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 huge difference. It's already been sold across the world, and we talk about how this has finally happened. It took Becky a while to get published, and it was only when she stopped thinking about what was on trend and what might sell, that she found the space to write something personal that got her published.

Becky works in the publishing industry, helping others sell their own book, we chat about how she feels now the shoe is on the other book. You can hear why lockdown gave her a very idyllic place to write, why a simple colour change really helps her day, how she dealt with rejection, and why a mix-up let to her plot.

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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.

He's just published his 12th David Raker book, 'The Blackbird'. It follows the story of Cate and Aidan Gascoigne, whose car plunges into a ravine, but the couple vanish. We talk about the challenges writing disappearing persons thrillers, how do you have new ideas about what's happening, and who might be next. We talk about why this is a whydunnit, rather than a whodunnit.

His 13th Raker book, 'The Last Goodbye' is out later this year, and he's currently half way through another one. You can hear how he copes having so many plotlines in his head at the same time, and given he's right in the middle of writing... how he deals with the baggy middle.

You can hear how much he knows about the plot, why he doesn't like to plot too much, and what happens when it all comes together. We get some details about book contracts too, the low-level anxiety he's currently feeling, and why every author always gives the worse advice possible.

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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 the pressure came. The pressure of that difficult second book... how do you follow up on success?

Danya started to write furiously, and along came 'Notes on an Execution'. It tells the story of Ansel Packer, who is scheduled to die in twelve hours. He knows what he's done, and now awaits execution, the same chilling fate he forced on those girls, years ago. But Ansel doesn't want to die; he wants to be celebrated, understood. Through a kaleidoscope of women--a mother, a sister, a homicide detective--we learn the story of Ansel's life.

We talk about why her writing routine has changed since that book, how she's hopefully made it calmer and healthier. You can hear about her first idea for the story and how it was mostly the feeling of the plot rather than all the details that became clear.

We chat through her process journal, how working in publishing helps her write, and why what she thinks will happen in the book rarely comes true.

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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 inspired by documentaries about similar real-life cases, featuring members of Royalty and even the most famous of celebrities.

We talk about why her writing life is organised, but the other stuff in regular life isn't, also hear why her planning process is like colour by numbers, and how much she analyses the commercial hook of the book... if you want it to sell, you need to think about why people will buy it.

You can hear about why her writing is influenced by her lessons in psychology and also her fascination with celebrity and fame. We chat about why she starts and finishes early and how she gets to know characters even when she's writing out of order.

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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 the Booker Prize. His book 'By The Sea' was longlisted for the Booker Prize. He's Professor Emeritus of English and Postcolonial Literatures at the University of Kent, and was awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature. He only had 9 minutes warning about that, by the way!

The new book tells the story of Ilyas, stolen from his parents by German colonial soldiers, who must now find his way home.

We talk about why he needs a blank wall to write, why he's never bothered with a word count, and how teaching full-time affected his ability to write stories.

You can hear how much he thinks about plot points, how he gets to know his characters, and all about the Nobel Prize.

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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 Year Prize 2006.

The new one is about February, who has lost everyone and is rudderless, but when a small yellow bird flies into her life, it seems to offer a glimmer of hope.

We talk about the frustration of writing words you know will be cut. Also, why she doesn't like the first bits of plotting, how the characters decided how long they'd stick around for, and why Adrian Mole picks her out of any creative slump.

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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 the elusive, mysterious Mrs B wants her to tell her own.

Sally has done a lot, worked in a flower shop, started a fountain pen business, and hopes that a successful debut will let her write full-time forever. We talk about how prepared she is to write in this genre for a while, and how old manuscripts have her well prepared for the future. Also, why being signed and published means she's no longer doing it alone.

You can hear why she's been surprised by the support of twitter, how she deals with crying while writing on trains, why she becomes obsessive over writing, and why she started research a year before actually writing.

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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 story of a brand new spy, tasked with transporting a wanted Russian target across London in less than a day. The book has already been Amazon's Book of the Month, and is optioned for TV.

We talk about how the logistics of travelling quickly through a big city without being noticed became much clearer as she wrote. You can hear why a switch in timeframe saved the book for her, and why even though she wanted to treat it like a regular job, she had to mix things up.

You can heard how she got to know her character through flashbacks, why she plotted it very tightly for adrenaline, and how the idea all came on a frantic plane-ride.

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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' series. The newest one, 'The Last Orphan', sees Evan Smoak, the Nowhere Man, on one last mission after he was taken from a group home as an orphan and trained as an assassin.

We discuss how he made a plan at the start of his career, in order to make writing a regular job so it could last as long as possible. Also, you can hear how he's managed to get back to a state of pure writing, without any of the distractions that surround success. We chat about how even though he's written and published many books, he still gets stuck in the baggy middle like everyone else.

Gregg runs through his extensive research, which has seen him jump from planes, train with Navy SEALS, and go under cover in mind control cults.

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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 novel, 'The Garnett Girls'. It tells the story of Rachel, Imogen and Sasha, struggling to escape their alienated family. It's set across the wild beaches of the Isle of Wight and the glamour of luxurious London. It asks whether children can ever escape the mistakes of their family.

We discuss how to make sisters as characters that are similar, but also different and unique. You can hear how tough it is to realise some characters aren't as fully developed as others - how much do you need to change things and alter your plot to flesh them out more.

We chat about her busy life in PR and how well that has set her up for a career as an author, and how she balances a social life with waking up early to write. She also reveals some embarrassment about what she has asked writers to do for publicity in the past, and why now she's an author herself, she's realised how much more pressure she must have placed on their time.

Send over the best book you have read this year! Suggestions to writersroutine.com please.

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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 whodunnit, 'The Murder Game'. It tells the story of nine guests trapped in one house, when a murder mystery night goes wrong.

We talk about how his writing life has changed since he packed in the full time job, and how he switches between writing for work and for pleasure. You can hear how he tries to be a plotter... but always ends up pantsing, what it was like meeting a major childhood hero, and how he solved the problem of getting two people in the same room at the same time.

Thanks for sending over the best books you've read this year to writersroutine@gmail.com. This week's picks were:

'Before You Knew My Name' by Jacqueline Bublitz, 'The Art of the Gathering' by Priya Parker, 'The Mandrake Company' series by Ruby Lionsdrake, and 'Garden of Lamentations' by Deborah Crombie. Thanks to Andrea, Kate and Cynthia for sending those over.

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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 out on everything, her sister Rose is all too willing to step into her life.

We talk about why she's half and half between planning and pantsing, also how she overcomes the doubt of good it is, and why every book is brilliant and awful at the same time.

Alison works for the Cambridge Literary Festival, and has worked in documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4, and we discuss how much this experience set her up for writing novels. You can hear why reading aloud to her kids helped her understand pacing and structure, also what questions she asks herself to begin, and what to do when the computer screen stares back at you.

We also run through your best books of the year so far.

