In this episode I chat to author Emma Healey, about her bestselling Costa-winning debut ELIZABETH IS MISSING, and her new novel WHISTLE IN THE DARK. We have a wide-ranging, frank and occasionally funny chat about finding the voice of your protagonist, transmuting research into living characters and stories, and how to start again from scratch when you begin your second book. This is a great episode to listen to if you want to know: - how do I know which idea is the right one to write about? - where can I find ideas in the first place? - what sort of characters am I allowed to write about? - how can I research my book? - how can I use my life experiences in my fiction? I really enjoyed recording this one and I hope you get a lot out of it. Hey, you should buy Emma's books because they are great, and also because I am grateful for authors taking the time to come on the show so you'd be doing me a big favour if you show them some love. WHISTLE IN THE DARK: https://wordery.com/whistle-in-the-dark-emma-healey-9780241327623#oid=1908_1 ELIZABETH IS MISSING: https://wordery.com/elizabeth-is-missing-emma-healey-9780241968185#oid=1908_1 And of course I'm an author. It's how I feed my family. So please treat yourself to a copy of my novel, THE HONOURS, and help me continue making stories: https://wordery.com/the-honours-tim-clare-9781782114765#oid=1908_1 And if you'd like to help me with my hosting expenses for the podcast and my website you can drop me a few bucks via my Ko-fi page. Any help is much appreciated: https://ko-fi.com/timclare As promised, here are a couple of links with perspectives on cultural appropriation, cultural exchange and representation. How to Explain Cultural Appropriation to Anyone Who Just Doesn’t Get It: https://www.alternet.org/culture/cultural-appropriation-pho-lionel-shriver-jamie-oliver-marc-jacobs We Need To Talk About Cultural Appropriation: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/sep/15/we-need-to-talk-about-cultural-appropriation-why-lionel-shrivers-speech-touched-a-nerve Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_appropriation The Good Immigrant (book link): https://wordery.com/the-good-immigrant-nikesh-shukla-9781783523955#oid=1908_1