Lindsey Davis has had a long and celebrated career as the creator of the Falco and Flavia Albia mysteries set in ancient Rome. But when she started out, publishers weren’t interested in the period.  Nobody, they told her, wanted to read about ancient Rome. She persevered, brought ancient Rome to life, and created a whole new sub-genre in popular fiction with lots of authors following in her footsteps.br /

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Hi there, I’m your host Jenny Wheeler, and today Lindsey talks about her remarkable series – first with 20 Marcus Didius Falco books and now 8 books in a follow-up series with a female investigator, Flavia Albia.br /

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We’ve got the latest in the series, three eBook copies of The Grove of the Caesars, featuring a serial killer, yes, they did have serial killers in those days, to give away to three lucky readers. (And yes - this is the same book - this is the US cover, while we used the UK cover in the intro.) Enter the draw on The Joys of Binge Reading website, or on our Binge Reading Facebook Page. Draw closes August 22 so enter now!br /

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ENTER TO WINbr /

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Six things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:br /

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Lindsey's early and difficult apprenticeshipBreaking through with Ancient Rome mysteriesHow going to Italy was part of her first contractWhy its hard to 'sell' readers on the English Civil WarThe one thing she'd do differentlyThe Emperor's love affair that became her first bookbr /

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Where to find Lindsey Davis: br /

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Website: http://www.lindseydavis.co.uk/br /

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lindseydavisauthor/br /

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Contact: http://www.lindseydavis.co.uk/contact-me/br /

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What follows is a near as transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.br /

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Introducing Lindsey Davis authorbr /

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Jenny Wheeler: Hello there, Lindsey, and welcome to the show. It’s great to have you with us.br /

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Ancient Rome Mysteries from Lindsey Davisbr /

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Lindsey Davis: Thank you very much. I'm really pleased that you've asked me. It's lovely to have contact with New Zealand.br /

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Jenny Wheeler: You're sitting in Birmingham.br /

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Lindsey Davis: Birmingham, in England. Yes, the real Birmingham, the first Birmingham.br /

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Jenny Wheeler: You've had a long and celebrated career as an author, but people always like to know where you got started. You had 13 years as a civil servant before you started with your writing, didn't you?br /

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Lindsey Davis: I did. I think it's important. I think you need to have another job. Although some people do go straight into writing, I think like teachers and vicars are  always better if they've done a different job first, the same goes for writers because you have to know what it's like to wake up in the dark and think you've got to go out on public transport to some terrible office to do a job that you hate. br /

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If you're going to impose something like that on your characters, it's simply a matter of experience and you have to gather information about life, so you might as well have a real job while you're doing it.br /

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Lindsey's Civil War sagabr /

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Jenny Wheeler: You've got a great backlist of mysteries set in ancient Rome, twenty in the Falco series and now you've just published the eighth Flavia Albia book, The Grove of the Caesars. Why did you migrate from Birmingham to ancient Rome?br /

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Lindsey Davis: It was via the English Civil War because when I was about 14, I wanted to write a novel about my hometown.

John Bishop M.D. is an orthopedic surgeon whose Houston Doc Brady thriller series reveals a dark underbelly of medical malpractice, breaches of patient confidentiality and legal conspiracies.

Hi there, I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and today Dr John talks about how he made the switch from medicine to writing and reflects on the personal experiences that fuel his plotlines.

We’ve got three copies of Book Two in the Doc Brady series, Act of Deception, to give away to three lucky readers. It’s a riveting read that throws a new light on doctors and their patients. Enter the draw on The Joys of Binge Reading website or our Binge Reading Facebook page. You can also find links to John’s books and website in the show notes for this episode on www.thejoysofbingereading.com. Offer closes August 15 so get in now!

Six things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:

Writing not his first or even second vocationThe murky swamps of medical malpractice suitsA son's surprising giftMed Schools and real life sometimes different Blockbuster authors he admiresWhat he'd do differently second time around

Where to find John Bishop: 

Website:  https://johnbishopauthor.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20293392.John_Bishop

What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

Jenny Wheeler:   But now here’s John. Hello there, John, and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us,

John Bishop: Thank you very much for asking me.

John Bishop M.D. Surgeon and medical mystery author

Jenny Wheeler: John, when we did our introduction, we gave you your professional title MD because you started out as an orthopedic surgeon yourself. A lot of people might want to ask the question, how does a surgeon find himself writing medical thrillers?

