As well as her journalism, memoirs and a novel inspired by Daphne du Maurier, Justine has written an acclaimed biography of Coco Chanel. She tells me how she has to be 'haunted' by a story before she can write it. Her latest book, Miss Dior, tells the story of Catherine, Christian Dior’s sister and muse. A fighter in the French Resistance, she was a survivor of Ravensbruck concentration camp who received the Croix de Guerre and the Legion d’Honneur. Catherine became a rose farmer in Provence and died a dozen years ago aged 90. Justine's account of her life and her huge influence on Dior is published in September 2021.

Notes: 

Justine on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinepicardie
Miss Dior by Justine Picardie: https://www.waterstones.com/book/miss-dior/justine-picardie/9780571356522 
The Wasteland by TS Eliot: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-wasteland-prufrock-and-other-poems/t-s-eliot/9781434101693 
Clothes in Books: http://clothesinbooks.blogspot.com 

I was interested to know the part that RSI played in Thomas's shift from illustrating and writing picture books to writing middle grade novels. You might think that his cover art – for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – woud be the key moment in his career, but what is truly fascinating is that it isn’t. That moment came over twenty years later, in 2018. I found it honestly inspiring. Listen out, too, for Thomas’s top tip, which corrects a mistake that many prepublished writers I know have made.  

Apologies for the sound quality of this episode. The technology defeated us on the day and we had to record on Zoom. However, Thomas's story and his insights definitely merit listening until the end .

NOTES:

Thomas’s website: http://www.thomastaylor-author.com

In my first conversation with Sophie , we discussed her successful career as a poet and thriller writer and the support she gives to other writers through the Dream Author programme. Many listeners have already been inspired by her words about resilience and self belief in the face of repeated rejection, which is something most of us are familiar with. If you haven’t heard that episode yet, I strongly suggest you give it a listen.

In part 2, as well as telling me about her writing process and using the blurb as a 'story promise', she intriguingly mentions her exclusive ‘gnocchi’ technique for planning and drafting. As she says, you can apply to her directly for this and she will send it to you for free. Sophie is hugely generous with her advice. You can see why she’s been my guest twice this season.  

NOTES:

Sophie’s website: https://sophiehannah.com
The Killings at Kingfisher Hill by Sophie Hannah: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-killings-at-kingfisher-hill/sophie-hannah/agatha-christie/9780008264550 

Dream Author website: https://dreamauthorcoaching.com

'How I Prepare to Write' by Sophie Hannah: https://sophiehannah.com/how-i-prepare-to-write/
'The Four Tendencies Quiz' by Gretchen Rubin:  https://quiz.gretchenrubin.com (Turns out I'm a Questioner by the way.)
The Couple at the Table by Sophie Hannah: https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/sophie-hannah/the-couple-at-the-table/9781529352832/
Apples Never Fall by Lianne Moriarty: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/306/306877/apples-never-fall/9780241396087.html 

After a false start in standup and comic strip writing, Jenny's career took off with her first novel, Amanda’s Wedding. She is one of those rare authors who has been successful from the word go. 

She talks about the auction for her first book, the limo that arrived to take her to the successful publisher’s, and the importance of good timing, the Great British Bakeoff and her ‘wolverine tenacity’. Among writing about writing that she admires, I thoroughly recommend her suggestion of The Writer's Tale by Russell T Davis and Benjamin Cook, which I'm pleased to have discovered. She also gives me her tips for writing romance. They are good ones, so listen up. 

Links: 

Jenny Colgan’s website: https://www.jennycolgan.com 

The Martian by Andy Weir: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-martian/andy-weir/9780091956141 

Hail Mary by Andy Weir:  https://www.waterstones.com/book/project-hail-mary/andy-weir/9781529100617

Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason: https://www.waterstones.com/book/sorrow-and-bliss/meg-mason/9781474622974 

Russell T Davis & Benjamin Cook ‘The Writer’s Tale’: https://www.waterstones.com/book/doctor-who-the-writers-tale/benjamin-cook/russell-t-davies/9781846075711 

I first encountered Amanda when she was children’s book critic for The Times, and was a judge on the Times/Chicken House competition that won me my first book contract, for Threads. As a journalist and reviewer she has been a huge champion of what she calls the third golden age of children’s literature, spotting Harry Potter, His Dark Materials and The Hunger Games in their early days. 

