Author's Afterword

Charlie and Natalie Jenner (Bloomsbury Girls) discuss Jane Austen in all Natalie's interesting concepts, tales of related auctions she has been involved in, and the work to 'preserve and pull together' a record of the books that inspired her. They also discuss Natalie's inclusion of Daphne du Maurier in her novel, Persephone Books, and genre in its context as a label.

Please note that there are (very slight) 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-65-natalie-jenner

Persephone Books 84 Charing Cross Road (film) Sunwise Turn Madge Jemisin's memoir Lamb's Conduit Street The Second Shelf Bookshop, London Daphne du Maurier's Myself When Young: The Makings Of A Writer Emily Midorikawa: Daphne du Maurier and Oriel Malet Daphne du Maurier's The Doll Sonia Orwell Jane Wells Webb The Mummy! The Godmersham Lost Sheep Society's blog Reading With Austen McGill's Burney Centre Sample and Audible edition of Richard Armitage's narration of The Jane Austen Society Sample and Audible edition Juliet Stevenson's narration of Bloomsbury Girls

Natalie's favourite Persephone book is Julia Strachey's Cheerful Weather For The Wedding

Question Index

01:14 You owned a book shop. Tell us about it 05:40 You are obviously very interested in classical writers, Jane Austen in particular. Can you tell us where your inspiration stems from? 14:37 [Reading] 19:55 How much are the Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls related - can Bloomsbury Girls be a standalone? 21:09 Can you talk about three of your inspirations for Bloomsbury Girls - the book 84 Charing Cross Road, and the bookshops Sunwise Turn and Persephone Books? 26:17 Why as it important to you to include Daphne du Maurier? 32:51 Why Jane Wells Webb - why The Mummy, why include this author in particular? 37:20 You have auctions of books in your novel. Are auctions something that interests you and were there real life ones that inspired you? 41:40 You've mentioned genre a couple of times. Can you expand on your thoughts here? 45:51 What's next? 47:59 (Natalie talks about the British audiobook editions of her novels)

Purchase Links

The Jane Austen Society: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters

Bloomsbury Girls: 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 Chloe Timms (The Seawomen) discuss Chloe's dystopian fictional religious cult in all its fantasy and reality, the major changes she made to the book as the editing progressed, and her own interpretations of the various parts of the ending.

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-64-chloe-timms

The blog post that mentions the Bridport Prize, 'Fighting Self Doubt and Embracing Writing Opportunities' The Bridport Poetry Prize The Faber Academy Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale Kirsty Logan The Literary Consultancy Evie Wyld's The Bass Rock Confessions Of A Debut Novelist

Question Index

01:01 You say on your blog you'll mention Your Bridport Prize for Poetry longlisting at every opportunity. I've introduced it - tell us about it 02:32 How did you find your agent? 05:58 [Reading] 10:49 Can you tell us about the starting point of this novel - the idea, the inspirations, etc? 13:57 Is Esta important for herself or more for what she represents? 17:04 Is what we're talking about to do with the major structural change? 19:22 Why mermaids and selkies? 22:04 The way you incorporated the seawomen, the concept etc, was that always the plan? 24:59 Did you ever consider keeping the untethered women alive? 26:24 Cal, a man, helps Esta to see what was going on. Can you talk about your use of him here, how he came to be the defining moment of that point of the book? 29:11 When in Esta's life is the narrative being written? 30:50 What are The Otherlands to you, what are they like? 33:33 What's the importance of having the men in the dark - or are they? 35:52 Should Mull be forgiven? 37:08 Where does the grandmother fit in terms of her belief and what's going on? 40:33 Does Esta survive? 42:07 What happens to Cal? 43:47 Is Esta's mother okay? 44:15 What's next? 45:41 Tell us about your podcast, Confessions of a Debut Novelist 48:02 [Chloe discusses our conversation, the detail etc]

Purchase Links

The Seawomen: Amazon UK Waterstones Hive

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

Photograph used with the permission of the publisher.

Charlie and Amanda Geard (The Midnight House) discuss buying big derelict houses, the importance of community in County Kerry, and Amanda's stunning epilogue - which is one of Charlie's favourites.

