We'd Like A Word

41. Death In Paradise (part 1) with Robert Thorogood, author of The Marlow Murder Club: In this episode of We'd Like A Word, recorded in front of a live audience at Wycombe Arts Centre in support of Wycombe Food Hub (& the Arts Centre), presenters Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan hear from Robert Thorogood about how he created the long-running very popular BBC and international TV series, Death In Paradise, and about his new cosy crime novel, The Marlow Murder Club. In a refreshing change, Paul and Steve's efforts at pinning Robert down are greatly enhanced by unscripted questions from the audience - some of whom have come to this High Wycombe recording from as far away as Bedford and Sheffield.

If you want to know what goes on behind the scenes in creating and filming Death In Paradise, about its roots in Midsomer Murders, about who has been the best detective so far, and what the locals in Guadeloupe think about it - have a listen. The audience taking part in this podcast really know their stuff - some of them have even been to the real Catherine's Bar on location. We investigate the greatest scandal of Death In Paradise - yes, the change in the theme tune. And some of us have a wee dance to the original version. (Some of us = Paul.) Yes, we also had the bar open during the recording.

Robert also talks about the wisdom (or otherwise) of setting a murder mystery in the town where he lives - and how it opened him to blackmail from the postman. By the way, we all loved The Marlow Murder Club. You should read it.

And we also hear from Mark Page, photographer extraordinaire, who is running the Wycombe Food Hub, a wonderful project that is helping people who don't earn much to feed their families, with dignity - and also saving huge amounts of food from being wasted by supermarkets and dumped in landfill. Its a great initiative, for which there is sadly much need. Everyone who bought tickets for the recording of this episode of We'd Like Word has helped to fund Wycombe Food Hub. Good for you!

Thanks to our fabulous live audience. Thanks also to our great venue - Wycombe Arts Centre. It's a gem, with highly competent staff and a warm welcome. And thank you to the film crew who also recorded the event, led by award-winning film producer Melanie Perry. We'll let you know on social media when it's ready to watch.

We'd Like A Word is a podcast & radio show from authors Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction & non-fiction. We go out on various radio & podcast platforms. Our website is http://www.wedlikeaword.com for information on Paul & Steve & our guests. We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword & Facebook @wedlikeaword & our email is [email protected] Yes, we are embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word to chat, review or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown by Paul Waters or Cockerings (the new comic classic, just out) by Stevyn Colgan.

40. Death In Paradise (part 2) with Robert Thorogood, author of The Marlow Murder Club: In this episode of We'd Like A Word, recorded in front of a live audience at Wycombe Arts Centre in support of Wycombe Food Hub (& the Arts Centre), presenters Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan hear from Robert Thorogood about how he created the long-running very popular BBC and international TV series, Death In Paradise, and about his new cosy crime novel, The Marlow Murder Club. In a refreshing change, Paul and Steve's efforts at pinning Robert down are greatly enhanced by unscripted questions from the audience - some of whom have come to this High Wycombe recording from as far away as Bedford and Sheffield.

If you want to know what goes on behind the scenes in creating and filming Death In Paradise, about its roots in Midsomer Murders, about who has been the best detective so far, and what the locals in Guadeloupe think about it - have a listen. The audience taking part in this podcast really know their stuff - some of them have even been to the real Catherine's Bar on location. We investigate the greatest scandal of Death In Paradise - yes, the change in the theme tune. And some of us have a wee dance to the original version. (Some of us = Paul.) Yes, we also had the bar open during the recording.

Robert also talks about the wisdom (or otherwise) of setting a murder mystery in the town where he lives - and how it opened him to blackmail from the postman. By the way, we all loved The Marlow Murder Club. You should read it.

And we also hear from Mark Page, photographer extraordinaire, who is running the Wycombe Food Hub, a wonderful project that is helping people who don't earn much to feed their families, with dignity - and also saving huge amounts of food from being wasted by supermarkets and dumped in landfill. Its a great initiative, for which there is sadly much need. Everyone who bought tickets for the recording of this episode of We'd Like Word has helped to fund Wycombe Food Hub. Good for you!

Thanks to our fabulous live audience. Thanks also to our great venue - Wycombe Arts Centre. It's a gem, with highly competent staff and a warm welcome. And thank you to the film crew who also recorded the event, led by award-winning film producer Melanie Perry. We'll let you know on social media when it's ready to watch. 

