discusses going easy on himself, living in Japan, and intricate plot structure from 2023-07-21T14:28:55

This week, we're chatting to Nick Bradley. He's an author, a creative writing teacher, a translator, and his new novel is, 'Four Seasons in Japan'. It's about about Flo, a transla...

Jenna Clake, author of 'Disturbance' - Poet and novelist discusses writing spaces, keeping it tight, and how poetry helps novels from 2023-07-17T09:39:20

This week, we're chatting to Jenna Clake. Her new novel is 'Disturbance', it tells the story of a young woman who, with the help of her strange, witchy neighbour, seems to bring her boyfriends p...

Kerry Chaput, author of 'Chasing Eleanor' - Historical fiction writer discusses dealing with anxiety, returning to writing, and ditching 80,000 words from 2023-07-06T23:19:29

Kerry Chaput is an award-winning historical fiction author. Her 'Defying the Crown' series has had much success, and her new book is 'Chasing Eleanor'. Set in 1935, it's all about Magnolia Parke...

JP Reiger, author of 'Clonk!' - How to make detective fiction funny, mixing creativity, and writing out of order from 2023-06-29T23:11:36

This week, we're joined by JP Reiger, whose brand new novel, 'Clonk!' is out now.

Paul worked as an attorney, and now spends his time as an amateur musician, and writing novels. We tal...

Rebecca McKanna, author of 'Don't Forget the Girl' - Debut writer discusses fictional true-crime, getting sucked into the story, and what being published feels like from 2023-06-22T23:36:31

Rebecca McKanna has published short stories in anthologies and quarterlies. Something about one idea made her want to write a full novel. 'Don't Forget the Girl' is about Bree and Chelsea, tryin...

Tim Lott, author of 'Yes! No! But Wait! - The One Thing You Need to Know to Write a Novel' - Award-winner discusses why spaces don't matter, why plot is everything and dealing with guilt from 2023-06-16T13:45:41

Over Tim Lott's 10 novels, he's won the Whitbread First Novel Award, been shortlisted for The Guardian Kids Book Award and the Costa Award. He's been published in 16 countries, works as a screen...

Corie Adjmi, author of 'The Marriage Box' - Award-winning writer discusses writing by hand, short stories, and should you always write what you know? from 2023-06-08T23:07:27

Corie Adjmi's debut novel, 'Life and Other Shortcomings' won a whole bunch of prizes, and has steamrollered her towards the new novel, 'The Marriage Box'.

It's all about Casey Cohen, a...

John Wray, author of 'Gone to the Wolves' - Award-winning writer talks about working to hide, switching genre, and taking your time from 2023-06-01T23:36:55

John Wray is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Award, he was named as one of the Best Young American Novelists in 2007. He's just published his 6th novel, 'Gone to the Wolves'....

J.D. Kirk, author of 'The One That Got Away' - Prolific writer discusses self-publishing, staying healthy, and his very busy year from 2023-05-25T23:20:17

J.D. Kirk is a prolific writer. He's written comics and screenplays, under the name Barry Hutchison he's published over 170 children's books, and is back with a new crime novel, 'The One That Go...

Senta Rich, author of 'Hotel 21' - Screenwriter and author discusses creative collaboration, character arcs, and how to keep believing from 2023-05-18T23:11:02

Senta Rich is busy. She has the energy to keep up with everything. She has worked in philosophy, psychology, written radio plays, has a film and TV series in the works, and her new novel, 'Hotel...

Jude Yawson, author of 'Rise Up - The #Merky Story So Far' - First LIVE Podcast with Stormzy's co-author about inspiration, commitment and creative spaces from 2023-05-04T23:21

Jude Yawson edits '14 Magazine', writes film and music reviews, and has co-authored 'Rise Up - The #Merky Story So Far' with Stormzy. It looks behind the scenes at Stormzy's life, the story of h...

Becky Hunter, author of 'One Moment' - A look inside the world of publishing, why thinking about what sells doesn't always work, and dealing with rejection from 2023-04-20T23:01:33

Becky Hunter's debut novel is 'One Moment'. It looks at best friends Scarlet and Evie, incredibly close until a tragic accident changes everything. It talks about why just one moment makes a hug...

Tim Weaver, author of 'The Blackbird' - Thriller writer talks about learning from your second book, welcoming the worry, and making people disappear from 2023-04-13T23:00

Tim Weaver is a Sunday Times million copy bestseller, he's been nominated for a National Book Award, is a Richard and Judy Book Club Pick, and has been shortlisted for a CWA Dagger Award.

Danya Kukafka, author of 'Notes on an Execution' - Writer talks about the pressure of the second book, the process journal and how to feel the plot from 2023-04-06T23:18:48

This week, we chat to Danya Kukafka. Her first debut, 'Girl in the Snow', was released in 2017 and was extremely successful. It was a national bestseller, translated in many languages, and then ...

LC North, author of 'The Ugly Truth' - Psychological thriller writer talks about the calmer part of the process, commercial hooks, and celebrity fascination from 2023-03-30T23:21:24

LC North's new book is 'The Ugly Truth'. It tells the story of Melanie, trapped and convinced she's kidnapped... meanwhile her father says she is in danger and thinking of her own safety. It's i...

Abdulrazak Gurnah, author of 'Afterlives' - 2021 Nobel Prize winner discusses distractions, why reading is as important as writing, and needing blank walls from 2023-03-24T00:24:49

Abdulrazak Gurnah was forced to flee Zanzibar when he was 18. He draws on that experience to write stories that address colonialism from different angles. His book 'Paradise' was shortlisted for...

Eva Rice, author of 'This Could Be Everything' - Why noise helps work, how characters decide when to appear, and how energy ebbs and flows from 2023-03-17T00:10:22

Eva Rice has returned with a new novel, 'This Could Be Everything', after a little while away. Her book, 'The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets', was a runner up in the Richard and Judy Book of the Ye...

Sally Page, author of 'The Keeper of Stories' - Hugely successful debut writer on detailed research, the 'book club' genre, and how old work helps the future from 2023-03-09T17:14:08

Sally Page's debut is 'The Keeper of Stories'. It's been extremely successful, tapping into book clubs across the country. It's about Janice, who is used to hearing other people's stories, until...

Ava Glass, author of 'The Chase' - Thriller writer discusses unknown London, switching up timelines, and finding character through flashback from 2023-03-03T00:17:41

Ava Glass has worked with spies and understands the mechanics of their job. She has taken all that experience and written 'The Chase'. It's the first in the 'Alias Emma' series, and tells the st...

Gregg Hurwitz, author of 'The Last Orphan' - New York Times bestseller discusses diving into research, fixing the small things, and advice from James Patterson from 2023-02-24T00:42:55

This week, we chat to multi-million New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, Gregg Hurwitz. He's written many screenplays, comic books, took charge of Batman, and is known for the 'Orphan X' ...

Georgina Moore, author of 'The Garnett Girls' - Making characters similar but different, how the plot sorts itself out, and why characters do their own thing from 2023-02-17T00:31:42

Georgina Moore has worked in PR and publishing throughout her career. She understands how books are sold, where they are place and what makes them commercial. She has just published her first no...

Tom Hindle, author of 'The Murder Game' - Murder mystery writer talks switching between work, learning from the best, and childhood heroes from 2023-02-10T00:13:18

Tom Hindle published his successful debut, 'A Fatal Crossing', in 2022. It drew comparisons to Agatha Christie and propelled him to the list of mystery writers to watch. He's back with a second ...

Alison Stockham, author of 'The Cuckoo Sister' - Thriller writer talks about overcoming doubt, reading aloud and finding the right word from 2023-02-01T15:02

Alison Stockham's new book is 'The Cuckoo Sister'. It tells the story of Maggie, who has a seemingly perfect life, only... she's cracking under the strain of it all. One day, when Maggie walks o...

Writer's Routine Revisited: Hugh Montgomery, author of 'Control' - Professor talks making time to write, what makes you creative, and the joy of trying something new. from 2023-01-27T12:26:54

Hugh Montgomery is a someone who, if he wasn't so darned lovely, you'd probably have to envy quite a lot. He's a practicing clinician, a UK lead on climate change, he's written screen-plays, run...

Eleanor Shearer, author of 'River Sing Me Home' - Why plotting is emotional, parking downhill, and post-memory from 2023-01-20T00:35:15

Eleanor Shearer's debut is the acclaimed, 'River Sing Me Home'. It follows Rachel, a slave set free in 1834, and now searching the Caribbean to find her children, stolen from her and sold to oth...

Cailean Steed, author of 'Home' - Thriller writer talks about grand teenage ideas, why writing is discovery not creation, and swapping around an entire story from 2023-01-13T00:22:06

Cailean Steed began writing short stories and audio dramas. She won the 2020 Pen to Print Audio Play Award, and decided to go back to school to learn how to tackle a full novel.

They ...

Rosie Andrews, author of 'The Leviathan' - Genre-bending writer talks historical fiction, flexible routines, and how to build your own space from 2023-01-06T00:17:18

Rosie Andrews' debut novel, 'The Leviathan' was first published last year to much acclaim. It has just come out in paperback. It tells the story of Thomas Treadwater, a soldier who holds a very ...

Richard Armitage, author of 'Geneva' - Actor talks writing audiobooks, creative exhaustion and what TV taught him about storytelling from 2022-12-22T10:28:49

Richard Armitage is a very successful actor, appearing in 'The Hobbit' movies, the Harlan Coben Netflix thrillers, and many more besides. He's also one of the most popular narrators for...

