Chiltern Voice Book Club

Will Dean welcomes Antonia to the Swedish forest where he’s built his home and talks crazy first drafts, vulnerability, the energising effect of the city and what it really means to go home.

Tiny Dancer ~ Elton John

Jolene ~ Dolly Parton

Empire State of Mind ~ Jay Z & Alicia Keys

Twin Peaks Theme ~ Angelo Badalamenti

Come as you are ~ Nirvana

Say a little prayer ~ Aretha Franklin

London Calling ~ The Clash

Heroes ~ David Bowie

Folsom Prison Blues ~ Johnny Cash

Take me home, country roads ~ John Denver

Nothing Conpares 2 You ~ Sinead O’Connor

All Along The Watchtower ~ Jimi Hendrix

Isabel’s publication journey, including rejection, digital-only and self-publishing, is testimony to the power of flexibility, resilience and courage in a challenging industry. Isabel shares her experience and insights with great generosity as we discuss her new novel, Scent, and the passions from which she created it.
I Try – Macy Gray
Back in the High Life Again – Steve Winwood
Californication – Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Speed of Sound – Coldplay
Always on my Mind – Pet Shop Boys
Time after Time - Cyndi Lauper
Disco 2000 – Pulp
Rut – The Killers
Brilliant Disguise – Bruce Springsteen
Blinding Lights – The Weeknd
Depeche Mode – Just can’t get enough
Fade to Grey – Visage

Novelist and Creative Writing lecturer Shelley joins Antonia for a frank and uplifting conversation about early career success, the power of failure, awesome friends - and David Bowie.

Kate Bush - Hounds of Love
Bowie - Lady Stardust
Elton John - Bennie and the Jets
Aztec Camera feat. Mick Jones - Good Morning Britain
Bruce Cockburn - How I Spent my Fall Vacation
World Party - All I Really Want to Do
Joni Mitchell - Don't Interrupt the Sorrow
Ash - Shining Light
The Disappointment Choir - Centre of the World
Cornershop - Brimful of Asha (Norman Cook remix)
Talking Heads - This Must be the Place
Van Morrison - Sweet Thing

Antonia and Claire explore Claire’s considerable and sustained success as a writer. Claire talks about her latest novel, the Women’s Prize shortlisted Unsettled Ground, about her writing process and the importance of music to her work, about her life before writing and the essential support of her writing group, and about the novel she is writing at the moment.
•Emma Rose – Kate Wolf
•Naked As We Came - Iron and Wine
•Rowing on the Lakes of Canada by The Innocence Mission
•None but the rain by Townes van Zandt
•Northern Sky - Nick Drake
•Polly Vaughn by Tia Blake
•Lakes of Pontchartrain by The Be Good Tanyas
•Just another diamond day – Vashti Bunyan
•Diamonds and Rust – Joan Baez
•Breathless – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
•Spin the Bottle – Neil Halstead
•All the Money I had is Gone – The Deep Dark Woods
•The Mistress Witch from McClure – Sufjan Stevens
•We are Unhappy – Bonnie Prince Billy

Nikki celebrated the lockdown launch of her debut, All In Her Head, on Chiltern Voice Book Club last year. Now she returns to discuss her brilliant second novel, All In Her Head. We talk about launching in lockdown, finding time to write, creating a killer twist, constructing compelling and layered plots, and the joy to be found in dark stories.


The Killers - Mr Brightside
The Waterboys - The Whole of the Moon
Natalie Imbruglia - Torn
Jake Bugg - Broken
Pharell Williams - Happy
Journey- Don't Stop Believing
Snowpatrol - Chasing Cars
Toto - Africa
Aretha Franklin - Respect
Taylor Swift - Look What You Made Me Do
Family of the Year - Hero
ABBAChiquitita

Marika joins Antonia to talk about her eighth novel, On Hampstead Heath, her first novel, Guppies for Tea, and the years between, and come to the conclusion that Marika is not Tolstoy but that, on balance, not being Tolstoy is a jolly good thing. Includes bonus citizenship test question.