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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, runs ultramarathons, learns a new skill a year, holds a world-record, and is now releasing his first full-novel.

It's called 'Control' - a thriller set in the medical-world (write what you know) all about a bullying, over-bearing Doctor, and the way he treats colleagues, which comes back to haunt him. We talk about brooding over the idea for the story, escaping to France to write it, and where he thinks the story actually came from.

As he manages to fit in so much into his day, we talk about where he finds the time and why he rations sleep. Also, we talk about why he learns a new skill every year, and how he believes it to be crucial to make time stop flying by.

Also - you can hear a distinguished routine from history with Mason Currey, and grab his new book 'Daily Rituals: Women at Work' here - https://masoncurrey.com/

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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 other plantations.

We talk about why her ancestors look over her writing, also about the exhibition she attended which reminded her of the stories that she'd wanted to write about, and how post-memory affected her storytelling.

You can hear why plotting for her is a very emotional thing, also why she likes to be surprised by structure, and how parking downhill is extremely helpful.

Share the best book you've read so far this year! Let's start a (small-scale) book club, or more of a story sharing place at writersroutine.com

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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 ended up taking an idea that had been brewing for years, moving it from a grand teenage story of assassins and conspiracy, and turning it into a thrilling tale of sisterly love. Their novel, 'Home', tells the story of Zoe, trying to rescue her sister from a cult they grew up in, and she managed to escape from.

We talk about why Cailean had to swap their entire story around and how that affected each chapter. Also, how they get by dedicating just one day a week to writing. You can hear why Cailean is extremely interested in the way other people see the world, and how much they plotted two timelines, with the same characters, both written in the first person.

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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 deep, dark secret that is about to be let loose. It's set in 1643, and is a beguiling tale of murder, myth and mystery. It combines two of Rosie's loves: history and fantastical fiction.

We talk about building her own writing space, but how really all she needs to work is alone time and quiet. You can hear how her process is constantly evolving - she's aware of where she's come from, and where she needs to be. You can hear how the only inspiration she needs is to get out of the house, and how he writing routine needs to be flexible but she has little trouble getting the words out when she needs to.

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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 Audible audiobooks. So successful, they invited him to work on his own project for the platform.

The finished story is 'Geneva', a psychological thriller which follows scientist Sarah Collier and her husband Daniel at a global conference, when they realise they're in a high stakes game with hidden players and worldwide consequences.

We talk about his routine whilst staying in hotels all around the world, also how he managed creative exhuastion, and how acting actually gives you a lot of time to think through plot and to plan. You can hear how Richard's routine was mostly thinking things over before hand and working late into the night, often getting dragged off course by his characters.

We learn when he decided to seek out Harlan Coben's advice on psychological thrillers, and how the whole Audible project came about.

The connection Richard and I had was terrible, so you can blame the short run time, and slight editing leaps on that.

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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 keeping in touch with colleagues and editors half the world away.

His newest novel is 'The Bingo Hall Detectives', which tells the story of Jason Brazel, an out of work journalist who tries to solve a local murder with his mother-in-law. We talk about the rise of cosy crime and why he wanted to write in the genre. You can hear how much he thinks through the puzzle aspects of the mystery, why he's too lazy to be a real plotter, and how the characters drag him away from the 2 page synopsis.

This episode is sponsored by Marthe Jocelyn's new novel, 'The Seaside Corpse'. It's the fourth in the 'Aggie Morton Mystery Queen Series', inspired by Agatha Christie, and set in 1903 Lyme Regis, when a couple of friends discover a body while looking for Dinosaur bones. It's the perfect present for any kids you want to get engaged in reading. Find out more at marthejocelyn.com

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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, going to work for HRH Queen Rania of Jordan.

Lucy has taken her experience in geopolitics and written her first spy thriller. It's called 'The King's Pawn' and is the first of the Sarah Black series, that looks at a young, female spy. Lucy has planned 5. We talk about planning so much before you even have a contract - did she feel guilty for devoting time to unpaid work?

It's inspired by a real life event no-one has heard of, and takes place around the South Caucus region, which few people know about.

We chat about why her genre demands concision, how it started with writing games to fend off baby brain, and why writing flash fiction helps with full-blown novels.

You can also hear why she has started to structure her books like a Netflix mini-series, and how that's really helped with the plotting.

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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.

The first is 'Hack', it looks at Nik Byron getting the story of how top secret US surveillance technology was stolen. He needs to expose the plot and get the story before he, and it, is silenced.

We talk about brevity, why it's important to keep things tight and not waste everyone's time. Also you can hear why his process is mostly re-reading and re-writing, and why he thinks good writing is re-writing.

And be jealous of Mark's very own, purpose-built, writing room.

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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 award for Children's and YA writing.

We talk about why he chose such a divisive subject, and what he thinks is the secret to writing for teens.

His new novel is 'Loki', it tells the story of the politics of ancient Asgard, and is a heartfelt plea to overthrow the gods of authority. We discuss the idea for the book, and why it was partly inspired by recent political events. You can hear why he's interested in the process of powers lying. Also about the strange badge of honour he prides himself.

Melvin wrote furiously for about 20 years while supporting a family, but has since been enjoying himself more. We discuss why he's returned to writing, his first novel for adults, and what to do when you've worked extremely hard on something that turns out to be naff.

There is swearing in this episode.

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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 success during the Da Vinci Code book of the mid 2000's, under the name Tom Knox, with his book, 'The Genesis Secret' and its sequels.

His new novel follows Hannah, a publicist for The Stanhope, a once grand hotel in Essex. On it's re-opening, some drunken guests disappear into the ocean, and Hannah has to figure out what happened, and handle the scandal.

We talk about why, when he's writing, it doesn't matter where he is, the only thing that needs to be good is the idea. Also, why he likes to escape to write, and we get to the big question... how DO you become a travel writer?

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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 world, and has ghostwritten memoirs, including Carl Barat of The Libertines.

His newest novel is 'The Death and Life of Red Henley'. It's a noir novel about 1980's New York, a religious commune in Tennessee, and the myriad characters entwined in the death of Red Henley.

We talk about how it was written because of old ambitions and checklists he about writing a novel, also how working for him is a bit feast or famine, and how that infects the attitude of how his work is going.

You can hear why he leaves time between writing books, and how he switches on different parts of hid brain depending on the work he's doing.

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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 make sense of everything. It's just been translated and published in the UK.

We talk about how it's a slightly autobiographical novel, reflecting on Cristina's own time in an island trying to figure out its place in the world. We talk about the geopolitical situation of it, and how that influenced why she wanted to write the book. You can hear why rain is the best thing for her writing, why setting a word count doesn't work, and how much she thinks about words and language in her prosaic writing.

You can hear why chatting to yourself is key, why she needed to plan this one out more before she started, and what it was like working with a translator.

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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 horse-racing.