Jonathan Whitelaw, author of 'The Bingo Hall Detectives' - Cosy crime writer talks about getting things done early, being less picky with writing, the 2 page synopsis from 2022-12-16T00:31:19

Jonathan Whitelaw worked as a journalist in Scotland, covering sport, politics, and everything in between. He's recently moved to the wilderness of Canada, and we talk about the move, and keepin...

Lucy Hooft, author of 'The King's Pawn' - Why writing flash fiction really helps, thinking about your genre, and plotting like a mini-series from 2022-12-02T00:20:14

This week we chat to Lucy Hooft. She's had an incredible, interesting career travelling the world. She worked in the UK's Foreign Office and for the Department of International Development, goin...

Mark Pawlosky, author of 'Hack' - Journalist talks using experience for thrillers, why good writing is re-writing, and keeping a style guide handy from 2022-11-25T00:47:42

Mark Pawlosky worked as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, was an editor for CNBC.com, and is now using that experience of sourcing scoops to write the Nik Byron Investigation series.

Melvin Burgess, author of 'Loki' - Carnegie Medal winner discusses returning after a break, writing about teenagers, and enjoying yourself from 2022-11-18T00:07:12

Melvin Burgess had critical acclaim with his novel, 'Junk'. It looks at heroin use among teens in Bristol. It's a hard-hitting novel for teenagers, and won the Carnegie Medal, a prestigious awar...

S.K. Tremayne, author of 'The Drowning Hour' - Travel writer and author discusses working anywhere, escaping to write, and why discipline is key from 2022-11-11T00:26:36

This week, we're chatting to S.K. Tremayne. He's a travel writer and novelist, whose new novel is 'The Drowning Hour'.

Sean has written many books, under many different names. He had s...

Philip Wilding, author of 'The Death and Life of Red Henley' - Ghostwriting, changing how you write, and different parts of your brain from 2022-11-04T13:32:38

Philip Wilding is a fantastic storyteller, and a brilliant talker of storytelling. He's worked as a radio producer for many national stations, written as a journalist following bands across the ...

Cristina Bendek, author of 'Salt Crystals' - Caribbean writer talks about needing the rain, writing to discover identity, and how poetry reminds her of what's important from 2022-10-28T12:29:51

This week, we chat to Cristina Bendek. Her novel 'Salt Crystals' was published in 2018, and won the Elisa Mujica National Novel Prize. It's about the island of San Andres, and Victoria trying to...

Felix Francis, author of 'Hands Down' - Bestselling writer talks about learning at the fiction factory, taking over from his dad, and challenging himself from 2022-10-20T09:12:24

This week, we chat to Felix Francis. His new book is the next in the 'Dick Francis Series', it's called 'Hands Down' and features Sid Halley looking into a conspiracy that threatens the heart of...

Pascal Engman, author of 'Femicide' - Bestselling Swedish writer discusses planning pressure, the international audience, and the perfect first draft from 2022-10-13T23:40:57

Pascal Engman is the bestselling Swedish novelist of his generation, called 'the next Steig Larsson'. He has sold plenty of books around the world, and they're now being published in the UK. His...

Marthe Jocelyn, author of 'The Seaside Corpse' - Children's writer discusses getting 50 books done, plotting mystery, and writing exercises from 2022-10-06T23:55:16

Marthe Jocelyn is about to publish her 50th book. It's called 'The Seaside Corpse', and is the 4th in the Aggie Morton Mystery Queen series. It's based on a young Agatha Christie, who solves cri...

David Bell, author of 'The Finalists' - Author and lecturer discusses whether deadlines help, making locked-room stories engaging, and why he loves a routine from 2022-09-29T23:29:25

This week, we chat to author and lecturer David Bell. He's just published his 12th book, 'The Finalists'. It looks at a group of prospective college students, and the lengths they might go to ga...

Gordon J. Brown, author of 'Six Wounds' - Crime writer discusses pseudonyms, writing anywhere, and words you know will be cut from 2022-09-15T23:41:33

Gordon J. Brown has just published his 9th novel, it's called 'Six Wounds' and is published under the name Morgan Cry. We talk about why he's started writing under a different name, and how a ce...

Emily Houghton, author of 'Last Time We Met' - Re-drafting, making rom-com unique, and how to write an entire book on your phone from 2022-09-08T23:22:19

Emily Houghton managed to write the entire draft of her very first novel on her phone, whilst travelling around the world. That novel, 'Before I Saw You', was a huge success and she's followed i...

Robert Murphy, author of 'To Hunt a Killer ' - News reporter talks about co-writing, telling stories from real-crime, and hitting deadlines from 2022-09-01T17:23:53

Robert Murphy has worked as a news reporter for many years. Over the last decade or so, Robert followed the tragic story of Melanie Road. Melanie was murdered in Bath in 1984, after a year long ...

Lexie Elliott, author of 'How to Kill Your Best Friend' - When the title comes before the plot, how lockdown changes writing spaces, and finding the story's voice from 2022-08-25T23:02:06

Lexie Elliott accomplishes things. She graduated from the University of Oxford with a degree in theoretical physics (?!) became a championship-winning swimmer, and even swam the English Channel....

Barnaby Jameson, author of 'Codename: Madeleine' - Counter-terrorist lawyer and writer discusses curated consciousness, political turmoil and telling stories in court from 2022-08-18T23:19:39

Barnaby Jameson Q.C is one of the country's top counter-terrorist lawyers, involved in notorious cases involved bomb-threats and plans to assassinate MPs. In his time between cases, he's worked ...

Ruth Ware, author of 'The It Girl' - International bestseller talks about changing characters, going full time and the difficult middle from 2022-08-11T23:37:27

Ruth Ware is an international bestseller, who has just published her 7th crime thriller, 'The It Girl'.

It tells the story of April, a vivacious, bright girl at the University of Oxfor...

Sarah Pearse, author of 'The Retreat' - Reese Witherspoon Book Club writer discusses moving to long-form fiction, changing scenes, and moving locations from 2022-07-28T23:02:18

This week, we chat to Sarah Pearse. Her debut novel, 'The Sanatorium', was the best selling debut fiction book of 2021. It was a New York Tiimes and Sunday Times bestseller, a Waterstones Thrill...

Andrew White, author of 'The Walker Mysteries' - Finding places for your creativity, doing rather than thinking, and writing what you know from 2022-07-21T23:02:03

Andrew White is a do-er. He's written factual pieces for BBC Countryfile magazine, Rail Britain, written AA Guidebooks, and runs the Walks Around Britain YouTube channel and presents its TV show...

Emma Bamford, author of 'Deep Water' - Writer and memoirist discusses scene breakdowns, moving to full time writing, and switching from real life to fiction from 2022-07-14T23:33:59

Emma Bamford is a journalist and memoirist whose debut novel, 'Deep Water' is out right now. About a decade ago, Emma quit her job and escaped to Borneo with a complete stranger. She told this s...

Benjamin Wood, author of 'The Young Accomplice' - Why routines are helpful, separating work and creativity, and learning creative writing from 2022-07-07T18:08:32

Benjamin Wood has been shortlisted for the Costa First Novel award and the Commonwealth Book Prize, he's a CWA Gold Dagger nominee and a finalist for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year. H...

Mary Adkins, author of 'Palm Beach' - Writing coach talks about playing for work, selling rights, and switching to editing mode from 2022-07-01T08:24:57

Mary Adkins is the author of critically acclaimed novels, 'Palm Beach', 'When You Read This', and 'Privilege'. She has used her experience of writing, publishing and also teaching, to become a w...

Colette Dartford, author of 'The Mortification of Grace Wheeler' - Kindle bestseller talks about quiet spaces, character summaries, and self-publishing from 2022-06-16T23:16:11

Colette Dartford's debut, 'Learning to Speak American', was shortlisted for an Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. She followed up this success with her second, 'An Unsuitable Marriage', was a Kind...

Janice Hallett, author of 'The Appeal' - Sunday Times Bestseller discusses unique story structure, figuring out the murderer, and the moment of success from 2022-06-09T23:15:31

Janice Hallett career started as a magazine editor, journalist and speech writer. Her first feature film, Retreat, starred Cillian Murphy, Thandiwe Newton and Jamie Bell. She's written speeches ...

Mark Ellis, author of 'Dead in the Water' - Crime writer discusses huge first drafts, long-term character planning, and crime during the war from 2022-06-02T23:43:42

Mark Ellis started work as a lawyer, then ran his own business, and is now 5 books into his own crime series. It's all about Detective Frank Merlin, who investigates crimes during World War 2, a...

Jessica Payne, author of 'Make Me Disappear' - Psychological thriller writer discusses switching genre, balancing a busy work-life, and her determination to get published from 2022-05-27T04:20:37

Jessica Payne had 3 failed attempts at getting published. It took a genre switch to finally get her book out there and on the shelves. Her debut is 'Make Me Disappear', about a woman so desperat...

Scott Kershaw, author of 'The Game' - Debut writer discusses his journey to being published, writing anywhere, and how agents help from 2022-05-19T23:15:50

Scott Kershaw has had an interesting route to being published. Leaving school with few qualifications, he signed up as a mature student in college. Whilst there, his work was spotted by the Head...

