Writer's Routine

This week's Random Routine is with Frank Cottrell-Boyce. Frank Cottrell-Boyce is a Carnegie Medal Award winning author - his 2004 novel 'Millions' is incredibly successful, and was turned into a film by Danny Boyle, for which Frank wrote the script. It was even Danny's idea that Frank should write the novel in the first place. He's published 10 novels, brought back 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang', and w...

This week we're chatting to Hayley Doyle! She's an actor who has starred in the West End, appearing in Mamma Mia and others. Recently, she's turned her hand to writing, publishing two novels, 'Never Saw You Coming' and her newest one, 'Love, Almost'. It tells the story of Chloe, whose boyfriend of just 5 months dies, so to come to terms with things, she does all the many things they had planned to...

This week's bonus bite comes from crime writing behemoth Jeffery Deaver! Jeffery Deaver has published over 40 novels. He's a globally renowned author, writing crime and thrillers. To him, they're not lauded works of art, they're intricate puzzles, fun and games for the reader - and we talk about how he builds these.  Jeffery works anywhere he can - any chance he gets to type away, if that's a...

Alexis Landau's new book 'Those Who Are Saved' builds on the true story of Los Angeles during World War II. It was a safe haven for artists, and was home to many exiled Europeans. It tells the tale of Vera, who is forced to leave her daughter and flee, and explores her path to find the girl she left behind. We discuss how Alexis writes around family time, how it all starts in a flurry of ideas and...

This week's Random Routine comes from the 'Queen of Crime' Val McDermid. She appeared on the show back in April 2019 to run us through her working day. Val McDermid is one of the most successful crime authors in the world. Her novels have been translated into 40 languages, they've sold over 15 million copies and show no sign of letting up. She has written procedural crime, cold-case crime, and eve...

Nigel Farndale is an award-winning journalist whose interviewing prowess has seen him chat to the Dalai Lama, Prince Charles, Henry Kissenger, Hilary Clinton, and many more. He's written for The Observer, the FT, The Sunday Times and many more. His last book, 'The Blasphemer' was nominated for a Costa Book Award back in 2010, and he's just released 'The Dictator's Muse'. It tells the story of 1930...

Ian Rankin came on the show in 2018 to discuss his 22nd Detective John Rebus book, 'In a House of Lies'. Since then he's published the 23rd, 'A Song for the Dark Times'. Here is just his routine, it's full of procrastination and puzzles. You can hear why he doesn't know what the story is until he's finished it, also why a good writing day can start at 8pm, and why he's writing all over the place....

Janet Skeslien-Charles new novel is 'The Paris Library', inspired by the true stories of the librarians who risked their lives during the Nazi's war on words. We talk about when she heard that tale, how she knew there was a book in it, and she'd be the one to write it. It comes off the back of her stunning debut, 'Moonlight in Odessa', which took 10 years to write. We discuss why she brooded over...

Shari Lapena shared her writer's routine with us back in 2019, when she came on to chat about her 4th novel 'Someone We Know'. Shari's first book, 'The Couple Next Door', was the number 1 adult fiction title for the UK back in 2017. 'Someone We Know', a twisting tale of a teenager so desperate for wi-fi he breaks into homes, and then strange things start happening all over the neighbourhood. She h...

Greg Buchanan's debut 'Sixteen Horses' has been lauded as one of the best books of the year, and there's already a major TV series of it in the works. However, the stunning hook of the plot only came to him as a device to explore the characters. Here's the blurb - 'Near the dying English seaside town of Ilmarsh, local police detective Alec Nichols discovers sixteen horses' heads on a farm, each bu...

Louise Candlish shared her writer's routine with us in 2019. Louise Candlish's 'Our House' was one of the biggest books of 2018, it's sold more than 200,000 copies, been read all over the world and won 'Best Crime and Thriller Fiction' at the 'British Book Awards'. It so nearly wasn't the case though. A few years ago, disappointed with her success and publisher, Louise almost gave up - until the k...

Niamh Campbell has always been around words, studying them, teaching them, constantly writing them. Her short story 'Love Many' won an Irish Times writing prize, and from that success she's published her debut novel, 'This Happy'. It tells the story of Allanah, who falls in love with an older man, and it unpacks the way that impacts her life. It's a novel of exploration, of description and words....