John Bishop: I'm not sure what happened. I was an academic orthopedic surgeon meaning I did a lot of teaching residents and fellows and medical students and about 10 or 12 years after I had been in practice, I got burdened with that and changed my position to taking care of patients only and not doing all the academic thing.

I had done that for years and I had presented a lot of papers and written a lot of articles and that got me into writing mode, but when I gave it up, I had a lot of free time. I was an avid fiction reader and I had free time. I just sat down one day and started writing.

Jenny Wheeler: That's amazing. Did you have any idea about structure and all that kind of thing when you started?

John Bishop: No, as I said, I was an avid reader of fiction and medical fiction, and I got on the old Apple Mac computer and started typing just to see what would happen.

How the doc got started on thrillers

Jenny Wheeler: I guess that medical thrillers would be an obvious genre for you but nevertheless, why did you decide to do medical thrillers and not for example, maybe historical medical fiction or something else?

John Bishop: I started out writing some sort of traditional medical fiction, but I would get 10 or 20 or 30 or 40 pages into it and I couldn't figure out where the story was going, so I decided to throw in a little murder here and there and that seemed to spice it up.

Jenny Wheeler: Now you've got the bit between your teeth. As far as I can see from your online website, you've published three books in this series you’re working on within the last 12 months, or you will have by the end of this year. Is that correct?

John Bishop: Yes, that is correct. I had been writing the books for longer than that but when I got this contract with Anna Sacca it was a deal to put together three books and that was the first three I had written, which was Murder, Deception and Revenge.

Another side of the medical life

Jenny Wheeler: Deception is the one that is out now, Book Two in the series. That was published in June this year.

John Bishop M.D. is an orthopedic surgeon whose Houston Doc Brady thriller series reveals a dark underbelly of medical malpractice, breaches of patient confidentiality and legal conspiracies.br /

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Hi there, I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and today Dr John talks about how he made the switch from medicine to writing and reflects on the personal experiences that fuel his plotlines.br /

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We’ve got three copies of Book Two in the Doc Brady series, Act of Deception, to give away to three lucky readers. It’s a riveting read that throws a new light on doctors and their patients. Enter the draw on The Joys of Binge Reading website or our Binge Reading Facebook page. You can also find links to John’s books and website in the show notes for this episode on www.thejoysofbingereading.com. Offer closes August 15 so get in now!br /

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Six things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:br /

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Writing not his first or even second vocationThe murky swamps of medical malpractice suitsA son's surprising giftMed Schools and real life sometimes different Blockbuster authors he admiresWhat he'd do differently second time aroundbr /

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Where to find John Bishop: br /

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Website:  https://johnbishopauthor.com/br /

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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20293392.John_Bishopbr /

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What follows is a near as transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.br /

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Jenny Wheeler:   But now here’s John. Hello there, John, and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us,br /

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John Bishop: Thank you very much for asking me.br /

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John Bishop M.D. Surgeon and medical mystery authorbr /

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Jenny Wheeler: John, when we did our introduction, we gave you your professional title MD because you started out as an orthopedic surgeon yourself. A lot of people might want to ask the question, how does a surgeon find himself writing medical thrillers?br /

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John Bishop: I'm not sure what happened. I was an academic orthopedic surgeon meaning I did a lot of teaching residents and fellows and medical students and about 10 or 12 years after I had been in practice, I got burdened with that and changed my position to taking care of patients only and not doing all the academic thing.br /

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I had done that for years and I had presented a lot of papers and written a lot of articles and that got me into writing mode, but when I gave it up, I had a lot of free time. I was an avid fiction reader and I had free time. I just sat down one day and started writing.br /

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Jenny Wheeler: That's amazing. Did you have any idea about structure and all that kind of thing when you started?br /

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John Bishop: No, as I said, I was an avid reader of fiction and medical fiction, and I got on the old Apple Mac computer and started typing just to see what would happen.br /

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How the doc got started on thrillersbr /

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Jenny Wheeler: I guess that medical thrillers would be an obvious genre for you but nevertheless, why did you decide to do medical thrillers and not for example, maybe historical medical fiction or something else?br /

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br /

John Bishop: I started out writing some sort of traditional medical fiction, but I would get 10 or 20 or 30 or 40 pages into it and I couldn't figure out where the story was going, so I decided to throw in a little murder here and there and that seemed to spice it up.br /

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Jenny Wheeler: Now you've got the bit between your teeth. As far as I can see from your online website, you've published three books in this series you’re working on within...