Felix is carrying on the prolific work of his dad, Dick Francis. Dick was an RAF pilot, a champion race jockey, and then a phenomenally bestselling author. Between them they've publish 50 books and sold over 80 million copies. We talk about the transition of him taking the reins (!) of the writing, how he learned from his father and many other authors, and how he's developed his own style.

You can hear how he challenges himself with different styles and viewpoints to keep things fresh, also why writing easy reading isn't a challenge, and how much he thinks about getting new readers.

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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 new one is 'Femicide, it looks at 'incel' culture. Involuntary celebates who hate women, and what happens when they switch off their laptops and do something about it in real life.

We chat about completely different parts of the world he writes in, and how much pressure he puts on 9 months of his year to try and write a book in the last 3. Also, you can hear why he tries to make his first draft as perfect as possible, because he hates editing so much. We chat about why he wants to entertain and teach in his novels, and how much he thinks about the international audience when he's writing... particularly the jokes.

You can hear about the original blueprint for the novel and how much it changes, how he deals with time away from writing, and what his favourite font is.

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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 crimes with her best friend Hector Poirot. The new one takes place in 1903 Lyme Regis, when searching for dinosaurs, Aggie comes across a dead body.

We talk about how much she plots mysteries, and why this story has made her mix that up a bit. Also, you can hear how accurate she wants to get her story to real-life 1903 Lyme Regis, and how she researches it. You can hear how much she thinks about how her books look, how a form of peer pressure helps her write, and how using writing exercises, like only using one-syllable words, can really help you think about the story.

You can find out more about Marthe's work at marthejocelyn.com!

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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 gain a prestigious fellowship. Think 'The Breakfast Club' with murder.

His novel, 'Kill All Your Darlings', was nominated for an Edgar Award, and he's written his books whilst lecturing English and writing at University. We talk about how he balances his time teaching writing, and actually writing. You can also hear how he makes a locked room story consistently engaging, when your characters can't really go very far... how do you make it gripping for a reader?

We talk about making stock characters unique, whether deadlines change, how knowing you've done it once can really help you believe you can do it again, and why he absolutely loves a routine.

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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 certain ex-Prime Minister played a part in that.

The book was inspired by a conversation in a Spanish pub, investigating how an ex-pat can be in two places at once. You can hear the process of moving that idea into a full book. It's about Daniella Coulstoun, the prime suspect in the murder of a notorious gangster, who must find the real killer fast.

We talk about how Gordon can write anywhere, how Stephen King inspired his writing routine, and how he copes with writing words he know will be cut. You can hear about his confusing filing system, how putting someone on a flight cut almost 40k words, and why he thinks Scotland is so synonymous with crime-writing.

Gordon is a co-founder of 'Bloody Scotland', one of Europe's biggest crime-writing festivals. Find out more at bloodyscotland.com

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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 it up with 'Last Time We Met'.

It's about Eleanor and Finn, who make a pact to marry each other if they're single at 35. Then, 15 years later, they bump into each other... what do you think happens?

We talk about how writing her new book has been completely different than getting her first down on her phone. Also you can hear about her re-drafts, why she's had to be more structured in writing, and how she plans scene breakdowns.

Emily talks about uplit and rom-com, and how she strives to make hers different, also about finding your voice, and what she perceives her own style to be.

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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 enquiry with 94 arrests being made, no-one was charged. Then in 2009, Detective Superintendent Julie MacKay found something that changed everything.

Julie has co-written the story with Robert. We talk about how that worked, how he discovered every facet of the story, and moved that into a plot. You can hear how much thought they gave to the standards of genre fiction, when dealing with true crime and peoples lives - how much can you manipulate the story to be gripping and thrilling, when you're talking about such a tragic tale?

We discuss how he organises a full-time creative job, with a creative hobby, and what his home life is like with a partner who also writes... and works in TV news.

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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.

She's just published her third novel, 'How to Kill Your Best Friend'. It tells the story of 3 friends who met on the college swim team. Years later, one is found dead in the ocean near a remote island. Can an elite swimmer really have drowned, or is something else going on?

We talk about why she wanted to make the location of the story one of the central characters, also how she's had to be much better with deadlines after becoming a full-tiime writer, and how lockdown has changed where she writes.

You can hear why she's pushed to be a writer in amongst everything else she's achieved, when she got a hold on her writing voice, and how quite rarely... the title came before the plot.

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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 on a new thriller, 'Codename: Madeleine'.

It's inspired by the story of Poor Inayat Khan, an agent behind enemy lines. We talk about the idea, how he researched it and plotted out a story inspired by fact. Also you can hear how his writing is a curated stream of consciousness, where he escapes to write, and how he switches off part of his brain to write instead of lawyer.

We chat about how he gets better at telling stories in court, what the first kernel of a plot-idea was, and how unique the politically-charged landscape is right now.

I'll be hosting two sessons at Bloody Scotland, if you fancy a nice weekend break hearing from the best crime-writers in idyllic Stirling.

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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 Oxford, who quickly draws a group of friends into her dazzling orbit. Until, one morning she is found dead. 10 years later, new information surfaces about the crime, and changes Hannah's life... her testimony was key to sending a man to prison. It means, one of her friends might have done killed 'The It Girl'.

Ruth's books, 'The Lying Game', 'The Woman in Cabin 10', 'In a Dark, Dark Wood', 'The Death of Mrs Westaway', 'The Turn of the Key', and 'One by One' have all been huge bestsellers, and there's a lot of noise about her new novel.

We discuss her move from YA to adult, crime fiction. Also why the hardest part of writing crime, is figuring out why someone will try to solve the mystery. You can hear how she gets through the tricky 30k word mark, and why her writing space is almost perfect.

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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 Thriller of the Month, and a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick.

Her new one is called, 'The Retreat'. Set on an eco-wellness retreat on an island near Devon, it promises rest and relaxation, yet the locals believe it to have a cursed past. When a young woman is found murdered nearby, DS Elin Warner is called in to investigate.

We chat about how her writing routine is slightly dictated by family, where she moves for inspiration, and how she changes scenes that she wrote in the first few days of an idea.

You can hear how much she thinks about pacing and structure when writing genre, why her best thoughts come at night, and how she found moving from short stories to full on novels.

This week's episode of the show is supported by 'Believe Me Not', the fantastic new novel by Natalie Chandler.

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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 shows.

During lockdown, Andrew found that there wasn't much call for long-form walks around the country, when everyone was told to stay inside, so found a new outlet for his creativity. He started coming up with plot-lines for his first novel. He came up with over 30 of them, and 'The Walker Mysteries' were born. The first is 'A New World', which sees DCI Charlotte Walker investigating a local mystery.

We talk about how wrote a female character around 20 years younger than him, also why he chose to self-publish, and why he's currently writing 3 books at once.

Also you can hear how technology really helps him as a dyslexic writer, how he spreads his creative energy across different things, and how far in the future he's thinking with these stories.

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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 story in her memoirs, 'Casting Off' and 'Untie the Lines'. We talk about writing memoir: why other people want to read about your life, and how you keep records of adventures to write them later on.

