The Crime Board Podcast

Welcome to our season 1 finale! 

In this mega hour-long episode, the brilliant Claire Ladds and I sit down for a good ol' chat about what it means to be your own author - touching on our contrasting and similar experiences as authors, how we work, and what it means to be uniquely YOU as a creative professional.

So, pop that kettle on and join us for the last episode of s1!

Honestly cannot believe we've made it this far and I'm so grateful to everyone who has been along for the ride. To all the wonderful guests and listeners, and everyone who has supported this project from day one, you're amazing.  Thank you.

- Sam x

As always, you can find us at:

@crimeboardpodcast, @claireladdsauthor and @samwestauthor on Instagram!

BOOKS DISCUSSED:

NO TRACE by Sam West

HERS OR MINE, NO DEADLIER TIME, THE DARKER MINDS SERES by Claire Ladds

For business enquiries, you can find us at:

[email protected] 

Welcome to Part II of our sit down with Meg McIntyre, of McIntyre Editorial Services! 

We did a Q&A session, looking at questions you - the listener - submitted to me via Instagram and Twitter. If your question did not make it into this round, don't worry, there will be many more to come!

Welcome to Part 1 of the next two episodes, spent with none other than the lovely Meg McIntyre of McIntyre Editorial Services. 

We have a chat about writing, about Meg's background as a journalist, writer and editor, and looking at some aspects of the publishing industry as a new indie author.

If you enjoyed part 1 of this episode, stay tuned for E9 (Part 2), which will be out in a few weeks' time!

And if you're interested in finding out more about Meg, feel free to pop her a message on Instagram!

This week, I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with police advisor and crime author, Graham Bartlett, to discuss the intricacies of writing - including characters, crafting a novel, and authenticity - as well as touching on his debut novel, Bad for Good, and his two complex characters, Detective Superintendent Jo Howe, and DCS Phil Cooke. I won't give any spoilers away, but this is a debut not to be missed!

'Graham Bartlett rose to become chief superintendent and the divisional commander of Brighton and Hove police. His first non-fiction book Death Comes Knocking was a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller, which he then followed with Babes in the Wood. He co-wrote these books with bestselling author, Peter James, and has since published Bad for Good and Force of Hate starring (now) Chief Superintendent Jo Howe. Bartlett is also a police procedural and crime advisor helping scores of authors and TV writers inject authenticity into their work.'

I had the honour of working with Graham on my own upcoming debut novel and I absolutely cannot wait to have him on board for future episodes!

Welcome to E6! Now, you may recognise this week's guest as the author of two cracking spy novels, but she's also one of the brilliant voices of our podcast intro!

I am of course talking about the lovely Lucy Hooft, the author behind The King's Pawn and, more recently, The Head of the Snake, two cleverly crafted spy novels, filled with thrills, tension, suspense, and edge-of-your-seat espionage! (Don't forget adventure and a touch of spice!)

In this episode, we talk about her debut novel, featuring her leading lady, Sarah Black, a young MI-6 agent, and the world she's found herself in. We also get an exclusive look into the writing process and Lucy's road to publication, touching on her experience with traditional publishing, as well as touching on her work in Namibia - which I found really interesting, too!

You can find her on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube!

For more information about Lucy's work, find the links below:

* Kelp Blue Namibia

* About Kelp Blue - Rewilding the Oceans

* Luderitz Blue School

Dale Hurst has been “writing” since the age of five, when he fell in love with the story of Peter Pan and spent the Easter holidays writing and illustrating his own adaptation for his class. A lover of film, television and theatre, he dabbled with ideas for plays, series and movies until he was ten. This is when he wrote a fantasy adventure story about a vampire living in 19th century France.

However, his first real foray into historical fiction came during his GCSE years, where he wrote a short crime story set in a fictional market town called Berylford. This story, entitled Suffer the Children, lay the foundation for the setting of what would become his first novel, The Berylford Scandals: Lust & Liberty. He didn’t keep any characters from Suffer the Children, but the events of that story are mentioned in the earlier chapters of Lust & Liberty, regarding a series of historic child murders.

The Berylford Scandals: Lust & Liberty was followed by its sequel Sin & Secrecy in 2020. The next major work will be a wartime thriller set in a Berlin hotel, entitled You Can Hear Chopin from the Attic.

Episode 4 is here! This week, I sit down with thriller author, Tom Franks, the mind behind LITTLE LAMB, and the upcoming MANTIS, out on the 5th of May! Tom and I chat about LITTLE LAMB, about his main character, DS Scott Harris, and a bit about burnout, hitting the notorious 'wall', and taking a break when creativity hits a low point.

You can find Tom here, and of course, LITTLE LAMB and MANTIS are available on Amazon! 

This week, I sit down with award-winning journalist and crime author, Ali Steed, and we take a look at her upcoming debut novel, All It Takes, as well as having a chat about journalists in fiction - and the inaccuracies that sometimes come with that.

Ali is a highly-respected commentator on personal finance issues and an accomplished writer, editor and broadcaster, having worked on The Daily Telegraph’s personal finance desk for nearly seven years from 2000 to late 2006, becoming the deputy personal finance editor in 2004.

After going freelance in late 2006, she has continued to maintain a notable presence in the national press and on both television and radio, writing for The Times, The Sunday Times, The Daily and Sunday Telegraph, the Daily and Sunday Express and The Sun. She has also made a number of appearances on TV and radio, including numerous appearances on Sky News, the Jeremy Vine Show on BBC Radio 2, and was the financial journalist behind the hit Channel 4 personal finance show, Superscrimpers, for the first five series.

She has won eight awards for her writing, including Personal Finance Journalist of the Year from the Association of British Insurers four times in a row. She has also received the Living Legend award from Help the Aged in recognition of the campaigning work she has done on the issue of the poor treatment of older people and their families who need long-term care. Nelson Mandela also received this award, albeit in a different category.

Be on the lookout for her upcoming debut crime novel, coming this summer! 

Welcome to the second episode of the Crime Board Podcast! 

This week, we have crime-thriller author, Heath Gunn, on the show - something him and I have been talking about for well over six months - and I'm so glad we've finally sat down for a chat about his writing career, and of course, the formidable Monica Silverman, who takes centre stage in his DI Lomas Baxter series, as well as a bonus reading from his Khan series! 

You can find all Heath's novels here, on his website, and if you want to pop in and say hi, he's on Instagram - so don't hesitate to send him a message! If you'd like a free copy of the places that inspired Prisoner, click here!

Disclaimer: there are a few minor spoilers sprinkled throughout the episode, so, if you have not yet read Prisoner, No Remorse, or Khan, please just be aware that we do touch on a few minor spoilers/plot points. 

See you on the next one! 

Here it is! The very first episode of The Crime Board Podcast! And who better to kick off the pilot than award-winning short story writer and psychological suspense author, Claire Ladds!

We dive into Claire's early days as a short story writer, and her transition to novel-writing, taking a look at her process and how she constructs a novel, and of course, a brief look at her upcoming novel, Hers or Mine, which will be out in the coming months!

You can find Claire here, and on Instagram. 

And you can find us on @crimeboardpodcast on Instagram and Twitter, too!

A massive thank you to Heath Gunn, Lucy Hooft, and Ali Steed for providing the recordings for our intro! Very much appreciated.

Enjoy the pilot, thanks for listening, and we hope to see you on the next one!