Writer's Routine

Yangsze Choo's debut novel 'The Ghost Bride', was released 10 years ago, and has been adapted by Netflix. Her follow-up 'The Night Tiger', was a BBC 2 'Between the Covers' pick, a Reese Witherspoon Book Pick, and was selected for the UK's Big Jubilee Read. She's a New York Times bestseller.Her 3rd novel in the last 10 years is 'The Fox Wife'. Set in 1908 Manchuria, it weaves in folklore and myth, it's a quest for love, and a murder mystery. We discuss changes in her routine over the last 10 years, and why she takes her time, brooding over a low word-count. You can also hear how much impact the weather has., and how much debut success can affect what you follow up with. We chat about the tantalising prospect of streaming and film rights, how that changes how you plan future novels, and why we all think differently.Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mandy Robotham has had many careers, and is busy. She's worked as a midwife, a journalist, and now is an author across genres. Her newest novel is 'The Hidden Storyteller', tells the story of reporter Georgie Young who, in 1946 returns to Germany and finds it unrecognisable post-war, she then teams up with detective Harri Schroder to catch a killer.We talk about historical fiction, how she knows the rules of the genre, and how much she thinks about the style of the writing. You can hear about the thorough research she took on, about what happens when you get caught out, and why Buffalo wings were her undoing. Mandy discusses the balance of being an extroverted writer, how she finds the male voice, and why she likes to stop mid-scene.This week's episode is sponsored by 'Who is the Cheese Wire Killer?', a brand new true crime podcast. Take a listen wherever you get your shows.Support us at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Caroline Dunford has published over 30 books across many genres. Her best loved is the 'Euphemia Martins' Mysteries', which solves crimes set one hundred years ago. Her latest release is 'The Augmentors', a Young Adult novel published under the name Gemini Gibson. We get quite philosophical, talking about the big picture of writing, and why she feels the need to carry on. She has a story-telling infection, and has published many books, even though she's never got down that 'perfect' novel which sells millions upon millions. We discuss why sometimes she writes under contract, and other times there are stories that have be written regardless, and how she structures a year around that. You can hear how plot development changes in a series of books, how she figures out the tone of a book as she flits between genre, and how she decides what book comes next.This week's episode is sponsored by 'Who is the Cheese Wire Killer?', a true-crime podcast available wherever you get your shows.Support the podcast at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Orlando Murrin has had many careers. In the early 90's he appeared on 'Masterchef', reaching the semi-final on a show watched by 12 million people. From then, he's worked as a chef and hotelier, written cookbooks, edited magazines, made podcasts, and now has a novel out. 'Knife Skills for Beginners' sees Paul Delamare investigating murders at a high-end cookery school in Belgravia, London. We talk about why the kitchen has the perfect recipe for crime. You can hear why his protagonist very rarely did what he was supposed to, how he researched the novel while writing, and what made he keep going on tangents.We discuss why Orlando is extremely particular about his keyboard, whether magazine writing influences story-telling, where his drive to do comes from, and why a little bit of wine sometimes helps alot.This week's episode is sponsored by 'Who is the Cheese Wire Killer?', a new true crime podcast putting you in the heart of one of the UK's most famous unsolved murders. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we chat to Maura Cheeks, who has written pieces and columns all over the place, being featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic and the Harvard Business Review. Her debut novel is called 'Acts of Forgiveness', and is out on the 13th February.It tells the story of Willie Revel who gives up a career as journalist in New York to help run her family's struggling company in Philadelphia. When the President prepares to pass a bill allowing black families to claim reparations if they can prove they're descendants of slaves, Willie delves into the family history and learns much more than she expected.We chat about the importance of subject, how writing columns as a journalist changes what you do as an author, and her method of free-writing. Her dad is NBA legend Maurice Cheeks, currently assistant coach of the Chicago Bulls, and we discuss whether growing up with successful parents has any impact on your own quest for success.This week's episode is sponsored by 'Who is the Cheese Wire Killer?', about a 1983 unsolved murder, one of Scotland's grimest... and you can be part of the live investigation. Find it wherever you get your shows.Support us at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we're joined by Sarah Marsh. Her debut is 'A Sign of Her Own'. It tells the story of Ellen Lark, who discovers a side to Alexander Graham Bell, one of