Yip is a 4ft nothing hairless mute. Born in 1815 and unable to talk, he’s presented with various challenges in his early life. And though he later learns to write, his hardships never cease. In the midst of the Georgia Gold Rush, he gets caught up in a brawl, meeting an unlikely companion while on the run from the law.

My Name is Yip is the debut novel from Paddy Crewe, and it’s an astonishingly brilliant read. Paddy has expertly taken on the challenge of telling the story of a man with no voice. Told as a first-hand reflection of Yip’s life, the story is written in a distinctly unique way, authentic to the character.  

In this episode we find out how to turn a sidekick into a main protagonist, we learn why you shouldn’t over-research every element of your book, and we find out whether you really need to be on social media.

Find out more about Paddy here.

Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood.

Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here.

You can view the full transcript here.