In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Silvia Saunders about her contemporary Homesick. In this episode we discuss, why she wanted to write about male mental health, how writing comedy comes from putting unlikely characters together and what kept her going after 10 years of querying.

Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*

Buy Homesick: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9780008667016

Follow Silvia: @silvsaunders

Follow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimms

Buy Chloe's debut novel The Seawomen: https://linktr.ee/chloetimms

chloetimms.co.uk 

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In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Emma Cowing about her historical novel The Show Woman. In this episode we discuss, how the novel was inspired by her incredible family history, writing about the hidden history of women in the circus and how she wrote this novel in just 7 weeks. 

Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*

Buy The Show Woman: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9781399737395

Follow Emma @emmacowing

https://emmacowing.com

Follow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimms

Buy Chloe's debut novel The Seawomen: https://linktr.ee/chloetimms

chloetimms.co.uk 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Krystelle Bamford about her literary novel Idle Grounds. In this episode we discuss, how the book started with a Greek chorus of voices, how she found moments of dread that work to be sinister for her young protagonists but also pay off for adult readers and why she recommends going with an agent at the start of their career.

Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*

Buy Idle Grounds: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9781529154580

Follow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimms

Buy Chloe's debut novel The Seawomen: https://linktr.ee/chloetimms

chloetimms.co.uk 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Danielle Giles about her historical novel Mere. In this episode we discuss, why she describes writing historical fictional as creating a translation of the past, what she loves about the horror genre and what she learnt from 5 years of writing a novel that didn’t sell.

Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*

Buy Mere: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9781035051229

Follow Danielle: @daniellegileswriter

Follow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimms

Buy Chloe's debut novel The Seawomen: https://linktr.ee/chloetimms

chloetimms.co.uk 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Jo Morey about her psychological suspense novel The Night Lagoon. In this episode we discuss, why her title changed in the UK, how her main character’s hearing loss adds to the novel’s tension and Jo’s strategy for getting an agent, including keeping an on-going query letter. 

Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*

Buy The Night Lagoon: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9780008713898

Follow Jo: @jomoreystory

Follow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimms

Buy Chloe's debut novel The Seawomen: https://linktr.ee/chloetimms

chloetimms.co.uk 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Mel Pennant about her crime novel A Murder for Miss Hortense. We discuss how Miss Hortense was inspired by Mel’s grandmother and golden age mysteries, the importance of balancing lightness and humour within the tragedy and resilience of the Black British community and what it’s like to write a novel when you’re used to writing plays. 

Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*

Buy A Murder for Miss Hortense: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9781399814379

Follow Mel: @mel_pennant

Follow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimms

Buy Chloe's debut novel The Seawomen: https://linktr.ee/chloetimms

chloetimms.co.uk 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Barnaby Martin about his dystopian novel The Quiet. We discuss how his writing career began with video essays on YouTube, his tips for taking history and making it more extreme when writing dystopia and why he believes you need to know the theme of the novel before you start writing. 

Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*

Buy The Quiet: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9781035051489

Follow Barnaby: @BarnabyMartin

Listening In: https://www.youtube.com/@ListeningIn

Follow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimms

Buy Chloe's debut novel The Seawomen: https://linktr.ee/chloetimms

chloetimms.co.uk 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Lisa Smith about her historical novel Jamaica Road. We discuss how the idea for this novel came from a creative writing exercise and voices that wouldn't leave her alone, using real newspaper extracts to make the political backdrop come alive and how a cancer diagnosis and a competition inspired her to take her writing seriously.

Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*

Buy Jamaica Road: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9780349703572

Follow Lisa: @lisa4884smith

https://www.lisa-smith.co.uk

Follow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimms

Buy Chloe's debut novel The Seawomen: https://linktr.ee/chloetimms

chloetimms.co.uk 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Seán Hewitt about his literary novel Open, Heaven. We discuss having to transport himself back to the intensity and naivety of teenage years, using 1st person perspective to explore what love feels like when you don't know whether the other person feels the same and why you should frame a query letter as you giving agents an amazing opportunity.  

Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*

Buy Open, Heaven: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9781787335196

Follow Seán: @seanehewitt

https://www.seanehewitt.com

Follow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimms

Buy Chloe's debut novel The Seawomen: https://linktr.ee/chloetimms

chloetimms.co.uk 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin about her contemporary novel Ordinary Saints. We discuss how her inspiration came from a true story about a modern-day teenager being made into a saint, why she deleted her first 20k words and how entering a competition to give herself a deadline changed her life. 

Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*

Buy Ordinary Saints: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9781786584236

Follow Niamh: @niamhsquared

https://www.niamhnimhaoileoin.com

Follow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimms

Buy Chloe's debut novel The Seawomen: https://linktr.ee/chloetimms

chloetimms.co.uk 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.