We'd Like A Word is a podcast & radio show from authors Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction & non-fiction. We go out on various radio & podcast platforms. Our website is http://www.wedlikeaword.com for information on Paul & Steve & our guests. We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword & Facebook @wedlikeaword & our email is [email protected] Yes, we are embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word to chat, review or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown by Paul Waters or Cockerings (the new comic classic, just out) by Stevyn Colgan.

39. Weird book promotion (part 1) with Tina Baker, Fiona Sherlock, Lulu Allison & Emma Grae: In this episode of We'd Like A Word, presenters Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan hear about innovative, odd & risky ways authors promote their books.  Tina Baker is the author of Call Me Mummy and Nasty Little Cuts. She's also a former TV & radio showbiz reporter. She used to clean the aisles of the supermarket that now sells her books. Her promotional ruses encompass street theatre, book spanking, wedding dresses, climbing on cars, burpees & (notwithstanding that previous part) constant sparkling glamour. She also moos, quite a bit.

Fiona Sherlock is the Irish crime fiction author of Preserved & Twelve Motives for Murder. But she's also the creator of a whole range of murder mystery games, one of which, The Wizard's Dagger, is tested by We'd Like A Word listeners, led by Mark Vent. It's a tense episode as, in true Jukebox Jury style, Fiona braces herself for the audience verdict on her game. There's a lot of acting, some appalling singing of Britney Spears songs & pointed accusations. Fiona also explains why Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Ridley Scott were going to the toilet in her back garden in Bective, in County Meath. (Jodie Comer was more discreet.)  Lulu Allison is the author of Salt Lick, in which the British countryside empties of people, nature re-wilds the land & feral cows provide a chorus. She's also an artist & while bored during Covid lockdown created & shared pictures of a new homemade hat every week, made only of bits a pieces about the house - maps, garden forks, a frying pan & more weird stuff. It went viral. A ukulele band wrote a song about it.

Emma Grae is the Scottish author of Be Guid Tae Yer Mammy, about three generations of a Glasgow family, written in Scots. At first she posted cute pictures of herself & her hamsters & rats online which gained attention. But then her involvement in full-on disputes on Twitter & in the Scottish press took her profile & that of her book to a much higher level. Being trolled has its downsides, but it can also boost book sales. She talks about that & the controversy around writing in Scots.

We'd Like A Word is a podcast & radio show from authors Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction & non-fiction. We go out on various radio & podcast platforms. Our website is http://www.wedlikeaword.com for information on Paul & Steve & our guests. We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword & Facebook @wedlikeaword & our email is [email protected] Yes, we are embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word to chat, review or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown by Paul Waters or Cockerings (the new comic classic, just out) by Stevyn Colgan.

38. Weird book promotion (part 2) with Tina Baker, Emma Grae, Fiona Sherlock & Lulu Allison: In this episode of We'd Like A Word, presenters Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan hear about innovative, odd & risky ways authors promote their books.  Tina Baker is the author of Call Me Mummy and Nasty Little Cuts. She's also a former TV & radio showbiz reporter. She used to clean the aisles of the supermarket that now sells her books. Her promotional ruses encompass street theatre, book spanking, wedding dresses, climbing on cars, burpees & (notwithstanding that previous part) constant sparkling glamour. She also moos, quite a bit.

Fiona Sherlock is the Irish crime fiction author of Preserved & Twelve Motives for Murder. But she's also the creator of a whole range of murder mystery games, one of which, The Wizard's Dagger, is tested by We'd Like A Word listeners, led by Mark Vent. It's a tense episode as, in true Jukebox Jury style, Fiona braces herself for the audience verdict on her game. There's a lot of acting, some appalling singing of Britney Spears songs & pointed accusations. Fiona also explains why Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Ridley Scott were going to the toilet in her back garden in Bective, in County Meath. (Jodie Comer was more discreet.)  Lulu Allison is the author of Salt Lick, in which the British countryside empties of people, nature re-wilds the land & feral cows provide a chorus. She's also an artist & while bored during Covid lockdown created & shared pictures of a new homemade hat every week, made only of bits a pieces about the house - maps, garden forks, a frying pan & more weird stuff. It went viral. A ukulele band wrote a song about it.