'Deep Water' tells the story of Jake and Virginie, who after a traumatising experience at sea, find sanctuary in a remote island... until the island starts to reveal more secrets than they know. We talk about the exact moment she had the idea for the story, how she reverse-engineered her scene breakdown, and how much the story changed whilst she was writing it.

You can hear why she's moving house with a new office in mind, how challenging she found moving from writing memoirs to fiction, and what she does when the words aren't coming out.

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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. He also lectures creative writing at King's College.

His 4th novel is 'The Young Apprentice'. It looks at Charlie and Joyce, recently released from borstal and starting a new life as an architecture apprentice. Until a figure from Joyce's past creeps back into her world, trying to drag them back to their old criminal life.

We talk about the separation between work and creativity, and how that's affected where he writes. Also why he uses longhand to get a different angle on a story, and what people learn in a creative writing lecture.

This week's episode is sponsored by 'Waiting for Jetpacks', the new short story collection, by John Lockhart. Grab a copy here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Waiting-Jetpacks-John-Lockhart-ebook/dp/B08GM4SC68

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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 writing coach. Her 'Book Incubator' programme looks to help you on the difficult journey to publishing. It uses how creative you are, how outgoing you are, and what your day is like, to plan the perfect method for your writing, and helps you write, revise and pitch your novel.

We talk about why she sets up her writing space to make her think she's playing, not writing. Also how she discovered she's a morning person, and how she uses music to change her place and space. You can also hear the best tips and tricks she's learned as a writing mentor, including how to get to know your character, what to do with an initial idea, and why people find it so hard switching between writing and editing.

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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 Kindle bestseller for 18 months.

For her new novel she's made an interesting decision. In August, she'll self-publish, 'The Mortification of Grace Wheeler'. She's done this to have more creative control over publishing, marketing and pricing, and is almost doing it as a one-book experiment. She gets deep into the reasons why she has done this, and there's some fantastic advice to help you make a similar choice.

The novel is about Grace, in a marriage with a much older man, whose son leaves for University. She becomes an empty-nester, and in a bid for excitement, is drawn into an affair with terrible consequences.

We talk about why she has stopped doing detailed summaries of characters, why all she needs to write is a quiet space and a laptop, and how much expert help she gets before sending the work off.

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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 for the Home Office, the Cabinet Office and many others. Her frustration at getting screenplays adapted for TV and film prompted her to start writing novels. What a decision.

Her debut, 'The Appeal', has achieved phenomenal success. It's been shared widely online by book communities, sold lots of copies and was one of Sunday Times Crime Novels of 2021.

It's a murder-mystery set in a tight-knit village community staging an amateur dramatic production, and is all told through emails and messages. We discuss why she set a book in this novel way, and how her career as a screenwriter helped with that.

We talk about the moment she knew her book might be taking off, also why she works seven days a week, and how much she reverse-engineers a murder mystery. You can hear how she figured out who the killer was, how her characters mirror different parts of her personality, and about her newest novel, 'The Twyford Code'.

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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 time in which committing crimes was relatively easy.

His new book is 'Dead in the Water', which looks at how a mangled body found in the Thames and a missing piece of art are connected. We talk about how much he plans long-term for his characters, why he overwrites his first draft and how he goes about cutting it down. You can hear how he gets ideas for Frank's adventures, and why sometimes it's easier to let the characters take care of things themselves.

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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 desperate to escape her sociopathic boyfriend, she's prepared to go to extreme lengths to get away.

We talk about why she was so determined to get published, also how she balances a hectic work-life where her husband works 90 hour weeks, while she looks after her toddler and manages to write novels. You can hear how she got to know her characters, and how she keeps her creative time sacred.

Jessica also hosts the #MomsWritersClub on Twitter, with lots of excellent writing and publication advice.

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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 of Writing at Hull University, and despite having no A Levels or even filling in a UCAS application, he was offered a place and graduated with a First Class Degree in Creative Writing.

It's all led to his debut, 'The Game'. It follows five strangers from across the globe who receive a warning that their most loved person is in danger, and the only way to save them is to play... the game.

We discuss how he worked on the idea with his agent, also how he's managed to write in between renovating a house, and how music changes his writing mood.

PLUS, you can hear the first full chapter of 'The Game' audiobook at the end of the show.

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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, her debut 'The Ruin' achieved great success, and she's become a runaway bestseller.

Her new novel, 'The Murder Rule', looks at The Innocence Project, which looks to exonerate wrongly convicted criminals. Only this book turns it on its head when a woman doesn't want to save a man on death row... but bury him.

We talk about her extremely thoroughly planned writing days, how she's always looking to grow and change as a writer. You can hear how new editing tricks, how she gets to know her characters, and exactly how hard it is to take on a novel.

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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 her car in an NHS car park, in between shifts as a Doctor.

Becoming a writer is the third act of a busy life, Joanna left school at fifteen, worked as a barmaid, kennel maid and pizza delivery girl before qualifying as a Doctor in her forties. Now, she's a full-time author.

Her new book, 'A Tidy Ending', about Linda, Strange Terry and Rebecca who used to live in the house before them. It's a character driven story, and Joanna loves learning about these characters as she goes. Jo knows the last line of a story when she starts and very little else.

We talk about her ludicrously early starts, why she hands in an almost perfect draft, why theme is the most important thing, and how procrastinating is sometimes more important than actual writing.

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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 looking at.

Her new novel, out in paperback, is 'The Baker's Girl'. It tells the story of Meg who needs to keep her family together. Her mum is ill, her sister in school, and she is the breadwinner... and indeed, the breadmaker. She finds a job with Ted Lund in the local bakery, and in the face of his mismanagement and mistreatment, has to turn the failing business, and her family around.

We talk about what writing saga fiction means to her, also what her fans expect from a Gracie Hart story. You can hear how the idea came from her own family's business and an idea off the telly, and why her first drafts need to be near on perfect.

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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 professor and a student, on a romantic getaway to an isolated New York cabin. It's meant to be the perfect getaway, but he's not who he says he is... and neither is she. 

We talk about why she's set it in a part of America she's never been to, confounding most debut practice by writing what she doesn't know. Also you can hear how Laure writes around her full-time job, how she's learned to be a plotter and why spreadsheets have really helped with that.

You can support the show on patreon.com/writersroutine.

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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 best known for her Detective Louise Rick stories. The new one is 'A Harmless Lie', in which Louise has to rush back from holiday in Thailand, after a panicked phone call from her father. Her brother has attempted suicide, and everything is entangled in his estranged wife, and a girl who went missing a decade before.

We discuss her organised and thorough work-day, also how much she thinks about an international audience when she writes in Danish, and why she returns to write about murders for a living, which can be hugely emotionally draining.

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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, using inspiration from her work to write thrillers. Her new one, 'Safe and Sound', was inspired by a documentary she saw. It tells the story of Sarah Jones - pretty, charismatic, and full of life, who is found dead in her home. The strange thing is... she's been lying there for 10 months.