history's most famous figures, that few other people know. Sarah was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavenish Prize in 2019, selected for the London Library Emerging Writer's Programme, and has a Masters in Creative Writing. She is also deaf, as is her protagonist Ellen, and we discuss why this story was so important to write. You can hear why it took 12 years to get published, whether you ever really know the story is finished, and how she went about researching real figures from the past.This episode is sponsored by 'Who is the Cheese Wire Killer?', a brand new true crime podcast you can find wherever you get your shows.Support us at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rebecca Thorne's new novel is 'The Grief House', it's about the ex-tarot reader Blue, who escapes to a grief retreat on a beautiful country estate. Only, when the weather closes in, and someone disappears in the night, Blue wonders whose grief might hide a deeper secret.Rebecca published 2 psychological thriller books under the name Rebecca Tinnelly, and we discuss why she swapped names and how it helped her break up her day, and switch between tasks.You can hear why her date is structured pretty thoroughly, why she likes to be as cosy as possible for the first draft, and how mentoring at the Faber Academy changes the way she thinks about her own writing.We also get very deep into why Rebecca is very passionate about verb placement.This week's pod is sponsored by 'Who is the Cheese Wire Killer?', take a listen wherever you get your podcasts.Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Helen Fisher's debut, 'Space Hopper' was acclaimed as one of the most unique debuts of 2021, recommended by Cosmopolitan, Woman's Weekly', Marian Keyes, and many more, it looked set to launch her to a glittering career.Things weren't that simple for Helen. In the following 2 years, she wrote 3 novels which were all turned down and rejected. At an incredibly low point, she almost gave up. It was only the story of Joe, along with her editor, that gave her enough strength to carry on for one last go. 'Joe Nuthin's Guide to Life' tells the story of Joe, who likes everything predictable, consistent and in order, yet he soon finds an adventure pushes him well outside of his comfort zone, where sometimes joy lies.We discuss how Helen overcame her tricky 2 years, what she's learned from it, and how that is affecting how she approaches publication now. Also, you can hear why she's always writing, even when she isn't writing, why it wasn't the plot that drew her into the story, and how she made characters authentic, not cliched or predictable.This week's episode is sponsored by true-crime podcast, 'Who is the Cheese Wire Killer?', find it wherever you're listening to this!Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor Emma Smith teaches Shakespeare Studies at the University of Oxford. She has published some academic non-fiction works before, but this is her first work of real commercial non-fiction. 'Portable Magic: A History of Books and Their Readers', looks at why books are so importantly culturally - why can't we throw them away? What is it about a physical copy that means more than a digital file? What is the history of this phenomenon?We discuss the idea for the book, how she began to research it, and what inspired her when thinking commercially. You can hear why she labours over the introduction, making it perfect, also how much a non-fiction author knows before starting to write, and the questions she asks herself to get the tone right.As Emma is a professor of Shakespeare Studies, we discuss why his work is still relevant 400 years after it was first written, whether he could have written it all alone, and why scepticism of its authorship could be classist. This week's episode is sponsored by 'Who is the Cheese Wire Killer?', a brand new true-crime podcast you can listen to wherever you get your shows.Support us at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy New Year! Let's start 2024 with a bumper episode from a fantastic historical fiction author. D.V Bishop has published 3 'Cesare Aldo' novels, and the 4th is on the way. He's won the CWA Historical Dagger Award, and his novels are highly commended across the board.His newest novel is 'Ritual of Fire'. It takes you to 1538 Florence, where a rich merchant is found hanged and set ablaze in the centre of the city, as a warning to put the fear of God into Florence... only Cesare Aldo can discover what's happening.We talk through the process of planning historical fiction, how much he's strict on sticking to the facts of the day, and what happens when he's got something wrong. You can hear how he overcomes the challenges of using language approriate for the 1500s, why word-count isn't the end of the world, and what writing tie-in fiction is really like... how does it feel to be responsible for some of the most famous characters in the world.This week's episode is sponsored by 'Who is the Cheese Wire Killer?', a true-crime podcast about Scotland's most gruesome unsolved murder... which is being solved at this moment. Take a listen wherever you get your shows.Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writersroutinewritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.