Writer's Routine

This week, we chat to the historical fiction author and academic, Steven Veerapen. He's best known for his Anthony Blanke series, set in the Tudor period, about the son of a black trumpeter, John Blanke, who was a real figure in the court of King Henry VIII. There's 'Of Blood Descended' and 'Of Judgement Fallen', which are out in print and just released as audiobooks. He's also written 3 in the 'Simon Danforth' series, and a few ab...

Alex Pavesi spent a long time writing many debut novels. He would write a few thousands words, get struck by a brilliant new idea, get bored, stop writing and the cycle would continue. Finally, he landed upon a way of storytelling that allowed him to write a finished book. That became 'Eight Detectives', which was a Sunday Times Crime Book of the Year and a smash-hit.

He's followed it up with 'Ink Ribbon Red'. It tells the story...

Sarah Easter Collins is an all-round creative. Alongside being a painter, she's just published her debut, 'Things Don't Break on their Own'. It tells the story of Willa, whose life shattered into tiny pieces when her sister disappeared on the way to school, and she has never been able to put them back together again. Willa sees Laika everywhere: on buses, at parties, in busy streets. It’s been twenty-five years, and the only thing ...

Louise Swanson is the pen-name of bestselling and award-winning author, Louise Beech. Louise has 8 novels out, a memoir, and has picked up all sorts of prizes for her work. She has written the play based on her debut novel, 'How to be Brave', which is currently touring the UK, and has written columns for local newspapers.

She's back with a Louise Swanson novel, called 'Light's Out'. Set in a strange version of the UK, where a st...

Gareth Rubin is back with one of the few Sherlock Holmes books officially authorised and certified by the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle estate. It's called 'Holmes and Moriarty', and tells the story of two of fiction's greatest adversaries being forced to form an alliance, to face a threat bigger than anything that's gone before.

It's Gareth's 4th published novel, coming after 'Liberation Square', 'The Winter Agent', and 'The Turnglass...

Molly Green writes wartime novels that celebrate the women who stayed home and served their country. Her new novel is 'Courage for the Cabinet Girl'. Set in 19412, with Britain in the throes of the Second World War, it's about Katharina Valentine who feels sidelined. Employed as a shorthand-typist in the War Office, she is transferred to the basement below – home of the top-secret Cabinet War Rooms. Unexpected staff shortages prese...

Jodi Picoult is one of the world's most successful authors. She's written over 30 books, been translated into 34 languages, and has sold more than 40 MILLION books. Her novel, 'My Sister's Keeper', was turned into a huge film starring Cameron Diaz, and she's written as a librettist, with pieces performed across the world.

Her new novel is 'By Any Other Name', which tells the story of Emilia Bassano, who back in 1581, like most w...

Ciar Byrne has worked as a journalist for 25 years, usually as a gardening journalist, she's written for The Independent, The Guardian, Private Eye and many more. It turns out that all that experience, didn't make it easier to get published.

Ciar wrote 6 books before she got a deal. When it eventually arrived, it came through the strange route of a random email after a Twitter Submission Window she'd entered half-heartedely. Aft...

Jack Strange's debut is 'Look Up, Handsome'. It's a festive rom-com about bookshop owner Quinn, who is trying to save his business, only when romantic novelist Noah comes to town, he might provide an unwanted distraction.

It's far from the first book he's written, having tried his hand at mysteries, crime, thrillers, but it's rom-com that's landed him a publishing deal, and we try to unpack why.

We discuss why representation ...

Catherine Gray is an award-winning journalist who has written for The Guardian, Stylist, The Telegraph, Grazia, and many more. She's published 4 non-fiction books, which have sold over a million copies and been translated into 9 languages.

She's best known for her book, 'The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober', which takes you through the benefits of going alcohol-free, and how it can positively impact your creativity.

Her debut...

This week's guest is J.M. Hall, who has worked as a playwright, a primary school teacher, and is now a published novelist.

Through lockdown he wrote 'A Spoonful of Murder', as a way to deal with a traumatic family situation, that was published in 2021. He's gone on to publish, 'A Brush with Death', and his most recent book 'A Clock Stopped Dead'. They tell the story of Pat, Liz and Thelma, retired teachers who turn to sleuthing...

This week, we're joined by Santa Montefiore. A bestselling author, published across the world, who has sold millions of copies of her 31 novels. She's known for her richly drawn characters, intricate plots, and a deep sense of place, often set in the countrysides of England, Ireland, and Argentina.

Her books, including The Deverill Chronicles series and The Beekeeper’s Daughter, have been translated into more than 25 languages, ...

Alan Rhode is a busy man. Working as a lawyer, with a full family, he's recently self-published his first novel. It's called 'The Eagle and the Cockerel', and was shortlisted for a 2024 Selfie Award.

We discuss why Alan was so keen to become a published author, and he is very open about his reasons for wanting to be a novel, and what his ambitions are in the next few years. You can hear why concentration is subjective, why natur...

Catherine Steadman had a very successful acting career, starring in 'Downton Abbey', 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen', 'Fearless' and many more. In her early 30s, she started to think about how her future as an actor might pan out. It's been well documented that roles for older women are depressingly stark, and often frustratingly uninspired. Giving that some thought, Catherine decide to switch things around, and trusting that her sto...

Milly Johnson is one of the top 10 Female Fiction authors in the UK, with over 3 million sales in the country alone, and many more across the world as she's been published in more than 20 different countries. She's been honoured with the Romantic Novelists' Association's Outstanding Achievement Award, and has just published her 21st novel in 20 years.

It took her a long time to finally get published, and we discuss her desperate...

Crime writer B.P. Walter has always been around books. From beng submerged in reading growing up, to studying storytelling, to working in bookshops, it makes perfect sense that he's now a full-time author. His newest novel is 'The Garden Party', which tells the story of a wealthy family celebrating the engagement of son, Raphael. Only, his adopted brother chooses this day of celebration to expose what he really thinks of the family...

Amy Neff's new novel is 'The Days I Loved You Most'. It's taken 10 years to get to shelves. Amy has spent 10 years refining the story, sending it to publishers, even hiring her own editor to help get it into shape. We discuss how she stayed positive through that time and learned to deal with rejection.

It tells the story of Joseph and Evelyn, once childhood friends now, 60 years later, married with children. One summer, they re...

Julietta Henderson's debut novel, 'The Funny Thing about Norman Foreman', was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick and sold around the world.

Her second is, 'How to Get a Life'. It tells the story of Danny Mulberry, a man who could do better... better at life, better at being an adult... generally better than everything. When a photo of him accidentally ends up in the papers, people across the country start to think he is actually...

Shaun Bythell runs 'The Bookshop' in Wigtown, it's Scotland's largest second-hand bookshop, and is now incredibly popular. 

Back in 2017, Shaun published, 'The Diary of a Bookseller', a book filled with his daily experiences running the store. People fell in love with his wry musings, the life of a bookseller, and it became a Sunday Times bestseller. He's followed it up with 'Confessions of a Bookseller', and 'Remainder...