Writer's Routine

Lucy Foley is a mystery behemoth. She's sold 5 million copies of her novels which have been translated in over 40 countries. All of them are currently being made for film and TV right now. Following the success of 'The Hunting Party', 'The Guest List', and 'The Paris Apartment', 'The Midnight Feast' is out now in paperback, and focuses on the opening weekend of a luxury countryside retreat. Only,...

Frances Quinn is a journalist, copywriter and bestselling author. Her new novel, 'The Lost Passenger', tells the story of Elinor Coombes, who boards the Titanic trapped in an unhappy marriage to a controlling husband. When it starts to go down, she sees an opportunity to escape for a new life. Frances began writing after winning a place on the Curtis Brown Creative Novel Writing Course, which led...

Mike Gayle is a prolific author. He's published 20 novels, many of which land on the Sunday Times Bestseller List, and has been translated in over 30 countries. He was the first male writer, and writer of colour, to win the Romantic Novelist Association's Outstanding Achievement Award. He's back with a new novella called 'The One That Got Away'. It tells the story of Reuben and the love of his lif...

Barnaby Martin is a busy man. He works as a teacher, runs a successful YouTube channel with over 10 million views, as a composer he's had pieces performed across the world, and now he's released his first novel, 'The Quiet. It tells the story of a dystopian world covered by the Soundfield. A domer which surrounds the Earth and changes everyone's life. It brings deadly heat, ravages food and water...

Caitlin Davies has always wanted to be a writer. It took her a long time to admit it to herself, let alone voice it aloud. She started writing as a journalist, covering stories across Europe and Africa, and now, finally, is a published author. She writes widely, switching genres and styles, releasing 6 novels and 8 narrative nonfiction books along the way. Caitlin tends to be inspired by forgotten...

Heidi Perks is the bestselling author of 7 novels, 'Now You See Her', 'Come Back for Me', 'Three Perfect Liars', 'The Whispers', 'The Other Guest', 'The Next Girl', and her new one, 'Someone is Lying' It tells the story of Jess and her daughter, Issie. They have an unbreakable bond and for years it's just been the two of them. However, when a new boyfriend, Dylan, takes Issie travelling... and con...

This week's guest is the phenomenally bestselling author, Simon Scarrow. He mainly writes historical fiction, best known for his 'Eagles of the Empire' series, and has written about Ancient Rome and Nazi Germany too. He's also published futuristic sci-fi, and began writing dystopian fiction and comedy, before realising he should write what he wants to read, not what he thought might sell. Simon ha...

Chris Bridges has worked as an NHS Nurse, a theatre reviewer, a columnist and now is a published author. It was his work as a nurse, coupled with his Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis, that gave him the inspiration and experience to get the novel done. The novel is 'Sick to Death', it tells the story of Emma who can't go to work because of a neurological condition. When her boyfriend won't finally leav...

M.G. Leonard is the author of 16 children's books, which have won heaps of awards. She was awarded Sainsbury's Childen's Book of the Year, and the British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year 2021. Meanwhile, as a child at school, she was told she'd never become a published author - that she simply wasn't smart enough. Before becoming a writer, she managed bands, ran an indie record label, and...

This week, we're taking a look inside the writing life of Hanna Thomas Uose, author of 'Who Whats to Live Forever'. Hanna won the Morley Prize for Unpublished Writers of Colour, was shortlisted for Orion and DHA's Space to Write project, selected for the Asian Women Writers Mentorship Programme, and went back to study for an MA in Prose Fiction. Her new novel is 'Who Wants to Live Forever', and it...

This week, we're chatting to Robert Whitlow, prolific writer of over 20 bestselling novels. His new one is 'Guilty Until Innocent', a legal thriller that looks an an old case being reopened, and the two lawyers who have to prove the convicted's innocence against the odds. His debut novel, 'The List', was adapted into a successful movie starring Malcolm McDowell. In fact, four of Robert's novels ha...

Jennifer Saint worked as an English teacher in a secondary school for thirteen years, when all of a sudden, with an unexpected confidence, she felt the urge to write a novel. It wasn't just the confidence she could do it that surprised her, but the belief that it would do well. She was inspired by Greek mythology, and wanted to emphasise their relevance for the 21st Century. Her debut was 'Ariadne...

Paul S. Edwards is a lawyer, a family man with two children, and has just published his first sci-fi novel, 'The Triton Run'. He found time to write it... anywhere. If he was early at a football game, he'd get words down. If he was at a gig with a few minutes to spare, he'd write. On the sofa with his family watching TV, he will get down it it. His new novel is 'The Triton Run', the start of a new...

