Behind The Spine

Apr 11, 2023

00:28:40

“He’s carrying this post-colonial sense that many Black people, many Nigerians and Africans feel. Like, we feel we are subservient - we are not good enough as white people.”

Andrew Aziza is a 15 year old boy growing up in Kontagora in Northern Nigeria, wrestling with issues of politics, identity and spirituality. Faced with a feeling that Africa is “cursed”, he finds himself longing to be with a blonde, white woman from the West.

Stephen Buoro is the author of The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa, a coming-of-age story that follows an intelligent and highly emotional teenager on a journey of self discovery in the shadow of colonialism and communal violence. In this episode we discover how, among a backdrop of religious violence and turmoil, Andrew turns into the ‘superhero’ Andy Africa to save his continent, seemingly becoming a metaphor for Christ.

In this episode, you will learn:

To consider the duality and conflict between the themes that you tackle in your writing.
How you can break the mould and experiment with new writing styles.
Why using unique, local language can allow you to paint an authentic portrait of life within a community.

Find out more about Stephen 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 buy copies of our anthology series here.

You can view the full transcript here.

Connect with the show:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/

Apr 05, 2023

00:37:49

“I became more curious, I think. The longer I’ve written, the more curious I have become. I was somehow liberated when I started to work. I felt like I became more free.”

Is it ever too late to finish writing that novel you started all those years ago? Creating a truly great novel takes time - sometimes longer than you think. Today’s author spent an entire decade writing her newly released debut novel, and it was certainly worth the wait.

Lydia Sandgren is the author of Collected Works, a massive 700 page novel that follows the life of former writer Martin Berg. The book asks searching questions about motherhood, family relationships, the stories that we tell ourselves and those that we inherit. In this episode we hear how Lydia is the type of person who never gives up, and how she’s changed both as a person and a writer over the ten years of writing the book.

In this episode, you will learn:

Why you don’t always need to know everything about your characters before you put pen to paper.
The art of adding musicality and lyricism to writing a novel.
Why cutting and re-writing your work isn't a waste of time.

Find out more about Lydia 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 buy copies of our anthology series here.

You can view the full transcript here.

Connect with the show:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/

Mar 28, 2023

00:34:20

“The girls really want to bring someone home that doesn’t just try to fit in. They want someone who’s going to bring something new to the family lore, to family legend, to the Garnett way of life.”

Every family has their own traditions, habits and customs that often seem alien to the outside world. And for large, close-knit families whose lives are entirely intertwined, this can make for a daunting experience for new partners.

The Garnett Girls certainly have their own way - whether they believe it’s the right way is up for debate. As a family of four women, led by eccentric mother Margo, they don’t do things by halves. A novel of family secrets, betrayal and the bonds of sisterhood, The Garnett Girls is the debut novel from book publicist Georgina Moore. And in this episode she tells the story of how they came to life.

In this episode, you will learn:

How to effectively establish the voices of multiple characters.
How to fully engage with the narrative benefits that come from using multiple perspectives.
And why you need to focus on presenting older women in an authentic way.

Find out more about Georgina 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 buy copies of our anthology series here.

You can view the full transcript here.

Connect with the show:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/

Mar 22, 2023

00:28:20

“There is such an unbelievable amount of violence. There is so much unnecessary hurt that women and children are suffering. There have got to be solutions, and we have to keep trying to find those.”

No matter where you are in the world, violence against women is frighteningly prevalent, taking many forms and rooted in the power imbalance between the genders.

Ayesha Mago is the global advocacy director of the the Sexual Violence Research Initiative, an organisation which works to advance research on violence against women and violence against children in low and middle-income countries. In this episode we hear the stark realities faced by women globally, and how badly the system can fail them. We find out why violence against women is so difficult to tackle, while getting an insight into the types of interventions that work. And we find out how people like Ayesha keep fighting, even when the problem feels too big to tackle.

In this episode, you will learn:

How effective communication may mean adapting what you say and how you say it.
The importance of challenging prevailing ideals of toxic masculinity in your writing.
About the role of honest storytelling in highlighting the issue of violence against women.

Find out more about Ayesha 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 buy copies of our anthology series here.

You can view the full transcript here.

Connect with the show:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/

Mar 15, 2023

00:28:23

“If someone wants to write a story that you have researched and really gotten involved with emotionally - if you see someone do it in a different way that opposes your own views - how would that make you feel?”

Have you ever had the feeling someone else might be writing the exact same story as you, at the exact same time? Have you ever felt desperate to finish your book in case someone pips you to the post?

