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Writer's Routine

Grady Hendrix, author of 'Witchcraft for Wayward Girls' - Horror writer discusses what readers actually want, making every word count, and why questions make horror scary

Jan 10, 2025
01:08:13

On this week's episode of 'Writer's Routine', the show that takes a look inside an author's working day, we're chatting to horror writer, Grady Hendrix. Grady is the bestselling author of "The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires", "Horrorstör", and "My Best Friend’s Exorcism". He blends horror and humour with incredibly inventive plots and creative ways of creating terror.


His new novel is 'Witchcraft for Wayward Girls'. It tells the story of a home for unwed expecting mothers, who can have their baby in secret whilst their family figures out what to do next, and how to forget the whole thing. Every moment of the girls' waking day is controlled by adults who "know what's best for them", that's until the girl Fern finds a book of the occult, all about witchcraft... suddenly the power is in the girls' hands.


We discuss how it was partly inspired by his family history and why he sat on the idea for more than 4 years. You can hear what he thought about when he finally decided to write it, and how he managed to plot and plan such a character-heavy story.


Grady reveals what he remembers to make horror fiction scary, who inspires him, and what a day in the life of his novel-writing looks like.


Support the show -

patreon.com/writersroutine

ko-fi.com/writersroutine


Get a copy of the book - https://uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutine


This episode is sponsored by Faber Academy's 'Writing a Novel' course. Find out more - https://faberacademy.com/writing-a-novel


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