BONUS EPISODE! Here's something new I'm trying, hopefully every week. Taking a look back at some fantastic authors from our archive, and remembering just the routine, hopefully injecting a bitesize chunk of inspiration that might help you plan your day. Anthony Horowitz joined us back in 2018, as he was in the process of writing some Alex Rider short-stories. The teenage spy launched him to nation...

Lesley Kara's debut, 'The Rumour', was the bestselling crime thriller debut of 2019. She's back with her third novel, 'The Dare', it tells the story of Lizzie, who is suspected of being involved in the death of a friend years earlier, and someone is out to get revenge. We discuss her writing routine, and how it's a waiting game, and a process of discovery. Also you can hear why she likes to read a...

Tim Adler has always been around words. He's a journalist who has written for The Times and the FT, been a commissioning editor at The Daily Telegraph, and edited magazines. His fourth novel is 'Dead Already', it's a psychological thriller that crosses both the gangster and ghost-story genres. 'Dead Already' is the story of an East End Gangster who becomes haunted by the ghost of his dead daughter...

Rosie Wilby is a comedian, writer and podcaster. Her new book, 'The Breakup Monologues', is based on the podcast of the same name. It's non-fiction and looks at sexuality, stories, dating....breaking up. We talk about why the idea for the story changed as she worked on it, why she used ideas from fiction to plot and plan it, and how it's now affected her podcasting. You can hear why pets keep her...

Bryan Christy was the Head of Special Operations for National Geographic. He'd travel around the world uncovering crimes and reporting on the underworld. He's now an author. They say write what you know. Bryan's debut fiction is called 'In the Company of Killers', and it tells the story of Tom Klay, a spy undercover as a wildlife reporter. We talk about Bryan re-inventing real life into stories, a...

Bethany Clift's debut has come out at JUST the write time. 'Last One at the Party' tells the story of a woman alone on Earth, after humanity has been wiped out by a virus. We talk about how the idea came on a long, lonely journey, and how she got to know the character that readers would be spending so much time with. It's one of the publisher's lead titles this year, and the film rights have alrea...

Lisa Gardner is a prolific author. She's published 11 'DD Warren' novels, 2 'Tessa Leoni' books, and is back with her first standalone in 20 years. 'Before She Disappeared' tells the story of Frankie Elkin who spends her life doing what no one else will, searching for missing people the world has forgotten about. We talking about why she likes to get things done in the morning, and how she figured...

Ericka Waller's published debut is 'Dog Days', which tells the story of George, Dan, Lizzie and the dogs that bind their lives and emotions together. The word-play in the title gets to the heart of the book. It's a joyous and uplifting story about the heartbreak of mental illness, and it's about the small changing moments that occur when we let the light in. We talk about the times of tragedy that...

Abigail Mann has just released her second novel, very quickly after publishing her first. 'The Sister Surprise' tells us the story of Ava who discovers she has an unknown sister, and decides to pay her a secret visit. We talk about how she remembers how to write a book, when she between projects. We chat about public accountability with work, and how she's managed that through lockdown. Also, you...

Chloe James debut novel is so perfectly timed it must have been expertly planned. It was. Chloe James is also Fiona Woodifield, author of 'The Jane Austen Dating Agency' which received critical acclaim recently. Due to the success of that, she was asked by a publisher to write a book based on an idea they'd heard on the radio... what if two neighbours found love in lockdown? Chloe talks about the...

Naomi Ishiguro's debut novel is something quite special. 'Common Ground' tells the story of Stan and Charlie, unlikely friends who meet during a turbulent time and change each others lives. Naomi had the idea during 2016, after the Brexit referendum changed how she saw the world, and the people in it. We discuss how she moved the idea along, how she gets through the difficult final third of the bo...

Nick Petrie has just released the 6th Peter Ash novel, 'The Breaker'. It's all about the war vet with PTSD, trying to live a quiet life on the run, who cannot stand by when he sees an armed man walk into a crowd of people, and no-one knows what might happen next. His debut, 'The Drifter', won many thriller awards, he's award-winning for his short stories too, having gained MFA in fiction from the...

Sarah Leipciger's second novel features a strange, poetic mystery than spans 3 time-frames across different parts of the world. Her critically-acclaimed debut 'The Mountain Can Wait' came out in 2015, and she has been short-listed for many awards for her short stories. Sarah also teaches creative writing to prisoners. We discuss how lockdown has affected creativity, also how she gets things done e...