Page One - The Writer's Podcast

Yes, the tables are turned this week as our very own Tariq Ashkanani joins us as a guest rather than interviewer to tell us about the path to publishing his debut novel, Welcome to Cooper, which currently sits high on Amazon's Kindle Store!Tariq explains his rather convoluted path to becoming a writer, and how the spark for his brilliant debut came after attending a short story writing class. We also talk about the trials and tribulations of finding an agent, hear how he honed his writing voice - and of course find out once and for all whether he will pick ebooks as his favourite medium...Links:Buy Welcome To Cooper now!The Page One Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter: @write_gearFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WriteGearUK/Follow us on Instagram: write_gear_uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Catherine Quinn is a bestselling fiction author whose books are published in over fifteen countries. She writes contemporary thrillers as Cate Quinn, and her historical thrillers are published under the pen name CS Quinn. Catherine’s was a travel and lifestyle journalist for The Times, The Guardian and The Mirror, alongside many magazines. Prior to journalism and fiction, her background in historic research won prestigious postgraduate funding from the British Art Council.Combining research skills with far-flung travel experiences helped her delve into different communities and worlds to create page-turning thrillers in interesting locations.We had great fun chatting with Cate about her writing journey, hearing about how she was diverted from her first historical thriller to self-publish erotica under a pen name, how that led back to a traditional publishing deal for her historical fiction and finding out why she has now moved into contemporary fiction with her latest novel, Black Windows. We talk about marketing when you are self-publishing, building email lists of readers, and how writing out of sequence can help with the "murky middle" of your book! Plus we chat about her food blog and ask about the worst thing she has eaten on her travels...Links:Buy Black WidowsBuy the CS Quinn booksRead Cate's food blogFollow Cate on TwitterVisit Cate's websiteThe Page One Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter: @write_gearFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WriteGearUK/Follow us on Instagram: write_gear_uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Duncan Hamilton is an award-winning non-fiction author and sports journalist. His first book, Provided You Don't Kiss Me:20 Years with Brian Clough, won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year, and award he has subsequently won another two times. He has just released his first fiction novel, Injury Time.We had a really interesting chat with Duncan about his route into sports journalism and hear what led him to move into the world of books. We talk about how he picks his subjects for his non-fiction books and find out why he has decided to move into the world of novel writing with Injury Time. We also have a chat about why football (soccer for our US listeners!) never seems to work in movies, and, given this episode was recorded just before the Euro 2020 final, Marco and him briefly discuss prospects for their respective teams...Links:Buy Duncan's booksThe Page One Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter: @write_gearFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WriteGearUK/Follow us on Instagram: write_gear_uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we have not one but two great guests! Abir Mukherjee is the bestselling author of the Sam Wyndham series of crime novels set in Raj era India. His debut, A Rising Man, won the CWA Endeavour Dagger for best historical crime novel of 2017. His latest, Death in the East, was nominated for the Theakston Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2021. Vaseem Khan is the author of two crime series set in India, the Baby Ganesh Agency series set in modern Mumbai, and the Malabar House historical crime novels set in 1950s Bombay. He is also an award-winning author and his latest, The Dying Day, is out now. As well as being award-winning authors, Abir and Vaseem also host the popular literary podcast, The Red Hot Chilli Writers (on which our very own Tariq Ashkanani recently appeared as a guest!)We had a great time speaking with both Abir and Vaseem, and in between the jokes we even managed to talk about writing! We heard about the very different paths they took to becoming published and talk about the role that luck and timing can have in becoming a successfully published author. We also chat about favourite books, hear why Abir is always trying to take Vaseem to KFC and may even mention the name of Vaseem's new book once or twice...Links:Buy Death in the East and Abir's other books nowBuy The Dying Day and Vaseem's other books nowVisit Abir's websiteVisit Vaseem's websiteVisit The Red Hot Chilli Writers websiteThe Page One Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter: @write_gearFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WriteGearUK/Follow us on Instagram: write_gear_uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

