Author's Afterword

Charlie and Liz Fenwick (The Path To The Sea) discuss the success of spies in the Cold War who were - on the face of it - 'just' housewives, bringing new characters to more prominence and bringing past characters back from other books, and the age-old question of cream or jam first.

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Cape Cod Porthpean House About Time Godolphin House The SOE (Special Operations Executive) Exercise Tiger Hotel Endsleigh

Question Index

00:38 You're originally from Massachusetts and settled in Cornwall. Why Cornwall? 01:51 Do you like Cornish pasties? 02:07 You first looked into publishing when you were in your early 20s?... 09:20 Boskenna is based on a real house?... 11:47 The past and present dates you look at are the same dates? 12:59 When you were planning it, did you have to keep up with events and how they were weaving into each other? 14:09 Was Diana frustrating to write? 15:07 Why first-person for Joan (compared to third-person for Lottie and Diana)? 16:12 Joan is a spy in the Cold War - were you inspired by any real life women spies of that era? 17:42 Where did Joan's hostess book come from? 24:06 Were there many people who kept Cold War secrets for life or for so long? 25:37 Why did you create a similarity between what happened to Allan and what happened to John? 26:15 What was the significance of Alex and Paul? 28:37 Why did you start the book with Lottie and Alex? 30:06 Is there a character that is the most important to you? 33:42 What happened to Salome? 34:35 Tell us more about The River Between Us 37:27 Scones - cream or jam first?

Purchase Links

The Path To The Sea: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Chapters Indigo

The River Between Us: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Hive Barnes & Noble Chapters Indigo

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Photograph used with the permission of the author.

Charlie and Lillian Li (Number One Chinese Restaurant) discuss racial prejudice in Chinese restaurants, looking at the narrative of immigrant parents and sacrifice, and how her editor pushed her to increase the impact of themes and ideas.

Please note that I have not censored the swear words in this episode because the over all effect would be different without them.

Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-34-lillian-li

The article Charlie quotes from: "'Customers looked right through me': what I learned working in a Chinese restaurant" The video of Lillian's event for Politics and Prose

Question Index

00:57 You work at Literati. What is it like working in a bookshop as an author? 08:03 You have a few origin stories for Number One Chinese Restaurant. Is there one that's the most important to you to tell, the one that's most crucial to the book? 17:03 How did you come to decide to discuss issues of race in the way you do? 20:57 Does the title have a place in what you've been talking about? 30:08 Is Jimmy your favourite character? 32:17 Why is Nan and Pat's relationship important to the book? 36:16 There's a lot of language switching in the book - why did you decide to do this and what were your choices informed by? 38:58 Could the story have been told without Uncle Pang? 40:46 Was it always your intent to include moments of comedy? 41:37 What is the importance of food further than it's simple inclusion, so to speak, in the book? 45:39 What's next?

Purchase Links

Number One Chinese Restaurant: Literati (during Covid curb-side pick up in Ann Arbor) Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters

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Photograph used with the permission of the author. Credit: Margarita Corporan.

Charlie and Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen (The Rabbit Back Literature Society; Secret Passages In A Hillside Town) discuss dreams that become literature - vampires; books where words and plot points change in a sort of book plague; secret passages that wipe your memory, and many more - writing a book that's difficult for a reader to work out and not knowing yourself what the answer is, creepy and traumatic fictional games, and issuing an alternative ending to your novel in a brand new publication.

Please note if you have children around that we mention people sitting together without any clothes on.

Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-33-pasi-ilmari-jaaskelainen

Tips to unlock the secrets in The Rabbit Back Literature Society Wikipedia's article on Jules et Jim Wikipedia's article on 2046 Wikipedia's article on In The Mood For Love Wikipedia's article on My Neighbour Totoro

Question Index

01:38 How has being a literature teacher influenced your writing? 02:54 What is your role when it comes to translation; do you work with the translators? 05:03 'Nosterafu' is used in both The Rabbit Back Literature Society and Secret Passages in a Hillside Town - you're interested in vampires? 11:29 What is the importance to you of the Finnish title, Lummiko and Nine Others? 13:27 Would it be right to say you're interested in folklore? 15:11 Why did you want Rabbit Back to be difficult to understand? 16:39 You say you yourself don't know what happened to Laura White. Do you have a preference in regards to readers' interpretations? 20:03 You've got this book 'plague' where words and plots change. Where did you get the idea? 24:32 Where is The Game from? 31:22 The idea of a 'cinematic life' in Secret Passages - where did that come from? 34:49 How did you choose the films that you refer to? 36:30 Why did you use the Famous Five? 37:49 Is Ollie's lack of use of his son's name (in terms of the third person narrative) important to the plot? 39:35 Secret Passages has two endings - is there one you prefer? 41:19 What are you writing at the moment?