Dervla McTiernan, author of 'The Murder Rule' - Lawyer turned bestseller talks about thorough planning, growing as a writer, and editing tricks from 2022-05-13T10:34:06

Dervla McTiernan was an Irish lawyer for 12 years. After the global financial crash, she moved to Australia and became a crime-writer. After a short-story was nominated for a prestigious prize, ...

Joanna Cannon, author of 'A Tidy Ending' - Sunday Times Bestseller discusses very early mornings, writing on the move and why myths hold you back from 2022-04-28T23:20:28

Joanna Cannon's debut novel, 'The Trouble with Goats and Sheep' was an instant hit and became a Sunday Times Bestseller. She wrote it in very early mornings and in her lunch break, working in he...

Gracie Hart, author of 'The Baker's Girl' - Saga novelist talks about being a proud Northerner, perfect drafts and writing fiction in history from 2022-04-21T23:25:42

Gracie 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 looki...

Laure Van Rensburg, author of 'Nothing But Us' - Thriller writer discusses learning to plot, writing around work, and writing what you don't know from 2022-04-14T23:33:11

Laure 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 pro...

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 from 2022-04-07T23:21:49

Sara 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 bes...

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 from 2022-03-31T08:00:22

Philippa 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, u...

Danny Wallace, author of 'The Luckiest Kid in the World' - Storyteller talks about where ideas go, the guilt of not working, and saying yes from 2022-03-25T09:39:34

Danny 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 b...

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 from 2022-03-18T08:16:21

Luca 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 'Loc...

Claire Frost, author of 'The One' - Dedicating a day to write, learning from reviewing and when do you feel like a writer? from 2022-03-11T00:37:55

Until 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 wr...

Stacy Willingham, author of 'A Flicker in the Dark' - Crime writer talks about switching spaces, learning from work, and being optioned for TV from 2022-03-04T00:26:32

Stacy 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...

Nadine Matheson, author of 'The Jigsaw Man' - Balancing work and writing, depicting your home town, and accidentally going back to school from 2022-02-25T00:10:23

Nadine 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 proc...

Rudy Ruiz, author of 'The Resurrection of Fulgencio Ramirez' - Social activism, language and structure, and classic Mexican songs from 2022-02-18T00:15:16

This 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...

Ellen Alpsten, author of 'The Tsarina's Daughter' - Blending fact with fiction, what to research next, and writing extravagantly from 2022-02-11T00:29:31

Ellen 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 ...

Harriet Kline, author of 'This Shining Life' - Using work as inspiration, the monster that gets her started and the meaning of life from 2022-02-04T00:12:02

Harriet 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...

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 from 2022-01-26T12:10:19

Paul 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 found...

Anna Kent, author of 'The House of Whispers' - Domestic Noir writer talks about the 3 act structure, pseudonyms, and learning to write genre from 2022-01-21T00:30:39

This 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 fir...

Sarah Alderson, writer of 'The Stalker' - Author and screenwriter talks about writing for TV, strategic thinking, and the 10-day drafts from 2022-01-14T01:00:25

Sarah 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 sl...

Rosanna Amaka, author of 'The Book of Echoes' - Debut writer talks creative places, plotting, and a novel 2 decades in the making from 2022-01-07T14:06:46

Our 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...

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. from 2021-12-10T09:11:53

For 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 ...

Joanne Harris MBE, author of 'A Narrow Door' - Hugely successful author discusses genre, rebooting your brain, and the pressure of success from 2021-12-03T09:07:30

This 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 Juliet...

Ken Follett, author of 'Never' - Multi-million selling writer talks about the pressure of success, keeping things simple, and the important outline from 2021-11-26T00:32:51

This 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 asp...

Helen Paris, author of 'The Lost Property' - Debut author discusses book club fiction, memories and escaping the routine from 2021-11-19T13:46:29

This 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 D...

Steve Cavanagh, author of 'The Devil's Advocate' - Award-winning author discusses ideal routines, writing America, and why he's always learning from 2021-11-12T00:30:31

This 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 ne...

Random Routine - Thriller author Lucy Foley discusses decadent writing days from 2021-11-09T10:10:12

Lucy 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 someo...

Xanthi Barker, author of 'Will This House Last Forever' - Memoir writer talks about poetry, art as a world view, and her father, Sebastian. from 2021-11-05T11:59:44

Xanthi 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 w...

Random Routine - Dystopian Thriller writer Rob Hart runs us through months of work from 2021-11-03T07:48:31

For 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 o...

Joe Thomas, author of 'Brazilian Psycho' - Award-winning writer talks about routine changes, escaping to write, and social awareness. from 2021-10-28T23:18:31

This 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...

Random Routine - Award-winning Trent Dalton runs through a day as a journalist and a novelist from 2021-10-27T07:09:08

This 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 boo...

Zen Cho, author of 'Black Water Sister' - Ghost storyteller talks about switching genre, playing with language, and words spawning ideas from 2021-10-21T23:00:17

Zen 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 ...

Random Routine - Screenwriter Tom MacRae runs through a day in the life of writing a movie from 2021-10-19T12:31:26

Along 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 ni...

Claire Allan, author of 'Ask No Questions' - USA Today Bestseller talks genre-switching, 10k word starts, and planning a year of writing from 2021-10-15T00:00:29

This 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 ...

Piers Torday, author of 'The Wild Before' - Children's author talks about bookshops, prequels, and being a magpie. from 2021-10-07T23:00:57

It'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'r...

Bella Obsorne, author of 'The Promise of Summer' - Romantic writer talks about how characters meet genre, about busy years, and NaNoWriMo from 2021-09-30T13:46:08

Bella 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 Librar...

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. from 2021-09-10T13:35:10

Alex 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...

Paul Rudnick, author of 'Playing the Palace' - Screenwriter discusses changing the script on set, writing for your heroes, and the precious writing space. from 2021-09-03T08:00:17

Paul 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...

Random Routine - Critically-acclaimed author Bridget Collins runs us through her space and day from 2021-09-01T07:40:38

A 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...

Christina Sweeney-Baird, author of 'The End of Men' - Debut writer talks about speculative fiction, editing pandemics, and writing sprints. from 2021-08-26T23:28:37

Christina 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 fo...

Random Routine - Crime and historical thriller author Helen Fields takes us through a day writing around her family from 2021-08-24T09:31:49

Helen 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 Wool...

Jamie O'Connell, author of 'Diving for Pearls' - Debutant talks places as characters, refining structure, and the 500 word limit from 2021-08-20T09:19:53

This 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,...

Random Routine - Crime supremo Mark Billingham likes to get things done whenever he can from 2021-08-16T23:00:56

This 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 kno...

Claire McGowan, author of 'The Vanishing Triangle' - Crime writer talks about planning the twists, switching genres, and stepping into true crime. from 2021-08-12T23:30:33

Claire 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 diffe...

Random Routine - Bestselling geopolitical genius Tim Marshall on starting the day luxuriously from 2021-08-09T23:00:09

This 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, tra...

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. from 2021-08-05T23:38:58

Michael 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 Ano...

Random Routine - Irish Book Award Winner Liz Nugent takes us through her writing day from 2021-08-02T23:00:24

Liz 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 ...

Joy Ellis, author of 'The Patient Man' - Crime bestseller talks about starting new series, checking in with characters, and how she finally got published. from 2021-07-30T00:30:28

There 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...

Random Routine - Carnegie Medal Winner Frank Cottrell-Boyce talks about hating writing... but loving re-writing. from 2021-07-27T11:24:25

This 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 tur...

Hayley Doyle, author of 'Love, Almost' - West End actress turned writer talks about juggling life and work, overwriting, and playing with genre. from 2021-07-22T23:30:24

This 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, 'N...

Random Routine - Why worldwide bestseller Jeffery Deaver plans for 8 months from 2021-07-20T15:53:23

This 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 h...

Alexis Landau, author of 'Those Who Are Saved' - Historical writer talks about mother/daughter stories, research and the opening flurry. from 2021-07-18T10:01:39

Alexis 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 t...

Random Routine - 'Queen of Crime' Val McDermid talks about how writing life has changed over more than 30 books. from 2021-07-13T09:45:31

This 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 ...

Nigel Farndale, author of 'The Dictator's Muse' - Award-winning journalist and author discusses getting on with it, finding the balance between work and fun, and writing real life. from 2021-07-09T14:32:50

Nigel Farndale is an award-winning journalist whose interviewing prowess has seen him chat to the Dalai Lama, Prince Charles, Henry Kissenger, Hilary Clinton, and many more. He's written for The...

Random Routine - Ian Rankin talks a day in the life of a crime writing phenomenon. from 2021-07-05T23:00

Ian Rankin came on the show in 2018 to discuss his 22nd Detective John Rebus book, 'In a House of Lies'. Since then he's published the 23rd, 'A Song for the Dark Times'.

Here is just h...

Janet Skeslien-Charles, author of 'The Paris Library' - Writer discusses dual time-frames, research and why thorough plotting doesn't mean complete understanding. from 2021-07-01T23:00

Janet Skeslien-Charles new novel is 'The Paris Library', inspired by the true stories of the librarians who risked their lives during the Nazi's war on words. We talk about when she heard that t...

Random Routine - Bestselling thriller writer Shari Lapena discusses writing years, quiet houses and 1500 words. from 2021-06-29T23:00

Shari Lapena shared her writer's routine with us back in 2019, when she came on to chat about her 4th novel 'Someone We Know'.