Emma Grae is the Scottish author of Be Guid Tae Yer Mammy, about three generations of a Glasgow family, written in Scots. At first she posted cute pictures of herself & her hamsters & rats online which gained attention. But then her involvement in full-on disputes on Twitter & in the Scottish press took her profile & that of her book to a much higher level. Being trolled has its downsides, but it can also boost book sales. She talks about that & the controversy around writing in Scots.

We'd Like A Word is a podcast & radio show from authors Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction & non-fiction. We go out on various radio & podcast platforms. Our website is http://www.wedlikeaword.com for information on Paul & Steve & our guests. We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword & Facebook @wedlikeaword & our email is [email protected] Yes, we are embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word to chat, review or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown by Paul Waters or Cockerings (the new comic classic, just out) by Stevyn Colgan.

37. Weird book promotion (part 3) with Tina Baker, Emma Grae, Fiona Sherlock & Lulu Allison: In this episode of We'd Like A Word, presenters Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan hear about innovative, odd & risky ways authors promote their books.

Fiona Sherlock is the Irish crime fiction author of Preserved & Twelve Motives for Murder. But she's also the creator of a whole range of murder mystery games, one of which, The Wizard's Dagger, is tested by We'd Like A Word listeners, led by Mark Vent. It's a tense episode as, in true Jukebox Jury style, Fiona braces herself for the audience verdict on her game. There's a lot of acting, some appalling singing of Britney Spears songs & pointed accusations. Fiona also explains why Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Ridley Scott were going to the toilet in her back garden in Bective, in County Meath. (Jodie Comer was more discreet.)

Emma Grae is the Scottish author of Be Guid Tae Yer Mammy, about three generations of a Glasgow family, written in Scots. At first she posted cute pictures of herself & her hamsters & rats online which gained attention. But then her involvement in full-on disputes on Twitter & in the Scottish press took her profile & that of her book to a much higher level. Being trolled has its downsides, but it can also boost book sales. She talks about that & the controversy around writing in Scots.

We'd Like A Word is a podcast & radio show from authors Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction & non-fiction. We go out on various radio & podcast platforms. Our website is http://www.wedlikeaword.com for information on Paul & Steve & our guests. We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword & Facebook @wedlikeaword & our email is [email protected] Yes, we are embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word to chat, review or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown by Paul Waters or Cockerings (the new comic classic, just out) by Stevyn Colgan. 

Writing Partnerships (part 1): Ambrose Parry is the author of the Scottish historical crime thriller, A Corruption of Blood, published by Canongate. Ambrose Parry is also the pseudonym of the (married) writing partnership of consultant anaesthetist Dr Marisa Haetzman and her husband, the internationally bestselling and multi-award winning author Chris Brookmyre. Marisa and Chris tell authors Paul Waters and Stevyn Colgan, the presenters of the We'd Like A Word books and authors podcast, how they create and maintain this series set in Victorian Edinburgh, (now on book 3); about the challenges and benefits of writing collaboration; and whether being married helps their writing (and whether writing together helps their marriage).

Also on this episode of We'd Like A Word, we hear from Dan Brotzel and Martin Jenkins, two of the three authors (along with Alex Woolf) of the new comic novel, Work in Progress (previously known as Kitten on a Fatberg), published by Unbound. Dan and Martin are in the same writers' group and got together to write this book. In their new book, Work In Progress, members of a fictional writers' group get together to write a collaborative novel. So we hear how the fictional authors and the real writers got together and how they succeed and fail in their efforts to keep readers laughing and turning the pages. "It's a bit meta."

We'd Like A Word is a podcast & radio show from authors Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction & non-fiction. We go out on various radio & podcast platforms. Our website is http://www.wedlikeaword.com for information on Paul & Steve & our guests. We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword & Facebook @wedlikeaword & our email is [email protected] Yes, we are embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word to chat, review or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown by Paul Waters or Cockerings (the new comic classic, just out) by Stevyn Colgan.