Purchase Links

The Rabbit Back Literature Society: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound

Secret Passages In A Hillside Town: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Chapters Indigo

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Photograph used with the permission of the author.

Charlie and Susmita Bhattacharya (Table Manners) discuss her world-wide travel and moves abroad - including a visa-less stopover, the experiences of recent immigrants to Britain, and having your work featured and serialised on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 4 Extra.

Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-32-susmita-bhattacharya

Table Manners on BBC Radio 4 Extra 'Old Spice' on BBC Radio 4 Mayflower Young Writers on Artful Scribe Seacity Museum, Southampton Tudor House, Southampton

In her role as Writer in Residence during spring and summer at the Word Factory, Susmita is holding 1 to 1 half hour sessions for new writers. Full details and price info are here.

Question Index

01:03 How did the serialisation of Table Manners on BBC Radio 4 Extra come about? 02:18 Your first story for radio was in 2015?... 03:48 You have travelled and lived all over the world, can you tell us about it? 09:22 Is your travel and your experience of living in other places always in your mind when you're writing? 11:40 Tell us about your work with Mayflower Young Writers 17:53 Why is 'Good Golly Miss Molly' the story you've read from for us, the one you read the most? 19:21 Why did you choose to use food as you do - sometimes as an obvious support to a story, other times more vague? 21:26 When did you come up with the title for the collection? 22:50 Can you talk about the use of relationships in this book? 25:01 You have a story that features 9/11 and 7/7, a story about the social affects of Brexit, and a story where a white westerner who wants to see the Real India. Is the present day and situations important to you? 28:21 Going back to what you said about your time as an English language teacher for immigrants to Britain, may I ask what kind of things affected people when they were here, in that context of the present day? 33:12 What's next?

Purchase Links

Table Manners: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones

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Photograph used with the permission of the author. Credit: Rohini Bhattacharya

Charlie and Elizabeth Baines (Used To Be; Astral Travel) discuss writing for radio, short stories - the relative importance of their first lines and differences to novels - writing a book about trying to tell a story, and the difficulties in labelling someone complicit or a victim in the context of past societal values.

Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-31-elizabeth-baines

Question Index

00:38 Can you tell us about your screenplay work? 01:13 How did the vampire play come about? 01:48 Do your plays influence your prose or is it the other way around? 02:23 Do you have a preference between these three modes of writing? 09:39 All these stories were in other publications - how long in coming was the collection itself? 11:13 Tell us about the splitting of these stories into two categories 13:00 How important is the first line of a short story compared to a novel? 13:46 Did the short story 'Clarrie and You' inspire Astral Travel? 19:01 Astral Travel is a difficult read. How long did it take to write - was it difficult to write? 22:55 How far into the various drafts did the written structure (white space; chapter headings) come in? 23:55 Where is the father 'from'; what were the influences in creating him? 24:23 Is the mother complicit or a victim? 26:43 [Within and without the context of Josephine's boyfriend's family] do you think that Josephine would continue on her journey of healing? 27:50 Was the revelation about the father always in your mind? 28:30 Where on the scale between empathy and upset do you think the reader is, or should be, by the end? 29:13 What's your favourite Bronte novel? 29:50 What's next?

Purchase Links

Used To Be: Amazon UK Amazon US Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound

Astral Travel: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Chapters Indigo

I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.

Photograph used with the permission of the author.

Charlie and Katy Yocom (Three Ways To Disappear) discuss tiger conservation in India and balancing numbers alongside human requirements for life, the importance of being diligent when writing about a culture that is not your own, and what the three ways to disappear are.

Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-30-katy-yocom

Katy's articles and essays: 'A Search for the Elusive Tigers in India Leads to a Novel' for Newsweek 'Muhammad Ali, my father and me' for Salon 'The Compelling Tales We Tell of Fictional Tigers' for LitHub

Wikipedia's article on Born Free Wildlife Trails' website Birds of the Indian Subcontinent is a 1998 reference guide written by Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp, and Tim Inskipp

Question Index

00:51 You graduated from Spalding University and now work there - can you tell us what you do? 02:17 Tell us about your other publications (essays in magazines and so forth) 09:01 Tell us about the starting point for Three Ways To Disappear 12:59 (Further discussion on the possibility of telling the story without Quinn's narrative) 13:40 [In the context of what we're discussing] is this where the mythical aspects of the book come in? 15:46 Can you tell us about your research trip? 21:26 How well is the place you visited doing in terms of numbers of tigers? 29:02 What are the three ways to disappear? 30:52 I found Sarah's romance to be unexpected; was it always important to include? 34:11 What affect do you want your book to leave on readers once they've finished it?

Purchase Links

Three Ways To Disappear: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Barnes & Noble IndieBound Chapters Indigo

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Photograph used with the permission of the publisher.

Charlie and Marianne Holmes (A Little Bird Told Me; All Your Little Lies) discuss procedures when children go missing, societal changes in regards to domestic violence in the 1970s, and, on a lighter note, trying not to finish books you're not enjoying.

Please note there is some noise in this episode - noise cancelling headphones are recommended (pun not intended) as they will make the vocals crisper.

Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-29-marianne-holmes/

Wikipedia's article on K M Peyton's Flambards The act created in 1976 was the Domestic Violence and Matrimonial Proceedings Act. According to the British Library "This act enabled married women to obtain a court order against their violent husbands without divorce or separation proceedings. A court could order a man out of the matrimonial home, whether or not he owned it or tenancy was in his name. Problems arose because this protection did not apply to unmarried women." Missing People

Question Index

00:35 You grew up in different countries; your father was in the RAF. Can you tell us about that? 01:05 Has your career in marketing helped with your books? 01:49 Your road to publication started with a tweet?... 03:50 Do you plan your books? 10:22 Why the heatwave of 1976? 11:47 Was Robin's reading material, Flambards, a book you read yourself? 12:26 Could you talk about the era in terms of the social changes in regards to domestic violence? 13:54 The refusal of adults to tell things to children - for A Little Bird Told Me, was that inspired by a particular event? 20:03 What, to you, is the defining element of All Your Little Lies? 21:31 Your son's reaction to a missing child influenced the book?... 24:32 (For both books) how do you incorporate the two narratives, the character as a child and as an adult? 25:39 What was your reason for writing in the third person as opposed to the first? 26:51 How much time did you need to spend developing the secondary characters for the readers' understanding of Annie to work? 28:14 Is Annie going to be able to heal from all of this? 29:20 In both books you look at the ways young girls relate to each other - this is important to you? 30:38 You have a book on the go about a little known figure... 32:21 Have you been successful in putting down books you're not enjoying reading?

Purchase Links

A Little Bird Told Me: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters

All Your Little Lies: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive IndieBound

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Photograph used with the permission of the publisher.

Charlie and Deborah Swift (Past Encounters; The Occupation) discuss Brief Encounter at Carnforth, the experiences of prisoners of war at the time and once back home, the real life story of a Jersey woman who hid her Jewish friend, and reactions to the death of the last woman in Britain to be given capital punishment.

Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-28-deborah-swift

BBC Radio 4's The Poetry Pharmacy BBC's People's War website The Long March Article about Dorothea and Hedwig when the former was nominated for an Israeli honour

A video about Carnforth station in the context of Brief Encounter and subsequent tourism

Deborah's books set in the 1600s, in the order of publication: The Lady's Slipper The Gilded Lily A Divided Inheritance Shadow On The Highway Spirit Of The Highway Lady Of The Highway Pleasing Mr Pepys A Plague On Mr Pepys Entertaining Mr Pepys