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-63-amanda-geard

Writer's Week Patricia O'Reilly My discussion with Liz Fenwick is episode 35; Hazel Gaynor is 46; Nicola Cornick 1 and 38 The Ring of Kerry Delphi Lodge, Galway The Kerry Way Canary Girls

Question Index

01:03 You're a geologist - tell us about your background and what came before writing 01:44 Where does your writer self come in to this? 04:43 So you have planned this book meticulously...? 05:18 So are you going to write a time-slip book? 06:25 [Reading] 09:17 How did you come to the title, The Midnight House? 10:13 Whereabouts does the House itself fall on the scale of importance? 13:28 You mentioned the house you bought - you renovated it etc?... 14:57 The community in the book - was it always important from the get go? 17:36 Can you tell us about Nancy, Charlotte, and Hattie? 19:58 Why did you want to explore Charlotte's story through Ellie's, or was it maybe the other way round for you? 21:54 Were there any particular historical influences that worked for Charlotte's story? 23:57 Was it Charlotte's disappearance itself or more so the subject of it that was important? 25:58 You reveal Ellie's 'mysteries' a lot slower. What was the reason for that? 28:32 Had you considered having Charlotte still alive? 30:29 Why the epilogue, why include Charlotte like this? 31:45 Did a lot of pregnant women work as Canary Girls? 34:10 What would have happened with Charlotte if she'd lived? 34:40 What's going to happen with the peerage and the house, would you say? 36:03 What's next? 37:21 [Amanda talks about reader reactions to The Midnight House]

Purchase Links

The Midnight 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 agent.

Charlie and Grace D Li (Portrait Of A Thief) discuss Chinese American identity, art theft and repatriation, and bonkers fun fictional heists.

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-62-grace-d-li

The Sackler Museum The real thefts The Old Summer Palace The Second Opium War looting Information (from last year) about the Netflix deal

Question Index

00:52 How do you combine your medical studies with your writing? 02:24 You're a museum tour guide?... 03:51 [Reading] 08:15 Can you tell us about the real stories behind your heists? 10:44 Are you able to give us a brief history the palace and the original looting? 12:12 Can you tell us what's currently happening in terms of art that's been given back, the changes that have happened since the heist that you've fictionalised? 13:28 How have your own feelings of identity progressed? 14:53 Can you talk about your characters in terms of identity, how you created them and so on? 16:03 You give each character their own narrative. Was this always the plan? 16:46 Are you able to talk about the theme of loss in this context? 18:29 Why a heist to explore identity? 19:37 You mention the pandemic – where in our current time does the novel fit? 20:53 Was there a reason for the different levels of digital (and so forth) security in the book? 22:29 Why have Daniel's father be so high up in the FBI; why was his role important? 25:42 Do you have a favourite character? 27:11 The romances – to you as the writer, how did they help the stories messages and topics come to the fore, etc? 30:37 The ending – was it always going to be this different heist? 32:36 Did you ever considered having more 'full' heists than you did? 34:38 Could the characters have found who they were without the heists? 35:44 Has there been progress with the Netflix purchase? 36:41 What's next?

Purchase Links

Portrait Of A Thief: 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. Credit: Yi Li.

Charlie and Yvonne Bailey-Smith (The Day I Fell Off My Island) discuss the effects on children of immigration from Jamaica to the UK, the effects on parents, and the lack of educational care afforded to and the assumptions made about Black British students.

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-61-yvonne-bailey-smith

The Day I Fell Off My Island on the Author Club's Best Novel Award Professor Carolyn Cooper Lisa Allen-Agostini's The Bread The Devil Knead Diane Abbott

After we finished recording, Yvonne spoke to me about how people from all across the world, ethicities, places, religions, have read her book and contacted her about it, and how wonderful that has been.

Question Index

01:55 [Reading] 11:43 Tell us about Grandma Melba 14:25 Can you tell us about your work as a social worker and psychotherapist? 15:54 You've been writing this book for a very long time? 18:22 Is there anything interesting you can tell us about what was edited out? 19:18 How much of this book is informed by your own story of immigration to England? 22:01 Did it take you a while to get used to living in Britain; how similar are yours and Erna's experiences? 24:47 Can you talk about your choices to write half of the novel's dialogue - the half set in Jamaica - in Jamaican patois? 28:58 You said about Carolyn Cooper checking through the book the night beforehand, was anything able to be done about the errors? 31:16 Can you tell us about Violet - what went into creating her, and so on? 36:21 Erna is not given advice about university until she asks about it and she says this happened to other black school mates. Was this something that happened a lot then and further in the future? 40:11 Tell us all about the title! 41:31 Is there anything you can tell us about the sequel?

