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/3B17SIuYou can support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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/3AOztMASupport the show if you can on patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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/3y8reZLYou can also support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine!@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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/3zP6msfAlso, you can my seminar at the London Book Fair, 'Playing with Prose' on Tuesday 29th June, here - 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=googleAnd support the show at Patreon.com/writersroutine.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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/3cX6gVMSupport us on patreon.com/writersroutine, if you can!@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Niamh Campbell has always been around words, studying them, teaching them, constantly writing them. Her short story 'Love Many' won an Irish Times writing prize, and from that success she's published her debut novel, 'This Happy'.It tells the story of Allanah, who falls in love with an older man, and it unpacks the way that impacts her life. It's a novel of exploration, of description and words. We discuss how she worked through the plot from that, and how she works around her focus on language.We chat about why she finds characters boring, and how that influences much of what she writes. Also, why she's pretentious about genre, and how lockdown has made her reassess whether she's an introvert or an extrovert.You can get a copy of the book here - https://amzn.to/3gDNDIFAlso, please do support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BONUS EPISODE!Here's something new I'm trying, hopefully every week. Taking a look back at some fantastic authors from our archive, and remembering just the routine, hopefully injecting a bitesize chunk of inspiration that might help you plan your day.Anthony Horowitz joined us back in 2018, as he was in the process of writing some Alex Rider short-stories. The teenage spy launched him to national attention in the early 00s, with school kids across the world being transfixed by the reluctant agent. More recently, Anthony has moved into adult-fiction, writing murder mysteries, James Bond novels and Sherlock Holmes stories. Listen back to Anthony's full episode here - https://podfollow.com/writersroutine/episode/d5b03e49f25f370347d9fd71ef31ad0eb886f702/viewYou can support the show on patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lesley Kara's debut, 'The Rumour', was the bestselling crime thriller debut of 2019. She's back with her third novel, 'The Dare', it tells the story of Lizzie, who is suspected of being involved in the death of a friend years earlier, and someone is out to get revenge.We discuss her writing routine, and how it's a waiting game, and a process of discovery. Also you can hear why she likes to read aloud, what she likes to know before starting, and how precise she is with her words. We chat about why it's good to be bored as a writer, how she links ideas together in the theme of the story, and why she thinks she's sold so many books.Get a copy of 'The Dare' here - https://amzn.to/3g2eRYZAlso, Lesley studied at Faber Academy. To get 10% off any online course at faberacademy.co.uk, just use the code WRITERSROUTINE21 when you checkout.Support the show on patreon.com/writersroutine, and follow us where you get your podcasts.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.