We talk about what she did after having the first idea, how did she turn a true story from a documentary into her own novel, also how the names in the novel really matter, and how she finally knew the novel was done.

Philippa is big into learning the craft. She vociferously reads writing books, talks to other authors and listens to this show. We chat about how consciously she makes the improvements that she learns about along the way.

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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 books, kids books, and has a new one out, 'The Luckiest Kid in the World'.

It's all about a boy who is determined to be the most average child ever, and that very fact makes him extremely unusual. We talk about the having the idea and what he needs to know before he starts writing, also where he sometimes escapes to write and how he explored the pandemic for kids. You can hear how having children has affected his writers routine, where he writes now, and why he needs the radio on to tell stories.

He runs a website called Assembly, and a podcast called Manatomy, which is a place for modern men. Also, hosts a weekly show on Radio X, and we discuss how he decides where ideas go. Are they a work of fiction, non-fiction, a podcast idea, or something to talk about on his radio show?

You can read more about Danny here - https://dannywallace.com/

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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 'Locked In Festival' and has published many books. He's most known for the 'Murphy and Rossi' novels, and for writing across many genres.

His new one, 'You Never Said Goodbye', is about Sam Cooper who lost his Mum early in life, and then years later learns a secret from his Dad that changes everything. We talk about how it came from an idea Luca has sat on for a little while, also how he works with an editor, and what a year looks like in the life of a full-time author.

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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 writing.

She has published 3 books, 'Married at First Swipe', 'Living My Best Life', and her new book is, 'The One'. It's about Lottie Brown, who has finally found The One. Leo is everything she’s ever wanted – he’s handsome, kind, funny and totally gets her. Three months into their relationship, Lottie is in love and happier than ever before. When Leo tragically dies, Lottie learns more about the man she thought she knew, and starts to question whether Leo really was as perfect as he seemed.

We talk about the pressure of needing to get stuff done in a day, what she has learned from book reviewing, and the moment she finally knew she was a writer.

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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 six teenage girls in their small Louisiana town. 20 years later, Chloe is a successful psychologist in Baton Rouge. But when a local girl disappears, she starts to unravel. The rights have been optioned by the actress Emma Stone, and it's currently being developed for HBO Max. We talk about how it feels to have so many writers dreams seem to be coming true.

Stacy worked full-time in marketing and copywriting before publishing novels and we discuss how writing snappy slogans has affected the way she tells stories. You can hear about her specifically designed writing space, also why she moves around for the second draft, and how other authors inspire what she writes.

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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 procedural about Inspector Henley, tasked with finding the killer of bodies found along the River Thames in London. It's set in the area she grew up and we talk about why she wanted, and how she managed, to accurately portray her ends of the City.

We talk about how she gets inspiration from her work as a criminal lawyer, how comic books help her plot, and why she ended up back to school accidentally.

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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 the Mexican/ US border.

The new book weaves that social activism into a novel, telling the story of a man seeking redemption and the American Dream in the face of a mystical family curse. We talk about where the idea came from, how Mexican songs helped shaped the story, and why culture and heritage plays such a big role in his writing.

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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 based on Catherine the 1st of Russia's daughter, Elizabeth.

We talk about research, how she knows want to look into next, and how she blends historical fact with fiction. Also you can hear how getting published completely changed the way she writes, and get inspired by her publication story.

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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 online, in magazines and played out on BBC Radio.

Her debut novel is 'This Shining Life'. It's all about Ruth, who loses her husband Rich, and sets out on a mission with her son Ollie to solve puzzles he left for them, in a bid to discover the meaning of life. It's funny, beautiful and about love and loss.

It was inspired by the sad death of a friend, which oddly made her feel more alive than ever, and also her work as a registrar, where she is surrounded by life and death all day.

We talk about how she tried to find the meaning of life while writing the story, also why it started out as many short stories, and about the monster that gets her to work in the morning.

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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 founded NSFWCorp in Las Vegas, and hosted the nightly NSFWLive radio show. Now he's taken that experience to pen his first work of fiction, '1414 Degrees'.

It's not Paul's first published book. He's written memoirs 'The Upgrade', 'Bringing Nothing to the Party', Sober is my New Drunk', and 'We'll Always Have the Flamingo', which document his life travelling around the world, living in hotels and getting sober.

'1414 Degrees' is a murder mystery set in Silicon Valley, with Lou McCarthy investigating someone murdering billionaires.

We talk about why he leaves everything late, how he became a memoirist, what writing columns taught him about telling stories, and how much he knows about where the story is heading.

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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 first as Anna Kent. It's domestic noir, so treads the line between eerie psychological thriller, and chilling whodunnits at home. We talk about how she learned to write genre, and what she pays attention to when structuring the novel, also how she knows when to carry on writing.

'The House of Whispers' tells the story of Grace and Abi, friends who parted ways at Uni. Then Grace returns into Abi's life... and they slip back into the comforts of each other's lethal charm and company.

You can hear how she got published, about the contest she entered, and the meeting with a publisher that changed her life.

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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 slithers of time to get books down. In the past, this has led her to getting a draft done in 10 days.

She's written YA, psychological thrillers, her novel 'The Weekend Away' has been adapted for Netflix, published romance stories under a pseudonym, and her new novel 'The Stalker', is out now. It's about newlyweds Liam and Laura, honeymooning on a secluded island, who realise quickly... they aren't as alone as they thought.

We talk about the quotes that help her carry on, also why she escaped the world to start her writing career, and why she's become strategic in her plotting in order to get stuff done quickly. You can hear about life in a bustling, competitive L.A writer's room, why she started planning after 10 novels of pantsing, and why she's begun saying no.

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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 immigrant. It was shortlisted for The Author's Club First Novel award, also the RSL Christopher Bland Prize, and the HWA Debut Crown Award.

It's a story Rosanna has tried to get published for 20 years, and she reveals the secrets to how it finally happened.

We talk about the creative buzz of the area she wrote the novel in, and how that affected things, also how the story drove her to write on, and why it's told through the eyes of the spirit of an African Slave.

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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 is obliterated when the police show up and report her husband Tom is missing.

Alice worked in prisons, part of a team offering rehabilitation courses to in-mates, often those who'd committed violent crimes. That, and her psychology degree, offered her vast experience to write the book. We talk about how conversations with in-mates wives prompted the idea for the book, and then how she streamlined the idea and worked on character.

You can hear about Alice's working day, her chaotic work-space, and how lockdown affected her enthusiasm to write.

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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 Juliette Binoche.

Her new one is called 'A Narrow Door', it tells the story of the first headmistress at a traditional school who discovers a body in the grounds. It's billed as 'magical realism', we discuss how much she considers genre while she's writing.

She's best known for her novel, 'Chocolat', which changed everything. It let her leave work, write full time, but added an anxiety around work she'd never known before.

