This week, we chat to Claire Allan. Her new book is 'Ask No Questions', a psychological thriller about Ingrid Devlin, on the search to find the truth of her best friend's disappearance 25 years ago.Claire started her career as a journalist, has written women's fiction under the name Freya Kennedy', and is back with a brand new psych thriller. She's written almost 20 books across different genres.We talk about how switching genre changes style and method of plotting and planning, also about her routine of the year, and how she feels when time is tight... and the idea isn't there.You can get a copy of 'Ask No Questions' here - https://amzn.to/3j0yx0oSupport the show on patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Writer's Routine

Claire Allan, author of 'Ask No Questions' - USA Today Bestseller talks genre-switching, 10k word starts, and planning a year of writing

It's a BOOKSHOP DAY SPECIAL. Bookshop Day is on Saturday 9th October, and Books Are My Bag are encouraging you to spend time in your local bookshop, be it big or small.This week, we're chatting to children's author Piers Torday. He's published 7 books, they've been translated into 14 languages, he's won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, and been nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal.His new book is 'The Wild Before'. It's a prequel to 'The Last Wild' trilogy, and tells the story of Little Hare who must round up all the other animals to help save the world. It's about climate change, standing up for your beliefs and working together. We talk about the differences in writing for kids and adults, also about copying and being inspired, about planning, plotting and rhythm, and what bookshops mean to him.You can get a copy of Piers' book here - https://amzn.to/3ApAd9vSupport the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Piers Torday, author of 'The Wild Before' - Children's author talks about bookshops, prequels, and being a magpie.

Bella Osborne has had a busy year. In the last 3 months, she's had 2 different books out with 2 different publishers. 'The Promise of Summer' is a romance novel with Avon. 'The Library' is a bookclub read with Aria. We try to talk about both of those, but it's mainly about the former.All in, Bella has published 9 books. 'The Promise of Summer' is about Ruby and Curtis, trying to reunite a engagement ring with its owner, and find love along the way. We talk about how these two characters wouldn't go away, so she ahd to tell a part of their story, and leave them on a bench waiting for her to come back again. You can hear why her family hates NaNoWriMo, about her post-it note obsession, why her work day revolves around cats, and about the best types of tea. You can get a copy of 'The Promise of Summer' here - https://amzn.to/2Yh1dep and 'The Library' here - https://amzn.to/39TN8pIYou can support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bella Obsorne, author of 'The Promise of Summer' - Romantic writer talks about how characters meet genre, about busy years, and NaNoWriMo

Alex Michaelides is the only ever UK debut writer to go straight in at number 1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. His novel, 'The Silent Patient', was the 2nd bestselling novel on Amazon in 2019, they named it their 'thriller of the year'.He's followed it up with 'The Maidens', about an exclusive set of students at a University under the influence of a sinister Professor, and a murder he knows more about than he lets on.We discuss his screenwriting career in Hollywood, why that didn't work, how he moved on with it and discovered he was a novelist, not a dramatist. Also, how mediation helps him write, why he gives up the booze to tell stories, and how he got published when he moved back to the UK.Please do support us on patreon.com/writersroutine.@writerspodwritersroutine.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Alex Michaelides, author of 'The Maidens' - Critically acclaimed writer discusses following up on success, pushing through at a low point, and discovering he wasn't a screenwriter.

Paul Rudnick is an acclaimed Hollywood scriptwriter. He's worked on 'Addams Family Values', 'The Stepford Wives' and the 'Sister Act' movies. Now, he's just published his 3rd novel, 'Playing the Palace'. It's about a New York event planner who falls in love with England's gay Crown Prince, Edgar. It's a satirical look at romance stories and Royal life. We talk about writing for movies, working with improvising actors, changing things on set and coming up with at least 10 jokes for every line.Also, he talks about why life revolves around the writing, and his writing revolves around his life, in a syncopated way. Paul discusses his very private writing space that he is very protective of, and what happened after he had his initial idea for the story.You can get a copy here - https://amzn.to/3gYsqsFYou can support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Paul Rudnick, author of 'Playing the Palace' - Screenwriter discusses changing the script on set, writing for your heroes, and the precious writing space.

