Mark Billingham makes a welcome return to BestSellers. This is his second book in his brand new tragic-comic series of DS Declan Miller books. Book Two - The Wrong Hands - starts with a botched briefcase robbery inside of which is a pair of severed human hands!

In this edition Mark speaks candidly about how nervous he is of putting book two out there; he reveals when Tom Thorne will return and Natalie gives him the ultimate back cover blurb!

We Love Mark Billingham and we think after this episode, you will too... if you don't already. Which you probably do.

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Mid-career as a screenwriter, adapting other people's stories, Yulin Kuang swerved to write her own book and yes, it's likely to be adapted for the screen too when she finds the time! How to End a Love Story is about Helen, who has a very good reason to detest Grant after what happened when they were at high school, but then they are put in the same writers' room. He's adapting her very successful book series for television. It's not about the destination, it's all about the journey here, and Yulin has the best journey too, starting in fan fiction, then creating her own comedy series and manifesting a brilliant career. In return, we explain what a bonkbuster is/was. Hmm, our trajectory needs work, but hope you love this conversation as much as we did!

Please note - this episode is more sweary than usual!

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How do you adapt a much-loved, bestselling book into a film, and keep fans happy? Nat and Phil spoke to Robinne Lee about her gorgeous book, The Idea of You, back in 2021. Around that time producer Cathy Schulman also read that story and set about turning it into a movie, with Michael Showalter directing and co-writing. And this, is the story of how that happened, the changes that were made, and whether it's been successful. The Idea of You, starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine, is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Bestsellers news! We have a website! So find all your book recs and past episodes one click away at www.bestsellerspodcast.com

Also, if you're able to, please do give a review of the podcast on your preferred listening platform to help others discover their next favourite read!

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You know those books that catch a moment? Jennie Godfrey’s The List of Suspicious Things is one of those happening right now. It’s a heart-warming tale of friendship immersed in late 1970s Yorkshire, where everyday life is overshadowed and ever-changed by the news of a serial killer at large. Jennie shares how there were early questions about writing the Yorkshire accent into her characters’ speech, but that her agent and publisher championed the ‘localness’ of the story. Depending on your age, you’ll either be heartened by the references to Kerplunk and swarfega, or fascinated by this as a piece of historical fiction (we won’t judge either way!). Plus Jennie shares her remarkable and well-earned tale behind the scenes to getting published, and having the confidence to follow a writerly dream. 

Thanks so much for listening - Bestsellers is an independent podcast so if you are able to support the production by buying a metaphorical cuppa on ko-fi, support is always appreciated!

https://ko-fi.com/bestsellerspodcast

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Imran Mahmood is a Barrister by day; A Sunday Times Top 10 Bestselling Writer by night! He's back with his fourth book, Finding Sophie and in this chat with Natalie and Phil, Imran talks about the challenges of writing a thriller about a missing teenager as a parent himself; where to draw the line on gruesome outcomes for Entertainment, and he sprinkles in some hilarious stories about being in Court on big murder trials.

Imran is an exceptional writer, a gentleman and great company so settle in for an hour in his esteemed company.

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This Week, both Phil and Natalie received an infux of new books in the post. They're all worthy of being mentioned, but neither of them have had a chance to read any of these books yet. So that's why this episode is called Books We've Been Sent (but are yet to read)

They are:

Don Winslow - City in Ruins

Yulin Kuang - How to end a Love Story

David Nicholls - You Are Here

Andrew Hunter Murray - A Beginner's Guide to Breaking and Entering

Tony Kent - The Shadow Network

Kaliane Bradley - The Ministry of Time

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What's the difference between a love story and a romance novel? Why are some people so anti-romance in books but definitely not in life? All this and oh so much more gets discussed on this episode as author Milly Johnson joins Nat and Phil to share the process and the inspiration behind her latest bestseller, The Happiest Ever After. Starting out as a joke writer, Milly has kept that humor throughout all her writing, and it's no wonder why Hairy Biker Dave Myers was one of her biggest fans.

Thanks so much for choosing to listen! Bestsellers is an independent podcast created by, and edited by, Phil Williams and Natalie Jamieson.

If you like what we do and are able to help support the production you can say thanks with a metaphorical cuppa here:

https://ko-fi.com/bestsellerspodcast

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Nicci French are husband and wife writing team Nicci Gerrard and Sean French. They've been together 33 years and have co-authored novels for 27 of those years. Their latest is a stand alone about a mother who fails to turn up to her husband's 50th birthday party back in 1990. Set across two timelines, the book follows the search for Charlotte Salter and features a true crime podcast trying to outpace a failing Police investigation, to discover where she might be.

In this Ep we talk about writing with your spouse: How are ideas generated, characters fully formed and plot devices decided upon when there's two of you working on the same book. And why Sean can see twists coming a mile off....! It's a lot of fun and we loved chatting with Nicci and Sean. They're a delight.

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It's the return of WWBR! Will the acronym catch on? Let's see... Anyway, this is what Phil and Nat have been reading, or have bought and haven't had the chance to read yet, but still a delicious teetering pile of books to recommend. From the upcoming Anthony Horowitz whodunnit, to a sun-drench cinematic epic story, and Nat's gone rogue with a cookbook again. Hopefully there's something here to tempt you too...

As an independent podcast, made from a love of reading (instead of cash), if you enjoy this and are in a position to help support the production costs, you can do so here, by buying a metaphorical cuppa - with thanks, always!

https://ko-fi.com/bestsellerspodcast

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Cate Quinn precedes her brand new novel by telling us: "This is the first book I've written sober." From her brilliant mind comes THE CLINIC - a novel about a high end rehab center with dark secrets inside. It's told from the perspective of Meg, a casino security guard, who thinks her sister has died in the rehab and Cara, who's poached to run the centre. It's terrific.

In this Episode, Cate tells Phil and Natalie about utilising her own experiences in rehab for this novel; why the people that run rehabs are way scarier to Cate than the addicts in treatment and why she's a World Champion at Thumb Wars...!

If you enjoy this Ep, please rate, review and subscribe. It'll help us up the charts. And you can donate to keep us going via: https://ko-fi.com/bestsellerspodcast

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