Deborah Challinor is a best-selling historical novelist whose books consistently rank in New Zealand’s top five for fiction, many of them making it to number 1. Her latest book, The Jacaranda House, is her seventeenth and it’s a story of mothers and daughters, dark secrets and the healing power of love, set in the King’s Cross Sydney club scene of the 1960s.

Hi there, I’m your host Jenny Wheeler, and today Deborah talks about how she was discovered by her publisher because she wrote an “entertaining” PhD thesis, and why she loves her flawed characters.

We’ve got three e-Book copies of the new book, The Jacaranda House, to give away to three lucky readers. Enter the draw on The Joys of Binge Reading website or on our Binge Reading Facebook page.

You’ll find links to Deborah’s books and website there too. While you’re there, leave us a comment or a suggestion. We love to hear from our listeners, and we endeavor to get back to everyone who contacts us.

Six things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:

How a chance comment led to a publisherThe joy of writing seriesWars 'not won on foreign battlefields' National honours a big surpriseCrime and suspense writers she enjoysThe fascination of the mortuary train

Where to find Deborah Challinor: 

Website: http://www.deborahchallinor.com/

Facebook: @DeborahChallinorBooks

Email: [email protected]

What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

Jenny Wheeler: But now, here’s Deborah. Hello there Deborah, and welcome to the show. It’s great to have you with us.

Deborah Challinor: Thank you very much.

Introducing Deborah Challinor

Deborah Challinor - popular author of women's fiction

Jenny Wheeler: I always like to start with this question because it's one that readers love to know the answer to. How did you start with your fiction writing? We will cover the fact that you were already doing a lot of academic writing, but how did you start in fiction? Was there some once upon a time moment when you thought I really must do fiction, or I won't have realized what I want to do in life?

Deborah Challinor: I suppose it started when I was doing my PhD thesis and my supervisor, the late great Laurie Barber, told me it was actually readable and quite entertaining which is apparently rare for a PhD thesis. My thesis was published as a book with some modifications, with the boring bits taken out, and that turned out to be quite successful and got to number four on the New Zealand nonfiction list.

After that I thought maybe I can do fiction, so I got myself an agent who at that time was Glenys Bean and with her I got a contract with Harper Collins, New Zealand. That turned out to be the three-book series, Children of War, and away I went.

Jenny Wheeler: That's fantastic. As you've mentioned that first book, let's talk about it now. That was Grey Ghosts. It was research you did into the experiences of New Zealand vets in the Vietnam war. What did you find when you wrote that book? What were your conclusions or discoveries?

Vietnam War 'life-changing' event

Deborah Challinor: When I went into that piece of research, I expected to find that all veterans had been badly psychologically affected by that war. That's not what I found. I found that some had, and some hadn’t. That was an interesting finding. I found that those who had been impacted were really badly impacted and those that hadn't been weren’t, or else they were, and they weren't telling me. But it was a life-changing event for all of them in one way or another.

Jenny Wheeler: That's interesting. Was there any way you could measure what it might have been that made the difference between whether they were badly impacted or not? Was it simply the experiences they had, or was it something else in the environment?

Grey Ghosts - the story of NZ vets in the Vietnam w...

Deborah Challinor is a best-selling historical novelist whose books consistently rank in New Zealand’s top five for fiction, many of them making it to number 1. Her latest book, The Jacaranda House, is her seventeenth and it’s a story of mothers and daughters, dark secrets and the healing power of love, set in the King’s Cross Sydney club scene of the 1960s.br /

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Hi there, I’m your host Jenny Wheeler, and today Deborah talks about how she was discovered by her publisher because she wrote an “entertaining” PhD thesis, and why she loves her flawed characters.br /

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We’ve got three e-Book copies of the new book, The Jacaranda House, to give away to three lucky readers. Enter the draw on The Joys of Binge Reading website or on our Binge Reading Facebook page. br /

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You’ll find links to Deborah’s books and website there too. While you’re there, leave us a comment or a suggestion. We love to hear from our listeners, and we endeavor to get back to everyone who contacts us.br /

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Six things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:br /