Writing Partnerships (part 2): Ambrose Parry is the author of the Scottish historical crime thriller, A Corruption of Blood, published by Canongate. Ambrose Parry is also the pseudonym of the (married) writing partnership of consultant anaesthetist Dr Marisa Haetzman and her husband, the internationally bestselling and multi-award winning author Chris Brookmyre. Marisa and Chris tell authors Paul Waters and Stevyn Colgan, the presenters of the We'd Like A Word books and authors podcast, how they create and maintain this series set in Victorian Edinburgh, (now on book 3); about the challenges and benefits of writing collaboration; and whether being married helps their writing (and whether writing together helps their marriage).

Also on this episode of We'd Like A Word, we hear from Dan Brotzel and Martin Jenkins, two of the three authors (along with Alex Woolf) of the new comic novel, Work in Progress (previously known as Kitten on a Fatberg), published by Unbound. Dan and Martin are in the same writers' group and got together to write this book. In their new book, Work In Progress, members of a fictional writers' group get together to write a collaborative novel. So we hear how the fictional authors and the real writers got together and how they succeed and fail in their efforts to keep readers laughing and turning the pages. "It's a bit meta."

We'd Like A Word is a podcast & radio show from authors Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction & non-fiction. We go out on various radio & podcast platforms. Our website is http://www.wedlikeaword.com for information on Paul & Steve & our guests. We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword & Facebook @wedlikeaword & our email is [email protected] Yes, we are embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word to chat, review or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown by Paul Waters or Cockerings (the new comic classic, just out) by Stevyn Colgan.

Writing Partnerships (part 3): On this episode of the books and authors podcast, We'd Like A Word, presenters Paul Waters and Stevyn Colgan hear from Dan Brotzel and Martin Jenkins, two of the three authors (along with Alex Woolf) of the new comic novel, Work in Progress (previously known as Kitten on a Fatberg), published by Unbound. Dan and Martin are in the same writers' group and got together to write this book. In their new book, Work In Progress, members of a fictional writers' group get together to write a collaborative novel. So we hear how the fictional authors and the real writers got together and how they succeed and fail in their efforts to keep readers laughing and turning the pages. "It's a bit meta."

Also on this episode of We'd Like A Word - Ambrose Parry is the author of the Scottish historical crime thriller, A Corruption of Blood, published by Canongate. Ambrose Parry is also the pseudonym of the (married) writing partnership of consultant anaesthetist Dr Marisa Haetzman and her husband, the internationally bestselling and multi-award winning author Chris Brookmyre. Marisa and Chris tell authors Paul Waters and Stevyn Colgan, the presenters of the We'd Like A Word books and authors podcast, how they create and maintain this series set in Victorian Edinburgh, (now on book 3); about the challenges and benefits of writing collaboration; and whether being married helps their writing (and whether writing together helps their marriage).

We'd Like A Word is a podcast & radio show from authors Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction & non-fiction. We go out on various radio & podcast platforms. Our website is http://www.wedlikeaword.com for information on Paul & Steve & our guests. We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword & Facebook @wedlikeaword & our email is [email protected] Yes, we are embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word to chat, review or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown by Paul Waters or Cockerings (the new comic classic, just out) by Stevyn Colgan.

Men Writing Women (part 1): RJ McBrien, author of Reckless + author & Faber Writing Academy tutor Shelley Weiner, tell We'd Like A Word presenters Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan how male authors can write convincing female characters - and vice versa. 

RJ McBrien is a very successful TV screenplay writer (Spoowks, The Bill, Soldier Soldier, Atlantis, Merlin, Red Caps, etc), who has also had some crushing and hilarious exploits in movie writing too. Reckless, published by Welbeck Publishing, is this author's first novel. It gets into the mind of an apparently happily married woman who is missing just one thing - good sex. In order to "scratch that itch" (RJ's words, not ours), she gets into some dark, dangerous, poignant and very funny scrapes. RJ is Richard. So - not just a man writing a woman, but writing about the most intimate aspects of her life. Does he pull it off? Is it appropriation? Who helped?

Shelley Weiner is a major reason Reckless was published. She was the tutor of RJ's Faber Writing Academy course - and guided him to the feminine side. She's also an author. Her titles include: Writing Short Stories, Writing Your First Novel, The Audacious Mendacity of Lily Green, Arnost, The Joker, The Last Honeymoon & A Sister's Tale. She's currently writing Summer Strand, a novel inspired by her Lithuanian parents who met and married in the Kaunas ghetto, were sent to separate Nazi concentration camps, survived the Holocaust, found each other again in a post-war camp for displaced people in Italy, & managed to reach South Africa - just as apartheid was imposed.

