Author's Afterword

Charlie and Ronali Collings (Love & Other Dramas) discuss her relationship with her mother and where that influences her novel, racist comments and decisions in the workplace, and her experiences of female friendships during her IVF journey. We begin with her studies for a Masters - her supervisor was Bernardine Evaristo.

The Madeline Milburn Mentorship Programme Ronali's interview on The Two Of Us Ronali's episode on Chloe Timms' Confessions Of A Debut Novelist

Where to find Ronali online

Website || Twitter || Instagram

Where to find Charlie online

Website || Twitter || Instagram

Discussions

01:19 On Ronali's MA for which she was supervised by Bernadine Evaristo 06:18 On the inspirations and reasons for writing Love & Other Dramas 13:10 The characters 20:11 Stephen! 22:55 The importance of Tanya remaining single at the end 27:06 Ronali's relationship with her mother and the influence on Helen and Tanya 33:46 Catholicism in Ronali's life and in the book 39:11 The micro-aggressions related to racism 43:06 Priya and Bianca's relationship 46:16 Discussing female friendships - Ronali discusses the absence of them in parts of her life and we then go on to discuss friendship in the context of her IVF treatments 56:38 What's next?

Photograph used with the permission of the author.

Charlie and Kristina McMorris (Sold On A Monday; The Ways We Hide) discuss the harrowing photographs of children that inspired her last two novels, why she chose to focus - in the first book - on the news reporters rather than the children, and changing the fictional outcome of the stories.

The photograph of the children for sale and an article with the basics Kristina's Facebook post about her and RaeAnn's appearance on NPR Interview with RaeAnn for North West Indiana Times Interview with David McDaniel Christina Baker Kline's Orphan Train The first sentence on Sold On A Monday ended up being: 'Outside the guarded entrance, reporters circled like a pack of wolves.' (The photograph that inspired The Ways We Hide is a photograph of some of the children who died in the Italian Hall Disaster and shows them laid out after death.) "How Monopoly Helped The Allies Win WW2" article The videos of the various MI9 tools are listed on Kristina's website

Where to find Kristina online

Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram

Where to find Charlie online

Website || Twitter || Instagram

Discussions

01:21 Tell us about the photograph Sold On A Monday was inspired by 06:09 Changing the outcome for the fictional children 07:40 The book's focus on the reporters rather than the children 11:11 How Kristina's experience in media informed her writing 13:41 About the original title 17:55 The reliability of the characters 19:10 Ellis and Lily 22:33 Theme of family and motherhood 23:45 The photograph that inspired The Ways We Hide 27:17Fenna! 28:25 The four books Kristina is currently working on 32:29 Kristina introduces the extra content on her website

Charlie and Orlando Ortega-Medina (The Fitful Sleep Of Immigrants) discuss the reality for LGBT asylum seekers in the US, Orlando's own experiences as a lawyer, and same-sex marriage rights now Roe v Wade has been overturned.

Orlando's law firm Authority Magazine video "How Do We Master Our Ego?" an discussion with Rabbi Joseph Dweck for J-TV

Where to find Orlando online

Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram || TikTok

Where to find Charlie online

Website || Twitter || Instagram

Discussions

01:33 Orlando's career as a lawyer and his own firm 03:55 How Orlando might have changed his plans for his career if he'd been able to write part time and be a lawyer part time 05:38 Creating the characters 09:08 Issac and the situation in El Salvador in the late 1990s at the time 11:22 The court hearing 15:08 Alejandro Silva! 23:11 The original version of the book 26:18 The Saint Cloud case and realities 28:06 On the same-sex marriage rights of LGBT people in the US now that Roe v Wade has been overturned 32:04 The passage about darkness and light in the context of people 34:19 Mitzpe Ramon and Orlando's use of it in his work

Photograph credit: Marte Lundby Rekaa

Charlie and Amita Parikh (The Circus Train) discuss how Amita's dancing and performing experiences influenced her work, her controversial decision to have her wheelchair-using heroine learn to walk, and the Theresienstadt Ghetto (concentration camp) where prisoners led a fairly cultured life.