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How a chance comment led to a publisherThe joy of writing seriesWars 'not won on foreign battlefields' National honours a big surpriseCrime and suspense writers she enjoysThe fascination of the mortuary trainbr /

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Where to find Deborah Challinor: br /

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Website: http://www.deborahchallinor.com/br /

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Facebook: @DeborahChallinorBooksbr /

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Email: [email protected] /

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What follows is a near as transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.br /

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Jenny Wheeler: But now, here’s Deborah. Hello there Deborah, and welcome to the show. It’s great to have you with us.br /

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Deborah Challinor: Thank you very much.br /

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Introducing Deborah Challinorbr /

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Deborah Challinor - popular author of women's fictionbr /

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Jenny Wheeler: I always like to start with this question because it's one that readers love to know the answer to. How did you start with your fiction writing? We will cover the fact that you were already doing a lot of academic writing, but how did you start in fiction? Was there some once upon a time moment when you thought I really must do fiction, or I won't have realized what I want to do in life?br /

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Deborah Challinor: I suppose it started when I was doing my PhD thesis and my supervisor, the late great Laurie Barber, told me it was actually readable and quite entertaining which is apparently rare for a PhD thesis. My thesis was published as a book with some modifications, with the boring bits taken out, and that turned out to be quite successful and got to number four on the New Zealand nonfiction list. br /

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After that I thought maybe I can do fiction, so I got myself an agent who at that time was Glenys Bean and with her I got a contract with Harper Collins, New Zealand. That turned out to be the three-book series, Children of War, and away I went.br /

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Jenny Wheeler: That's fantastic. As you've mentioned that first book, let's talk about it now. That was Grey Ghosts. It was research you did into the experiences of New Zealand vets in the Vietnam war. What did you find when you wrote that book? What were your conclusions or discoveries?br /

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Vietnam War 'life-changing' eventbr /

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Deborah Challinor: When I went into that piece of research, I expected to find that all veterans had been badly psychologically affected by that war. That's not what I found. I found that some had, and some hadn’t. That was an interesting finding.

A 20th century scientist time travels back to Ancient Jerusalem in John Fergusson’s dual time line mystery King Solomon’s Deadly Legacy, a faith-themed story which combines murder, betrayal, and corruption in business with deeper questions of healing and redemption.

Hi there, I’m your host jenny Wheeler and today John talks about how he came to write this challenging thriller and what King Solomon might be able to teach us in a time of pandemic. We’ve got three E-books of King Solomon to give away to three lucky readers.  Enter the draw on  The Joys of Binge Reading.com or on our Binge Reading Facebook page.

Six things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:

Why John is fascinated by King SolomonWhat Israel's early kings can tell usHow John got started in fictionA healing ministry to the nationsThe writers he admires mostWhere to find John online

Where to find John Fergusson: 

Website: https://johnfergussonbooks.com/blog/

AND www.jfm.org.nz Or [email protected]

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JF-Ministries-254398031318206/

What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

Jenny Wheeler: But now, here’s John. Hello John and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

Introducing Author John Fergusson

John Fergusson: Hi, Jenny. It's good to be with you.

Jenny Wheeler: You've written this book, King Solomon's Deadly Legacy. People love to hear what the genesis of a book is and how it came to be. I gather that your time travel novel has quite an interesting story behind it. Could you tell us about how it came to be written?

John Fergusson - Time Travel Author

John Fergusson: I've been a Christian for many years. I've always been fascinated by King Solomon. At the beginning of his life he obviously loved the Lord and he heard from the Lord and by the end of his life he was depressed, he was writing Ecclesiastes and he'd backslidden. He was committing idolatry, building idols and worshiping idols for wives.

I always wondered how the man who is supposed to be the wisest man who ever lived could have fallen into that trap. A few years ago I realized that our Western culture, since the two Wars, has been making the same mistakes. I wanted to investigate that and present it in a way that that would make people think about it.

That's been in my mind for a number of years. Then we were in a meeting with my team at church, and the pastor said if something has been in your heart for a long time, it's probably gone. That stirred me to say, I need to write this book rather than just be thinking about it. So it all started.

King Solomon research trail

Jenny Wheeler: How long ago did you start seriously getting down to writing it?

John Fergusson: That was eight years ago. It's taken a long time. I spent five years on research and then having got a few facts under my fingertips, wrote it and then rewrote it. Then I learned how to write, and I tried to get it published and that didn't happen. You know the story.