We talk about the classic acting text that really helps her get into characters, what she needs to know before she starts writing, and how she uses scent to get into the story.

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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 aspects of book selling, so he can concentrate on book writing.

We talk about whether that puts pressure on his writing, knowing he has staff relying on him for a salary. Also, what his writing routine of a year looks like, and why his outline is the most important thing he works on.

Ken's made a career publishing thick historical novels, 'The Pillars of the Earth' from the 'Kingsbridge' series sold bucket-loads, got him critical acclaim, and spawned a TV series. His new novel is 'Never', about events that could lead to WW3.

We talk about research, planning, sentences, keeping things simple and how he starts.

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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 Dot, who strives to reunite lost property with their owners.

It all came from a spell of unusual research she undertook at the London Transport Lost Property Office, the characters she met there, and their poetic conversations.

We discuss memories, how the characters drove the story, and why she had to escape from her routine through lockdown.

To support the show, head to patreon.com/writersroutine.

Also, you can follow us on twitter, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.

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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 new book has just been named as one of the Best Crime and Thriller Books of the Year by Waterstones.

It's called 'The Devil's Advocate', and is the newest Eddie Flynn book. Telling the story of Andy Dubois, sent up for a killing Alabama, and the lawyer who tries to get him free. He talks about the jaw-dropping statistic which gave him the idea for the book.

We discuss his ideal writing day and why he's not quite managed it yet, also how he's always trying to learn and grow, why he's tried to be a plotter but always returns to his pantsing routes, and what makes crime authors different from each other.

Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine.

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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 someone gets killed and everyone has a motive. We talk about the fundamentals you need to include in writing whodunnits, and how to flip the tradition on its head.

It comes after the huge success of her first whodunnit, 'The Hunting Party'. It was also set on an island, and we chat about where she got that idea from, why she likes the idea of locking her characters away, and how she brought such stunning scenery to life using just her words.

Also, Lucy once wrote historical thrillers and we learn why she made the switch of genre, AND she used to work in publishing as an editor, so we chat about what that taught her about which books sell and why.

Lucy's writing day is fairly chaotic and decadent, working furiously in the morning before popping to the cinema in the afternoon. It works for her, and she's fantastic at describing it.

This is just the routine, but please do scroll back in your feed and listen to her full episode when you get a chance - it's a belter.

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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 with her dying father, the poet Sebastian Barker. She is also the granddaughter of George Barker and the cult novelist, Elizabeth Smart. We discuss whether because of her highly and successfully creative family, she was destined to be a writer.

Her relationship with her father was troubled, and we talk about whether his view of the world passed down to her. Also, you can hear how she planned such a personal book, how her writing routine has changed dramatically in the last year, and why her flatmate is a hero.

Get the book here - https://amzn.to/3qaqx1w

Support the show here - patreon.com/writersroutine

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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 on one big business that suffocates all others, and the stories of 3 people who work there. Because of this, his characterisation needs to be truly believable and authentic, we talk about this struggle and how he became his characters in writing. It's also his first proper foray into standalone novels, having made his way with the 'Ash McKenna' series.

The first full episode dropped in August 2019, and you can listen in by scrolling back in your podcast feed.

If you can, please do support the show over at patreon.com/writersroutine.

If you want to buy the book, please use this link! - https://amzn.to/32yhXKL

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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 Hackney, before spending 10 years in Sao Paulo, and being inspired to tell its story. It mixes fiction, true crime, historical fact, and high literature, in an utterly compelling style.

We talk about how his routine has changed since having a child, where he likes to escape to write, how perfect his first draft is, and how editing has changed over 10 years of writing novels.

You can get a copy of 'Brazilian Psycho' here - https://amzn.to/2ZOVUDV

You can support the show here - https://amzn.to/2ZshCNp

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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 book 'Boy Swallows Universe' won the 'Debut Fiction Prize' and 'Book of the Year' at the Australian Indie Awards, and went straight into the top 10, selling over 100,000 copies. It's a semi-autobiographical story about all Eli, in Brisbane in 1983, muddling through family life, trying to not be coaxed into drug-dealing, and having to save his mum from prison. The book has since sold many, many copies, more accolades, and even be turned into a play.

He's also written 'All Our Shimmering Skies', about a gravedigger's daughter, Molly Hook.

Listen to the full episode by following the show and scanning back in your podcast feed.

You can get a copy of his work here - https://amzn.to/317dxz9

Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine

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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 the start.

It's called 'Black Water Sister', and all came from one word she read in the dictionary. It's based on ancient Malaysian folklore, and Zen has taken great joy in playing with old language, and presenting it in a ghostly manner.

We talk about switching genre, and how having a baby helped with that, also about how much she knows what's coming next, and how she divides things up being a full-time lawyer, and part-time writer.

You can get a copy of the book here - https://amzn.to/3aRpDOl

If you can, please support us at patreon.com/writersroutine

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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 night. It's based on a a real story, explored in a BBC documentary. The musical is now a film, also written by Tom, which you can watch on Amazon Prime now.

In this bitesize chunk, you can hear about his writing routine in the sun, how exercise gives him space to think, and why weekends are sacred.

You can listen to the full episode from 2019, by flicking back in your podcast feed.

Please do support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine

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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 ago.

Claire started her career as a journalist, has written women's fiction under the name Freya Kennedy', and is back with a brand new psych thriller. She's written almost 20 books across different genres.

We talk about how switching genre changes style and method of plotting and planning, also about her routine of the year, and how she feels when time is tight... and the idea isn't there.

You can get a copy of 'Ask No Questions' here - https://amzn.to/3j0yx0o

Support the show on patreon.com/writersroutine

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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're chatting to children's author Piers Torday. He's published 7 books, they've been translated into 14 languages, he's won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, and been nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal.

His new book is 'The Wild Before'. It's a prequel to 'The Last Wild' trilogy, and tells the story of Little Hare who must round up all the other animals to help save the world. It's about climate change, standing up for your beliefs and working together.

We talk about the differences in writing for kids and adults, also about copying and being inspired, about planning, plotting and rhythm, and what bookshops mean to him.

You can get a copy of Piers' book here - https://amzn.to/3ApAd9v

Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine

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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 Library' is a bookclub read with Aria. We try to talk about both of those, but it's mainly about the former.

All in, Bella has published 9 books. 'The Promise of Summer' is about Ruby and Curtis, trying to reunite a engagement ring with its owner, and find love along the way. We talk about how these two characters wouldn't go away, so she ahd to tell a part of their story, and leave them on a bench waiting for her to come back again.

You can hear why her family hates NaNoWriMo, about her post-it note obsession, why her work day revolves around cats, and about the best types of tea.

You can get a copy of 'The Promise of Summer' here - https://amzn.to/2Yh1dep and 'The Library' here - https://amzn.to/39TN8pI

You can support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine

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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 2019, they named it their 'thriller of the year'.