We also hear personal stories of encounters with Jodie Foster, Arthur Miller, Ewan McGregor, Heath Ledger & Ted Demme. We discuss "nerks" (is that how you spell nerk?) - non-swearing swear words - like the frequency of toerags in The Bill. We discover the importance of the type of "and" or "&" and where it's placed in movie credits. We hear what happens when a film studio asks you rewrite a film script, not relaising you were the original author in the first place. We hear which are easier to write - books or screenplays? And about the importance of authors' support groups, beat readers, bad and good sex writing, Adrian McKinty, Brian McGilloway, body dismorphia amongst middle-aged women, Raven Leilani, Jilly Cooper, Jackie Collins, top writing tips from Shelley, the contract with the reader, staying inside your story, editor Niamh Mulvey, integrity v cynicism, and lots of useful insight. There's a bit of cursing too - even worse words than toerag. Sorry.

We'd Like A Word is a podcast & radio show from authors Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction & non-fiction. We go out on various radio & podcast platforms. Our website is http://www.wedlikeaword.com for information on Paul & Steve & our guests. We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword & Facebook @wedlikeaword & our email is [email protected] Yes, we are embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word to chat, review or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown by Paul Waters or The Diabolical Club by Stevyn Colgan.

Men Writing Women (part 2): RJ McBrien, author of Reckless + author & Faber Writing Academy tutor Shelley Weiner, tell We'd Like A Word presenters Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan how male authors can write convincing female characters - and vice versa.

RJ McBrien is a very successful TV screenplay writer (Spooks, The Bill, Soldier Soldier, Atlantis, Merlin, Red Caps, etc), who has also had some crushing and hilarious exploits in movie writing too. Reckless, published by Welbeck Publishing, is this author's first novel. It gets into the mind of an apparently happily married woman who is missing just one thing - good sex. In order to "scratch that itch" (RJ's words, not ours), she gets into some dark, dangerous, poignant and very funny scrapes. RJ is Richard. So - not just a man writing a woman, but writing about the most intimate aspects of her life. Does he pull it off? Is it appropriation? Who helped?

Shelley Weiner is a major reason Reckless was published. She was the tutor of RJ's Faber Writing Academy course - and guided him to the feminine side. She's also an author. Her titles include: Writing Short Stories, Writing Your First Novel, The Audacious Mendacity of Lily Green, Arnost, The Joker, The Last Honeymoon & A Sister's Tale. She's currently writing Summer Strand, a novel inspired by her Lithuanian parents who met and married in the Kaunas ghetto, were sent to separate Nazi concentration camps, survived the Holocaust, found each other again in a post-war camp for displaced people in Italy, & managed to reach South Africa - just as apartheid was imposed.

We also hear personal stories of encounters with Jodie Foster, Arthur Miller, Ewan McGregor, Heath Ledger & Ted Demme. We discuss "nerks" (is that how you spell nerk?) - non-swearing swear words - like the frequency of toerags in The Bill. We discover the importance of the type of "and" or "&" and where it's placed in movie credits. We hear what happens when a film studio asks you rewrite a film script, not relaising you were the original author in the first place. We hear which are easier to write - books or screenplays? And about the importance of authors' support groups, beat readers, bad and good sex writing, Adrian McKinty, Brian McGilloway, body dismorphia amongst middle-aged women, Raven Leilani, Jilly Cooper, Jackie Collins, top writing tips from Shelley, the contract with the reader, staying inside your story, editor Niamh Mulvey, integrity v cynicism, and lots of useful insight. There's a bit of cursing too - even worse words than toerag. Sorry.

We'd Like A Word is a podcast & radio show from authors Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction & non-fiction. We go out on various radio & podcast platforms. Our website is http://www.wedlikeaword.com for information on Paul & Steve & our guests. We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword & Facebook @wedlikeaword & our email is [email protected] Yes, we are embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word to chat, review or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown by Paul Waters or The Diabolical Club by Stevyn Colgan.