They always say ‘write what you know’, right? Well, authors Gareth and Louise Ward (two British ex-cops who moved to New Zealand and opened a bookshop) fully leaned into it with The Bookshop Detectives series – all about, you guessed it, British ex-cops who move to New Zealand and open a bookshop! The murders are fiction though – and they join the podcast to share their experience writing book 2 in the series.

00:00 Welcome
02:56 Writing tip: yWriter app
04:47 WIN!: Whisky Valley by Joan Sauers
06:04 Word of the week: ‘Moiety’
07:26 The world of words: 'Jail' vs ‘Gaol’
09:28 Writers in residence: Gareth and Louise Ward
10:35 Gareth’s other writing and magician life
12:36 Buying a bookshop together
15:17 Leaning into ‘write what you know’
18:18 The collaboration process
21:38 Incorporating local culture and the setting
24:12 Real-life inspiration for the book 2 climax
25:37 Advice for aspiring cosy crime writers
28:24 Tips on co-writing a book
30:10 The value of constructive feedback
31:27 Future projects and adventures
35:15 Final thoughts

Read the show notes

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