Jennie Fields' 5th novel is 'Atomic Love', it's a twisting spy drama with a side of romance set in 1950's Chicago. It tells the story of Rosalind, a worker on the Manhattan Project, who is recruited to the CIA. We chat about how she brought such an evocative era to life, bending the rules of the spy genre. You can hear how the idea came from her family history, and things she discovered about her mum and the Manhattan Project.We talk about the luxurious writing room she has, why she gets started late in the day, and how much she knows about a novel before she gets to work on it.To grab a copy of 'Atomic Love', click here - https://amzn.to/3knnIUKThis episode is supported by the new book from Steven Butler and Steven Lenton. To get the 4th novel in the 'Nothing to See Here Hotel' Series, 'The Fiend of the Seven Sewers', click here - https://amzn.to/3oiBlXWPlease do support us on Patreon - patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Isabelle Broom has just published her seventh novel. 'Hello, Again' follows mosaic artist Pepper, who accompanies her elderly friend Josephine on the trail of a long-lost love affair through Europe. It has been described as “a dreamy, romantic, irresistible treat”, and promises whisk you off overseas for a fabulous adventure. We talk about how she delivers on that promise with words on a page, how she uses them to make idealistic adventure filled with emotion come to life.She writes escapist romance novels set all over the world. Isabelle has taken readers to Prague, Italy, Spain, Sri Lanka, New Zealand amongst many more places - the best part is, she has to travel there to research it herself!We chat about what getting the first draft done really helps with, how to make your characters the most authentic they can be, how to pick the perfect word, and how to make lockdown creativity work for you.Buy a copy here - https://amzn.to/2SZA6hLIf you can, please support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week our guest is the phenomenally successful Matt Haig. Since huge bestseller 'Reasons to Stay Alive', Matt has shot to the nation's consciousness. He's written kids books, christmas books, a follow up called, 'Notes on a Nervous Planet', and six highly acclaimed novels for adults. Three of his books are currently being made into films, he has sold more than a million books in the UK and his work has been translated into over forty languages.His new novel is 'The Midnight Library'. It's about Nora Seed, who feels she has let everyone down, her life has been full of regret... but then she finds herself in the midnight library. It's a place between life and death, where she has the chance to make things life, and see how her life could have been different.The book is a parallel life story, in the mould of 'It's a Wonderful Life' and 'Sliding Doors'. We talk about why his search for the root of humanity led him to write it, and why his exploration of what it means to live kept him going. You can hear how his lead character Nora changed many times through writing, and why he really only ever thinks about the first draft.It's a brilliant chat at unpicking how he gets stuff done, where he writes, how he plans his day, and even what font he works best in.You can buy a copy of the brilliant book here - https://amzn.to/3iH1KdJThis episode is sponsored by the brilliant 'How to Write a Great Story' by Caroline Lawrence. It's a fantastic guidebook to every aspect of planning, plotting, and getting your ideas and characters down on paper. You can grab a copy here - https://amzn.to/2GSzo2V@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trevor Wood's debut novel 'The Man on the Street' tells the story of Jimmy, a homeless veteran with PTSD who sees a murder, but no-one believes him. We talk about writing crime, about getting into the voice of Jimmy, and trying to stop the demonisation of the homeless.Trevor has been a busy man, working as a former naval officer, a journalist, becoming a successful playwright, and then choosing his time to write his debut crime novel. To do it, he went to study at University, where he got fantastic advice from all sorts of authors, including Lee Child. You can hear about the pact he made with his partner to take a year out to get the book done.We talk about planning and plotting the novel, how writing plays massively helped him with the dialogue, and how he brought Newcastle to life with words on a page.You can get a copy of the novel here - https://amzn.to/3ioAOiSIf you can, please support us on Patreon.com/writersroutine, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jane Fallon's 10th novel, 'Queen Bee', is out now. It's all about Stella who is the ruler of a posh, snobbish street, and how her life is thrown upside down when a new girl moves into the neighbourhood. We talk about her research for the novel, and why she didn't have to look to far away to be inspired. You can hear how she finds it tough to inhabit the heads and find the voices for her characters at first, and how she works around that. Plus, we talk about what she's learned from writing 10 novels, and how working in television helped her understand storytelling more than anything else.Jane is a multi-award-winning television producer behind shows such as This Life, Teachers and 20 Things to Do before You're 30. Her debut novel "Getting Rid of Matthew' was published in 2007 and became a Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller as have her subsequent books 'Got You Back', 'Foursome', 'The Ugly Sister', 'Skeletons', 'Strictly Between Us','My Sweet Revenge', 'Faking Friends' and 'Tell Me a Secret'.You can buy a copy of 'Queen