Well, in The Witch in the Well rivalry, jealousy and hatred run amuck as this very scene unfolds. Our guest this episode is the book’s author, Camilla Bruce. In this episode we learn about the battle between Catherine and Elena, two women trying to tell the story of long-dead witch Ilsbeth Clark.

In this episode, you will learn:

How to get scientific about the writing process.
How folklore can complement a modern narrative.
The impact of looking through the lens of death.

Find out more about Camilla 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 buy copies of our anthology series here.

You can view the full transcript here.

Connect with the show:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/

Mar 08, 2023

00:38:53

“Faced with a more precarious claim on power, the film industry is depicting men in more stereotypically powerful ways. The big question is ‘what do we do about it’?”

The global feminist movement has the same budget as one F35 fighter plane. That alone shows you how much of a chasm there is between the funding for peace and the funding for war.

In this International Women’s Day special, we speak to Dean Peacock, director of the Mobilising Men for Feminist Peace programme for the Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom. In this episode he explores the origins of WILPF, one of the oldest women’s peacebuilding organisations in the world. He discusses the concept of the “war economy”. And he explains the impact of gaming and entertainment on ideals of masculinity.

In this episode, you will learn:

Why a new type of war story should be told - the stories of the pacifists and war resisters.
Why we need to redefine our vision of masculinity.
How to better use violence in your writing.

Find out more about Dean 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 buy copies of our anthology series here.

You can view the full transcript here.

Connect with the show:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/

Mar 01, 2023

00:30:30

“It is as foreign to some people here, as it would be to someone not living here. There’s a kind of feral nature to it that I wanted to capture."

Many of us hold a picture postcard view of the Caribbean - steel drums, calypso music and coconut trees - but places like Trinidad have a shockingly dark past.

Kevin Jared Hosein is the author of ‘Hungry Ghosts’, a book which explores the impact of colonialism on Trinidad, taking us back in time to a snapshot in the country’s history when Trinidadians experienced subhuman living conditions, consigned to gruesome, barrack-type quarters. In this episode we learn about the violence that ensues as hardship forces a community to turn on itself, and explore the mythological concept of ‘hungry ghosts’.

In this episode, you will learn:

How to use violence not for the sake of violence, but as a way of communicating a more fundamental message.
How landscape can be used to convey emotion.
Why it’s important to understand the whole history of a country, even the unsavoury parts.

Find out more about Kevin 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 buy copies of our anthology series here.

You can view the full transcript here.

Connect with the show:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/

Feb 22, 2023

00:43:28

“We need to get our heads out of the sand, and be open and aware to learning new things, in order to gain new inclusive habits which will enable us to be more sensitive and kinder to others.”

Our modern world is a more accepting one, but also a busier one. While we understand better than ever the importance of being kind - it can be difficult to find the time to actually practise kindness.

Benjy Kusi is a diversity, inclusion and wellbeing consultant, and the author of self-help guide ‘Hope this Helps: How to be Kinder to Yourself and Others’. The book is non-judgemental and packed with helpful explanations, tips and advice. In this episode we delve into issues of race, gender and identity, and explore the differences between sympathy and empathy.

In this episode, you will learn:

Why it’s ok to ask for help, and how to do it in a sensitive way.
How ignorance gets a bad rep and why we don’t need to pursue perfection.
The importance of communicating your message with kindness, not judgement.

Find out more about Benjy 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 buy copies of our anthology series here.

You can view the full transcript here.

Connect with the show:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/

Feb 15, 2023

00:41:04

“It’s so strange, this idea that parts of your life are already determined. And would you want to know? I wouldn’t want to know.”

Do you believe in the supernatural? If not, what would make you believe? Or perhaps the question is, where? As a gothic museum home to people with outlandish theories, The Cloisters is the perfect breeding ground for supernatural belief.

‘The Cloisters: The Secret History for a New Generation’ is the new novel from Katy Hays. It follows the story of Ann Stilwell who discovers a once-thought lost deck of 15th-century Italian tarot cards, and gets caught up in a web of ambition, toxicity and mystery. In this episode we delve deep into notions of fate, destiny and belief, and get an insight into Katy’s writing process.

In this episode, you will learn:

The importance of setting in shaping the minds and beliefs of your characters.
Why you should hold your endings loosely, and how to let your characters tell their own story.
The key to outrunning your inner critic.

Find out more about Katy 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 buy copies of our anthology series here.

You can view the full transcript here.

Connect with the show:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/