Purchase Links

The Day I Fell Off My Island: 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 Yvonne's publicist. Credit: Elena Heatherwick.

Charlie and Jennifer Saint (Elektra) discuss the Trojan War in terms of the women the men left behind - Elektra, Clytemnestra, Cassandra, and, arguably, Helen.

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-60-jennifer-saint

The Trojan War Elektra Clytemnestra Cassandra Agamemnon The Odyssey Odysseus Penelope Ariadne Aegisthus Helen Iphigenia Andromache Paris Roger Lancelyn Green's The Tale Of Troy Atlanta

Question Index

00:32 When did you first become interested in Greek mythology? 02:00 [Reading] 05:39 Why Elektra, why is she the title character? 06:47 [Jennifer talks about how she initially saw Clytemnestra as more important] 09:39 Is Clytemnestra the character you sympathise with the most? 12:22 Would events have gone the way the did if Clytemnestra had spent more time with Elektra? 14:15 Why is it important to keep telling these stories? 18:16 What was important to you to add in that was missed in the other variations? 21:14 What is your favourite Greek myth? 23:19 Did you ever consider a different narrative - Helen, for example? 27:56 In your opinion, did Helen go willingly to Paris? 31:05 How has history regarded Cassandra - should she have slept with Apollo? 33:43 Is it right that Elektra's left at the end? 35:02 What was the belief in the Underworld at the time in regards to Iphigenia's place in it? 36:30 What's next?

Purchase Links

Elektra: 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 Jennifer's publicist.

Charlie and Melissa Fu (Peach Blossom Spring) discuss the experiences of Chinese refugees during the Second Sino-Japanese War - particularly those who fled to Taiwan - the centuries old hand scrolls that inspired her own character's scroll, and how the lives of her family influenced her work.

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-59-melissa-fu

The David TK Wong Fellowship George Ella Lyon's Where I'm From Danke Li's Echoes Of Chongqing The Second Sino-Japanese War Chi Pang-yuan's The Great Flowing River The Great Tunnel Disaster of Chongqing Q M Zhang's Accomplice To Memory The Admonitions scroll The British Museum's page on the Admonitions scroll (thanks to Melissa) YouTube scroll-through of Along The River During Qingming Animated version of Along The River (see top of page; thanks to Melissa) Background information on Along The River The Taiping steamer

Question Index

00:45 You wrote some of this book during a fellowship at UEA? 02:30 [Reading] 05:00 What made you start on the note that you did? 06:56 Can you tell us about the other starting point of the novel, your father and his peach trees? 10:13 Is it right to say there might be a bit of you in Lily? 11:18 Can you tell us about Meilin - how you came to create her and what went in to making her? 14:38 Can you tell us about the experiences of women and refugees during the war? 16:56 The incidence in the tunnel and the plane on the road - are these real events that happened? 21:55 Can you tell us about Taiwan in terms of what it was like for the refugees? 26:10 Why did you include the hand scroll as an item and as a concept in itself? 30:15 Was it always in your mind to shrink Longwei's family as the narrative continued? 34:52 Was Meilin right not to marry Longwei? 36:50 Could things have been fixed so that Meilin could have joined Henry in the US? 39:12 In the US, Henry is paranoid about political people coming after him due to his uncle. Was his uncle actually in a position to make that a possibility? 43:28 What's next?

Purchase Links

Peach Blossom Spring: 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 Melissa's publicist. Credit: Sophie Davidson.

Charlie and Natasha Miller (Relentless) discuss Natasha's incredible and inspirational life as a classical violinist and jazz singer, and founder and owner of a multi-million dollar events company. Our discussion includes her childhood - she's a survivor of abuse - and being a parent who strives to get it right.

