Confessions of a Debut Novelist

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Moira Buffini about her sci-fi novel Songlight. We discuss why dystopian fiction is the best genre to explore the cataclysms of our current time, the differences between screenwriting and the expansiveness of novel writing and leaving your reader wanting more when you’re writing a series.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Josie Ferguson about her historical novel The Silence in Between. We discuss the harrowing true story that inspired this novel, her method for writing dual timeline narratives separately and why it took her four novels before she found success. Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy The Silence in Between: https://uk.b...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Roxie Key about her crime novel The Deadly Spark. We discuss why finding the right genre gave her a killer idea, the challenges of writing multiple timelines when your characters have many secrets, and Roxie’s amazing agent story which gives hope to the social media addicts among us!  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Books...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Ina Christova about her historical novel The Fabergé Girl. We discuss how much you can play with real figures in history, taking inspiration from Russian folklore and fairytale and how she overcame the challenges of bringing characters to life.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy The Fabergé Girl: https://uk.b...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Sarah Brooks about her fantasy novel The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands. We discuss why her strange real-life experience on the trans-Siberian Express gave her the seed of an idea, how winning the Lucy Cavendish Prize changed her life and the incredible 11-way auction of publishers who wanted to buy her book. Con...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Juliana Adelman about her historical novel The Grateful Water. We discuss how a gap in her day-job research inspired her, treating the writing process as a homework assignment to get it done and what happens when an interested agent ghosts you.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy The Grateful Water: https://uk.book...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Emma Steele about her romance novel The Echoes of Us. We discuss why a real-life tragedy and a paranormal concept inspired her to write this novel, how she originally started writing a romcom before she realised her writing leaned sadder and more serious and the unusual story of how her novel was published a year earlier in Ge...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Rufaro Faith Mazarura about her romantic comedy Let The Games Begin. We discuss how her love of the Olympics gave her the idea for a rom-com, why she left gaps in her first draft and wrote the witty dialogue last and why you should treat becoming a debut novelist like a wedding.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop *...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Ania Card about her literary novel Above Us The Sea.. We discuss how her novel began life as short stories that captured friendship, why it was so important to authentically capture the experience of Eastern-European immigrants in the UK and what it’s been like to work with a small independent publisher.  Confessions of a...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Daniel Aubrey about his crime novel Dark Island. We discuss the importance of putting an authentic autistic character front and centre, why Orkney is the perfect place to set a crime series and the brave move Daniel made when he told his agent to pull an earlier novel from submission and start again with a new idea.  Conf...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to LJ Shepherd about her psychological suspense novel The Trials of Lila Dalton. We discuss how to find high concept ideas, writing what you know but with a twist and why it's important to surprise smart and savvy readers. And right at the end of the episode, in a special spoilerific section we’ll be discussing the ins and outs o...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Jack Anderson about his psychological suspense novel The Grief Doctor. We discuss exploring the concept of grief through a doctor who will go to extreme lengths to cure it, trying to scare the reader and how his writing journey began with a viral post on Reddit.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy The Gri...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Jane Flett about her horror novel Freakslaw. We discuss why her inspiration started with bringing together her obsessions and interests, why Stephen King inspired her choice to use an omniscient narrator and how teaching and working alongside other writers helps her get through the writing slog.  Confessions of a Debut No...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Alan Murrin about his literary novel The Coast Road. We discuss authentically inhabiting the voices of three distinctive Irish women, why it took time to work out a fitting end for the novel and how he got the novel written by making bargains with himself. Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy The Coast Road: https://...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Amy Twigg about her literary novel Spoilt Creatures. We discuss creating a charismatic cult leader, why she deleted the first 90k words and the importance of voicing your publishing worries.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy Spoilt Creatures: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9781035407910 Follow Amy: @aetwigg...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Nathan Newman about their literary novel How to Leave the House. We discuss setting a novel in a 24 hour period, how Nathan found their comedic voice by setting out to write something to make their friends laugh and what it’s like to write to impress your mentor, when your mentor is Zadie Smith!  Confessions of a Debut No...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling Kaliane Bradley about her literary novel The Ministry of Time. We discuss how her novel was inspired by writing fanfiction about a real Victorian polar explorer, creating a near-future world with time-travel and how her success with short stories got her noticed by agents. Confession...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Aimée Walsh about her literary novel Exile. We discuss how she creates characters by observing strangers in real life, writing about sexual assault without showing the scene and how she connected with an agent by sliding into their DMs.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy Exile: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Ashani Lewis about her literary novel Winter Animals. We discuss transforming a short story idea into a novel, researching a novel setting when you can’t travel there and how she blocks out scenes in stage directions in early drafts when she’s not in the mood to write beautiful sentences. Confessions of a Debut Novelist Booksh...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Rob Perry about his contemporary novel Dog. We discuss how Rob created his teenage main character by amplifying the fears he had when he was a teen, using his phone to keep notes on life’s funny observations and the challenge every writer faces – accepting your novel will be flawed.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Booksh...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Samuel Burr about his commercial novel The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers. We discuss why his novel was inspired by an appreciation of the stories told by older people, how his hook comes first when coming up with ideas and how he deals with the buzz and hype surrounding his novel, while he tries to work on something new.  Co...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Elizabeth O'Connor about her literary novel Whale Fall. We discuss how she created a fictitious island community, her technique for overcoming problems with plotting and how she signed with an agent before she even had an idea for a novel.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy Whale Fall: https://uk.bookshop.org...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Emily Howes about her historical novel The Painter’s Daughters. We discuss discuss using present tense in historical fiction, trying to sustain tension in the saggy middle of a novel and what theatre class taught her about writing through the body.  Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop * Buy The Painter’s Daughters: https:...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Olivia Ford about her commercial novel Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame. We discuss using real people as a starting point for creating characters, her tips for finishing a novel when you work full time and the challenge of writing an uplifting novel and including sadder and serious subjects as well. Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bo...

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Kristen Perrin about her mystery novel How to Solve Your Own Murder. We discuss playing fair with your readers when writing crime, how she used flash fiction character sketches to help flesh out her side characters and her surprise but successful move to withdraw her full manuscript from interested agents and resubmit after fe...