Writer's Routine

Bethany Clift's debut has come out at JUST the write time. 'Last One at the Party' tells the story of a woman alone on Earth, after humanity has been wiped out by a virus. We talk about how the idea came on a long, lonely journey, and how she got to know the character that readers would be spending so much time with.It's one of the publisher's lead titles this year, and the film rights have already been sold, so it's set for success. We discuss how her background in film production helped her visualise and plan the story slightly differently, and why she owes so much to her editor. You can hear how much she knew about the story before she started, and why the first sentence was so important.We have a good run through her writing space and working day, and how things are changing as she moves on to her second book.Get a copy of 'Last One at the Party' here - https://amzn.to/3fh5145You can support the show, and get involved at Patreon.com/writersroutine too!@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lisa Gardner is a prolific author. She's published 11 'DD Warren' novels, 2 'Tessa Leoni' books, and is back with her first standalone in 20 years. 'Before She Disappeared' tells the story of Frankie Elkin who spends her life doing what no one else will, searching for missing people the world has forgotten about.We talking about why she likes to get things done in the morning, and how she figured out how she works best. Also, how the characters figure themselves out in her down time which drives the story, although it seems to change between books. We talk about being a pantser, who likes to plot at the start, and why she hates the actual words on the page.To get a copy of the book, click here - https://amzn.to/3uF0Mp6We're having lots of lovely chats over on patreon.com/writersroutine, sign up and get involved to share some writing advice!@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ericka Waller's published debut is 'Dog Days', which tells the story of George, Dan, Lizzie and the dogs that bind their lives and emotions together. The word-play in the title gets to the heart of the book. It's a joyous and uplifting story about the heartbreak of mental illness, and it's about the small changing moments that occur when we let the light in.We talk about the times of tragedy that prompted Ericka to write the book, and how her favourite band helped her with the initial idea. You can hear how she balances a full family life with her writing, and how she pushed on through early letters of rejection letters. We discuss the guilt of when the words won't come out, the beat-sheet she uses to help her with the plot, how she's utterly confident in her characters, and why she's writing just for fun at the moment.You can get a copy of the book here - https://amzn.to/333EXU0Please do support us on patreon.com/writersroutine, and leave a review and follow us on Apple Podcasts... if that's how you listen!@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Abigail Mann has just released her second novel, very quickly after publishing her first. 'The Sister Surprise' tells us the story of Ava who discovers she has an unknown sister, and decides to pay her a secret visit.We talk about how she remembers how to write a book, when she between projects. We chat about public accountability with work, and how she's managed that through lockdown. Also, you can hear why she switches between writing softwares and word processors between drafts to keep on her toes.Abigail was shortlisted for the 2019 Comedy Women in Print Prize, and since sense of humour is so subjective, we discuss how she writes funny to an award standard.You can get a copy of 'The Sister Surprise' here - https://amzn.to/3gAUVgvSupport the show over on Patreon.com/writersroutine.@writerpodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chloe James debut novel is so perfectly timed it must have been expertly planned. It was. Chloe James is also Fiona Woodifield, author of 'The Jane Austen Dating Agency' which received critical acclaim recently. Due to the success of that, she was asked by a publisher to write a book based on an idea they'd heard on the radio... what if two neighbours found love in lockdown?Chloe talks about the pressure of getting this done quickly, and being the first to get such an idea out. We chat about how she came up with the characters, writing in aspects of her own life to make them real, and how much she knew about the story before she sat down to write it. Also, Chloe has a busy home life, and we talk about why she's discovered the real secret is creating time for your work, and treating writing time as sacred.You can get a copy of 'Love in Lockdown' here - https://amzn.to/3dgMjK7Also, support the show over at patreon.com/writersroutine.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Naomi Ishiguro's debut novel is something quite special. 