A Pair of Bookends

Welcome to our 150th episode! Today Hannah was joined by the wonderful Jo Morey to discuss her debut novel The Night Lagoon (UK )/ Lime Juice Money (US) . In this chat they discuss the publishing BTS including the conversations around different titles for different territories, all of the amazing books Jo has been reading recently, writing a character that is living with tinnitus/hearing loss, the...

On today's episode Hannah was joined by bestselling author Elodie Harper to discuss her latest novel Boudicca's Daughter . Aswell as a spoiler-free chat about the book they discuss the Iceni rebellion, the characters' connection to the Gods, the research & writing process for the book and lots more!  If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can fin...

For today's episode Hannah was joined by journalist & debut author Emma Cowing to discuss her dazzling novel The Show Woman . (You don't need to have read the book to enjoy the ep but do grab yourselves a copy!) On this ep they discuss the family history that inspired this book, what life would have been like for women & Queer communities during the Edwardian Era, the beauty of Scotland &a...

On today's episode Hannah was joined by author Thomas McMullan to discuss his latest novel Groundwater (spoiler free!) They discuss the infamous second novel, how acting classes helped him better understand human behaviour, the authors & books that have influenced him and lots more! If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can find us over on Patre...

For today's episode Hannah was joined by author of the book of the summer The Compound , Aisling Rawle. They discuss the appeal of shows like Love Island, what Aisling's own relationship with reality TV is like, her writing influences & lots more! If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you can find us over on Patreon. If you love our podcast please a...

For today's episode Hannah was joined by author Elaine Hastings to discuss her debut novel When We Were Young . (You don't have to have read the book to listen!) Aswell as discussing her writing process, they discuss mothers & daughters, how music connects us to memories, researching the life of a music star and much more. If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for m...

On today's episode Hannah is joined by author Heather Darwent to discuss her latest novel A Sharp Scratch (spoiler free!), they discuss how books like Gone Girl and My Year of Rest and Relaxation were influences on her work, how she writes atmospheric settings & why she was drawn to writing a 'bad wedding' scene. All of this & more on today's ep so if you enjoy please do rate, review &...

For exclusive monthly episodes with Emma & I, find us over on Patreon .  For our bonus summer reading guide, I dragged Emma over to the main platform again to share everything we'd recommend to you for the rest of your summer holidays- from beach reads to big books to short books that pack a punch to all the sexy books, we've got you covered! Books & other mentions in this episode: Disappo...

For today's episode friend of the pod and author Emma Hinds joins Hannah to chat about her second novel & our July Book Club pick The Quick and The Dead . Contrary to Emma wanting to have a spoiler filled conversation, this actually contains no spoilers! Emma gives us insights into her writing & research process, they discuss what drew Emma to exploring the world of alchemy, what the cultu...

On today's episode Hannah was joined by the multi-talented Indyana Schneider to discuss her latest novel Since The World is Ending which you can buy here . They also chat about what the differences are between Indyana's writing experience of this book and her debut 28 Questions, we also chat about the great books she's read recently, how she navigates moving between her work as an opera singer and...

Kicking off season 6 in our Debut Spotlight series is the wonderful Emily Buchanan to chat about her debut novel Send Flowers (spoiler free as always!). We discuss Emily's experience working for Greenpeace, how Emily was involved in the UK fracking ban, the cynicism surrounding creating change, what comfort shows she's enjoying & lots more! If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review &amp...

Rounding off Season 5 in our Debut Spotlight series with the wonderful Loretta Rothschild to discuss her debut novel Finding Grace which is one of Hannah's fave reads of the year! We discuss the importance of reading widely, what makes a great opening, support systems & lots more. If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe as it helps to boost us in the charts! You can fo...

On today's episode Hannah was joined by Juhea Kim, author of Beasts of a Little Land to discuss her latest novel City of Night Birds .  They discuss how Juhea has navigated the success of her books, what it was like to win the Yasnaya Polyana Literary Award, her passion for ballet, the importance of combining her work as an author with humanitarian work and so much more.  If you enjoy this episode...

In today's episode Hannah chats to debut author Jennifer Trevelyan about her novel A Beautiful Family . They discuss how Jennifer finally carved out writing time for herself & the guilt that came with that, the extensive list of writers that have influenced her and what the pros and cons were of having a child as narrator in this book. If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & sub...

For today's episode Hannah was joined by debut novelist Silvia Park to discuss their sci-fi novel Luminous . They discussed how they went from working on a different novel for seven years to working on a children's book which became this novel for adults. They also chat about adaptations, fascinating research on robots, whether they could invite a robot into their own home and lots more. If you en...

For our June Book Club episode we are discussing Somewhere Else with author of the novel Jenni Daiches who was longlisted for this year's Women's Prize for Fiction. We discuss how we can and should be learning from history, how she writes tragedy effectively, why Edinburgh is such a special place for her and her love for Elizabeth Strout. If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subs...

On today's episode Hannah was joined by writer Hazel Barkworth to discuss her latest novel The Drownings . (spoiler free)  Aswell as writing and book chat, they discuss competitive swimming, body image, influencers & loads more. If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe- it's a free way to support the pod & means the world! For exclusive content you can find us via P...

On today's episode Hannah was joined by debut author Daria Lavelle to discuss her novel Aftertaste . Aswell as discussing the book (spoiler free), Daria tells us her most romantic food memory, why we should all be going on food tours, her love of speculative fiction and lots more. If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe and for further content you can find us via Patreon a...

For today's episode Hannah was joined by writer & podcaster Lotte Jeffs to discuss (spoiler free!) her debut novel  This Love . We also discuss her experience of collaborating with poet Thomas Stewart to create the poetry of her character Ari, chosen family, why the gays do partying better & lots more! If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe and for more content yo...

On today's episode Hannah was joined by Saba Sams to discuss her debut novel Gunk , listeners may remember Saba from our podcast back in 2023 when she joined us to discuss her award-winning short story collection Send Nudes They discuss Motherhood, the fear of infertility, living in the age of capitalism, short books & lots more. If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe...

For our May Book Club episode Hannah was joined by author of the viral Tender Is the Flesh , Agustina Bazterrica to discuss her latest novel The Unworthy . They discuss why writing graphic horror scenes doesn't affect Agustina, the writers that have influenced her work & the books, TV & films she's been enjoying recently. If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe and...

On today's episode we are throwing it back to pod roots (OG listeners will remember this from 2022) by bringing back a Top of Your TBR episode where Hannah interviews an author about their book and the books they think should be at the top of YOUR TBR piles. For today's episode Hannah was joined by the novelist, researcher and lecturer Nat Reeve to discuss his novels Nettleblack and Earlyfate , hi...

On today's episode Hannah was joined by Jo Harkin to chat about her latest novel The Pretender .  They discuss how Jo ended up switching from Sci-Fi to Historical Fiction, her research process, the writers and books that influenced this book and lots more.  If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe and for extra content from us you can find us via Patreon .  If you want to g...

On today's episde Hannah was joined by the wonderful Elif Shafak to discuss her latest novel There Are Rivers in the Sky which is out now in paperback. They discuss the importance of storytelling, not letting fear hold her back, why she wanted to write about the Yazidi people and so much more.  If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe and for more content you can find us vi...

On today's episode Hannah was joined by Sarah Harman to discuss her debut novel All The Other Mothers Hate Me . They discuss how the failures in Sarah's previous career helped pave the way to writing her debut novel, winning the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize, motherhood, messy female protagonists & lots more. If you enjoy this episode please do rate, review & subscribe, for more content you...