Half Hour Mentor

This week, I catch up with million-selling crime novelist, Simon McCleave, widely known for his DI Ruth Hunter and the Anglesey series, both centred around North Wales. However, crime fiction success has only come relatively recently, and prior to that he has had successful careers in TV script writing and production, and in teaching. You can learn about his career journey and writing techniques i...

This week, singer, songwriter and guitarist Katie Spencer joins me to discuss her career, musical inspirations and mentors, songwriting techniques and guitar tunings. It’s a fascinating insight into the development of a young musician who is playing at the top level of the progressive folk and acoustic music circuit. This main episode also contains the bonus questions I have been asking most of my...

In this shorter, bonus episode, I fire five quick-fire questions at literary agent Matthew Smith, director of Exprimez. This time, I had a few other questions up my sleeve in addition to the normal five; his answers were so good I had to include them! Please follow / subscribe to the podcast series and leave a review where you can. You can learn more about the series by following @halfhourmentor o...

This week’s episode features Matthew Smith, director of Exprimez (pronounced ‘ex-pree-may’), a literary agency and consultancy for both new and established authors. Matthew has nearly 30 years’ experience in the publishing world and, in that time, has developed over 3,000 titles, spanning print, digital and audio, in fiction, popular reference, academic, professional and business markets. With tha...

In this shorter, bonus episode, I fire five quick-fire questions at award-winning crime fiction author, Malcolm Hollingdrake, including what he thinks is the best book ever written. Please follow / subscribe to the podcast series and leave a review where you can. You can learn more about the series by following @halfhourmentor on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, or by visiting halfhourmentor.com.&...

This week, I catch up with best-selling crime fiction author, Malcolm Hollingdrake. He is best known for his Harrogate Crime Series featuring DCI Cyril Bennett, currently 12 books into the journey. He has also written a Merseyside Crime Series, featuring two books published by Hobeck Books. His books are loved in many countries, including Australia, United States and Canada. He shares with us his...

In this shorter, bonus episode, I fire five quick-fire questions at award-winning singer-songwriter Charlie Dore, giving her around one minute to answer each question. She does that very well…for the first four! I also mention in the pod that I have curated a Spotify playlist of some of my favourite tracks that Charlie has written and performed; the link is below and contains not only the songs sh...

This week, we welcome award-winning singer-songwriter Charlie Dore to the podcast. As well as having a stellar solo career, she also collaborates with other well-known songwriters and artists. When she is not writing or touring, she also mentors emerging songwriters; this episode is a masterclass of how to approach writing a song. Stay tuned for a bonus episode which will follow the day after this...

In the second episode of the second series of Half Hour Mentor, scriptwriter and theatre director Steve Bennett shares his fascinating backstory on how he became a scriptwriter for TV programmes such as Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Holby City, and ended up directing the likes of Paul Newman, Christopher Reeve and Rebecca de Mornay in theatre. He is currently Director of Drama at Cambridge Univ...

In the first episode of the second series of Half Hour Mentor, host Ian Cleverdon introduces the series and talks to Simon Phillips, author, change management consultant, and coach. His experience provides an excellent lead-in to the series, which focuses on the creative arts. Please follow / subscribe to the podcast series and leave a review where you can. You can learn more about the series by f...

The tenth and last episode of this series features ‘The SUMO Guy’, Professor Paul McGee. Paul is an international speaker and best-selling author on change, resilience, motivation and inspirational leadership. His Sunday Times best-selling book,  SUMO: Shut Up Move On , has been translated into 12 languages since its release in 2005. He is also a Visiting Professor at the University of C...

The ninth episode features an interview with Rebecca Ellis, Technical Development Manager for deVere Group, based in Dubai. The focus of the episode is understand what a career in financial planning involves. Please follow / subscribe to the podcast series and leave a review on social media; you can find the links via my LinkTree page: link here . Rebecca Ellis LinkedIn profile: link deVere Group:...

The eighth episode features an interview with Brendan Riley, professional stand-up comedian, compere and director of Big Comedy UK, responsible for organising large comedy festivals featuring the top names in stand-up. Please follow / subscribe to the podcast series and leave a review on social media; yu can find the links via my LinkTree page here (https://linktr.ee/halfhourmentor).  &n...

The seventh episode celebrates Transgender Awareness Week and features Rikki Arundel. Rikki is an award winning virtual keynote speaker and storytelling coach and was the founder of the UK and Ireland Professional Speaking Association (PSA). Coming out as transgender at the age of 52, Rikki faced considerable discrimination and had to completely change career from sales and technology to establish...

The sixth episode features an interview with Kellie Noon, owner of Onno Training, a training and consultancy business that specialises in supporting public and private organisations with learning about the power of international intelligence. Please follow / subscribe to the podcast series and leave a review where you can. You can learn more about the series by following @halfhourmentor on Instagr...

The fifth episode features an interview with Shuab Gamote, Project Officer at Manchester Metropolitan University and recent First Class Honours graduate from Man Met. Please follow / subscribe to the podcast series and leave a review where you can. You can learn more about the series by following @halfhourmentor on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, or by visiting halfhourmentor.com.  Shuab Gam...

The fourth episode features an interview with Professor Hannah Holmes, Dean of Manchester Metropolitan University Business School and Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor of the Business School’s Faculty of Business and Law. Please follow / subscribe to the podcast series and leave a review where you can. You can learn more about the series by following @halfhourmentor on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, or...

In the third episode of Half Hour Mentor, Ian interviews Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, about his early career choices, his time in Government, how he has dealt with Imposter Syndrome and resilience, and what schemes he has developed to support young people in the Greater Manchester area. Please follow / subscribe to the podcast series and leave a review where you can. You can learn mo...

In the second episode of Half Hour Mentor, host Ian Cleverdon talks to Helen Tonks, multi award-winning entrepreneur, mentor and advisor, CEO of InspiresMe Consulting Ltd and co-founder of Hydraulics Online Ltd. Please follow / subscribe to the podcast series and leave a review where you can. You can learn more about the series by following @halfhourmentor on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, or by...

In the first episode of Half Hour Mentor, host Ian Cleverdon introduces the series and talks to Tim Williams, Chief Executive of Oxford United FC and Visiting Professor of Manchester Metropolitan University Business School. Please follow / subscribe to the podcast series and leave a review where you can. You can learn more about the series by following @halfhourmentor on Instagram, Twitter and Fac...

Welcome to Half Hour Mentor, a weekly podcast beginning on Thursday 6 October, hosted by Ian Cleverdon. The series will feature interviews with people from different walks of life and career backgrounds, each being open and honest about their careers. They will share their thoughts on what careers they wanted to pursue at an early age, how they have progressed and dealt with the challenges they ha...