Page One - The Writer's Podcast

Sarah Pinborough is the Sunday Times and New York Times number one bestselling author of over 20 books, including her smash hit, Behind Her Eyes and the just released Dead To Her. She’s also written for TV, and adaptations of her books 13 Minutes and Behind Her Eyes will soon be appearing on Netflix.We had great fun talking to Sarah about how she became an author, why she enjoys writing across genres, and how she came up with THAT twist in Behind Her Eyes (but no spoilers, we promise!). We also talked in detail about how her latest book, Dead To Her, came to be, and discussed what it’s like to land a huge book deal - and why book tours aren’t always all they are cracked up to be!Links:Buy Dead to Her in the US now (out in the UK in the summer!)Buy Sarah’s other books on AmazonThe 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.

Richard Morgan is the author of ground-breaking sci fi and fantasy novels. His debut novel, Altered Carbon, was the first to feature the infamous antihero, Takeshi Kovacs, and was recently adapted into a successful Netflix series. Since then, he has added to the Kovacs series with Broken Angels and Woken Furies, written the fantasy series, A Land Fit For Heroes, and much more. His most recent novel, Thin Air, is the sequel to his 2007 novel, Black Man (also known as Thirteen).This is the second half of our epic chat with Richard about his passion for sci fi, writing and much more! Check out the first half of the chat in episode 20! In this part, we talk to Richard about how he builds the worlds for his stories, and when and when not exposition and info dumping works to help the reader. We also talk about whether literary rules are there to be broken, and hear about how Altered Carbon made its way from page to screen with the Netflix adaptation.Links:Buy Altered Carbon, Thin Air and Richard’s other books on AmazonVisit Richard’s page to find out moreThe 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_ukThanks to Simon Stoke for his audio assistance. Check out his music academy classes at www.subsineacademy.com! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Richard Morgan is the author of ground-breaking sci fi and fantasy novels. His debut novel, Altered Carbon, was the first to feature the infamous antihero, Takeshi Kovacs, and was recently adapted into a successful Netflix series. Since then, he has added to the Kovacs series with Broken Angels and Woken Furies, written the fantasy series, A Land Fit For Heroes, and much more. His most recent novel, Thin Air, is the sequel to his 2007 novel, Black Man (also known as Thirteen).We had an epic chat with Richard about his passion for sci fi, writing and much more! So much more, in fact, that we decided it would be best to split this episode into two parts! In this first part, Richard tells us about the long road to breaking through with Altered Carbon, and we hear about why breaking some of the conventional rules about getting published led to his success.Links:Buy Altered Carbon, Thin Air and Richard’s other books on AmazonVisit Richard’s page to find out moreThe 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_ukThanks to Simon Stoke for his audio assistance. Check out his music academy classes at www.subsineacademy.com! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Claire Askew is the award-winning author of the DI Helen Birch crime series. The first book in the series, All the Hidden Truths, deals with the aftermath of a college shooting in Edinburgh and won the McIlvanney Debut Prize at the Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival. The next book in the DI Birch series, What You Pay For, is a blistering follow-up which has also been shortlisted for the McIlvanney and CWA Awards.We had a great chat with Claire, exploring the long and winding process to the publication of All The Hidden Truths (which included her taking the brave step of leaving her first agent), discuss why the idea of overnight success as an author is a myth - and why believing in writer's block is a dangerous thing!Links:Buy All The Hidden Truths and What You Pay For on AmazonSign up to Claire's Patreon for lots of writing advice!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.

Stuart Heritage is a writer and columnist for The Guardian, The Times, Esquire and many other publications. His columns on TV programmes are always both informative and hilarious, a tradition that carried on when he wrote his first book: a biography of his brother entitled Don’t be a dick, Pete (which we think is genuinely one of the funniest books we have read in years!) His follow-up is a satirical take on fairytales, entitled Bedtime Stories for Worried Liberals.Our chat with Stuart was great fun as we learned how he broke into journalism via website impersonation of Charlie Brooker, how he goes about writing his columns, and why he chose to make his brother the subject of his first book.Links:Buy Don’t be a dick, Pete and Bedtime Stories for Worried Liberals on AmazonRead Stuart’s Guardian columns hereThe 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.