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-58-natasha-miller

Entire Productions on the Inc. 5000 list Jamie Blaine Simon Estes 2004 article about Bobby Sharp and Natasha Entire Productions Entire Productions' YouTube channel Covenant House Fascinating Entrepreneurs 'Over The Moon'

Preview Natasha's albums on YouTube Music Buy the CDs and MP3s Previews and other digital versions Natasha's older YouTube channel with earlier performances and other bands Recent Christmas performances and Entire Productions' bands

Question Index

00:56 Can you tell us how you created this book with Jamie Blaine? 03:49 [Reading] 07:54 Can you tell us about your childhood? 11:44 How do you feel your experiences in childhood have shaped who you are in adulthood, your progression in life? 14:02 Can you tell us about your music career? 16:18 How did your friendship with Bobby Sharp impact your career and life? 18:08 Would you say you're more a singer than a violinist? 19:58 Can you tell us about Entire Productions - how it started, how it grew, and what it's all about? 24:26 Would you say you're more of a musician than a business woman? 25:10 Do you ever have Impostor Syndrome? 26:36 Why have you written Relentless now, why this part of your life? 28:16 The proceeds (partial) are going to Covenant House?... 29:10 Tell us about your podcast, Fascinating Entrepreneurs 30:18 What's next? 31:42 You say about how you've parented Bennett differently - can you give us an example? 35:25 [Natasha discusses her daughter's singing with her and her then-upcoming book launch] 36:42 [Natasha reminds us that if you want to do something, you need to go for it]

Purchase Links

Relentless: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters

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

Photograph used with the permission of Natasha's assistant.

Charlie and Kate Quinn (The Rose Code; The Diamond Eye) discuss the extraordinary people behind Bletchley Park's successes, including socialite Osla Benning, and her relationship with Elizabeth II's future husband, Prince Philip. And, in a nod to her latest novel, Kate introduces us to Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a WWII Soviet sniper from Kyiv.

Please note there is a 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-57-kate-quinn

Osla Benning Lord Mountbatten Mavis Lever Dilly Knox Battle of Cape Matapan Mavis Lever's biography of Dilly Knox John Cairncross The Cambridge Five Coventry Blitz Lyudmila Pavlichenko

Question Index

00:34 Tell us about your degrees in Classical Voice 02:55 How did you come to choose how to write The Rose Code, whose stories to tell? 04:59 Could you tell us more about Osla - who she was factually, and in the context of your novel? 08:01 Were you daunted at all, using Prince Philip as a character? 11:17 Could you tell us about Mavis Lever (a person who worked at Bletchley who made up a portion of Quinn's character, Beth)? 13:52 You've said before that Bletchley was quite diverse. Could you expand on this? 15:47 You've used references to Alice In Wonderland as metaphors - why? 17:11 Did many people suffer from mental illness due to their work? 20:10 How vital were Beth's awful parents to you in terms of her character development? 23:01 The second narrative set in the 'current' day - why include this new code-breaking and traitors? 26:16 How important was it for the traitor to be easy to work out? 27:48 You have a second, fictional, aid raid happening in Coventry. Can you tell us about the facts of the real one and the decisions made? 31:47 Should the reader's opinion of Beth have changed during this section? 35:08 [Reading] 39:55 How was Lyudmila recruited?

Purchase Links

The Rose Code: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters

The Diamond Eye: 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 Imogen Clark (Impossible To Forget) discuss her latest novel - a pre-release bestseller, creating the story as she goes and publishing what is her first draft, and beginning her career as a novelist in her 50s.

Please note that there is a very 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-56-imogen-clark

Question Index

00:42 Your first book was published when you were in your 50s. How was that? 01:47 You publish what is basically your first draft? 02:49 It seems to me that you often write about secrets. What is it about secrets that gets to you? 04:37 [Reading] 08:01 How important was the plot compared to the characters? 09:09 Hope and her storyline was in your mind from the beginning?... 11:18 Can you tell us about Angie? 13:48 How much of you is in this book? 15:30 The narrative's told by different characters in batches, why this style of narrative? 17:32 Was Leon's exclusion as a narrative voice due to his choices in life? 19:02 (Spoiler question) Did Maggie and Leon getting together come to you as you were writing? 20:25 Was it important that Romany was a narrator? 21:29 Where would Romany be without the friends? 23:18 (Spoiler question) Has Tiger found himself at last by the end of the book? 25:21 How early did you want people to 'get' the twist with Hope? 28:09 Can you tell us about your next book, An Unwanted Inheritance? 31:02 (About the numbers of ideas and their possibilities) 33:04 Is there a possibility for more sequels of your books to be written?

Purchase Links

Impossible To Forget: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters

An Unwanted Inheritance: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Barnes & Noble IndieBound

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

Photograph used with the permission of the publicity team.