C. Robert Cargill started out as a film reviewer for one of the internet's first film sites, aintitcool.com, before moving into the world of movies himself, writing films such as Sinister and Dr Strange. Not content with taking the movie world by storm, he has also become a bestselling novelist, and his most recent book, Day Zero, is a prequel to the brilliant Sea of Rust.We loved chatting with Cargill about his varied career, learning about how he used the access he had as a film reviewer as a crash course in film studies, how a chance meeting with his friend Scott Derrickson in Vegas led to Sinister being pitched, written and green-lit in record time, and why he loves working in both the film and book world. We also talk about learning to accept that a lot of great work you write as a screenwriter may never get made, and discuss when and when not to take advice from others on your work.Links:Buy Day Zero and Cargill's other booksFollow Cargill on TwitterThe Page One Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter: @write_gearFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WriteGearUK/Follow us on Instagram: write_gear_uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As well as being a successful novelist, Imran Mahmood is a practising barrister with over 30 years' court experience. His first book, You Don't Know Me, was chosen by Simon Mayo as a BBC Radio 2 Book Club Choice for 2017 and longlisted for Theakston Crime Novel of the Year and for the CWA Gold Dagger award. It's currently being adapted for TV. His latest book, I Know What I Saw, is just out.We loved chatting with Imran about how he got into writing and how his day job as a criminal barrister helps shape his stories. We also stand back in awe as he tells us how he balances that day job, the writing, TV work and having a young family (while also reading about 5 books at once)!Links:Buy I Know What I Saw and Imran's other books hereFollow Imran on TwitterThe Page One Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter: @write_gearFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WriteGearUK/Follow us on Instagram: write_gear_uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philip Gwynne Jones spent twenty years in the IT industry before realising he was congenitally unsuited to it, and now works as a writer, teacher and translator. He lives in Venice with his wife Caroline. His first novel, “The Venetian Game”, was a Waterstones Thriller of the Month and a Times Top 5 bestseller. “The Venetian Legacy”, the fifth in the Nathan Sutherland series, was published in April 2021.We loved chatting with Philip and hearing about how he accidentally became a bestselling author. We hear about how he manages to make Venice almost a character in its own right in his novels, and learn how his protagonist, Nathan Sutherland came about. We also chat about whether he is a planner or pantser, and ask whether he would ever write a novel set outside Venice.Links:Buy The Venetian Legacy and Philip's other booksVisit Philip's websiteFollow Philip on TwitterThe Page One Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter: @write_gearFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WriteGearUK/Follow us on Instagram: write_gear_uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

MJ Arlidge is a man of many talents, being a novelist, screenwriter and producer. Having started out as a storyliner for Eastenders on the BBC, he went on to work on celebrated British shows such as Monarch of the Glen and Silent Witness, before creating his own hit shows such as Mistresses and Cape Wrath. He came to the world of novels in his 40s, when Eeny Meeny was released to huge success. Its protagonist, DI Helen Grace has since featured in many more books, with the latest being the recently released Truth or Dare.It was great fun chatting with Matthew about his career, and hearing about the many differences between the TV and publishing world. We hear about how his experience in the TV world helped him pitch his first novel, and learn about the differences in getting notes in each industry (hint - there normally aren't three editors in one room in the publishing world!)Links:Buy Truth or Dare and Matthew's other booksFollow him on TwitterThe Page One Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter: @write_gearFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WriteGearUK/Follow us on Instagram: write_gear_uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Caroline Hulse is the author of Like a House on Fire and The Adults. All The Fun of the Fair is her latest novel which has just been released. Her books have been published in fourteen languages and optioned for television.We had great fun chatting with Caroline, hearing about how she moved from HR into writing, why she still works in an office (as an author!) and why she abandoned writing suspense novels for humour. We also get great advice about outrunning your fear as a writer, learn why she loves to plan meticulously, and even get some great board game recommendations from her!Links:Buy All The Fun of The Fair and Caroline's other booksVisit Caroline's websiteFollow Caroline on TwitterWatch our video panel Page One Sessions as we discuss writing with great authors: https://youtu.be/gmE6iCDYn-sThe Page One Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter: @write_gearFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WriteGearUK/Follow us on Instagram: write_gear_uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special episode, we talk with all three of the nominees for the 2021 Desmond Elliott Prize, the showcase award for debut authors from the National Centre for Writing.First up, we talk with AK Blakemore, author of The Manningtree Witches, a brilliant literary historical fiction novel set in England in 1643. AK is the author of two full-length collections of poetry: Humbert Summer (Eyewear, 2015) and Fondue (Offord Road Books, 2018), which was awarded the 2019 Ledbury Forte Prize for Best Second Collection. She has also translated the work of Sichuanese poet Yu Yoyo (My Tenantless Body, Poetry Translation Centre, 2019). Her poetry and prose writing has been widely published and anthologised, appearing in the The London Review of Books, Poetry, Poetry Review and The White Review, among others.Then we chat with Rebecca Watson, author of the incredible little scratch, an experimental literary novel told in immediate first person. Rebecca is one of The Observer‘s 10 best debut novelists of 2021. Her work has been published in the TLS, The Guardian, Granta and elsewhere. In 2018, she was shortlisted for the White Review Short Story Prize. She works part-time as Assistant Arts Editor at the Financial Times and lives in London.Finally, we speak with Eley Williams, author of The Liar's Dictionary, a dual timeline literary novel revolving around false entries in dictionaries. Eley lectures at Royal Holloway, University of London. Her short story collection Attrib. and Other Stories (Influx Press) won the James Tait Black Prize and the Republic of Consciousness Prize. The Liar’s Dictionary is her debut novel.Links:Read about the Desmond Elliott PrizeBuy The Manningtree WitchesBuy little scratchBuy The Liar's DictionaryWatch our video panel Page One Sessions as we discuss writing with great authors: https://youtu.be/gmE6iCDYn-sThe Page One Podcast is brought to you by Write Gear, creators of Page One - the Writer's Notebook. Learn more and order yours now: https://www.writegear.co.uk/page-oneFollow us on Twitter: @write_gearFollow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WriteGearUK/Follow us on Instagram: write_gear_uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.