A few years ago, Bridget Collins came on the show to talk us through her novel, 'The Binding'. It was a huge, genre-defying success, and she's gone on to publish 'The Betrayals' to equal acclaim. Before then, Bridget published 7 Young Adult books, a few plays, and she's beavering away on her 3rd book right now. Here's a little snippet from our chat, as Bridget runs us through her writing space and working day. Scan back in your podcast feed to hear the full episode.You can support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Random Routine - Critically-acclaimed author Bridget Collins runs us through her space and day

Christina Sweeney-Baird works as a lawyer. It's a busy full-on job, working all hours under the sun, and she had barely any time to write. Until a life-changing moment changed everything, and forced to her sit up, to sit down and write.'The End of Men' is her debut novel. It tells the story of a pandemic that wipes out 90% of the male population. We talk about the idea, how she developed it, planned it, and at one point had to cut 30 characters from it. We also chat what it was like writing and editing a story about a pandemic, during a pandemic, and how she figures out the confusing aspects of genre and gets to the heart of the story.You can get a copy of the book here - https://amzn.to/2Y047UFSupport the show at Patreon.com/writersroutine.@writerspodwritersroutine.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Christina Sweeney-Baird, author of 'The End of Men' - Debut writer talks about speculative fiction, editing pandemics, and writing sprints.

Helen Fields first came on the show back in 2018.Starting with 6 DI Callanach thrillers, Helen has written standalones, and her newest novel introduces a new cahracter, Dr Connie Woolwine, an American Psycological Profiler who arrives in Edinburgh to pursue the Shadow Man.After working in Law with police, social services and Doctors for many years, Helen has a peculiarly accurate insight into the crimes she writes. She's also told stories using every method available to her, running a film production company and even self-publishing two fantasy books before signing up to the big leagues.You can get a copy of her newest book, 'The Shadow Man', here - https://amzn.to/3gsxvsMPlease do support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine.@writerspodwritersroutine.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Random Routine - Crime and historical thriller author Helen Fields takes us through a day writing around her family

This week's guest taking us inside their working day is Jamie O'Connell. He's published short stories before, runs an editing and mentoring site called 'Blackwater Writing', and his debut novel, 'Diving for Pearls', is out now.It's a story set in Dubai, a mystical, alluring, divisive and controversial place. It's about a woman's death which influences a whole cast of strange and inter-connected characters. The most important character is Dubai itself, we talk about how he brought the place to life in his story.Also, we talk about how he gets himself going everyday, how talismans help him write, why story-telling is like tuning a radio, and at what point you absolutely should change your font.You can get a copy of the book here - https://amzn.to/3D2W2ypSupport the show - Patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jamie O'Connell, author of 'Diving for Pearls' - Debutant talks places as characters, refining structure, and the 500 word limit

This week's Random Routine comes from Mark Billingham.His new book is 'Rabbit Hole', his 4th standalone thriller, which comes after his 15th Tom Thorne novel, the series he's best known for.Mark joined us back in 2018 to take us through his writing day. Where we chatted about how Mark's writing style and method has changed in the 17-or-so years since he published his first novel 'Sleepyhead', which was later made into a TV show starring David Morrissey. Also, we found out if seeing his hero on the screen affected his view of story-telling too. We also discussed how being a obsessive crime-fiction fan turned him into one of the genre's best, and why the name of this fine podcast gives him the shivers. Flick back in your podcast feed to catch up on the full episode.You can support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Random Routine - Crime supremo Mark Billingham likes to get things done whenever he can

Claire McGowan goes by two names. Claire for crime thrillers, Eva Woods for women's fiction. We talk about how she switches between the two, and how thoroughly she thinks through style and different readerships when she writes different genre.Her new work is an audiobook series exclusive to Audible, called 'The Vanishing Triangle'. It shines a light on the unsolved disappearance of at least eight women from mid-nineties Dublin; their bodies were never found, and no suspect was ever charged. To understand why these crimes remain unsolved, Claire explores what life was like in nineties Ireland, and investigates how a shifting political landscape and Irish society’s views on the treatment of women impacted the investigation.We talk about how writing true crime is different to writing crime stories from your imagination, how she researched and planned her work, and why she wanted to narrate the series.You can hear why her writing routine is pretty loose, how she doesn't plan much, and how she managed to write 4 books in 18 months through lockdowns.Grab a copy of 'The Vanishing Triangle' here - https://amzn.to/3jNujZASupport the show at patreon.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Claire McGowan, author of 'The Vanishing Triangle' - Crime writer talks about planning the twists, switching genres, and stepping into true crime.