He's followed it up with 'The Maidens', about an exclusive set of students at a University under the influence of a sinister Professor, and a murder he knows more about than he lets on.

We discuss his screenwriting career in Hollywood, why that didn't work, how he moved on with it and discovered he was a novelist, not a dramatist. Also, how mediation helps him write, why he gives up the booze to tell stories, and how he got published when he moved back to the UK.

Please do support us on patreon.com/writersroutine.

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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 Palace'. It's about a New York event planner who falls in love with England's gay Crown Prince, Edgar. It's a satirical look at romance stories and Royal life.

We talk about writing for movies, working with improvising actors, changing things on set and coming up with at least 10 jokes for every line.

Also, he talks about why life revolves around the writing, and his writing revolves around his life, in a syncopated way. Paul discusses his very private writing space that he is very protective of, and what happened after he had his initial idea for the story.

You can get a copy here - https://amzn.to/3gYsqsF

You can support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine

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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.

Before then, Bridget published 7 Young Adult books, a few plays, and she's beavering away on her 3rd book right now.

Here's a little snippet from our chat, as Bridget runs us through her writing space and working day. Scan back in your podcast feed to hear the full episode.

You can support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine

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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 forced to her sit up, to sit down and write.

'The End of Men' is her debut novel. It tells the story of a pandemic that wipes out 90% of the male population. We talk about the idea, how she developed it, planned it, and at one point had to cut 30 characters from it. We also chat what it was like writing and editing a story about a pandemic, during a pandemic, and how she figures out the confusing aspects of genre and gets to the heart of the story.

You can get a copy of the book here - https://amzn.to/2Y047UF

Support the show at Patreon.com/writersroutine.

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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 Woolwine, an American Psycological Profiler who arrives in Edinburgh to pursue the Shadow Man.

After working in Law with police, social services and Doctors for many years, Helen has a peculiarly accurate insight into the crimes she writes. She's also told stories using every method available to her, running a film production company and even self-publishing two fantasy books before signing up to the big leagues.

You can get a copy of her newest book, 'The Shadow Man', here - https://amzn.to/3gsxvsM

Please do support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine.

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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, 'Diving for Pearls', is out now.

It's a story set in Dubai, a mystical, alluring, divisive and controversial place. It's about a woman's death which influences a whole cast of strange and inter-connected characters. The most important character is Dubai itself, we talk about how he brought the place to life in his story.

Also, we talk about how he gets himself going everyday, how talismans help him write, why story-telling is like tuning a radio, and at what point you absolutely should change your font.

You can get a copy of the book here - https://amzn.to/3D2W2yp

Support the show - Patreon.com/writersroutine

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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 known for.

Mark joined us back in 2018 to take us through his writing day. Where we chatted about how Mark's writing style and method has changed in the 17-or-so years since he published his first novel 'Sleepyhead', which was later made into a TV show starring David Morrissey. Also, we found out if seeing his hero on the screen affected his view of story-telling too. We also discussed how being a obsessive crime-fiction fan turned him into one of the genre's best, and why the name of this fine podcast gives him the shivers. Flick back in your podcast feed to catch up on the full episode.

You can support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine

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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 different readerships when she writes different genre.

Her new work is an audiobook series exclusive to Audible, called 'The Vanishing Triangle'. It shines a light on the unsolved disappearance of at least eight women from mid-nineties Dublin; their bodies were never found, and no suspect was ever charged. To understand why these crimes remain unsolved, Claire explores what life was like in nineties Ireland, and investigates how a shifting political landscape and Irish society’s views on the treatment of women impacted the investigation.

We talk about how writing true crime is different to writing crime stories from your imagination, how she researched and planned her work, and why she wanted to narrate the series.

You can hear why her writing routine is pretty loose, how she doesn't plan much, and how she managed to write 4 books in 18 months through lockdowns.

Grab a copy of 'The Vanishing Triangle' here - https://amzn.to/3jNujZA

Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine

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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, travelling and living all over the world to get the stories. His book 'Shadowplay: The Overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic' is widely regarded as one of the best accounts of life in the former Yugoslavia. Tim reported in the field from Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia during the Balkan Wars of the 1990s, and has since found huge writing success for his book 'Prisoners of Geography'. It looks at how maps of the world can predict political situations, it's the first of a trilogy of books that discuss the affect of nationalism on identity politics - his others look at flags and walls.

His newest book is The Power of Geography, which looks at what maps really mean. Grab a copy of it here - https://amzn.to/3CzkWVW

Support the show at Patreon.com/writersroutine.

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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 Anointed'. It's a retelling of the biblical King David, as told through his 3 wives, Michal, Abigail and Bathsheba. We talk about how he put his own spin on history, and why he chose to write about such a specific time, and retell a famous story.

His novel, 'Easter', won the first Waterstones Mardi Gras Award, he's also penned 'The Celibate', 'Of Men and Angels', 'The Enemy', and others. All of his books explore the theme of religion, and why some believe and others don't. We talk about why he constantly unpacks that in his stories, and how he comes up with new ideas for ways to explore the theme in prose.

Michael talks about why he's a morning person, and how he fits his day around that, what he thinks about originality and wasting-words, and why he doesn't like being told what he can't write simply because he's a male in London.

You can get a copy of 'The Anointed' here - https://amzn.to/3AdwLzb

You can support the show on Patreon here - patreon.com/writersroutine.

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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 novel 'Skin Deep'.

After working as a stage manager, running all over the place in a theatre, then being shackled to the desk writing for soap operas, Liz Nugent became bored with dull, desk-driven office work, and became an author. Well... became an author over 6 years of writing her first book 'Unravelling Oliver'. It won an Irish Book Award, became a bestseller and gave her a career of being a proper writer.

If you like the chat, flick back in your podcast feeds to her full episode from back in November 2018.

You can get a copy of 'Our Little Cruelties' here - https://amzn.to/3fm28PY

Please do support us at patreon.com/writersroutine.

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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. She carried on, kept writing, self-published, and was finally tracked down by a publisher who stumbled across her in a newspaper.

Now, she's sold over 2 million books, is an Amazon bestseller, and was nominated for 'Crime/ Thriller Book of the Year' at the Nibbies a few months ago.

She's published over 20 books across many different characters. Her new one is 'The Patient Man'. It's a Jackman and Evans novel, about a serial killer who returns for the last time.

We talk about how she decides which of her many characters will solve the crime this time, why she comes up with new characters, and how she checks in with them from time to time.

You can hear more about her fantastic, winding route to publication. Also, we chat about how ideas for her future stories come at completely random times, which means she sits on them for a while, and get a complete run through of her writing day.

Get a copy of 'The Patient Man' here - https://amzn.to/3zJ62KJ

Support the show on patreon.com/writersroutine.

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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 turned into a film by Danny Boyle, for which Frank wrote the script. It was even Danny's idea that Frank should write the novel in the first place.