Jenny Wheeler: Yes, I do. You've got someone with a 21st century sensibility, Simon, who’s a scientist and he gets catapulted back into King Solomon's time. It's a daring choice to have such a big time travel gap. For those not familiar with the story, I wondered if you could outline when exactly this is, and what the political situation in King Solomon's time in Jerusalem was all about.

John Fergusson: King Solomon lived 3000 years ago, more or less. He was the greatest King of Israel at the time, he was the greatest king at the time, anywhere. He was the son of King David who was well known for killing Goliath, amongst other things. This was in Israel and the surrounding kings and kingdoms had all been subdued by King David so they were beholden to Israel. Israel was the dominant power in the middle East at the time,

A 20th century scientist time travels back to Ancient Jerusalem in John Fergusson’s dual time line mystery King Solomon’s Deadly Legacy, a faith-themed story which combines murder, betrayal, and corruption in business with deeper questions of healing and redemption.br /

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Hi there, I’m your host jenny Wheeler and today John talks about how he came to write this challenging thriller and what King Solomon might be able to teach us in a time of pandemic. We’ve got three E-books of King Solomon to give away to three lucky readers.  Enter the draw on  The Joys of Binge Reading.com or on our Binge Reading Facebook page.br /

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Six things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:br /

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Why John is fascinated by King SolomonWhat Israel's early kings can tell usHow John got started in fictionA healing ministry to the nationsThe writers he admires mostWhere to find John onlinebr /

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Where to find John Fergusson: br /

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Website: https://johnfergussonbooks.com/blog/br /

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AND www.jfm.org.nz Or [email protected] /

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JF-Ministries-254398031318206/br /

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What follows is a near as transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.br /

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Jenny Wheeler: But now, here’s John. Hello John and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.br /

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Introducing Author John Fergussonbr /

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John Fergusson: Hi, Jenny. It's good to be with you.br /

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Jenny Wheeler: You've written this book, King Solomon's Deadly Legacy. People love to hear what the genesis of a book is and how it came to be. I gather that your time travel novel has quite an interesting story behind it. Could you tell us about how it came to be written?br /

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John Fergusson - Time Travel Authorbr /

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John Fergusson: I've been a Christian for many years. I've always been fascinated by King Solomon. At the beginning of his life he obviously loved the Lord and he heard from the Lord and by the end of his life he was depressed, he was writing Ecclesiastes and he'd backslidden. He was committing idolatry, building idols and worshiping idols for wives.br /

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br /

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I always wondered how the man who is supposed to be the wisest man who ever lived could have fallen into that trap. A few years ago I realized that our Western culture, since the two Wars, has been making the same mistakes. I wanted to investigate that and present it in a way that that would make people think about it.br /

br /

br /

br /

That's been in my mind for a number of years. Then we were in a meeting with my team at church, and the pastor said if something has been in your heart for a long time, it's probably gone. That stirred me to say, I need to write this book rather than just be thinking about it. So it all started.br /

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King Solomon research trailbr /

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Jenny Wheeler: How long ago did you start seriously getting down to writing it?br /

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John Fergusson: That was eight years ago. It's taken a long time. I spent five years on research and then having got a few facts under my fingertips, wrote it and then rewrote it. Then I learned how to write, and I tried to get it published and that didn't happen. You know the story.br /

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Jenny Wheeler: Yes, I do. You've got someone with a 21st century sensibility, Simon, who’s a scientist and he gets catapulted back into King Solomon's time. It's a daring choice to have such a big time travel gap. For those not familiar with the story, I wondered if you could outline when exactly this is,

Award winning author Lucinda Brant fell in love with the 18th century as an 11 year old who picked up a dusty historical tome and started reading about a world she felt she’d once lived in.

Hello there, I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and in todays Binge Reading episode Lucinda talks about her career as a best selling author of Georgian romance,  and the international following who adore the aristocratic families she writes about almost as much as she does.

You can download the first book in the Roxton series, Midnight Marriage, for free on her website,  but we’ve got three audiobook copies to give away to three lucky readers.  Enter the draw on the website at The Joys of Binge Reading.com or on our Binge Reading Facebook page.