Bee' using this link - https://amzn.to/3iaSv5xYou can support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine, and follow us on Twitter @writerspod. ALSO, if you have a spare moment, please do leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mara Timon's new novel is 'City of Spies', it's set in Lisbon during World War Two. It's a part and place of the war that warrants a story being told, as it's endlessly fascinating, but not many people know of it. We follow agent Elizabeth, whose cover is blown while discovering a huge wartime secret, and she must evade capture by the Gestapo while discovering more of the truth.Raised in New York, Mara moved to the UK almost 20 years ago; and fell in love with London and the way it melds the old and the new. Growing up with one parent fascinated with literature and the other with history, she started writing from an early age, although it wasn't until a programme on the BBC caught her interest, and one 'what if' led to another, that her first book began to take shape.We discuss finding the time to write when you have a day job, how she reveals things to her character along the way, and places the reader in the characters shoes to bring wartime Lisbon alive.If you'd like to buy the book, please think about using this link so we get a little kickback too - https://amzn.to/3c4ZM5sThis episode is sponsored by 'The House of Paris Le Grand' by Nicholas Robinson, a tale of love, life, drag queens and bucket lists. Find out more and get a copy here - https://amzn.to/3c4ZM5sYou can sponsor the show too by supporting us on Patreon.com/writersroutine!@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're chatting to YouTuber, radio presenter, film maker and now writer, Calum McSwiggan. His debut is a memoir, 'Eat, Gay, Love', which tells the story of his journey around the world, meeting different members of the LGBTQ+ community.He hosted a popular radio show for FUBAR Radio and has also created several short films, including the award-winning Love Happens Here, which was named 'Best LGBT+ Short Film' at the Buffer Festival in Toronto. In 2019 he started a book club to encourage young people to read more LGBT+ literature.We talk about how you distill a life of experiences into a 300-odd page book, how you make sure you're giving the reader the authentic story, and the decision to write memoir in the first place.If you'd like to buy a copy, please click this link to help us at the same time - https://amzn.to/2DSGOSYYou can also help us by pledging here - patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Erin Kinsley's second book 'Innocent' tells of a close-knit community devastated when a local celebrity is found dead. It follows on from her immensely successful debut 'Found, published last year to great acclaim. You can hear why that book was a story she needed to tell, and to get it down she completely changed her writing routine and process.We talk about the diagrams and charts she works through to write, why she switches between a fountain pen and laptop depending, and how he writing differs in the morning and evening.Also, we chat to Ed Needham, the editor of the fantastic 'Strong Words' magazine all about this month's issue, and why it's such a labour of love for him.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Menna van Praag is the author of 6 magical realism novels, her new one is 'The Sisters Grimm'. It's a story of four girls born on the same day with their fate twisted together, they must find each other to save their lives, but one is destined to die. It's a twist on classic fairytales, and we discuss the first moment the idea for the story came into her mind.We talk about the deal that she made with her husband to become a writer before she was 30, why she self-published and how she managed to convince bookshops to take a chance on her story. You can hear how much she plots and plans, how long it took her to find her voice, and she shares the best writing-tip she's ever been told...I think it best be the best you've ever heard too.If you'd like to buy a copy, have a think about using this link - https://amzn.to/32rbJOn - that way we get a little kick-back from Bezos.This week's episode is sponsored by the 'Garnet and Petunia' series by Captain William Gilbert. They're about the bitter, twisted ex-merchant seaman who runs a private detective agency in Bangkok. Find out more at captainwilliamgilbert.com. Grab a copy of the series here - https://amzn.to/34zaBLfCaptain William sponsored the show on patreon.com/writersroutine, feel free to do that too!@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amanda Jennings has just published her 5th novel, 'The Storm', which is set in a lonely, isolated Cornish fishing village. It's about Hannah who seems to have the perfect marriage, but is desperately controlled by her husband, Nathan, behind closed doors, and how its linked to a tragic storm of years before.Since her debut, 'Sworn Secret', she regularly tops the Kindle bestselling chart. Her novels all focus on a haunting aspect of loneliness, of being withdrawn, and of secrets which affect families. We talk about why she keeps coming back to these themes, how she works through ideas, and her lack of thorough planning. She's a proper pantser.She has been involved in the WoMentoring Project, which offers mentoring support for talented female writers with women who work in the literary world, and run writers' workshops.If you fancy reading the book, please use this link - https://amzn.to/31h9AW5Also, have a think about supporting us at patreon.com/writersroutine, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.