This week's Random Routine comes from bestselling Tim Marshall. He came on the show back in November 2018.Tim Marshall worked for some years as the Diplomatic Editor for Sky News, travelling and living all over the world to get the stories. His book 'Shadowplay: The Overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic' is widely regarded as one of the best accounts of life in the former Yugoslavia. Tim reported in the field from Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia during the Balkan Wars of the 1990s, and has since found huge writing success for his book 'Prisoners of Geography'. It looks at how maps of the world can predict political situations, it's the first of a trilogy of books that discuss the affect of nationalism on identity politics - his others look at flags and walls.His newest book is The Power of Geography, which looks at what maps really mean. Grab a copy of it here - https://amzn.to/3CzkWVWSupport the show at Patreon.com/writersroutine.@writerspodwritersroutine.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Random Routine - Bestselling geopolitical genius Tim Marshall on starting the day luxuriously

Michael Arditti is an award-winning author of 11 novels, he's written short stories, and worked as a theatre critic and book reviewer for national newspapers.His new novel is 'The Anointed'. It's a retelling of the biblical King David, as told through his 3 wives, Michal, Abigail and Bathsheba. We talk about how he put his own spin on history, and why he chose to write about such a specific time, and retell a famous story.His novel, 'Easter', won the first Waterstones Mardi Gras Award, he's also penned 'The Celibate', 'Of Men and Angels', 'The Enemy', and others. All of his books explore the theme of religion, and why some believe and others don't. We talk about why he constantly unpacks that in his stories, and how he comes up with new ideas for ways to explore the theme in prose. Michael talks about why he's a morning person, and how he fits his day around that, what he thinks about originality and wasting-words, and why he doesn't like being told what he can't write simply because he's a male in London.You can get a copy of 'The Anointed' here - https://amzn.to/3AdwLzbYou can support the show on Patreon here - patreon.com/writersroutine.@writerspodwritersroutine.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michael Arditti, author of 'The Anointed' - Award-winning author talks about being a morning person, unpacking religion, and being told what he can't write.

Liz Nugent is an Irish Book Award Winner, whose 4th Novel is 'Our Little Cruelties', which is out right now.She came on the show back in 2018 to take us through a day writing her 3rd novel 'Skin Deep'.After working as a stage manager, running all over the place in a theatre, then being shackled to the desk writing for soap operas, Liz Nugent became bored with dull, desk-driven office work, and became an author. Well... became an author over 6 years of writing her first book 'Unravelling Oliver'. It won an Irish Book Award, became a bestseller and gave her a career of being a proper writer.If you like the chat, flick back in your podcast feeds to her full episode from back in November 2018.You can get a copy of 'Our Little Cruelties' here - https://amzn.to/3fm28PYPlease do support us at patreon.com/writersroutine.@writerspodwritersroutine.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Random Routine - Irish Book Award Winner Liz Nugent takes us through her writing day

There was a time when Joy Ellis couldn't get her books anywhere near a shelf, one sale, anywhere. She was living in her car, she managed a bookshop, she had many almosts with publishers. She carried on, kept writing, self-published, and was finally tracked down by a publisher who stumbled across her in a newspaper.Now, she's sold over 2 million books, is an Amazon bestseller, and was nominated for 'Crime/ Thriller Book of the Year' at the Nibbies a few months ago.She's published over 20 books across many different characters. Her new one is 'The Patient Man'. It's a Jackman and Evans novel, about a serial killer who returns for the last time.We talk about how she decides which of her many characters will solve the crime this time, why she comes up with new characters, and how she checks in with them from time to time.You can hear more about her fantastic, winding route to publication. Also, we chat about how ideas for her future stories come at completely random times, which means she sits on them for a while, and get a complete run through of her writing day.Get a copy of 'The Patient Man' here - https://amzn.to/3zJ62KJSupport the show on patreon.com/writersroutine.@writerspodwritersroutine.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Joy Ellis, author of 'The Patient Man' - Crime bestseller talks about starting new series, checking in with characters, and how she finally got published.

Look inside the daily diary of a creative person; to get tips, tricks and inspiration for that book kicking around your head.Some are frantic night-owls, others roll out of bed into their desks, and a few lock themselves away for days in the woods - but none have a regular 9 to 5, and we'll find out how they've managed it.SILVER (BEST CULTURE) - British Podcast Awards 2018

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Writer's Routine

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