As she is also the author of nine novels, I was keen to find out about her own writing process. We also discuss the hard truths about sustaining yourself as a novelist, the importance – as always – of libraries, and what is it that makes a busy book reviewer sit up and take notice of a new fiction title. 

We recorded this episode in May 2021. I hope you enjoy our conversation. 

NOTES:

Amanda’s website: https://www.amandacraig.com

Widowland by SJ Carey: https://www.quercusbooks.co.uk/titles/c-j-carey/widowland/9781529412017/

I wanted to talk to Sophie about many things – her career as an international bestselling thriller writer of books such as Little Face, The Carrier and the Monogram Murders­, her work with the Agatha Christie estate, what got her into writing, and how she helps writers with her Dream Author coaching programme. This was more than we could fit into the time available, so we had to save crimewriting, the Christie estate and Sophie’s special tips for planning for part 2, which I’ll be releasing soon. 

In part one, we discuss the essential urge to write. Sophie explains having to fight to do a typing course as a teenager, and why stuffing envelopes and cataloguing library cards were the perfect jobs for someone with powerful ambition. 

She describes the good bits, such as what happened when she released a collection of rhyming poetry, and got a letter out of the blue from Trinity College Cambridge. And the tough bits, such as the years and years it took to get her first novel published. 

Over those years Sophie learned a lot. She tells me about her Dream Author coaching programme: how it helps writers to deal with negative feelings and find your own self belief and validation. You will feel Sophie’s positivity, so I’m not surprised that she can help authors learn to enjoy the process, right here, right now, despite however many rejections the industry may throw your way. 

Buckle up. We have a lot to talk about. 

We recorded this episode in June 2021. I hope you enjoy our conversation. 

NOTES:

Sophie’s website:  https://sophiehannah.com 

Dream Author coaching: https://dreamauthorcoaching.com
Brooke Castillo Life Coach School: https://thelifecoachschool.com  

Way back in the mists of time, when I was too scared to simply sit down and write, I did a PhD in Italian Literature. The focus was reading other people’s work, not creating my own. So I was fascinated to know how a creative writing PhD works. Why do it? Does it help you get published? What about right brain/left brain? Does studying a subject academically for three years help or hinder the creative process? 

Luke is an aspiring crime writer who has published in various literary magazines and journals; Alex already has three published historical crime novels to his name. They describe how the creative writing PhD process is its a combination of the writing itself and studying an associated topic that you’ve chosen – such as the appearance and disappearance of trans characters in historical crime fiction, as in Alex's case, or the presentation of socio-political issues in hard-boiled fiction, as in Luke's. In fact, having the opportunity to investigate an area that fascinates you can feed the writing, as well as providing a welcome change from the putting on the wordcount sometimes. It was great to get their different perspectives on it. I love their tips and recommendations. Especially the exhortation NOT to do a PhD unless you’re a particular sort of person. Maybe you weren’t planning to anyway, but there is a lot in this episode about the process and the craft of writing to get your teeth into all the same.

Guardian review of The Butcher of Berner Street by Alex Reeve: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/nov/20/the-best-recent-and-thrillers-review-roundup
Luke Deckard: https://thecwa.co.uk/find-an-author/deckard-luke
Surrey University English Literature PhD: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/postgraduate/english-literature-phd
Kingston University PhD: https://www.kingston.ac.uk/research/research-degrees/available-degrees/phd/
Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters: https://www.waterstones.com/book/tipping-the-velvet/sarah-waters/9781860495243

Collected Stories by Raymond Chandler: https://www.waterstones.com/book/collected-stories/raymond-chandler/9781857152579 

Farewell My Lovely by Raymond Chandler: https://www.waterstones.com/book/farewell-my-lovely/raymond-chandler/colin-dexter/9780241954355
The World of Jeeves collection by PG Wodehouse: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-world-of-jeeves/p-g-wodehouse/9780099514237
The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-hero-with-a-thousand-faces/joseph-campbell/9781577315933 

Jo is the author of the Penny Dreadful series and the Rachel Riley books, and we discuss the importance of funny books for children, and her tips on how to write them. I think her partnership with Chris Hoy and the illustrator Clare Elsom in the Flying Fergus series is the model for celebrity publishing, so listen out. It can be done well! 

We discuss the habit of writing, the accountability of Zoom writing sessions in lockdown – highly recommended, even now – and getting your book made into a BAFTA-winning TV show. Does it change your life? Am I talking to Jo as she lounges by her pool in the South of France? What are the average hourly earnings for writers, by the way? 