Question Index

01:01 You write poetry?... 03:25 You used to work as a costume and set designer - what productions did you work on? 04:23 Did this work influence any of your stories? 13:18 Past Encounters: who came first, Peter or Rhoda? 17:35 (Carnforth Station's cafe and museum) 19:30 What was the reception of prisoners of war when they came home? 21:32 Tell us about Lamsdorf 25:36 Why was it important to include mentions of the trial of Ruth Ellis? 35:45 The Occupation started out as two novellas?... 37:59 (About the inspiration for Celine and Rachel's story) 39:08 Rachel's quite a particular character - what were your thoughts when you were creating her? 41:00 Would you say Rachel's story, post-ending, would mirror Hedwig's? 42:46 The ending is perhaps unexpected - how did you come to write it? 44:40 Tell us about The Lifeline

Purchase Links

Past Encounters: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones

The Occupation: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada

The Lifeline: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada

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Photograph used with the permission of the author.

Charlie and Tammye Huf (A More Perfect Union) discuss her great-great-grandparents' relationship as an 1840s Irishman and a Black American slave, the way owners used Christianity to support their views of a racial hierarchy, and the lengths reached in order to label people by skin colour.

Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-27-tammye-huf

Tammye's Radio 2 interview Library of Congress audio interviews with freed people

Question Index

01:02 (Discussing Tammye's recent interview on Radio 2) 02:04 Tell us about your great-great-grandparents 03:28 What made you want to tell this story, to start with your grandparents and take it further? 08:22 How important was balancing the romance with the history? 09:23 Any there are specific primary sources you used that you can highlight? 11:56 Do you feel closer to your grandparents now? 12:48 How did you go about creating Sarah? 17:52 Who is Maple; why did you include her in the story? 20:49 Did you always plan to have this 'nicer' owner? 23:32 Were there many people who were offered their freedom, didn't take it for family reasons and so forth, and were then used as a puppet? 26:35 To me Henry comes across as quite careless sometimes - did you ever consider a different bearing for him? 30:13 Could you tell us about the Potato Famine era 'tumbling'? 32:03 Do you think Red ever found his freedom? 32:54 What's next?

Purchase Links

A More Perfect Union: Amazon UK Amazon US Waterstones Hive

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Photograph used with the permission of the publisher.

Charlie and Eric Beck Rubin (School Of Velocity) discuss the representation of the Holocaust in literature, using classical music as a literary device, having a main character whose person limits the opportunity for dialogue through his obsession with another, and the reader being a writer.

Please note that the first reading contains sexual content.

Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-26-eric-beck-rubin

Wikipedia's article on Imre Kertész Wikipedia's article on Georges Perec Wikipedia's article on Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything is Illuminated Wikipedia's article on Ford Madox Ford's The Good Soldier The full quote on reading and writing, by the writer Jonathan Lethem, is: "Reading and writing are the same thing; it's just one's the more active and the other's the more passive. They flow into each other." Wikipedia's article on John Irving's A Prayer For Owen Meany Czerny's School Of Velocity on YouTube

Eric has written many articles on cultural history – among them are: 'Not Again' 'Georges Perec, Lost and Found in the Void: The Memoirs of an Indirect Witness' (requires a JStor account to access) 'Avoided: On Georges Perec' 'Sisyphus in Kertész's Fatelessness' (opens in a PDF)

Eric's literary podcast 'Burning Books'

Question Index

00:41 Tell us about your PhD on the Holocaust in literature 03:13 What musical instruments do you play? 04:12 Favourite classical musician? 05:10 I know that reviews say School of Velocity is like The Great Gatsby – is there anything in this? 06:11 Why The Netherlands for the story? 13:48 It's a while until anyone but Dirk and Jan are given any dialogue. Is this something you'd considered doing throughout? 16:58 How did you go about choosing the classical music that Jan plays? 19:11 Can you talk about your choice to use Czerny's music as the title and in the context of your characters? 20:44 Do you see Jan and Dirk as having loved each other? 32:20 Do you think it would've been possible for Dirk to narrate the story from his side? 33:41 How much affect did Dirk's parents have on him? 35:38 How important was Lena's inclusion in the story? 37:39 Where did the idea of using this 'musical tinnitus', enough to cause sickness, come from? 39:10 What's next?

Purchase Links

School Of Velocity: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters

I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Likewise IndieBound.

Photograph used with the permission of the author.