He's published 10 novels, brought back 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang', and wrote the Opening Ceremony to the 2012 Olympic Games. We chat quite a bit about scriptwriting - along with 'Millions', Frank has written many scripts for Michael Winterbottom, including '24 Hour Party People' and 'A Cock and Bull Story'.

He tells us the difference between writing screenplays and novels, the story points you need to hit, and the simple forms an idea can take.

His newest novel is 'Noah's Gold', grab a copy here - https://amzn.to/3y8GciV

Support us at patreon.com/writersroutine.

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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, 'Never Saw You Coming' and her newest one, 'Love, Almost'.

It tells the story of Chloe, whose boyfriend of just 5 months dies, so to come to terms with things, she does all the many things they had planned to do together, alone. We talk about when she first had the idea for the story, how it came to her quickly and almost fully-formed. You can hear how she plays with what readers expect from genre fiction, giving them it but also pulling some surprises along the way.

We discuss how she juggles work, family and lockdown, and how things have radically changed over the last year. Also, how music helps her ideas, and how acting influences her writing. Hayley is a Liverpudlian, and we chat about how heritage affects the way you tell stories, and particularly why Scousers are so good at it!

You can get a copy of 'Love, Almost' here - https://amzn.to/3xXMEcz

Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine.

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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 him, they're not lauded works of art, they're intricate puzzles, fun and games for the reader - and we talk about how he builds these. 

Jeffery works anywhere he can - any chance he gets to type away, if that's at home, on the plane, perhaps at a dog show, he will. We chat about how he finds time and space to work no matter where he is. 

Listen to the full episode from a couple of years ago earlier on in the feed.

You can always support us at patreon.com/writersroutine

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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 tale of Vera, who is forced to leave her daughter and flee, and explores her path to find the girl she left behind.

We discuss how Alexis writes around family time, how it all starts in a flurry of ideas and research, and how she blends factual history with her own creativity. We also chat about why moving around helps her focus, how she picked the messages she wanted to write very carefully, and how the very first idea for the story after a walk to the beach with her husband.

You can get a copy of the book here - https://amzn.to/2UNdl4Z

If you can, please support the show on Patreon - patreon.com/writersroutine

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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 successful crime authors in the world. Her novels have been translated into 40 languages, they've sold over 15 million copies and show no sign of letting up. She has written procedural crime, cold-case crime, and even penned the first ever 'cynical, socialist, lesbian, feminist journalist'.

We talk about how her method of writing has changed over the course of 38 books, moving from heavy plotting to hardly plotting at all. Also we chat about how much she cares about her readers, and how she knows which of her characters will solve the crime currently swirling around her mind.

Grab a copy of her newest novel, 'Still Life' here - https://amzn.to/3B17SIu

You can support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine.

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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 Observer, the FT, The Sunday Times and many more. His last book, 'The Blasphemer' was nominated for a Costa Book Award back in 2010, and he's just released 'The Dictator's Muse'.

It tells the story of 1930's Europe, as Hitler's grip tightens and his power grows. We follow a film-maker, an athlete and a Welsh communist as their relationships in this strange time entangle.

We discuss the random scatterings in his writing room, and how that changes between books. Also why amateurs wait for inspiration, and professionals get on with it. You can hear how he balances writing journalism and novels, also how he goes about writing real-life people from history, and we discuss unreliable narrators.

You can get a copy of the book here - https://amzn.to/3AOztMA

Support the show if you can on patreon.com/writersroutine

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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 his routine, it's full of procrastination and puzzles. You can hear why he doesn't know what the story is until he's finished it, also why a good writing day can start at 8pm, and why he's writing all over the place.

Support the show on patreon.com/writersroutine.

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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 tale, how she knew there was a book in it, and she'd be the one to write it.

It comes off the back of her stunning debut, 'Moonlight in Odessa', which took 10 years to write. We discuss why she brooded over the idea for such a time, and how place and environment have given her the inspiration for her stories so far.

We discuss research, on Google and in the library, why she likes to know everything as she plots, but why that doesn't mean there aren't surprises along the way. You can hear why she changes the structure of her sentences between characters to highlight their differences, and what it's like writing and thinking in two languages.

Grab a copy of the book here - https://amzn.to/3y8reZL

You can also support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine!

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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 number 1 adult fiction title for the UK back in 2017. 'Someone We Know', a twisting tale of a teenager so desperate for wi-fi he breaks into homes, and then strange things start happening all over the neighbourhood. She has published two more since then, her newest is 'Not A Happy Family' which is out in August.

In this bonus episode we hear about the writing routine of a day and a year, why she likes a quiet house, needs to get admin out of the way, and how she settled on a 1500 word goal.

Follow the show wherever you get your podcasts from, and support us at patreon.com/writersroutine.

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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 came to him as a device to explore the characters.

Here's the blurb - 'Near the dying English seaside town of Ilmarsh, local police detective Alec Nichols discovers sixteen horses' heads on a farm, each buried with a single eye facing the low winter sun. After forensic veterinarian Cooper Allen travels to the scene, the investigators soon uncover evidence of a chain of crimes in the community – disappearances, arson, and mutilations – all culminating in the reveal of something deadly lurking in the ground itself. In the dark days that follow, the town slips into panic and paranoia. Everything is not as it seems. Anyone could be a suspect. And as Cooper finds herself unable to leave town, Alec is stalked by an unseen threat. The two investigators race to uncover the truth behind these frightening and insidious mysteries – no matter the cost.Sixteen Horses is a story of enduring guilt, trauma and punishment, set in a small seaside community the rest of the world has left behind...'

We discuss genre - how much you learn the rules, when you break them, why it's good to stick to the conventions at the start. Also you can hear what writing in video games and comics has taught him about novels, and why a good shower sometimes does the trick.

You can get a copy of the book here - https://amzn.to/3zP6msf

Also, you can my seminar at the London Book Fair, 'Playing with Prose' on Tuesday 29th June, here - 2021.reg.buzz/?utm_campaign=organic_traffic&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=google&_ga=2.122484687.557753863.1624463973-1654159128.1623150846&utm_campaign=organic_traffic&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=google">https://lbf-2021.reg.buzz/?utm_campaign=organic_traffic&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=google&_ga=2.122484687.557753863.1624463973-1654159128.1623150846&utm_campaign=organic_traffic&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=google

And support the show at Patreon.com/writersroutine.

@writerspod

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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 the world and won 'Best Crime and Thriller Fiction' at the 'British Book Awards'. It so nearly wasn't the case though. A few years ago, disappointed with her success and publisher, Louise almost gave up - until the kernel of a story came to her, something that had never been done before, a thriller centred around property fraud. We talk about that spark during the episode, and how she grew it to become an award-winning novel.

Since this episode was released 2 years ago, she's published 'Those People' and 'The Other Passenger', and she'll be back with another novel later in the summer.

You can get a copy of 'The Other Passenger' here - https://amzn.to/3cX6gVM

Support us on patreon.com/writersroutine, if you can!

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