Shari's first book, 'The Couple Next Door', was the numbe...

Greg Buchanan, author of 'Sixteen Horses' - Debut crime author discusses bending genre, plot functions, and being kind to yourself. from 2021-06-24T23:00

Greg Buchanan's debut 'Sixteen Horses' has been lauded as one of the best books of the year, and there's already a major TV series of it in the works. However, the stunning hook of the plot only...

Random Routine - Louise Candlish takes us through a year in the life of an award-winning author. from 2021-06-21T23:00

Louise Candlish shared her writer's routine with us in 2019.

Louise Candlish's 'Our House' was one of the biggest books of 2018, it's sold more than 200,000 copies, been read all over ...

Niamh Campbell, author of 'This Happy' - Award-winning writer discusses literary fiction, being purposeful with language, and extroverted work. from 2021-06-18T10:36:25

Niamh Campbell has always been around words, studying them, teaching them, constantly writing them. Her short story 'Love Many' won an Irish Times writing prize, and from that success she's publ...

Random Routine - Anthony Horowitz discusses why he wants to make every day different. from 2021-06-15T10:21:11

BONUS EPISODE!

Here's something new I'm trying, hopefully every week. Taking a look back at some fantastic authors from our archive, and remembering just the routine, hopefully injecti...

Lesley Kara, author of 'The Dare' - Crime writer talks about the process of discovery, themes, and TV adaptations from 2021-06-10T23:00

Lesley Kara's debut, 'The Rumour', was the bestselling crime thriller debut of 2019. She's back with her third novel, 'The Dare', it tells the story of Lizzie, who is suspected of being involved...

Tim Adler, author of 'Dead Already' - Thriller writer talks about thorough plotting, irony, and always being a student. from 2021-06-03T23:00

Tim Adler has always been around words. He's a journalist who has written for The Times and the FT, been a commissioning editor at The Daily Telegraph, and edited magazines. His fourth novel is ...

Rosie Wilby, author of 'The Breakup Monologues' - Comic talks about pets, podcasting and peripatetic writing. from 2021-05-27T23:00

Rosie Wilby is a comedian, writer and podcaster. Her new book, 'The Breakup Monologues', is based on the podcast of the same name. It's non-fiction and looks at sexuality, stories, dating....bre...

Bryan Christy, author of 'In the Company of Killers' - Thriller writer talks masterplans and diagrams, writing dreams, and discovering your characters. from 2021-05-20T23:00

Bryan Christy was the Head of Special Operations for National Geographic. He'd travel around the world uncovering crimes and reporting on the underworld. He's now an author.

They say w...

Bethany Clift, author of 'Last One at the Party' - Dystopian debut author talks stealing time to write, learning from films, why editing saves the day. from 2021-05-13T23:00

Bethany Clift's debut has come out at JUST the write time. 'Last One at the Party' tells the story of a woman alone on Earth, after humanity has been wiped out by a virus. We talk about how the ...

Lisa Gardner, author of 'Before She Disappeared' - New York Times bestseller discusses the perils of pantsing, getting it done early, and her first standalone in 20 years. from 2021-05-06T23:00

Lisa Gardner is a prolific author. She's published 11 'DD Warren' novels, 2 'Tessa Leoni' books, and is back with her first standalone in 20 years. 'Before She Disappeared' tells the story of Fr...

Ericka Waller, author of 'Dog Days' - Debut author discusses the balance between light and shade, learning from loss, and keeping family time. from 2021-04-29T23:00

Ericka Waller's published debut is 'Dog Days', which tells the story of George, Dan, Lizzie and the dogs that bind their lives and emotions together. The word-play in the title gets to the heart...

Abigail Mann, author of 'The Sister Surprise' - Uplit and comedy writer talks about accountability, switching softwares, and writing funny. from 2021-04-22T23:00

Abigail Mann has just released her second novel, very quickly after publishing her first. 'The Sister Surprise' tells us the story of Ava who discovers she has an unknown sister, and decides to ...

Chloe James, author of 'Love in Lockdown' - Debut uplit author discusses working to time, pseudonyms and making writing a priority. from 2021-04-15T23:00

Chloe James debut novel is so perfectly timed it must have been expertly planned. It was. Chloe James is also Fiona Woodifield, author of 'The Jane Austen Dating Agency' which received critical ...

Naomi Ishiguro, author of 'Common Ground' - Debut novelist talks about ideas from chaos, impersonal writing spaces, and pushing through to the end. from 2021-04-08T23:00

Naomi Ishiguro's debut novel is something quite special. 'Common Ground' tells the story of Stan and Charlie, unlikely friends who meet during a turbulent time and change each others lives. Naom...

Nick Petrie, author of 'The Breaker' - Thriller writer talks about getting the first draft right, perfecting the space, and the inner drill sargeant. from 2021-04-02T01:00

Nick Petrie has just released the 6th Peter Ash novel, 'The Breaker'. It's all about the war vet with PTSD, trying to live a quiet life on the run, who cannot stand by when he sees an armed man wal...

Nick Petrie, author of 'The Breaker' - Thriller writer talks about getting the first draft right, perfecting the space, and the inner drill sergeant. from 2021-04-01T23:00

Nick Petrie has just released the 6th Peter Ash novel, 'The Breaker'. It's all about the war vet with PTSD, trying to live a quiet life on the run, who cannot stand by when he sees an armed man ...

Sarah Leipciger, author of 'Coming Up For Air' - Writer discusses teaching creativity, thorough research, and unexplored mysteries. from 2021-03-26T00:00

Sarah Leipciger's second novel features a strange, poetic mystery than spans 3 time-frames across different parts of the world. Her critically-acclaimed debut 'The Mountain Can Wait' came out in...

Lucy Clarke, author of 'The Castaways' - Thriller writer talks writing spaces, getting it done early, and travelling to research. from 2021-03-19T11:15:08

Lucy Clarke is the bestselling author of six psychological thrillers, which have been sold in over 20 territories. Her new novel is 'The Castaways', which tells the story of two sisters on holid...

Shane Dunphy, author of 'Stories from the Margins' - Inspirational Memoir and Crime author talks the perfect place to write, walking to work, and the responsibility of stories. from 2021-03-12T00:00

This week's guest is the inspirational memoir and crime writer Shane Dunphy. Shane worked as a child protection worker for 15 years, the things he experienced gave him the ideas to begin life as...

Abigail Dean, author of 'Girl A' - Instant Sunday Times Bestseller talks writing around full-time work, starting the day, and debut dreams. from 2021-03-05T11:56:05

Abigail Dean's 'Girl A' is the talk of the book world at the moment. It's been one of the biggest releases of 2021, and shot her straight onto the Sunday Times Bestseller list. It tells the stor...

Cherie Jones, author of 'How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House' - Debut novelist talks about waking up early, fitting everything in, and asking her characters questions. from 2021-02-26T00:00

Cherie Jones is a busy lady. She is a full time lawyer, a single mother of 4 children, is currently finishing a PhD, and has found the time to publish her first novel, 'How the One-Armed Sister ...

Susie Donkin, author of 'Zeus is a Dick' - Comedy writer on reimagining ancient myths, learning from screenplays, and keeping keen to be lean. from 2021-02-19T00:00

Susie Donkin has been a writer on the award-winning show, 'Horrible Histories', since it debuted on TV in 2009. She has now used that experience of hilariously retelling history for her new book...

Will Dean, author of 'The Last Thing to Burn' - Thriller writer talks about frantically thrashing out the words, paying justice to characters, and writing in the wilderness. from 2021-02-12T00:00:42

Will Dean appears to have a glorious writing life. Hidden away in the Swedish wilderness, in a house that he built, he dreams up stories and thrashes them out in a few weeks. In reality, it's th...

C.K. McDonnell, author of 'The Stranger Times' - Comedian and writer talks about how stand-up comedy made writing easier, about jokes getting in the way of the story, and why he annoys his characters. from 2021-02-05T00:00

Caimh McDonnell used to be a stand-up comedian, gigging all over the country and writing for television. Now, he's a full-time storyteller working out of his own office in his garden. His new no...

Kate Mosse, author of 'The City of Tears' - Multi-million selling author talks thorough research, learning to write anywhere and building on the success of 'Labyrinth' from 2021-01-29T11:21:46

Kate Mosse is the author of nine novels & short story collections, including the No 1 multimillion selling 'Languedoc Trilogy'. Her historical thriller 'Labyrinth' was one of the biggest sel...

Jeff Lindsay, author of 'Fool Me Twice' - 'Dexter' creator talks intricate plotting, finding your vocation, and starting again after a huge series. from 2021-01-22T03:28:34

Jeff Lindsay's new book is 'Fool Me Twice', the second 'Riley Wolfe' thriller about the master thief that targets the world's wealthiest. Jeff is best known for his 8 'Dexter Morgan' novels, whi...

Emily Schultz, author of 'Little Threats' - Thriller writer talks creating a work space, thrashing ideas about, and switching genre. from 2021-01-15T00:00

Emily Schultz new novel, 'Little Threats', follows twin sisters in the 1990s, in an age of rebellion, when a night of partying goes very wrong, and one of them ends up under suspicion for murder...

Rosie Nixon, author of 'Just Between Friends' - Magazine editor talks escaping to write, getting to know characters, and beating deadlines. from 2021-01-08T00:00

Rosie Nixon is busy. She is the Editor-in-Chief of HELLO! Magazine, she's worked as a journalist for many years, she's a mum of two, and has just published her third novel, 'Just Between Friends...

