Author's Afterword

Author's Afterword

Join me each second and fourth Monday of the month, when I'll be in conversation with an author about one (occasionally more) of their books. We'll be taking a fairly deep dive, looking at the background, the topics, writing, and the nitty gritty. Expect spoilers and frequent discussions of the endings. Formally called The Worm Hole Podcast

Episodes

June 22, 2025 55 mins

Charlie and Carmel Harrington (The Stolen Child) discuss her stunning thriller wherein the reveal is given at the start and we have to find out the how and the why, a boy stolen as a child and now he's found his way home...

Please note we mention abuse, kidnapping, and prostitution.

Books mentioned by name or extensively:
Carmel Harrington: The Stolen Child
Carmel Harrington: The Nowhere Girls
J R R Tolkien: The Lord Of The Rings

R...

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Charlie and Samantha Sotto Yambao (Water Moon) discuss her UK debut - yay! - exploring the concepts of fate and choice, the process of evolving the romance, and, we catch up on the lives of Sam's dogs.

A transcript is available on my site

General references:
Ticket link for the podcast live events
Sam joined me to discuss The Beginning of Always in episode 50
Sam joined me to discuss Before Ever After, Love and Gravity, and A Dream...

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May 25, 2025 36 secs
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May 11, 2025 43 mins

Charlie and Amy Jordan (The Dark Hours) discuss the Irish police force, the Garda, in the 1990s, particularly where it involves sexism. They also discuss the effects on a relationship of being a member of the police, and the way trauma can influence extreme actions.

A transcript is available on my site

General references:
The New York Times review (paywall)

Books mentioned by name or extensively:
Amy Jordan: The Dark Hours

Release ...

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April 27, 2025 42 mins

Charlie and Amy Engel (I Did It For You) discuss her literary thriller wherein the killer did it but it isn't that simple, wherein both the victim's and killer's families are given empathy, and wherein the sister of the victim and the brother of the killer start a romance.

Please note that whilst there are no references to detailed violence, this episode looks at various issues surrounding murder cases.

A transcript is available on...

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April 13, 2025 35 mins

Charlie and Nydia Hetherington (Sycorax) discuss the witch Shakespeare's Prospero hates so much and Nydia's reimagining slash prequel to The Tempest. This involves conversation about chronic illness, attitudes to women in regards to the occult, and on a seemingly unrelated subject, the tendency of pirates to leave problematic people on isolated islands.

A transcript is available on my site

General references:
W H Auden: The Sea And...

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March 23, 2025 43 mins

Charlie and Gill Paul (Scandalous Women) discuss Jackie Collins, Jacqueline Susann, and the way the 1960s publishing industry treated women.

A transcript is available on my site

General references:
My other episodes with Gill are 42 and 86
The Love Machine (movie)
Some of Richard Osman's words on the subject can be found here
Once Upon A Time In America
Lady Boss trailer
Mad Men
Feud: Capote Vs His Swans
Cold Blooded: The Clutter F...

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March 9, 2025 37 mins

Charlie and C J Wray (The Excitements) discuss the WW2 women her book about fun-loving nonagenarians is based on and her views on modern and historical adoption as an adoptee herself. We also discuss the Peter Jones (John Lewis) department store, using Morse Code, and Diamond Doris, a jewel-thief who got away with quite a bit.

Please note there are a couple of mild swear words in this episode. Please also note we talk of the First ...

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Charlie is joined by Alex Hay, Lucy Barker, Stacey Thomas, and a wonderful audience at Goldfinch Books in Alton. You want a writing deep dive? You've got it!

Please note that this episode has a whispered swear word in it - we were all adults!

The next live event will be at P&G Wells in Winchester on Friday 4th April. Tickets are available here If you can't click the link, go to pgwells.co.uk

Full show notes and a transcript to foll...

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February 23, 2025 46 mins

Charlie and Maggie Brookes (The Prisoner's Wife) discuss her stunning story which was inspired by a real happening - a woman who hid in plain sight as a British soldier in a prisoner of war camp.

A transcript is available on my site

General references:
Maggie's previous episode with me is episode 92
Now The War Is Over
Time Watch
All Our Working Lives
The Sphinx, Maggie's poem version of The Prisoner's Wife
Colditz
The party episod...