'Common Ground' tells the story of Stan and Charlie, unlikely friends who meet during a turbulent time and change each others lives. Naomi had the idea during 2016, after the Brexit referendum changed how she saw the world, and the people in it.We discuss how she moved the idea along, how she gets through the difficult final third of the book, and why she likes her writing space to be completely neutral and lack any personality.Writing is in the blood, Naomi is Sir Kazuo Ishiguro's daughter, and she brings many nuggets of joyful writing advice to the podcast, and gives us a thorough run through of her working day.You can get a copy of the book here - https://amzn.to/31RaOH6If you can, please support us at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nick Petrie has just released the 6th Peter Ash novel, 'The Breaker'. It's all about the war vet with PTSD, trying to live a quiet life on the run, who cannot stand by when he sees an armed man walk into a crowd of people, and no-one knows what might happen next.His debut, 'The Drifter', won many thriller awards, he's award-winning for his short stories too, having gained MFA in fiction from the University of Washington and won a Hopwood Award while he was there.We talk about perfecting the writing space, getting the day just right, using a big bulletin board and thick marker pen to figure out what's next.Nick and I were tight on time in this chat, so didn't get around to much book chat. However, it's a fast-paced, gripping thriller, and you can grab a copy here - https://amzn.to/3rGlQJPPlease support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sarah Leipciger's second novel features a strange, poetic mystery than spans 3 time-frames across different parts of the world. Her critically-acclaimed debut 'The Mountain Can Wait' came out in 2015, and she has been short-listed for many awards for her short stories. Sarah also teaches creative writing to prisoners.We discuss how lockdown has affected creativity, also how she gets things done early to be there for her family, and how she doesn't understand the word-count fascination. You can hear all about her working space and day, how she researched 3 different time zones and places, and how she tried to write some of the most described parts of the world in a unique way.You can get a copy of 'Coming Up For Air' here - https://amzn.to/2NPmKWmThis week's episode is supported by Faber Academy. To get 10% off any online course or manuscript assessment, use the code WRITERSROUTINE21 at faberacademy.com@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucy Clarke is the bestselling author of six psychological thrillers, which have been sold in over 20 territories. Her new novel is 'The Castaways', which tells the story of two sisters on holiday who have a fight at the airport right before boarding. One gets on the plane, the other doesn't, and when the airplane seemingly crashes, the sister left behind determines to get to the bottom of the mystery. We talk about mulling over the idea, and how she researched the story, facts and events of plane crashes.Also, we talk about the joyous side of her research, which involves a lot of wanderlust, and how she divides her time between 2 writing spaces as sometimes she needs to escape. Lucy is married to a professional windsurfer (?!) and we discuss how they divide their time fantastically, to both spend moments with the children, and for getting their work done.Grab a copy of the book here - https://amzn.to/3lSA74LThis episode is supported by Faber Academy, the fantastic writing school from the publishing house Faber. To save 10% on any online writing course or manuscript assessment, use the code WRITERSROUTINE21 when checking out at faberacademy.co.uk.@writerspodwritersroutine.compatreon.com/writersroutine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's guest is the inspirational memoir and crime writer Shane Dunphy. Shane worked as a child protection worker for 15 years, the things he experienced gave him the ideas to begin life as an author, something he'd always wanted. His first nine titles dealt with his time on the frontline of social care work, and include the number one bestseller 'Wednesday’s Child'. Under the name SA Dunphy, he's published a series of crime novels about the emotionally damaged criminologist David Dunnigan, and is back with a new true crime series with Audible, 'Stories from the Margins', again recalling experiences from life in social care work.We talk about where he works every day, how he created his perfect writing space, why his short walk to work gets him in the perfect frame of mind to tell stories, and why walking with a dictaphone really helps him out too. You can hear how his writing started as a childhood challenge from his mum, and what he thinks of the responsibility he feels when telling other peoples stories. We also chat about how he feels people view the inspirational memoir genre, and whether he cares at all.Listen to 'Stories from the Margins' on Audible here - https://amzn.to/3rEvX2nThis episode is supported by Faber Academy, to get 10% off any online course or manuscript assessment until September 2021, use the code WRITERSROUTINE21 when checking out at faberacademy.co.uk@writerspodpatreon.com/writersroutinewritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.