Ross Sutherland, creator of 'The Golden House' - Poet, writer and podcaster explains how rules help creativity, why he loves the editing, and putting puzzles in podcasts. from 2020-12-18T08:51:55

Ross Sutherland is a jack of all writing trades. He is a poet, a playwright, has written for radio, TV and film, and is now an award-winning podcaster. His experimental storytelling podcast 'Ima...

Sibéal Pounder, author of 'Tinsel: The Girls Who Invented Christmas' - Children's author talks writing courses, finding the tone and writing a sense of magic. from 2020-12-11T00:00

Sibéal Pounder's debut 'Witch Wars' was shortlisted for the Sainsbury's Children's Book Award and the Waterstones Children's Book Prize. She then wrote 'The Bad Mermaids' series which was a Worl...

CJ Cooke, author of 'The Nesting' - Gothic suspense author talks about getting the atmosphere right, stopping the editing knot, and writing to frighten. from 2020-12-04T00:00

CJ Cooke is a poet, a successful horror and suspense author, and a senior lecturer in creative writing at the University of Glasgow. She's been published in 23 countries, and her new novel is 'T...

Sareeta Domingo, author of 'If I Don't Have You' - Romantic fiction writer talks tricks of the genre, juggling full-time work with part-time passion, and getting ideas from dreams. from 2020-11-27T00:00

Sareeta Domingo has an incredibly busy working. She works as an editor for Mills and Boon, helping other writers construct and improve their work. In order to do that and tell her own stories, s...

Mark Watson, author of 'Contacts' - Comedian talks about changing voices, writing on the road, and why he loves the bustle. from 2020-11-20T08:37:56

Mark Watson is a hugely successful comedian, known for his marathon shows in which he'll perform for over 24 hours at a time. He's just published his 6th novel, 'Contacts', all about how technol...

Sally Gardner, author of 'The Snow Song' - Multi award-winning bestseller talks about having a visual mind, knowing everything about your characters, and reluctant readers. from 2020-11-13T00:00

Sally Gardner has sold over 2 MILLION books. She is a Costa Kids Book Award winner, a Carnegie Medal winner, and she's back with her 3rd adult novel, 'The Snow Song'.

We talk about why...

Gillian McAllister, author of 'How to Disappear' - Psychological thriller writer talks researching the unresearchable, mixing plotting and pantsing, and getting the first draft done quickly. from 2020-11-06T00:00

Gillian McAllister is a Sunday Times Top 10 bestselling author, who has just published her 5th novel, 'How to Disappear'. It's a romantic psychological thriller set in witness protection. It's a...

Alastair Humphreys, author of 'My Midsummer Morning' - Adventurer, Author and Podcaster talks about journalling, strange editing, and the freedom of storytelling. from 2020-10-30T00:00

Alastair Humphreys is one of the country's greatest adventurers. As well as expeditions like cycling around the world, walking across India and rowing the Atlantic, Alastair was named as a Natio...

Jennie Fields, author of 'Atomic Love' - Spy drama writer talks about bending genre, keeping track of tenses, and getting started late. from 2020-10-22T23:00

Jennie Fields' 5th novel is 'Atomic Love', it's a twisting spy drama with a side of romance set in 1950's Chicago. It tells the story of Rosalind, a worker on the Manhattan Project, who is recru...

Isabelle Broom, author of 'Hello, Again' - Escapist romance writer talks about how ideas change, travelling for research, and why character is everything. from 2020-10-16T10:39:08

Isabelle Broom has just published her seventh novel. 'Hello, Again' follows mosaic artist Pepper, who accompanies her elderly friend Josephine on the trail of a long-lost love affair through Eur...

Matt Haig, author of 'The Midnight Library' - Bestselling writing talks searching for humanity, trusting the process, and getting the first draft done. from 2020-10-09T08:42:02

This week our guest is the phenomenally successful Matt Haig. Since huge bestseller 'Reasons to Stay Alive', Matt has shot to the nation's consciousness. He's written kids books, christmas books...

Trevor Wood, author of 'The Man on the Street' - Debut crime writer talks going back to school, playwriting, and perfect timing. from 2020-10-02T00:00:53

Trevor Wood's debut novel 'The Man on the Street' tells the story of Jimmy, a homeless veteran with PTSD who sees a murder, but no-one believes him. We talk about writing crime, about getting in...

Jane Fallon, author of 'Queen Bee' - Bestselling writer talks about getting an early start, learning from television, and publishing her 10th novel. from 2020-09-25T11:13:29

Jane Fallon's 10th novel, 'Queen Bee', is out now. It's all about Stella who is the ruler of a posh, snobbish street, and how her life is thrown upside down when a new girl moves into the neighb...

Mara Timon, author of 'City of Spies' - Espionage thriller writer talks about putting the reader in your characters shoes, finding free time to write, and wartime secrets. from 2020-09-17T23:00

Mara Timon's new novel is 'City of Spies', it's set in Lisbon during World War Two. It's a part and place of the war that warrants a story being told, as it's endlessly fascinating, but not many...

Calum McSwiggan, author of 'Eat, Gay, Love' - Memoir writer talks turning experience into plot, focused writing days, and pushing past the blank page from 2020-09-10T23:00

This week we're chatting to YouTuber, radio presenter, film maker and now writer, Calum McSwiggan. His debut is a memoir, 'Eat, Gay, Love', which tells the story of his journey around the world,...

Erin Kinsley, author of 'Innocent' - Word targets, diagrams, charts and that book that needs to be told PLUS Ed Needham, editor of 'Strong Words' Magazine from 2020-09-03T23:00

Erin Kinsley's second book 'Innocent' tells of a close-knit community devastated when a local celebrity is found dead. It follows on from her immensely successful debut 'Found, published last ye...

Menna van Praag, author of 'The Sisters Grimm' - Magical realism author talks self-publishing, finding your voice, and why books are better shorter. from 2020-08-27T23:00

Menna van Praag is the author of 6 magical realism novels, her new one is 'The Sisters Grimm'. It's a story of four girls born on the same day with their fate twisted together, they must find ea...

Amanda Jennings, writer of 'The Storm' - Bestselling author talks haunting thrillers, loneliness and isolation, and having all the notebooks from 2020-08-22T09:55:03

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 desper...

Jo Thomas, author of 'Escape to the French Farmhouse' - Romance writer talks food and family, retreats and incredible research trips. from 2020-08-16T07:24:31

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 a...

Christopher Fowler, author of 'Oranges and Lemons' - Prolific writer talks crime novels, unplanned plotting and the bare bones draft. from 2020-08-07T08:49:56

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...

Sophia Money-Coutts, writer of 'The Wish List' - Journalist and author talks escaping to write, rom-coms and getting to work early. from 2020-07-31T10:36:37

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 ide...

Sabine Durrant, author of 'Finders, Keepers' - Psychological thriller writer talks about pre-work rituals, when writing gets tough, and planning the day. from 2020-07-23T23:00

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 ou...

Roundtable - 'Uplit' authors Laura Jane Williams, Nicola Gill, Hannah Sunderland and Charlene Allcott talk about writing to answer questions, finding your reader, and playing with genre. from 2020-07-20T10:42:22

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 thro...

Melanie Blake, author of 'The Thunder Girls' - Entrepreneur talks ghost-writing, channeling characters and escaping to write. from 2020-07-16T23:00

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 Thu...

Jasper Fforde, author of 'The Constant Rabbit' - Surrealist satire writer talks about narrative dares, the creative sandbox and finding the right words. from 2020-07-10T12:07:03

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...

Peter James, author of 'Find Them Dead' - Prolific bestseller talks creating the perfect writing day, narrative charts and ruthless editing. from 2020-07-02T23:00

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...

Chris Whitaker, author of 'We Begin at the End' - Crime writer talks American Noir, finding the plot through characters, and winning the 'New Blood Dagger Award' from 2020-06-25T23:00

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 ti...

Round Table - Crime writers Merilyn Davies, Rebecca Bradley and Neil Lancaster talk about the joy of editing, planning for a series, and creativity during lockdown. from 2020-06-22T23:00

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 t...

Rachel Abbott, writer of 'The Murder Game' - Mega Kindle Bestseller talks about knowing her characters visually, the joys of editing, and making a business plan. from 2020-06-19T12:58:50

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 milli...

Anthony McGowan, author of 'Lark' - Carnegie Medal Winning writer discusses picking the next project, working in two spaces, and writing place over plot. from 2020-06-11T23:00

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 phi...

David Baldacci, author of 'Walk the Wire' - Prolific bestseller talks about being on the lookout for ideas, publishing two books a year, and picking characters for stories. from 2020-06-05T11:22:21

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 ...

James Swallow, author of 'Rogue' - Thriller writer talks telling stories across genre, the ideal writing day, and writing for video games. from 2020-05-29T15:26:40

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...

Adele Parks, author of 'Just My Luck' - Prolific writer talks having a strict routine, why she's always asking questions, and about her 20th book in 20 years. from 2020-05-22T12:06:51

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 af...

Nicola Gill, author of 'The Neighbours' - Debut writer talks genre, crafting a plot around characters, and getting started early. from 2020-05-15T13:33:01

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 friend...

Neil Lancaster, author of 'Going Rogue' - Ex-cop talks about trusting the process, getting police stuff right, and making it thrilling. from 2020-05-08T07:29:24

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 thri...