'Ten Fun Facts About The Circus Train' on Amita's website The Night Ferry Elizabeth Kenny The Theresienstadt Ghetto Information and links about #PublishingPaidMe

Where to find Amita online

Website

Where to find Charlie online

Website || Twitter || Instagram

Discussions

01:20 The inspiration behind the characters and the theme of illusion 04:29 The circus itself and Amita's dancing experience 07:01 Real travelling circuses of the time 08:53 Getting the balance between magic and reality 09:22 The original drafts 11:47 Back to the train aspect 13:37 The decision to have Lena learning to walk and the historical medical context for it 18:35 The Theresienstadt Ghetto 22:20 Horace! 26:31 About another book Amita has written (not published), her reaction to getting an agent, and her upcoming second book

Photograph credit: Helen Tansey

Charlie and Emma Cowell (One Last Letter From Greece) discuss grief, miscarriage and expectations surrounding it, and, in keeping with her book's title, Greece and its culture.

Methoni Cadgwith Petalidi

Where to find Emma online

Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram

Where to find Charlie online

Website || Twitter || Instagram

Discussions and Readings

01:30 First reading 03:56 Emma's mum 07:49 The how, when, and so forth of Emma writing One Last Letter From Greece 11:42 Emma's inclusion of Greece in the book 14:44 Second reading 18:09 All about Sophie 24:38 Discussion of friendship, miscarriage and fertility 31:32 Theo! 33:25 Emma's angling experience and its influence 35:04 Art and the art world 39:00 The paranormal elements 42:27 Lindsay and Grigor what ifs 49:36 Emma's next book, The House In The Olive Grove

Photograph used with the permission of the author.

She's back! Charlie and E C Fremantle (The Honey And The Sting) discuss producing a book that is utterly devoid - and then some - of filler, Black people of the Stuart era, and the film of Fremantle's first novel, which will star Jude Law and Alicia Vikander.

The Honey And The Sting George Villiers Frances Coke John Felton Eleanor Davies Miranda Kaufmann's Black Tudors Pearl diver Jacques Francis The Poison Bed Robert Carr The painting of Anne of Denmark Firebrand Artemisia Gentileschi

Where to find Charlie online

Website || Twitter || Instagram

Question Index

00:40 [Asking Liz about her writing choices in terms of the stripped-back style of her book] 05:43 [Reading] 13:08 Could you talk more about the creation of the sisters themselves? 16:31 Is this book moving towards the fantasy genre? 17:21 Can you talk about the bees, honey, this concept? 19:08 George Villiers - can you talk about how you included the story and why you made the choices you did? 23:45 Were James I and George Villiers lovers, in your opinion? 26:58 Can you talk about your decision to use Francis Bacon's work in your book? 28:16 Can you talk more about your research of Black people of the era and their inclusion in your book? 31:55 Your first novel has now been made into a film (called Firebrand; in post-production). What can you tell us about it at this point? 34:10 Can you tell us about your next book, Disobedient?

Photograph used with the permission of the author. Credit: JP Masclet.

Charlie and Cecelia Tichi (A Fatal Gilded High Note) discuss the Gilded Age in its success and its crimes, her rebellious 1890s character who defies class, and the history of French Bulldogs.

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-69-cecelia-tichi

The 1897 World Expedition in Nashville Parton's, Harris', and Ronstadt's Trio Cecelia's book on country music and literature Virginia City "Boss" Tweed Jay Gould Upton Sinclair's The Jungle John Mackey Evelyn Walsh McLean (Cecelia's book on Gilded Age Cocktails) The Gilded Age Society on Facebook

Question Index

00:58 Where do country music and literature meet for you? 07:58 [Reading] 12:09 Why the Gilded Age? 15:57 There was a lot of crime in that era?... 21:43 How did you come to create Val, the fictional aspects? 27:11 Tell us about Velvet the French Bulldog 30:50 Tell us about A Deadly Gilded Freefall 31:32 Will there be a fifth book in this series? 31:55 How is Val going to progress as a character going forward?

Purchase Links

A Fatal Gilded High Note: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters

A Deadly Gilded Free Fall: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters

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

Photograph used with the permission of the marketing team.

Charlie and Kate Glanville (The Peacock House) discuss her main character who is 90 years old, and villains who aren't so villainous after all. Kate also discusses the way her dyslexia has effected her reading, and some of her thoughts on education in this vein in the context of her younger character.

Please note that there are spoilers throughout the episode.