ENTER AUDIOBOOK DRAW

Links to the free Midnight Marriage e-Book and everything else we’ve talked about in the shownotes for this episode on the website too. While you’re there, subscribe so you won’t be short of a great book you can’t put down.  And leave us a comment.  We love to hear from you.

Six things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:

Lucinda's early - and mysterious - 18th century passionHow truth sometimes is stranger than fictionThe remarkable real life story that launched the RoxtonsLady Diana - The villain everyone delights inOn commissioning amazing coversWhy she loves Mary Balogh

Where to find Lucinda Brant: 

Website: https://www.lucindabrant.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LucindaBrantBooks/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lucindabrant/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/LucindaBrantauthor

What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

Jenny Wheeler: Hello there, Lucinda and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

Romance writer Lucinda Brant

Lucinda Brant: Thanks, Jenny. It's very nice of you to invite me on your show. I think this is probably only the second podcast I've ever done.

Jenny Wheeler: That's wonderful. Thank you. There will probably be many more in the future. Was there a Once Upon a Time moment when you decided that you had to write fiction as distinct from any other writing you might have been doing, and if so, was there a catalyst for it?

Lucinda Brant Romance author

Lucinda Brant:  I don't know if there was a Once Upon a Time moment. I've always liked creative writing. I've enjoyed it since school. Probably around seven or eight, I remember thinking, I really enjoy writing stories. Then it would have been high school when I started writing for myself. I thought I'd try my hand at fiction.

We had a creative writing class in English but it wasn't enough for me, so I started writing stories and I would take them into class because I didn't like Maths very much and I'd pass them around. I realized I had an audience because they'd say, when are we getting the next chapter?

Creative writing? Or Maths?

Jenny Wheeler: You passed them around in Maths?

Lucinda Brant: I did. I didn't do much Maths. 

Jenny Wheeler: You’re another one like me, I used to read something under the desk while the teacher was talking. I was bored with what they were saying but I couldn't leave a book alone.

Lucinda Brant: That sounds about right. That's how I got into writing fiction and then I put it down when I went to university because writing essays is a whole different kettle of fish as far as writing goes. I picked it up again once I started work after I'd finished university.

Jenny Wheeler: You've made your name with 18th century historical romance, and that in itself is interesting because Regency is the hot period for romance and there are millions of Regency books. What made you settle on the Georgians, the 1700’s, and what attracted you to them?

Falling in love with the 18th century

Lucinda Brant: I've always loved history since primary school.

Award winning author Lucinda Brant fell in love with the 18th century as an 11 year old who picked up a dusty historical tome and started reading about a world she felt she’d once lived in.br /

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Hello there, I’m your host Jenny Wheeler and in todays Binge Reading episode Lucinda talks about her career as a best selling author of Georgian romance,  and the international following who adore the aristocratic families she writes about almost as much as she does.br /

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You can download the first book in the Roxton series, Midnight Marriage, for free on her website,  but we’ve got three audiobook copies to give away to three lucky readers.  Enter the draw on the website at The Joys of Binge Reading.com or on our Binge Reading Facebook page.br /

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ENTER AUDIOBOOK DRAWbr /

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Links to the free Midnight Marriage e-Book and everything else we’ve talked about in the shownotes for this episode on the website too. While you’re there, subscribe so you won’t be short of a great book you can’t put down.  And leave us a comment.  We love to hear from you.br /

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Six things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:br /

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Lucinda's early - and mysterious - 18th century passionHow truth sometimes is stranger than fictionThe remarkable real life story that launched the RoxtonsLady Diana - The villain everyone delights inOn commissioning amazing coversWhy she loves Mary Baloghbr /

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Where to find Lucinda Brant: br /

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Website: https://www.lucindabrant.com/br /

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LucindaBrantBooks/br /

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Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lucindabrant/br /

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YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/LucindaBrantauthorbr /

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What follows is a near as transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.br /

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Jenny Wheeler: Hello there, Lucinda and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.br /

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Romance writer Lucinda Brantbr /

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Lucinda Brant: Thanks, Jenny. It's very nice of you to invite me on your show. I think this is probably only the second podcast I've ever done.br /

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Jenny Wheeler: That's wonderful. Thank you. There will probably be many more in the future. Was there a Once Upon a Time moment when you decided that you had to write fiction as distinct from any other writing you might have been doing, and if so, was there a catalyst for it?br /

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Lucinda Brant Romance authorbr /