Lorna Cook, author of 'The Forbidden Promise' - Historical mystery author talks dual-narrative, crammed work days, and writing what you want to read. from 2020-05-01T07:20:29

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...

Russ Thomas, author of 'Firewatching' - Debut writer talks changing viewpoints, short stories, and selling books to write them. from 2020-04-24T11:31:23

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 ha...

Lucienne Boyce, author of 'Death Makes No Distinction' - Historical fiction writer talks thorough plotting, making the past authentic, and writing biography. from 2020-04-17T11:12:47

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...

Nell Pattison, author of 'The Silent House' - Psychological thriller writer talks about editorial feedback, mixing up the day, and being inspired by real life. from 2020-04-10T09:36:45

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 ...

Sam Lloyd, author of 'The Memory Wood' - Thriller writer talks about characters that won't go away, trying to force twists, and improving productivity. from 2020-04-02T23:00

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 lo...

Eleni Kyriacou, writer of 'She Came to Stay' - Debut author talks about planning and plotting, changing the main character, and overwriting. from 2020-03-27T00:00

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 Londo...

Louise Hare, author of 'This Lovely City' - Being inspired by short stories, making the leap to full-time writing, and secret adventures in London. from 2020-03-20T00:00

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 discove...

Rory Clements, author of 'Hitler's Secret' - Historical mystery writer talks the responsibility to tell the truth, keeping readers going, and writing at night. from 2020-03-13T00:00

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. ...

SD Sykes, author of 'The Bone Fire' - Historical Fiction author talks thorough plotting, the hero's journey and getting submerged in the past. from 2020-03-06T00:00

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 lock...

Pete Brown, author of 'Pie Fidelity' - 3 time British Beer Writer of the Year talks writing the book you want to read, analysing to improve, and the joy of narrative. from 2020-02-28T00:00

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 ...

An Yu, writer of 'Braised Pork' - Hyped debut author on discovering characters, trying to tame creativity, and nocturnal Beijing. from 2020-02-21T16:30:14

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...

Lucy Foley, author of 'The Guest List' - Mystery author on twisting the whodunnit, the beauty and benefit of overwriting, and why she loves chaos from 2020-02-14T00:00

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...

BA Paris, author of 'The Dilemma' - Managing to structure your pantsing, forgetting the word count, and the urge to tell stories. from 2020-02-07T15:33:11

BA Paris has sold over 1 million books, they've been translated into 39 languages, and her new novel, 'The Dilemma' was released in early 2020 to huge acclaim.

The idea is simple: what...

Caroline Scott, author of 'The Photographer of the Lost' - Avoiding cliches from the past, bringing the Great War to life, and why editing is where things really come alive. from 2020-01-31T16:00:45

Caroline Scott's new novel is a 'Radio 2 Book Club Pick', high praise in British books, and is set in the murky time straight after the First World War. 'The Photographer of the Lost' sees Edie ...

Paul French, author of 'Murders of Old China' - Writer of brand new Audible series talks finding clues in the past, writing for audio, and knowing how to research. from 2020-01-24T00:00

Paul French has just released a 12 part audio series, 'Murders of Old China', through Audible. As the name suggests, it tells the stories of unsolved crimes from the early 20th century of China....

Hugh Montgomery, author of 'Control' - Professor talks making time to write, what makes you creative, and the joy of trying something new. from 2020-01-17T11:02:56

Hugh Montgomery is a someone who, if he wasn't so darned lovely, you'd probably have to envy quite a lot. He's a practicing clinician, a UK lead on climate change, he's written screen-plays, run...

Mason Currey, author of 'Daily Rituals: Women at Work' - On perfecting the writing day, knowing where to start research, and some of the most interesting routines from history. from 2020-01-14T12:20:52

BONUS EPISODE!

In the late noughties, Mason Currey started blogging about the most interesting, unique and quirky routines from history. 'Daily Rituals' ran for year, and spawned its o...

Amy Heydenrych, author of 'The Pact' - Crime author talks brooding over stories, analysing her work, and breaking her own rules. from 2020-01-10T00:00

Amy Heydenrych has been brooding on the idea for her latest novel, 'The Pact', for some time now. After experiencing office bullying in an old job, she thought about how the feelings it caused, ...

Ann Cleeves, author of 'The Long Call' - 'Vera' and 'Shetland' writer talks about the urge to tell stories, learning by living and never plotting from 2019-12-13T12:54:49

Ann Cleeves is a hugely prolific author - she once wrote a book a year for 30 years, and still publishes more or less every 12 months. We talk about that writing year - when she comes up with id...

Chris Hammer, author of award-winning 'Scrublands' - Winner of 'New Blood Dagger Award' talks writing anywhere, nuanced characters and learning from journalism. from 2019-12-06T12:27:41

Before publishing his first novel, Chris Hammer worked as a journalist. Travelling all over the world reporting stories gave him the ability to write anywhere, and taught him how to tell stories...

Jeffrey Archer, author of 'Nothing Ventured' - Internationally successful author talks escaping to write, his exacting daily routine and what selling over 275 million books is really like. from 2019-11-29T11:38:05

For over 40 years, Jeffrey Archer has sold many, many books. The current count is over 275 million. He's written 37, including a volume of diaries from his time in prison - 26 of those have been...

Harriet Evans, author of 'The Garden of Lost and Found' - The luxury of two places to write, why editing is the most important part of the process, and how to be flexible when the story takes over. from 2019-11-15T00:00

Harriet Evans' 11 novel could be her biggest yet. Even with the huge success of 'The Wildflowers', 'The Garden of Lost and Found' is everywhere at the moment, and tells the story of Juilet. She'...

James Wallman, author of 'Time and How to Spend It - Journalist talks making non-fiction read like the classics, the experience economy, and why you need to get outside and be offline. from 2019-11-01T00:00

In his phenomenally successful debut, 'Stuffocation', James Wallman told everyone to stop valuing things, and instead value experiences and the time we have on this planet. He's back to tell eve...

Ruth Hogan, author of 'The Keeper of Lost Things' - How to plan your writing year, what to do with the first sentence, and how do you get new ideas? from 2019-10-17T23:40

Ruth Hogan's debut novel 'The Keeper of Lost Things' generated huge commercial success and critical acclaim across the world. Telling the story of Anthony Peardew, a short-story writer who colle...

Owen Nicholls, author of 'Love, Unscripted' - Debut novelist talks pop culture, movie journalism and writing romance. from 2019-09-26T23:00

Owen Nicholls is a pop-culture obsessive, having written for Empire and NME, the mission for his first novel was 'High Fidelty for movies'.

Originally thinki...

Tom MacRae, co-writer of 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie' - On hit West End musicals, writing for stage, and discipline. from 2019-09-13T12:53:44

Along with Dan Gillespie Sells, Tom MacRae wrote the hit West End musical, 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie'. It opened in Sheffield, before transferring to London, selling-out constantly and re...

Tim Smedley, author of 'Clearing the Air' - Sustainability writer on making non-fiction accessible, plotting travels and the perfect first chapter. from 2019-09-06T14:14:30

Tim Smedley is a journalist who has worked for the FT, Guardian, New Scientist and many more. A few years ago, he was so disgusted at the levels of pollutants in the air around London where he l...

Sheila O'Flanagan, author of 'Her Husband's Mistake' - Prolific award-winner talks first sentences, becoming characters and finding new ideas. from 2019-08-31T08:50:07

Bestselling author Sheila O'Flanagan is prolific, published around 30 novels and has won the 'Irish Independent Popular Fiction Book of the Year. Her new book is 'Her Husband's Mistake', and see...

Rob Hart, author of 'The Warehouse' - Critically acclaimed author talks dystopian fiction, standalone novels and editing backwards. from 2019-08-19T09:34:33

Rob Hart's new book '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 ...

Shari Lapena, author of 'Someone We Know' - Thriller writer talks the absurdity of planning, rewriting and discovering the killer. from 2019-08-09T09:57:48

Shari Lapena's first book, 'The Couple Next Door', was the number 1 adult fiction title for the UK back in 2017, and with 3 books published since we talk about how such success has affected the ...

Laura Jane Williams, author of 'Our Stop' - Journalist and memoir writer talks debut novels, rom-com characters and dirty drafts. from 2019-08-02T06:11:13

Laura Jane Williams is a prolific journalist, and successful memoir writer - her books, 'Becoming' and 'Ice Cream for Breakfast', talk about her twenties and quest for love. We chat about the ar...

Phoebe Locke, author of summer hit 'The July Girls' - Thriller writer talks strict timing, getting to know your killer, and pseudonyms from 2019-07-25T23:00

After achieving great success with her debut novel, 'The Tall Man', Phoebe Locke is back with a new summer-hit, 'The July Girls'. It tells the story of murders that happen every year on exactly ...

Stuart MacBride, Crime and Thriller author - Writer of the 'Logan McRae' series talks new book 'All That's Dead', work ethics, and switching up the process. from 2019-07-19T10:11:58

Stuart MacBride pretty much hasn't had a day off for 16 years. Every chance he gets he'll find a little space and place to write in. It's made him a very successful crime author. His newest nove...

Lara Prior-Palmer, author of 'Rough Magic' - Memoir writer talks winning the Mongol Derby, always fixing sentences and free-flowing words. from 2019-07-12T10:50:58

At age 19, unsure about what to do before starting university, Lara Prior-Palmer absent-mindedly applied for the Mongol Derby, a multi-horse race that rides 1,000 km through Mongolian grassland....