London Pride, Vera Lynn
Radio Song The Felice Brothers
Jagadamba, First Aid Kit
The Last Rose Of Summer, Renee Fleming
Our Last Summer (ABBA) sung by Colin Firth, Piers Brosnan and Strellan Skarsgard
Caledonia, Dolores Keane
Days, Kirsty MacColl
I Will Always Love You, Dolly Parton
Why Worry, Jennifer Warnes
Chiquitita, ABBA
Miss Otis Regrets (Cole Porter), Ella Fitzgerald
Av Langtan Till Dig, Asa Jinder

Cari talks about the trials, tribulations and joys of new motherhood, the life that went before it and the life that follows. From a stellar career in television production to the perils of vertigo at pop concerts, Cari shares her passions, her dreams and her determination that the invisibility of the middle-aged woman should become a thing of the past.

Soft Cell - Say Hello,Wave Goodbye
Sad Café - Every Day Hurts
Badly Drawn Boy - You Were RIght
Little Mix - Power
Michelle Shocked - Anchorage
Obi - Creatures
Lloyd Cole - Lost Weekend
Graham Coxon - Bittersweet Bundle of Misery
Phil Oakey and Giorgio Moroder - Together in Electric Dreams
The Smiths - William
The Pixies - Here Comes Your Man
Billy Bragg - Greetings to the New Brunette
David Bowie - Everyone Says Hi
Teardrop Explodes - Reward
Bob Dylan - Tangled Up in Blue

Stephanie Butland joins Antonia to talk about her writing career, from saying Bah! to cancer to Nobody’s Perfect (publishing in August 2021), via Lost for Words, The Woman in the Photograph and beautiful, thought-provoking and tender insights into the challenges life throws at us.
Leonard Cohen – Ain’t No Cure for Love

Dire Straits – Romeo and Juliet

Tracy Chapman – Talkin’ Bout a Revolution

Babybird – You’re Gorgeous

Katrina & The Waves – Walking on Sunshine

k.d. lang – Constant Craving

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong – Summertime

First Aid Kit – King of the World

Talking Heads – And She Was

Guillemots – Falling Out Of Reach

Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Belle & Sebastian – The Book of You

…and Esme’s guest Lindsay Galvin chose Van Morrison’s Brown Eyed Girl

Adele Geras brings her alter ego Hope Adams to Book Club to talk about Dangerous Women, her new novel exploring the fascinating history of the Rajah quilt and the 1841 voyage of the convict ship upon which it was created. At least, that was the intention, but if a writer will hang out in Paris in the 1960s, start out as a star of the stage and write ninety five novels before changing her name and writing this one, there are bound to be some detours...

Adele’s song choices are:

Nanci Griffith: Gulf Coast Highway
Waylon Jennings: Luckenbach Texas
Edith Piaf: La Vie en Rose
Judy Garland : Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Judy Garland: The Man that got away
Emmy Lou Harris: Boulder to Birmingham
The Eagles: Hotel California
Bob Dylan: Don’t think twice it’s alright
The Beatles: Yesterday
Janis Joplin: Me and Bobby McGee
Kate and Anna Mcgarrigle: Heart Like a Wheel
From West Side Story: Gee Officer Krupke

Eleanor Fitzsimons joins Antonia to talk, not only about the unconventional life and extraordinary work of children’s author E. Nesbit, but about her own writing life and the very personal experience of the cancer that struck her as this fascinating biography was being published.

Eleanor’s song choices are

Joan Armatrading - Love and Affection
David Bowie - Starman
The Cranberries - Zombie
The Manic Street Preachers - If You Tolerate This
Sinéad O'Connor - Mandinka
REM - Nightswimming
Aretha Franklin - Say A little Prayer
The Stranglers - Strange Little Girl
Kylie Minogue - Spinning Around
Talk Talk - It's My Life
Kate Bush - The Hounds of Love
Japan - Quiet Life