Page One - The Writer's Podcast

It's the Return of the Mike as friend of the podcast Mike Carey returns to chat with us about his latest novel, The Book of Koli, set in a post-apocalyptic Britain. We also had time to talk about his latest comic series, The Dollhouse Family, and gained lots of hints and tips about how to create new worlds.Links:Buy The Book of Koli and Mike's other booksBuy The Dollhouse FamilyThe 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.

Christian Divine is a screenwriter and video game writer whose credits include the seminal cyberpunk game Deus Ex. More recently, Christian was lead writer on the amazing Life Is Strange games from DontNod Entertainment which tell the stories of teenage kids with supernatural powers growing up in small-town USA.We had a really interesting chat with Christian about how he came to be a writer, and how writing for video games differs from other mediums. He talked to us about why video game writers are only now starting to get the recognition that they deserve, and how video games have grown up quickly. And for fans of Life Is Strange - yes, we also chat about the use of that word and why Christian was proven correct in the end!Links:Buy Life is Strange and Life is Strange 2Follow Christian 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.

After working in Scottish politics, Jonathan Whitelaw moved into journalism before becoming an author. Subjects he has covered in the press have varied from breaking news, the arts, culture and sport to fashion, music and even radioactive waste - with everything in between. He's also a regular reviewer and talking head on shows for the BBC and STV.His debut novel was Morbid Relations, a darkly comic tale about a struggling Scottish comedian was followed up by Hellcorp in which the devil sets up a company to look after the sins of the world while he has a vacation! That has now become a series, with the latest book, The Man in the Dark, continuing the Hellcorp story. The novels are darkly comic thrillers, as we discuss, as much crime fiction as fantasy. During our enjoyable chat with Jonathan, we hear about how writing fiction differs from journalism, and the route he took to publication - without an agent. We also talk about what inspired the Hellcorp series, and find out whether Jonathan really prefers God or the Devil...Links:Buy Jonathan’s 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.

Gareth L Powell is an award-winning British sci-fi author whose amazing worlds have found him a loyal following. Best known for his Embers of War trilogy, his novels have twice won the British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novel and have been finalists for both the Locus Award in the US and the Seiun Award in Japan. He is also the first person to have had individual work shortlisted in the Best Novel, Best Short Fiction, and Best Nonfiction categories of the BSFA Award in the same year.We had a really interesting chat with Gareth about how he broke into writing, and where he comes up with his amazing ideas. We also chatted about how he is beloved on Twitter by all writers as he freely gives out help and advice - and even got some of that help and advice ourselves!Links:Buy Gareth's books on AmazonCheck out Gareth's author pageSign up to Gareth's PatreonThe 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.

Dave Cook is the writer and creator of indie comics such as Bust, Vessels and the hugely successful cyberpunk comic, Killtopia.We had a great chat with Dave about how he began writing comics and then turn them into a reality. We talked about teaming up with artists, the importance of conventions and how welcoming the comics community can be if you are wanting to be part of it. We also discussed the themes behind Killtopia, and what is next in the series…Links:Buy Killtopia on AmazonCheck out Dave's other comics on his site, Card Shark ComicsThe 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.

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.