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February 9, 2025 47 mins

Charlie and Éric Chacour (What I Know About You) discuss Egypt in the 1970s for the Levantine community and LGBT people, the famous French-Egyptian singer Dalida, Romeo and Juliet, Éric's use of the second person, and author and translator working together on writing that had been in place for 15 years.

A transcript is available on my site

General references: Dalida's Helwa ya Baladi

Books mentioned by name or extensively: Éric Cha...

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January 26, 2025 51 mins

Charlie and Edward Carey (Edith Holler) talk at length about the arts and the theatre in the context of his book and in general. They also talk about Norwich as Edward's book is his love letter to the city.

Please note there is a mild swear word in this episode.

A transcript is available on my site

General references:
Edward's previous episode on this podcast is number 52
Wikipedia's article on Norwich
Robert Louis Stevenson's essa...

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For live show tickets, click here

Charlie and Chloe C Peñaranda (The Stars Are Dying) discuss the incident wherein her heroine stabs the hero, getting around her hero's ability to run amok via deus ex machina, and becoming a hybrid author after success as a self-published writer.

Please note there are brief mentions of abuse in this episode.

A transcript is available on my site

General references:
Chloe's TikTok

Books mentioned by ...

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December 22, 2024 54 mins

Charlie and Eliza Chan (Fathomfolk) discuss many questions of immigration in both reality and her fantasy fiction, the different mythological creatures she used and decisions in regards to location inspiration, and Fathomfolk's controversial ending.

Please note there is a spoiler in this episode for N K Jemisin's The Fifth Season.

For live show tickets, click here.

A transcript is available on my site

General references:
The Witche...

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December 15, 2024 49 secs

First live show details

Guests: Alex Hay (The Queen Of Fives; The Housekeepers), Stacey Thomas (The Revels), Lucy Barker (The Other Side Of Mrs Wood)
Date: Wednesday 26th February
Location: Goldfinch Books, Alton, Hampshire
Ticket link: https://bit.ly/3Das5kn

Accessibility: Both the shop itself and the toilets are accessible.

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December 8, 2024 62 mins

Charlie and Elaine Chiew (The Light Between Us) discuss early 20th century Singaporean photography and its influences on Elaine's novel in depth, which involves looking at social issues and the history of the qipao. We also dive into the time travel aspects and the use of Chinese spirit-mediums.

A transcript is available on my site

General references:
The Lake House (2006)
Il Mare (2000)
The Young Companion magazine
In The Mood For...

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November 24, 2024 63 mins

Charlie and Emma Cowell (The Island Love Song) discuss the Greek island of Hydra, reactions from readers in regards to IVF and polyamory plot threads, early onset dementia, and the Parthenon sculptures.

A transcript is available on my site

General references:
Leonard Cohen's Bird On A Wire
The photo of the lady in shadow that Emma took
The Pirate Bar, Hydra

Books mentioned by name or extensively:
Emma Cowell: One Last Letter From G...

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Charlie and Susan Muaddi Darraj (Behind You Is The Sea) discuss the Palestinian Christian community, her immigrant characters and their children, how she used the current conflict in her stories, and the segregation of the working class in Baltimore, Maryland.

Please note this episode mentions domestic violence.

A transcript is available on my site

Books mentioned by name or extensively:
Lawrence T Brown: The Black Butterfly
Susan ...

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Charlie and Louise Morrish discuss the extensive efforts the latter went to in order to be published, the networking she did prior to that, and how she's giving back to the writing community.

Please note there is a very mild swear word at the end of this episode.

A transcript is available on my site

General references:
Goldfinch Books
Owner Gary is Gary Clark of The Interland series

Books mentioned by name or extensively:
Louise Mo...

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October 27, 2024 56 mins

Charlie and Mark Stay (The Witches Of Woodville) discuss writing humour into wartime, using period-correct language as well as slang, why community is important and how much we've lost over the decades, and the metric ton of projects he has on the go.

Please note there are various uses of very minor curse words.

A transcript is available on my site

General references:
The Bestseller Experiment
Claire Burgess' YouTube video about ja...

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