Page One - The Writer's Podcast

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.

Craig Robertson spent 20 years as a journalist for Scottish Sunday newspaper reporting on stories such as 9/11, the Omagh Bombings and the Dunblane shootings before changing career to become a bestselling crime writer. His books, featuring police photographer Tony Winter and his wife DI Narey, have become firm favourites for crime lovers everywhere.We had a great chat with Craig about how he broke in with his first book, Random, and why he made Tony Winter a police photographer. We also hear how Craig goes about writing his books, why he's come to value planning, and what he loves (and doesn't love) about researching his books.Links:Buy Craig's latest book, The Photographer, and all his others on Amazon.Stealing Hollywood - Screenwriting tips for authors by Alexandra SokoloffWikipedia page for Enrique MetinidesThe 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.

Welcome to a new season of The Page One Podcast!We kick off this season in great style with a chat with world-renowned and bestselling thriller writer, David Baldacci. Since releasing his first book, Absolute Power, in 1997, David has gone on to create iconic characters like King & Maxwell, Amos Decker and Will Robie. With 130 million books sold, David is still at the top of his game and earlier this year released his latest novel, One Good Deed, a 1940s set thriller with new character, Aloysius Archer.We had the pleasure of talking to David about how he began his writing career, how he got his big break and what keeps him writing. We also learned that breaking the rules can help you progress, and talk about what it felt like to have his very first book turned into a blockbuster movie with Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman.Links:Buy David's latest book, One Good Deed, and his many others on Amazon.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-one Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peter James is a UK No. 1 bestselling author, best known for writing crime and thriller novels, and the creator of the much-loved Detective Superintendent Roy Grace. He has sold over 19 million copies to date, and has been translated into 37 languages. His latest book in the Roy Grace series, Dead at First Sight, went straight in at No. 1.We had a great chat with Peter about his career and how a start in TV led to him becoming a published author. We also learn about his his collaboration with the police leads to ideas for the Roy Grace novels, and also hear about how a mysterious phone call 28 years ago lead to his last bestseller, Absolute Proof.Links:Buy Dead At First Sight, Absolute Proof and Peter'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.

Tim Lebbon is a New York Times-bestselling horror, thriller, sci-fi and fantasy writer. He has written over 30 novels, including several in collaboration with Christopher Golden, as well as dozens of novellas and many short stories. One of his books, The Silence, was recently adapted as a Netflix movie.We had a great chat with Tim, learning how he managed to escape the world of work to become a full-time writer, what it's like writing novelisations and tie-ins to well-known franchises, and what it's like having your book adapted into a movie on Netflix. We also discussed how he writes novels with Christopher Golden, as well as what the best TV shows of all time are...Buy The Silence, Blood of the Four and Tim'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.

One of the UK's most acclaimed and successful crime novelists, Mark Billingham has seen each of his novels feature in the top ten of The Sunday Times bestseller list. Sales of his novels featuring London-based detective Tom Thorne have topped over 4.5 million in over 25 countries, and he is the first author to win the Theakstons Old Peculier Award for Crime Novel Of The Year twice, for his novels Lazybones and Death Message. His latest novel, Their Little Secret, is just out in hardback.Our chat with Mark was great fun, learning about his background in acting and comedy before he turned to writing, and discussing how he keeps coming up with ideas for macabre crimes for Tom Thorne to investigate! He also provides some great insights into his writing process - and tells us what he thinks the greatest crime show on TV is...Links:Buy Their Little Secret and Mark's other novels 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.