Ian Dallas is the creative director of Giant Sparrow, an indie game studio responsible for some of the most mind-provoking games of recent years. Their first game, The Unfinished Swan, won Best Debut Game at the 2013 Video Game BAFTAs, as well as awards for innovation. The follow-up, What Remains of Edith Finch, won Game of the Year at the BAFTAs, and is a remarkable study of grief and family, the likes of which would previously have been unthinkable in the medium of video games.We chat to Ian about how he and his team create these games, and what the writing process involves. We also hear what inspires Ian's ideas, and discuss the unique storytelling challenges presented by the video game format.Links:Learn more about Giant Sparrow and their gamesThe 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-one Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andy McNab was the British Army's most highly decorated serving soldier when he finally left the SAS. Since then Andy has become one of the world’s bestselling writers, drawing on his insider knowledge and experience. His debut book, Bravo Two Zero, was a huge success worldwide and told the true account of a mission in the Gulf War that went awry. As well as three nonfiction bestsellers including Bravo Two Zero, he is the author of the bestselling Nick Stone series and the Tom Buckingham thrillers and his latest is Whatever It Takes, a fast-paced revenge thriller. He has also written a number of books for children, as well as several screenplays.Andy was great fun on our chat, telling us about how it was through the British Army that he learned to read and write, how Bravo Two Zero came about, and giving us lots of useful hints and tips on writing thrilling stories. We also talk about his work in Hollywood, and chat about his future plans.Links:Buy Whatever It Takes and Andy's other books on AmazonThe 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-one Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jim Zub is a Canadian comic book writer, artist, animator and teacher who has worked on comics such as Marvel's Avengers: No Surrender, IDW's Dungeons & Dragons, and his own creator-owned comics including Skullkickers and Wayward with Image Comics. He also teaches animation at Seneca College in Toronto, and still finds time to offer advice to people wanting to work in the comics industry via his website and on social media.We had a great chat with Jim about how playing Dungeons & Dragons as a young boy helped form his love of storytelling, and talked about how he got his break in comics, working his way up from web comics to working with Image and Marvel. What we learned is that Jim's advice is great for any writer who wants to tell stories, regardless of whether they want to write comics, novels, movies or more.Links:Check out Jim's website for writing tips and to buy his comicsSupport Jim on his Patreon and get access to more writing advice and scriptsThe 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-one Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christopher Golden is the award-winning, bestselling author of novels such as The Myth Hunters, Of Saints and Shadows, Ararat and many more. He is also a fan of the team-up, collaborating with authors such as (previous Page One Podcast guest) Tim Lebbon on novels such as Blood of the Four and The Map of Moments. He has also worked with comics legend Mike Mignola on Hellboy novels, and frequently writes for and edits horror anthology books, such as the recent Hex Life.We had a great chat with Chris about how he got his start in writing, what keeps him writing and how he has managed to write 110 books in 25 years. Chris also gives numerous helpful hints and tips for aspiring writers, the most important of which can be distilled into one word: Hustle! Tune in to find out what Chris means and why it could help you break into the industry.Links:Buy Chris's books on AmazonLearn more about Chris on his 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-one Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Abby-Lynn Knorr is a bestselling author of urban fantasy young adult novels. Her bestselling Elemental Origins series of novels follow a group of friends over one summer as they discover they have secret powers that they will need to use together to help save the world.We had a really interesting chat with Abby about how she has made a massive success of self-publishing (19 novels in 3 years!) She gives out a huge number of helpful hints and tips to those who fancy going down the self-published route, and we chat about why she chose that over the traditional publishing path. We also talk about where she gets her ideas for her novels, and what she has planned for the future.Links:Buy all of Abby’s books on AmazonRead more about Abby's books on her websiteBook GorillaProlific WorksThe 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-one Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.