Louise Candlish, British Book Award Winner - 'Our House' author talks having an unusual hook, following up on success and almost giving up. from 2019-06-21T11:09:18

Louise Candlish's 'Our House' was one of the biggest books of 2018, it's sold more than 200,000 copies, been read all over the world and won 'Best Crime and Thriller Fiction' at the 'British Boo...

Abi Elphinstone, author of 'Rumblestar' - Children's author talks finding the right audience, believable characters and thorough research. from 2019-06-14T01:00

Abi Elphinstone has just started the brand new kids' series 'The Unmapped Chronicles'. The first of which, 'Rumblestar', sees Casper Tock stumbling across a hidden world which magically controls...

Ahmad Danny Ramadan, writer of 'The Clothesline Swing' - LGBTQ and refugee campaigner, writer and speaker talks storytelling with friends, multiple outlines and deliberate confusion. from 2019-06-07T12:57:21

Ahmad Danny Ramadan is a Syrian-Canadian author, storyteller and LGBTQ-refugee activist. He was forced to flee his home of Syria, and his debut novel 'The Clothesline Swing' is a sprawling, twis...

Mel Sherratt - Crime and Thriller author talks moving through genres, letting characters dictate plot, and the Kindle revolution that helped her success. from 2019-05-30T23:00

Mel Sherratt has published 12 books, and written many, many more, across a wide range of genres. She loves writing so much that even now, in the middle of a proper book deal, she's writing other...

Trent Dalton - 'Boy Swallows Universe' talks debut success, being named 'Australian Book of the Year' and writing snappily. from 2019-05-24T12:21:06

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 int...

Jeffery Deaver - Global bestselling thriller author talks about research, writing puzzles and working anywhere. from 2019-05-17T10:42

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 t...

Lucie Whitehouse - 'Critical Incidents' author talks procedural crime novels, switching genres and ideas from thin air. from 2019-05-10T10:33:04

'Critical Incidents' is Lucie Whitehouse's 5th book, and it marks something of a departure for her. Her previous novels are mainly focused on psychological thriller, whereas the new one is proce...

Mhairi McFarlane - Rom-com author talks contrivances, not letting mistakes go, and 'chick-lit'. from 2019-05-05T13:04:15

Mhairi McFarlane has published 5 novels, her new first 'You Had Me At Hello' was a huge bestseller, and her new one 'Don't You Forget About Me' looks set to do the same. It tells the story of Ge...

Namwali Serpell - Hay Festival award winning author talks strict structure, women-only workspaces and the birth of a new nation. from 2019-04-25T23:00

Namwali Serpell had been named one of the best African writers under 40 before she'd even published a novel. She's a student of the craft, and now a teacher of it at the University of Berkeley. ...

Val McDermid - Bestselling author talks changing process, creating characters and listening to readers from 2019-04-19T07:10:47

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 ...

C.L. Taylor - Psychological Thriller author talks writing across genres, unreliable narrators and new novel 'Sleep' from 2019-04-04T23:00

C.L. Taylor has just released her 6th thriller 'Sleep', after having much success in psychological thriller over the last 10 years, even writing YA fiction too. We talk about how she works her s...

Sarah Pinborough - 'Cross Her Heart' author talks characters, moving through genres and being a workaholic. from 2019-03-29T07:54:03

Although she's not a fan of the word, Sarah Pinborough is a prolific author. She's written over 20 books across a wide range of genres, always looking to keep interesting and varied. Her new boo...

Adam Foulds - Booker Prize shortlisted author talks new novel 'Dream Sequence', plotting through character and writing poetry. from 2019-03-22T09:44:10

This week Adam Foulds shares his writer's routine. He's a Booker Prize nominee, being shortlisted for 'The Quickening Maze', and is now publishing his fifth novel, 'Dream Sequence' about an acto...

Frank Cottrell-Boyce - Award winning Children's author talks scriptwriting, having ideas on the road, and the 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony. from 2019-03-15T20:43:23

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. I...

Harriet Tyce - Debut novelist talks learning to write, being inspired by work, and genre-fiction. from 2019-03-08T00:00

After working for years as a criminal barrister, Harriet Tyce gave up work when she had children and decided to write. A few attempts at getting novels published later, she realised she may need...

WORLD BOOK DAY SPECIAL - Routines and advice from some of the best crime, thriller, romance, fantasy and non-fiction authors around. from 2019-03-07T00:00

HAPPY WORLD BOOK DAY.

To celebrate one of the top 3 days of the year, here's a little treat. A mash-up of some of the best authors we've had on the podcast this last year.

Yo...

Nuala Ellwood - Critically-acclaimed author talks the difficult second novel, creativity in motherhood and Virginia Woolf. from 2019-03-01T00:00

In 2017, Nuala Ellwood's debut thriller 'My Sister's Bones' received rave reviews and was hailed as the new 'The Girl on the Train'. It propelled her onto The Observer's list of 'New Faces in Fi...

Susan Lewis - Prolific author talks planning, crossing genre and new novel 'One Minute Later' from 2019-02-22T00:00

With over 30 published books, Susan Lewis is a master-storyteller that moves through genres, styles and stories as easily as turning a page. She's lived all around the world, getting inspiration...

Fiona Barton - Journalist turned Psychological Thriller author talks new book 'The Suspect', the perfect time to write and when to plan. from 2019-02-08T00:00

Fiona Barton is an award-winning journalist, worked as a senior writer at the 'Mail on Sunday' and reported on many high profile cases. After covering crime for so long, she thought it time to i...

Bridget Collins - Author of 'The Binding' talks about her critically acclaimed adult debut, why planning is overrated and why she finally had to tell this story. from 2019-01-17T00:00

Bridget Collins has published 7 Young Adult books, a few plays, and now her first full adult novel, 'The Binding', is due to be one of the biggest of 2019. It's been lauded as a 'genre defying f...

James Oswald - Author of 'No Time to Cry' talks sheep-farming by day and crime writing by night, also why planning is overrated and how important a name can be. from 2018-12-21T13:09:54

James Oswald is a farmer for 12 hours of the day, then at night he'll head to his bespoke writing room atop his garage, and bash away at the keyboard.

He's known for the 8 novels of th...

Tim Marshall - 'Prisoners of Geography' author and Diplomatic Editor talks planning, accessibility and Geopolitics. from 2018-12-14T13:01:52

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' ...

Liz Nugent - Irish Book Award winner on new novel 'Skin Deep', vital characterisation and how to push through a difficult start. from 2018-11-29T00:00

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, an...

Ben Schott - Creator of the world famous 'Almanac and Miscellanies' on his debut novel, diving into the world of Wodehouse and the imperfect writing routine. from 2018-11-23T00:00

Ben Schott designed 'Schott's Original Miscellany' as a whimsical Christmas present to his closest friends, and after much pushing and prodding, finally published it to the world. Over the next ...

Cecelia Ahern - Author of 'P.S. I Love You', talks about her new book 'Roar', where she writes and what it's like to have sold 25 million books. from 2018-11-16T13:49:37

Since publishing her debut novel when she was 21, Cecelia Ahern has written, pretty much, a book a year. That debut went on to become a blockbuster film, and she's one of the biggest, and bestse...

E. Foley and B. Coates, authors of 'What Would Boudicca Do?' - The editors and writers talk nasty women, critiquing each other, and writing to Disney. from 2018-11-08T00:00

Elizabeth Foley and Beth Coates both work in publishing as editors, and when they had one idea too good to give away, they hurried to the office on Saturdays to write it themselves. That became ...

Sir Ian Rankin, author of 22 'Detective John Rebus' novels - One of UK's bestselling authors chats about Edinburgh, writing quickly and surprise endings. from 2018-11-01T00:00

Sir Ian Rankin is one of the biggest selling crime authors in history. His most famous character 'Detective John Rebus' has transcended novels, and is an icon of literature. He's appeared in TV ...

Gabriel Tallent, author of best-selling 'My Absolute Darling' - Critically acclaimed writer chats character development, plot structure and the right to tell stories. from 2018-09-26T23:00

Gabriel Tallent was working full-time in a restaurant, whilst doing some pretty serious mountain climbing on the side, when he felt the compulsion to tell this story. He would lie on his floor, ...

Keith Anthony, author of 'Times and Places' - A literary, observational, dramatic comedy. A daily ritual with guitars, immersion and silent retreats. from 2018-09-13T23:00

Keith Anthony has waited some time before finally penning his debut novel, although he always knew he would write, and indeed the room in which he would work. It took a cruise-trip with his Mum,...

Eve Makis & Anthony Cropper - Writer's Routine #38 from 2018-07-27T08:15:22

One Christmas, Eve Makis went home-made for her Dad's present. She bought a notebook and along with her friend Anthony, a fellow creative-writing teacher, she filled it with prompts and exercise...

Jaqcui Rose - Writer's Routine #37 from 2018-07-19T23:00

Thriller author Jacqui Rose talks us through the story of how her brand new urban gangland story, 'Toxic' got written!

Jacqui has written many books in a huge range of genres, and she'...

J.H. Tepley - Writer's Routine #36 from 2018-07-06T06:54:32

Mindfulness coach, teacher, writer and warrior in spirit, Jay Tepley brings us this week's 'Writer's Routine'!

