Confessions of a Debut Novelist

Hi everyone! Just to let you know Confessions of a Debut Novelist will be going on a short break while I recover from pneumonia. Thank you so much for the wonderful Jennie Godfrey for recording this announcement for me. I look forward to sharing the best new books and authors with you soon. Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy The List of Suspicious Things: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/1099...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Celia Silvani about her psychological suspense novel Baby Teeth. We discuss how her research helped her delve into the world of internet forums and cults, the challenge of writing an unbiased and empathetic approach to the radical beliefs of her characters and why you should never send out the first draft of your manuscript to...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Louise Hegarty about her contemporary novel Fair Play. We discuss how absorbing so many Poirot novels helped her get the voice right for her detective, why she wanted to explore grief using a murder mystery and a puzzle box structure, and how her published stories attracted an agent.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Books...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Katie Buckley about her literary novel Hero. We discuss how she defines autofiction and why she loves it, what to do when you don’t have an instinct for plot and why she believes you need to be emotionally ready before you start querying agents. Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy Hero: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/109...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Bianca Gillam about her romance novel Bad Publicity. We discuss how her experience working within the publishing industry inspired her enemies to lovers romance, why she had to spend a few months away from the novel to get the ending right and why she thinks every aspiring author should think about having a clear vision for th...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Sanam Mahloudji about her contemporary novel The Persians. We discuss how this novel started life as a short story until Sanam realised there was so much more to say, why she began writing to free herself when she was working as a lawyer and how she impressed an agent at a book event by asking an insightful question. Confessio...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Lucy Rose about her horror novel The Lamb. We discuss how her ADHD meant she had to find her own way to write without a routine, why film-making and working with a production designer has made her a better writer and because Lucy has created a whole brand around her novel using TikTok and Instagram I wanted to ask her advice a...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Salma Ibrahim about her speculative novel Salutation Road.  We discuss how she explored coming of age and migration with a parallel world twist, the challenge of writing the same character from two alternate worlds and why despite several agent rejections she decided to keep the speculative element.  Confessions of a...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Sarah Handyside about her contemporary novel Instructions for Heartbreak. We discuss how her own heartbreak was the catalyst to write this book, why the device of including a handbook gave her a helpful way to structure the novel and how a longlisting in the Curtis Brown First Novel Award attracted her agent.  Confessions...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Holly Stars about her crime novel Murder in the Dressing Room. We discuss how she wanted to showcase a different side to the drag scene and the variety of talent on show; the importance of having a non-binary main character and Holly’s experience of recording her own audiobook.   Confessions of a Debut Novelist Books...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Jenny Morris about her crime novel An Ethical Guide to Murder. We discuss setting the rules of her high concept crime novel with a fantasy twist, exploring the moral and ethical dilemmas of life and death and why her background in psychology helps her develop characters.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy An...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Rachel Bower about her contemporary novel It Comes From The River. We discuss why asking your characters simple questions can take them in interesting directions, how she represented folklore from the North of England and the psychological challenge of keeping the faith in your novel during the writing process.  Confessio...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Catherine Airey about her contemporary novel Confessions. We discuss how she found the soul of her family saga by experimenting with different perspectives depending on her narrator, the challenge of writing about controversial topics such as 9/11 and when it came to finding an agent, how she chose between them. Confessions of...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Holly Gramazio about her contemporary novel The Husbands. We discuss how online dating inspired her infinite husbands idea, why her background in video game design helped her figure out the rules of her magic attic and why turning 40 was the push she needed to start writing a novel.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Booksh...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Emma van Straaten about her literary novel This Immaculate Body. We discuss how her curiosity in a real life cleaning job inspired her, the challenge of getting into the mindset of an unpalatable character and how winning the Discoveries prize in 2021 changed her life. Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy This Immacu...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Ram Murali about his crime novel Death in the Air. We discuss how Ram never had dreams of being a writer but couldn’t let go of his novel idea, how he took inspiration from Agatha Christie and The Secret History and how he made ruthless decisions when editing his scenes  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy Deat...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Tom Newlands about his contemporary novel Only Here, Only Now. We discuss how homesickness in lockdown inspired this novel, why he wanted to explore the intersection between neurodivergence and poverty during adolescence and why Tom thinks avoiding all advice was the reason he finished his book. Confessions of a Debut Nov...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Genevieve Wheeler about her contemporary novel Adelaide. We discuss turning a therapeutic journaling exercise into fiction, putting a mental health diagnosis authentically on the page and writing about a toxic relationship from both sides.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy Adelaide: https://uk.bookshop.org/a...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Sarah Chamberlain about her romance novel The Slowest Burn. We discuss writing an opposites attract love story, why she used dual perspectives to help give both characters growth in the romance and why, if you like writing dialogue you should try writing first drafts like screenplays. Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop *...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Nikkitha Bakshani about her contemporary novel Ghost Chilli. We discuss using life writing and repressed memories to inspire fiction, the difficult editing choice she made to delete an entire timeline and how she used astrology to deepen her characterisation. Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy Ghost Chilli: https:/...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Tawseef Khan about his contemporary novel Determination. We discuss how his personal experience working as an immigration solicitor inspired this novel, why he chose to embrace similarities between him and his protagonist to make her come alive and his advice to see characters as a Rubik’s Cube.  Confessions of a Debut No...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to David Goodman about his thriller A Reluctant Spy. We discuss why our huge digital footprints inspired his premise of spies borrowing civilian lives, why he loves writing stories with multiple POVs and how after years of rejection, David took one last shot to impress an editor after pitching the novel and writing 15k words over...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Lucy Jane Wood about her fantasy novel Rewitched. We discuss how 90s witchy nostalgia inspired her story, her unusual route to publication where she got an editor before an agent and how her YouTube career has helped her become a bestseller. Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy Rewitched: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Oisín McKenna about his contemporary novel Evenings and Weekends. We discuss how starting with one character and writing about the most important people in their lives gave Oisín his cast of characters, creating propulsive secrets and storylines to engage the reader and the challenge of being a debut author and receiving revie...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Rachel Blackmore about her historical novel Costanza. We discuss how to create accessible historical dialogue, why she swears by the 8-act structure and why age should never put you off writing a novel.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy Costanza: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9780349131092 Follow Rachel: @rjbla...