When we spoke, Jo’s latest adult novel, The Talk of Pram Town, was about to be launched. I absolutely loved this book. It’s set between the 1980s of the royal wedding, and the late 1960s, telling the story of Jean, her runaway daugther Connie and her daughter Sadie. When Connie dies, Jean takes her granddaughter back to Harlow in Essex, where Connie grew up. I think of it as a story of Essex, sex and secrets. It’s heartbreaking and funny and true. Jo’s prose is brilliant and her dialogue is spot on. It didn’t get the launch it deserved because of lockdown, so do look out for it. 

Links: 

Jo's website: https://joannanadin.com 
Bath Spa MA for writers for children and young adults: https://www.bathspa.ac.uk/courses/pg-writing-for-young-people/ 
Bristol University MA Creative Writing: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/2021/arts/ma-creative-writing/ 
Jo All Alone TV series: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8047424/ 
Lollies book awards (for laugh out loud books): https://shop.scholastic.co.uk/lollies. 
Be Amazing! An inspiring guide to being your own champion by Sir Chris Hoy: https://www.waterstones.com/book/be-amazing-an-inspiring-guide-to-being-your-own-champion/sir-chris-hoy/9781406394733 
Jo and Sir Chris Hoy talking about writing the Flying Fergus series together: https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/authors-live-on-demand/chris-hoy-and-joanna-nadin 
Into The Woods by John Yorke: https://www.waterstones.com/book/into-the-woods/john-yorke/9780141978109 
The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-science-of-storytelling/will-storr/9780008276973 
The Bestseller Experiment podcast with John Yorke as guest: https://bestsellerexperiment.com/ep034-into-the-woods-with-john-yorke/ 

Michelle's titles include Carnevale, The Water’s Daughter, and The Book of Human Skin. She also helped Gemma Dowler write about her late sister Milly. Michelle's novels are usually set in Venice, which she knows intimately, and are always imbued with history, vivid imagination and an element of fantasy. She has taught Guardian Masterclasses in How to Write for Children and is a consultant editor for The Writers Workshop and The Faber Academy, as well as hosting writing boot camps of her own.

Her environmentalism and work with her community were sides of Michelle’s work I didn’t know so well. She describes her campaigning against the cruise ships in Venice and the threat of a partyboat as big as a three-storey football pitch on the Thames in London, and what happened after the London Bridge terror attacks, in which she became deeply involved, bringing her writing and listening skills to bear. 

Links:

Michelle’s website: https://www.michellelovric.com 

Writers With Faces: https://www.sylviabishopbooks.com/writers-with-faces.html

London Writers Salon: https://londonwriterssalon.com

My Sister Milly by Gemma Dowler: https://www.waterstones.com/book/my-sister-milly/gemma-dowler/9781405927574

Detransition Baby by Torrey Peters: https://www.waterstones.com/book/detransition-baby/torrey-peters/9781788167208
No Grandi Navi: http://www.nograndinavi.it
We Are Here Venice: https://www.weareherevenice.org 
GCAN: https://globalcruiseactivistnetwork.com/about-us 

Natasha has been a children’s writer for a long time, and awards such as the Costa weren’t always on the cards. You might be interested in her answer to my question about when she felt ‘safe’ as a writer – I wasn’t surprised at all. 

We met through her job as a book scout for my first publisher, Chicken House. Listen to my lockdown brain failing to grapple with what exactly scouts do, despite the fact that I have first-hand experience of it. 

Back to the writing, she describes taking an editor’s advice about what to write next after a difficult moment in her career, and what happened when the pressure was off to write a better a book. I love her suggestions of the books she goes to when she needs inspiration. A couple are already on my list.

Links: 

Natasha's website: https://www.natashafarrant.com 
Costa book awards: https://www.costa.co.uk/behind-the-beans/costa-book-awards/book-awards 
Faber: https://www.faber.co.uk 
The Science of Storytelling by William Store: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/the-science-of-storytelling-why-stories-make-us-human-and-how-to-tell-them-better/9780008276973 
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/the-lion-the-witch-and-the-wardrobe-pocket-edition/9780007586325 
What Ho, the Best of PG Wodehouse: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/what-ho-the-best-of-wodehouse/9780099551287 
Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/journey-to-the-river-sea/9781529066197 
The Greengage Summer by Rumer Golden: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/the-greengage-summer/9781447211013