For Jay, everything in the world is energy, and because of this, everythi...

Garrard Conley - Writer's Routine #35 from 2018-06-22T07:12:02

This week we take a skim through the daily diary of Garrard Conley!

Garrard's memoir 'Boy Erased' has just been released in the UK, it's critically acclaimed in the USA and will be rel...

Marianne Kavanagh - Writer's Routine #34 from 2018-06-14T23:00

Thirty Four, let's get some more.

This week, we're hearing Marianne Kavanagh's Writer's Routine! She has just published her 3rd novel, 'Should You Ask Me', which is a story of mystery,...

Natasha Scripture - Writer's Routine #33 from 2018-06-07T23:00

Thirty Three, have a look see.

This week's author, sharing the intricacies and eccentricities of her working day, is Natasha Scripture. Natasha has worked as a journalist, a humanitari...

Mark Billingham, author of the 'Thorne' series - Bestselling crime writer discusses working through the night, being inspired by real-life crime, and how his style has changed from 2018-05-31T23:00

Thirty-Two, this is an incredible treat for you.

This week's guest is one of the UK's bestselling crime-authors, Mark Billingham. In June 2018, Mark will publish his 18th novel, his 15...

Sophie Jenkins - Writer's Routine #31 from 2018-05-23T23:00:10

WE'RE AN AWARD WINNING PODCAST! On Saturday, in a ceremony alongside BBC Radio 2, Radio 4, Radio X and countless other titans of broadcasting, we managed to bag SILVER in 'Best Culture' at the B...

James Buckler - Writer's Routine #30 from 2018-05-10T23:00

Dirty Thirty! (no swearing in the pod though)

It's the Pearl Anniversary of our very first podcast! Debut thriller writer James Buckler brings us the details, crevices and crannies of ...

Barbara Nadel - Writer's Routine #29 from 2018-05-03T23:00

29, feeling fine...ish. Ok, we're barely keeping it together. This book isn't what I thought it would be and so far my writing process is changing the cork-board colour on Scrivener. If this is ...

Sarah Ward - Writer's Routine #28 from 2018-04-20T10:20:54

28, tell a mate. Please. We could do with the listeners.

Crime-writing revenge weaver Sarah Ward runs us through her working day! Sarah has published 3 books in the 'DC Childs Series',...

Julia Crouch - Writer's Routine #27 from 2018-04-14T08:14:10

27, dear Lord in Heaven. Suitably, if you're of the praying persuasion then I could really do with the Big Man's help... we've been nominated for a British Podcast Award for Best Culture, and EV...

Peter Fellows - Writer's Routine #26 from 2018-04-06T10:06:28

26, get your kicks. Peter Fellows co-wrote the hit film 'The Death of Stalin', alongside David Schneider, Ian Martin and Armando Iannucci. It's another success on Iannucci's, one of the UK's big...

M.J Ford - Writer's Routine #25 from 2018-03-29T23:00

On the quadranscentennial episode of the podcast, the debut crime writer and children's story-telling hero MJ Ford brings us his Writer's Routine!

Michael has just published his first ...

Cass Green - Writer's Routine #24 from 2018-03-16T00:00

All-round word junkie Cass Green brings us today's Writer's Routine!

Cass has written for just about every place where you can read a word. She's penned Young Adult books, worked as a ...

Fern Britton - Writer's Routine #23 from 2018-03-09T00:00

TV presenter and workaholic author Fern Britton gives us our 23rd Writer's Routine!

Fern has just published her 8th novel, Coming Home. It tells the story of a woman returning to her C...

Helen Fields - Writer's Routine #22 from 2018-02-16T00:00

Crime-writer writer Helen Fields dives into the depths of her diary to bring us tips and advice from her writing routine!

Helen has just published the third of her 'D.I Callanach' thri...

AJ Finn - Writer's Routine #21 from 2018-02-09T00:00

AJ Finn explores the minutely insignificant but weirdly wonderful details of his writing routine!

AJ has just published 'The Woman in the Window', and it's set to be the biggest psycho...

Anthony Horowitz, author of 'Magpie Murders' - Prolific writer discusses James Bond, Sherlock Holmes and Alex Rider, also why he doesn't enjoy routines, and revisiting characters from 2018-02-02T00:00

One of the UK's most prolific and loved authors, Anthony Horowitz takes us through the daily routine which has lifted him to huge success!

Which works as a title. Not entirely true tho...

Derek Farrell - Writer's Routine #19 from 2018-01-26T05:00

Murder mystery author Derek Farrell explains his Writer's Routine!

Derek writes the 'Danny Bird Mysteries', a series of books that focus on a barman-cum-amateur-detective, and the case...

Mark Edwards - Writer's Routine #18 from 2018-01-19T00:00

Crime and Thriller writer Mark Edwards brings us our first Writer's Routine of 2018!

With 7 solo-books to his name, and 6 co-written works, a few years ago Mark finally turned into a f...

Richard Graham - Writer's Routine #17 from 2017-12-18T00:00

It's our last Writer's Routine of 2017! So now, for something a little bit different. Artist, illustrator and writer Richard Graham brings us his daily ritual!

Richard upcycles old jun...

Mark Hill - Writer's Routine #16 from 2017-12-08T00:00:46

Crime-writer Mark Hill tells us how he goes about his day!

Radio-producer Mark Hill has a life-long love of crime fiction, and spotting the tricks and traits of the genre forced his ha...

Owen King, author of 'Sleeping Beauties' - Thriller writer talks about idea generation, writing for TV, and working with his dad, Stephen King from 2017-12-01T00:00

Co-author of 'Sleeping Beauties', Owen King tells us this week's writer's routine!

In writing terms, Owen King could not have found himself in a better place. His dad, Stephen King, is...

Simon Mayo - Writer's Routine #14 from 2017-11-24T00:00

Broadcaster, writer and award-winning podcaster Simon Mayo shows us how an extremely busy person fits in a writing routine!

Simon presents the drive-time show on BBC Radio 2, one of Eu...

Paul Burston - Writer's Routine #13 from 2017-11-17T10:00

Thriller-author, satirist and journalist Paul Burston digs deep in his writer's routine!

One of the founding editors of 'Attitude' Magazine, Paul published his first fiction book, 'Sha...

James Wilde - Writer's Routine #12 from 2017-11-10T00:00

'Man of Mercia' James Wilde shares the secrets of writing historical fiction!

In the most polite way possible, James Wilde seems like a man of another time. He lives in a family home i...

Gerry Rose - Writer's Routine #11 from 2017-11-03T10:00:40

Bonnie Scot Gerry Rose shares his Writer's Routine!

After spending a lifetime adoring books and stories, but limiting his bubbling creativity to bedtime stories to his kids, Gerry fina...

Paul A. Mendelson - Writer's Routine #10 from 2017-10-27T11:00

Comedy writer and now bonafide author Paul A. Mendelson tells us his working day.

Paul has written for everything, pretty much. Starting in advertising, he has scripted radio drama, mo...

DM Mark - Writer's Routine #9 from 2017-10-19T23:00

Crime-writing extraordinaire and gruesome guru DM Mark is this week's guest!

DM is David. David is DM. After his 'McAvoy' crime series are bestsellers and critically acclaimed, David b...

Paul Finch - Writer's Routine #8 from 2017-10-12T23:00

An ex-copper turned crime author give us today's writing routine!Paul Finch used to work for the Greater Manchester Police, and upon leaving found that everything the force taught him and the stori...

David deVire - Writer's Routine #7 from 2017-10-06T04:00

The author of a brand new book on gender equality shares his writing routine!David deVire has had a busy life. He's been an armed policer officer, worked with the University of Oxford on exams, and...

Simon Toyne - Writer's Routine #6 from 2017-09-29T02:00

Bestselling thriller writer Simon Toyne explores his writing routine! In 2007, bored in a job and dreaming of telling stories, Simon quit to finally get one down. Only, he didn't do things by halve...

Phoebe Morgan - Writer's Routine #5 from 2017-09-21T23:00

Publishing editor and now published author Phoebe Morgan explores her writing routine!After years of working as an editor in a publishing house, making other writer's work better, Phoebe sat down t...

Jaroslav Kalfar - Writer's Routine #4 from 2017-09-14T23:00

Hay 30 list-making author Jaroslav Kalfar shares his writing routine! In 2017, to celebrate their 30th birthday the Hay Festival selected 30 people they think will shape the world in the next 30 ye...

Angela Clarke - Writer's Routine #3 from 2017-09-08T06:40

Crime author Angela Clarke gives us another writer's routine! 'Trust Me' is the third book in her 'Social Media Murders Series', and has just been released to critical and commercial acclaim, but t...

Steven Butler - Writer's Routine #2 from 2017-08-31T23:00

It's children's fiction king-pin Steven Butler, with his writing routine!Steven is an actor, a singer, a voice-over artist, a passionate cook and somehow finds time to jot down some best-selling bo...

Karin Slaughter - Writer's Routine #1 from 2017-08-24T23:00

Crime-writing behemoth Karin Slaughter is here with our first ever writer's routine! With over 35 million copies of 17 books sold, in over 36 languages, Karin is one of the world's most popular thr...

Writer's Routine - Series 1 Trailer from 2017-08-22T09:00

A short and sweet summary of everything that's to come in Series 1 of 'Writer's Routine'.You can hear a few extracts from our best interviews, where we discover the daily diaries from all sorts of ...