Julia Raeside is a journalist and broadcaster, who has written for The Times, The Guardian, The Big Issue and many others, and appeared across the BBC. Her new novel is 'Don't Make Me Laugh', which looks at the culture within the world of comedy... an industry which is rapidly approaching a #MeToo moment. It tells the story of Ali Lauder, a radio producer enlisted to hire Paul Bonatti to host a sh...

This week, we chat to Rosaria Girorgi, a mystery writer whose life has been as busy as one of her plots. Whilst studying in Denmark, she got a job working for who she thought was an antique dealer. He turned out to be 'The Umbrella Assassin', a cold war legend, who assassinated the Bulgarian dissident journalist Georgi Markov, with a poison pellet discharged from an umbrella. It's inspired her nov...

James Alistair Henry has had a hand in writing some seismic shows across T.V. He is a BAFTA award winning writer for the comedy, 'Green Wing', worked on the sketch show, 'Smack the Pony', and his diverse career has seen him write for 'Bob the Builder', 'Hey Duggee', and 'Shaun the Sheep'. He's just published his debut novel, 'Pagans', which has already been optioned for Apple TV. It's set in an al...

This week, we're chatting to Maz Evans, a celebrated Children's author who has taken the plunge into Adult fiction, publishing her second cosy crime book. Maz is a Carnegie Award and CWA Golden Dagger Shortlisted writer. 'Who Let the Gods Out', 'Vi Spy', and her 'Scarlett Fife' series are loved by kids across the world. Her new adult novel is 'That'll Teach Her', it's a multi-media novel telling t...

Imran Mahmood has 30 years experience as a criminal defence lawyer, working on all manner of high-profile cases. He's taken that knowledge and forged a successful 2nd career as a crime writer. His debut, 'You Don't Know Me', was presented as a closing argument to a jury. It was long-listed for the Theakston Crime Novel of the year, the CWA Gold Dagger in 2017, and was a BBC Radio 2 Book Club Choic...

Nick Newman is an award-nominated author, who as Nicholas Bowling has published 4 genre-defying books for children. Now, he's written his debut adult novel, called 'The Garden'. It's an other-worldly retelling of 'The Secret Garden', inspired by Cormac McCarthy. It tells the story of Lily, Evelyn and a nameless boy who wanders into their vast and flourishing garden. We discuss the balance of getti...

This week we chat to A.F Steadman, the bestselling author behind the phenomenal 'Skandar series'. The fantasy saga has taken the literary world by storm, was reported to have sold for a seven-figure deal, and was believed to be the biggest advance ever given to a debut childrens author. The series is praised as the biggest children's fantasy since Harry Potter. In this episode, we dive into her jo...

Laurie Dove is a do-er. She likes to keep busy. Alongside writing for numerous places like CNN, Animal Planet, the LA Business Journal, and many more, Laurie was elected local Mayor back in 2015, has a Masters Degree from Harvard, and has just published 'Mask of the Deer Woman'. It tells the story of Carrie Starr. Once a detective in Chicago, Carrie has hit rock-bottom after a personal tragedy and...

Peyton Corinne is a love story enthusiast. As a teenager, she would write fan-fiction about her favourite series, then she self-published her own writing whilst working as a teacher, because she hit it big on TikTok. The episode is a full break-down on why if you market yourself smartly and keep up with social trends, your book will find an audience, and traditional publishers will find you. Her n...

This week we chat with Eowyn Ivey, the acclaimed author of The Snow Child and To the Bright Edge of the World, ahead of her new novel Black Woods, Blue Sky . We explore the inspiration behind her vivid Alaskan settings, her journey from bookseller to bestselling novelist, and the themes of resilience and wonder that thread through her work. Black Woods, Blue Sky , tells the story of Birdie and Ema...

This week, we're chatting to Stephen Spotswood. Stephen is an acclaimed author and playwright celebrated for his mastery of mystery and suspense. Best known for his 'Pentecost and Parker' series, Spotswood reimagines the noir genre with sharp wit, dynamic characters, and intricate storytelling. He's a Nero Award Winner, a New Blood Dagger Award finalist, an Edgar Award Nominee, wrote the NYT Book...

On this week's episode of 'Writer's Routine', the show that takes a look inside an author's working day, we're chatting to horror writer, Grady Hendrix. Grady is the bestselling author of "The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires", "Horrorstör", and "My Best Friend’s Exorcism". He blends horror and humour with incredibly inventive plots and creative ways of creating terror. His new novel...