Confessions of a Debut Novelist

After four years and over 200 episodes, Confessions is coming to an end! I want to thank all the debut novelists for coming on and being so honest and frank about their experiences and sharing such inspirational wisdom about their writing process. And a massive thank you to all of you lot for listening! Please keep supporting debut authors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informati...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Autumn Woods about her romance novel Nightshade. In this episode we discuss how to tackle a hate to love dynamic, how she starts with a wish list and builds the story from there, and the incredible story behind how her novel went from being rejected by agents, to a self published number one Amazon bestseller then to a traditionally...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Thomas R. Weaver about his sci-fi novel Artificial Wisdom. In this episode we discuss how his career in tech helped him speculate on the future of everyday technology, his advice for keeping motivation and momentum going and how Andy Weir who wrote The Martian inspired Thomas to get his book deal.  Confessions of a Debut Novel...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Kerry Downes about his contemporary novel That Time Everything Was On Fire. In this episode we discuss why she wrote to feel seen and control the narrative when she was going through IVF, how to make both characters in a dual narrative equally important and to navigate restructuring a novel when you're working with a timeline const...

Hi everyone it's Chloe! Just a quick podcast to let you know I haven't disappeared off the face of the Earth! As most of you know I'm a one woman band - all the recording, editing and publishing is done by me. Some of you also know I've taken on some extra work lately including a big and important writing project which has had very tight deadlines and has meant during the podcast at the same time...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Gurnaik Johal about his literary novel Saraswati. In this episode we discuss how to write a climate change novel without lecturing the reader, transitioning from short stories to a hyperglobal novel with big scope and the challenge of writing seven distinct protagonists.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy Saraswat...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Charlotte Paradise about her contemporary novel Overspill. In this episode we discuss, navigating intimacy alongside trauma, using personality types to find conflict between characters and her advice for chronically ill and disabled writers.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy Overspill: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/1...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Jasmine Burke about her romance novel Quarter-Love Crisis. In this episode we discuss, how her lifestyle blog got her discovered by an agent, prolonging the will they won't they in a romance and her tricks for fitting writing in around work. Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy Quarter-Love Crisis: https://uk.booksho...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Hattie Williams about her contemporary novel Bitter Sweet. In this episode we discuss, how she wrote her novel in 7 weeks, how she tried to write fiction like it's a memoir and why you should pick the novel idea with the best ending. Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy Bitter Sweet: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Aisling Rawle about her literary novel The Compound. In this episode we discuss, discuss the satire in her Love Island meets Lord of the Flies novel, building characters through dialogue and how TikTok helped her learn how to query.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy The Compound: https://www.waterstones.com/...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to William Rayfet Hunter about their contemporary novel Sunstruck. In this episode we discuss, creating the evocative atmosphere of a summer, the challenges of having a nameless narrator and why they had to scrap their ending.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy Sunstruck: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/97815299...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Silvia Saunders about her contemporary Homesick. In this episode we discuss, why she wanted to write about male mental health, how writing comedy comes from putting unlikely characters together and what kept her going after 10 years of querying. Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy Homesick: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/1099...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Emma Cowing about her historical novel The Show Woman. In this episode we discuss, how the novel was inspired by her incredible family history, writing about the hidden history of women in the circus and how she wrote this novel in just 7 weeks.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy The Show Woman: https://uk.bo...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Krystelle Bamford about her literary novel Idle Grounds. In this episode we discuss, how the book started with a Greek chorus of voices, how she found moments of dread that work to be sinister for her young protagonists but also pay off for adult readers and why she recommends going with an agent at the start of their career....

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Danielle Giles about her historical novel Mere. In this episode we discuss, why she describes writing historical fictional as creating a translation of the past, what she loves about the horror genre and what she learnt from 5 years of writing a novel that didn’t sell. Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy Mere: https...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Jo Morey about her psychological suspense novel The Night Lagoon. In this episode we discuss, why her title changed in the UK, how her main character’s hearing loss adds to the novel’s tension and Jo’s strategy for getting an agent, including keeping an on-going query letter.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy The...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Mel Pennant about her crime novel A Murder for Miss Hortense. We discuss how Miss Hortense was inspired by Mel’s grandmother and golden age mysteries, the importance of balancing lightness and humour within the tragedy and resilience of the Black British community and what it’s like to write a novel when you’re used to writing...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Barnaby Martin about his dystopian novel The Quiet. We discuss how his writing career began with video essays on YouTube, his tips for taking history and making it more extreme when writing dystopia and why he believes you need to know the theme of the novel before you start writing.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Books...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Lisa Smith about her historical novel Jamaica Road. We discuss how the idea for this novel came from a creative writing exercise and voices that wouldn't leave her alone, using real newspaper extracts to make the political backdrop come alive and how a cancer diagnosis and a competition inspired her to take her writing se...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Seán Hewitt about his literary novel Open, Heaven. We discuss having to transport himself back to the intensity and naivety of teenage years, using 1st person perspective to explore what love feels like when you don't know whether the other person feels the same and why you should frame a query letter as you giving agents an a...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin about her contemporary novel Ordinary Saints. We discuss how her inspiration came from a true story about a modern-day teenager being made into a saint, why she deleted her first 20k words and how entering a competition to give herself a deadline changed her life.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Books...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Claire Gleeson about her contemporary novel Show Me Where It Hurts. We discuss how she was inspired to write a story of survival after a shocking act of familicide, writing intense grief and high emotion in a restrained way, and how she does all her writing in snatched moments between work and parenting.  Confessions of a...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Chris Bridges about his psychological suspense novel Sick to Death. We discuss how Chris subverted tropes of having a sick protagonist, why almost 60 rejections from agents inspired him to write a more personal story and how having MS impacts his writing.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy  Sick to Death...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Niloufar Lamakan about her romance novel Aged To Perfection. We discuss changing the narrative by putting women in their 60s in the spotlight and writing them truthfully, why as a complete novice how a diary form helped her find structure and her experience working with One More Chapter, a digital first publisher who acce...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Kate Kemp about her crime novel The Grapevine. We discuss why she used a murder to explore a range of women in a 1970s suburban community, the challenge of writing from a 12-year-old narrator and how using social media to learn about the publishing industry helped her take the plunge to take her writing seriously.  Confes...