In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Kasim Ali about his contemporary novel Good Intentions. This episode really is a must-listen. Being an editor, Kasim talks openly about what it’s like on the other side of the process and gives some surprising advice as to why he thinks writers shouldn’t be on Twitter and shouldn’t follow editors or read The Bookseller. Intrigued? Keep listening. Kasim’s had rejection after rejection, writing in every genre imaginable, but the key to it all is writing for the fun of it. 

Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*

Buy Good Intentions: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9780008450656

Follow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimms

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

https://www.chloetimms.co.uk

*affiliate link - if you buy books linked to the Bookshop.org site, I may earn a commission.

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In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Natasha Hastings about her middle grade novel The Miraculous Sweetmakers: The Frost Fair. In this episode we discuss disability representation in fiction, writing about grief for a younger audience and how she has learnt to become a “chaotic planner”. 

Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*

Buy The Miraculous Sweetmakers: The Frost Fair: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9780008496050

Follow Natasha on Twitter: @tashajhastings

Follow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimms

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

https://www.chloetimms.co.uk

*affiliate link - if you buy books linked to the Bookshop.org site, I may earn a commission.

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

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Laura Lexx about her commercial novel Pivot. In this episode we discuss why she chose not to describe her characters’ appearances, how stand-up comedy makes a good partner to writing funny books and how her writing career began with a tweet that went viral.

Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*

Buy Pivot: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9781529348248

Follow Laura on Twitter: @lauralexx

lauralexx.co.uk

https://www.youtube.com/@LauraLexxComedy

Follow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimms

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

chloetimms.co.uk 

*affiliate link - if you buy books linked to the Bookshop.org site, I may earn a commission.

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

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Sean Lusk about his historical novel The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley. In this episode we talk about pushing further on emotions to find the real story in an idea, choosing language carefully to make historical fiction immersive and how it took Sean until he was on his third agent to get a book deal. 

Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*

Buy The Second Sight of Zachary Cloudesley: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9780857528056

Follow Sean on Twitter: @seanlusk1

http://seanlusk.com

Follow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimms

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

chloetimms.co.uk 

*affiliate link - if you buy books linked to the Bookshop.org site, I may earn a commission.

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

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Emma Styles about her thriller No Country for Girls. In this episode we discuss how this novel started out as an experiment, why Emma thinks it’s important to trust your own process when working out characterisation and trying not to worry that you don’t have all of your story worked out when you start. 

Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*

Buy No Country for Girls: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9780751583830

Follow Emma on Twitter: @emstylesauthor

https://emmastylesauthor.com

Follow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimms

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

chloetimms.co.uk 

*affiliate link - if you buy books linked to the Bookshop.org site, I may earn a commission.

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

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Louisa Reid about her literary novel The Poet. In this episode we discuss her love for and challenges of writing in verse, how writing in verse makes her focus on the crucial scenes of the novel and why, to be a writer, you need to develop a thick skin. 

Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*

Buy The Poet: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9780857528391

Follow Louisa on Twitter: @louisareid

Follow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimms

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

chloetimms.co.uk 

*affiliate link - if you buy books linked to the Bookshop.org site, I may earn a commission.

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

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Caron McKinlay about her contemporary novel The Storytellers. In this episode we discuss why receiving professional feedback gave her the confidence to query agents, how a difficult time in her life lead to her finding her passion for writing again and her honesty about finding the right novel idea. 

Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*

Buy The Storytellers: https://amzn.to/3ESDqms

Follow Caron on Twitter: @CaronMcKinlay

https://linktr.ee/CaronMcKinlay

Follow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimms

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

chloetimms.co.uk 

*affiliate link - if you buy books linked to the Bookshop.org site, I may earn a commission.

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

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Colleen Hubbard about her literary novel, Housebreaking. In this episode we discuss instinctive editing choices, why she used third person perspective to leave space for dark humour, and giving herself deadlines to pursue her dreams.

Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*

Buy Housebreaking: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9781472157522

http://colleenhubbard.com

Follow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimms

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

chloetimms.co.uk 

*affiliate link - if you buy books linked to the Bookshop.org site, I may earn a commission.

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

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to April Doyle about her climate sci-fi or cli-fi novel, Hive. In this episode we discuss how April was inspired by a news report on the climate crisis, how she stepped outside of her comfort zone to help promote her novel and how her career as a creative writing teacher has informed her own work. 

Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*

Buy Hive: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9781913913779

Follow April on Twitter: @aprilcdoyle

Follow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimms

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

chloetimms.co.uk 

*affiliate link - if you buy books linked to the Bookshop.org site, I may earn a commission.

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

In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Bea Setton about her literary novel Berlin. Apologies for the difference in sound quality in this episode, I forgot to record my microphone's input! In this episode we discuss why Bea thinks her protagonist Daphne is a realistic narrator rather than unreliable one, building tension and mystery retrospectively and getting through the pain of a first draft. 

Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*

Buy Berlin: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9780857527974

Follow Bea on Twitter: @BeaSetton

Follow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimms

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

chloetimms.co.uk 

*affiliate link - if you buy books linked to the Bookshop.org site, I may earn a commission.

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