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-68-kate-glanville

Kate's ceramics Newton House St David's College Llandudno and Conway Bodysgallen

Question Index

00:33 How did you first know when you wanted to write? 03:17 [Reading] 07:41 Can you tell us where the story comes from and your inspiration? 16:17 In terms of Evelyn's romance were there any wartime inspirations? 17:52 Why didn't you include Evelyn and Jack's reunion in the book? 20:34 Kind of on this, is a more pleasant cast of characters what you prefer to go for? 23:18 Tell us about the future for Tilly, Bethan, and Tom 25:20 What's next? 27:53 Tell us more about your ceramics business 29:02 [Kate talks about audiobooks and how they've helped her read]

Purchase Links

The Peacock House: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble Indigo Chapters

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

Photograph used with the permission of the author.

Charlie and Kristin Harmel (The Forest Of Vanishing Stars) discuss the true story, and Kristin's own fictional one, of a group of over a thousand Jewish people who during WW2 slowly escaped to and hid in a vast forest away from the Nazis.

Please note that there are spoilers throughout the episode.

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-67-kristin-harmel

Quotation from Patti Callahan Henry taken from the Friends & Fiction Launch Party for The Forest Of Vanishing Stars (audio only) The Bielski Partisans Naliboki Forest Nechama Tec's Defiance Defiance (the film) The Sweetness Of Forgetting The martyrs of Nowogrodeck Vadem Sidorovich Friends & Fiction website Friends & Fiction Facebook group Mary Alice Monroe Mary Kay Andrews Patti Callahan Henry Kristy Woodson Harvey

Question Index

01:13 As a reporter you were interested in ordinary people who were heroes and also the stories of how people got to where they were. How dd this segue into you becoming a novelist? 04:21 [Reading] 08:47 You've got Yona, who's fictional, but the history is real?... 12:32 You said twelve hundred people - how on earth did they hide all that time? 15:40 One of the Bielkski brothers was a Zus, and you have a character called Zus... 18:03 Is there a reason this fact of so many people hiding in the forest isn't well known? 23:11 Are you able to talk about the theme of stars? 27:59 Why the mysticism? 31:57 On this, what might have happened if Yona hadn't been stolen, with her father? 35:51 Why did you feel the need to have Yona die? 42:04 You weren't able to visit the forest to research it due to the pandemic. Do you think you might go to it at some point? 46:18 What's next? 47:29 Tell us about your weekly web show, Friends & Fiction, and the spin-off podcast, Writer's Block

Purchase Links

The Forest Of Vanishing Stars: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters

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

Photograph used with the permission of the author.

Charlie and Sally Page (The Keeper Of Stories) discuss story collection, the forgotten mistress of the abdicated Edward VIII, and dogs who swear something chronic!

Please note that there are some spoilers throughout the episode.

Please also note that there is a mild swear word in this episode.

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-66-sally-page

Sally's website (with info about floristry, flower books, and her painting) Libby Page Olivia Coleman's Oscar win and speech Scheherazade Marguerite Alibert Wendy Holden's The Duchess Sally's fountain pens, Plooms

(I was incorrect - there *is* a mention of Marguerite on Edward VIII's Wikipedia page.)

Question Index

01:03 Tell us about your flower shop 03:15 On this then, would you say you yourself are a keeper of stories? 04:27 You're a painter - tell us all about it 06:45 [Reading] 09:00 You never give the name of the National Treasure - is there a reason for this and what is their purpose? 10:20 Janice - can you talk about her creation and any inspirations? 12:33 In terms of this subject, were the other characters more function or important in themselves? 14:21 And Mrs B - her creation, etc...? 15:29 You use the Arabian Nights - can you talk about using this, the reasons, etc? 16:57 Janice never asks what the real name of 'Becky' was. Does this help her progression as a character? 18:58 You've mentioned it twice now so I have to ask - what's your favourite period of history to study? 19:43 How did you come to know and use the story of Margherite and what was it about it that interested you? 23:43 [Talking Decius] 27:02 Fiona and Adam - how important was their story to the overall narrative? 28:13 What's next? 29:22 What is it about needing happy endings? 30:19 Tell us about the fountain pens you sell, Plooms? 31:38 [Sally talks about her readers' responses]

Purchase Links

The Keeper Of Stories: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive

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

Photograph used with the permission of the author.