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Lucinda Brant:  I don't know if there was a Once Upon a Time moment. I've always liked creative writing. I've enjoyed it since school. Probably around seven or eight, I remember thinking, I really enjoy writing stories. Then it would have been high school when I started writing for myself. I thought I'd try my hand at fiction.br /

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We had a creative writing class in English but it wasn't enough for me, so I started writing stories and I would take them into class because I didn't like Maths very much and I'd pass them around. I realized I had an audience because they'd say, when are we getting the next chapter?br /

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Creative writing? Or Maths?br /

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Jenny Wheeler: You passed them around in Maths?br /

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Lucinda Brant: I did. I didn't do much Maths. br /

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Jenny Wheeler: You’re another one like me, I used to read something under the desk while the teacher was talking. I was bored with what they were saying but I couldn't leave a book alone.br /

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Lucinda Brant: That sounds about right. That's how I got into writing fiction and then I put it down when I went to university be...

Lyndee Walker’s journalist investigator Nichelle Clarke juggles stud muffin boyfriends while she takes on “Mafia hotties, corrupt politicians, old flames and murder."

Hi there. I’m your host jenny Wheeler and LynDee talks her new crime thriller  Hidden Victims as well as a new Texas Ranger law and order series on The Joys of Binge Reading.

We’ve got three E book copies of Hidden Victims to give away to three lucky readers. Enter the draw on Joys of Binge Reading.com or on our Binge Reading Facebook Page.

Six things you’ll learn from this Joys of Binge Reading episode:

LynDee's award winning journalism beginnings'Stay at home' Mum discovers writing fictionHow her protagonist Nichelle was createdThe attraction of the Texas RangersA sharp new author to watchThe 'secret' to writing success (it's not glamorous!)

Where to find LynDee Walker: 

Website: https://lyndeewalker.com/connect/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lyndeewalkerbooks/https://www.facebook.com/lyndeewalkerbooks/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lyndee-walker

What follows is a "near as" transcript of our conversation, not word for word but pretty close to it, with links to important mentions.

But now, here’s LynDee.  Hello there LynDee and welcome to the show, it’s great to have you with us.

Jenny Wheeler: Hello there, LynDee and welcome to the show. It's great to have you with us.

LynDee Walker thriller author

LynDee Walker: Hi Jenny. Thank you so much for inviting me.

Jenny Wheeler: I always like to start with this question. It might be a little predictable, but readers always like to know the answer to it. How did you get started on your writing? Was there a Once Upon a Time moment when you had that 'light bulb' experience – I have to do this, or was it something a lot more gradual and integrated?

LynDee Walker: Actually I did have a light bulb moment. It's a funny story. My son, my second child was probably a year old and I was loading my dishwasher and all of a sudden there was this reporter in my head. She was locked in a car trunk down in Shockoe Bottom because she'd got herself into trouble chasing a story, and she couldn't figure out how she was going to get out of it.

I looked at the silverware caddy in the dishwasher and said, I don't know anything about writing fiction, but I didn't have anything else to do while the baby was taking his naps and she wouldn't go away, so I got my computer and I started writing the story and that was eleven years ago this summer.

I never had any idea at that time where all of this was going to take me or how much fun I was going to have with Nichelle, but that is where she came from.  That scene where she's locked in the car trunk in Shockoe Bottom made it through all of the edits and is still smack in the middle of the first book.

Introducing LynDee Walker

Jenny Wheeler: How amazing. For those who don't know, your heroine being a journalist wasn't that surprising, because you yourself were a journalist at that time, were you not?

LynDee Walker: I had been. I was a newspaper reporter before I was a mom. When I found out I was pregnant with my oldest daughter, I decided that maybe the 80-hour weeks and unpredictable hours of covering police and the courthouse was not a thing I wanted to keep doing because I was never going to get to see my baby.

Front Page Fatality LynDee Walker #1

I left the newsroom and I was a stay at home mom for about five years. After we moved to Virginia, I would tell other moms in our playgroup that I used to be a writer, but I didn't think it was something that I was ever going to do again until that day when Nichelle showed up in my head when I was loading the dishwasher, and now here I am.

Jenny Wheeler: Probably it isn't a surprise that you chose crime thrillers as your genre, but they were first marketed under the tagline of ‘Headlines in High Heels’ and there are a whole set of covers with very high stiletto ...