M.G. Leonard is the author of 16 children's books, which have won heaps of awards. She was awarded Sainsbury's Childen's Book of the Year, and the British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year 2021. Meanwhile, as a child at school, she was told she'd never become a published author - that she simply wasn't smart enough.

Before becoming a writer, she managed bands, ran an indie record label, and worked as a professional actor with some of the biggest names around. She now uses her performance experience to help her write, by reading her work aloud to get the flow and editing that way.

Maya started writing her first children's book to overcome a lifelong phobia of insects. So, to get past her fear of beetles, she wrote about them, turning the story 'Beetle Boy' into a bestseller, and now has over 100 of them.

She has co-written the 'Adventures on Trains' series with Sam Sedgman, published 'The Twitchers Quartet', along with other books for young readers. Her newest novel is 'Hunt for the Golden Scarab', it's the first in the 'Time Keys' series, which tells the story of Sim who discovers his Mum has the power to open doors through time.

You can hear about the cabin she's had made to stop her lazy children from interfering, also about the way writing and publishing for children has changed rapidly and why, and we discuss how she dives into extremely thorough research.

Support the show at -

patreon.com/writersroutine

ko-fi.com/writersroutine

Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/writersroutine

Subscribe to the newsletter - writersroutine.substack.com

@writerspod

writersroutine.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we're taking a look inside the writing life of Hanna Thomas Uose, author of 'Who Whats to Live Forever'.

Hanna won the Morley Prize for Unpublished Writers of Colour, was shortlisted for Orion and DHA's Space to Write project, selected for the Asian Women Writers Mentorship Programme, and went back to study for an MA in Prose Fiction.

Her new novel is 'Who Wants to Live Forever', and it comes from the simple question - how would the world change if we didn't have to die? We discuss how Hanna expanded on that idea, yet also narrowed down the focus to the other questions she really wanted answered.

It's about Yuki and Sam who are soulmates, destined to spend the rest of their lives together. However, when a miracle drug is created that can extend your life indefinitely, what happens when Sam decides to live forever, rather than love Yuki forever?

You can hear about the pressure of delivering a good ending, also how Hanna feels with a one-book deal. We discuss why she went back to University, what she does to get ready to tell the story, and why she is in two minds when getting feedback for the edit.

You can support the show at

• patreon.com/writersroutine
• ko-fi.com/writersroutine

Subscribe to the newsletter - writersroutine.substack.com

Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutine

@writerspod

writersroutine.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we're chatting to Robert Whitlow, prolific writer of over 20 bestselling novels. His new one is 'Guilty Until Innocent', a legal thriller that looks an an old case being reopened, and the two lawyers who have to prove the convicted's innocence against the odds.

His debut novel, 'The List', was adapted into a successful movie starring Malcolm McDowell. In fact, four of Robert's novels have been adapted for the big screen, and Robert still divides his time between writing and working as a local attorney. You can hear how he seperates his day, energy and creativity for that, and why he thinks the secret is to relax and be consistent... it's to discover your 'writing bio-rhythm'

Faith plays a huge part in Robert's work, and we figure out why that is, how organic it can ever be, and whether he's bothered about how a reader's opinion towards religion might change with his writing. It's led him to win the prestigious 'Christy Award for Contemporary Writing' in 2001. He reveals why he loves editing, how he wrestles characters back to his ideas, and why he needs a few drafts to really figure out who his protagonist is.

Get a copy of the novel - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutine

Support the show -

patreon.com/writersroutine

ko-fi.com/writersroutine

Subscribe to the weekly newsletter - writersroutine.substack.com

@writerspod

writersroutine.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jennifer Saint worked as an English teacher in a secondary school for thirteen years, when all of a sudden, with an unexpected confidence, she felt the urge to write a novel. It wasn't just the confidence she could do it that surprised her, but the belief that it would do well.

She was inspired by Greek mythology, and wanted to emphasise their relevance for the 21st Century. Her debut was 'Ariadne', which tells the legend of Theseus and the Minotaur from a female prespective. It was a Sunday Times Bestseller, a Waterstones Book of the Month, and was nominated for as their Book of the Year. She's also published 'Elektra' and 'Atalanta', also Sunday Times Bestsellers.

Jennifer's new novel is 'Hera', who is Zeus' brother. Together, they overthrow their tyrannical father Titan Cronos... only Hera becomes confused with thoughts of power and leading. She is often portrayed as the jealous wife and wicked stepmother - Jennifer explains why she decided to spend a year with one of Greek mythology's most hated figures.

We discuss how she picks her next retelling, also why as a teacher she wouldn't have liked how she gets to work as a writer, and what the point of Greek mythology is in 2025.

Subscribe to the newsletter - writersroutine.substack.com

Support us on -

patreon.com/writersroutine

ko-fi.com/writersroutine

Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutine

@writerspod

writersroutine.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Paul S. Edwards is a lawyer, a family man with two children, and has just published his first sci-fi novel, 'The Triton Run'. He found time to write it... anywhere. If he was early at a football game, he'd get words down. If he was at a gig with a few minutes to spare, he'd write. On the sofa with his family watching TV, he will get down it it.

His new novel is 'The Triton Run', the start of a new sci-fi series which spans planets and, Paul hopes, does something a bit different in the genre. We discuss how it's important to be inspired by what's come before, but not derivative of it... and there's a fine line in sci-fi.

You can hear why he's trying to brand and market not just the novel, but also himself. He's made a short-life website to help with that - paulsedwards.com

We discuss how he changes writing his second novel which his publisher was quite keen for, after taking a while on the debut, what he knows needs to be in sci-fi, and how he found his publishers, Northodox Press.

Subscribe to the Substack and let me know what you like to hear in the podcast - writersroutine.substack.com

Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine

@writerspod

writersroutine.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Julia Raeside is a journalist and broadcaster, who has written for The Times, The Guardian, The Big Issue and many others, and appeared across the BBC.

Her new novel is 'Don't Make Me Laugh', which looks at the culture within the world of comedy... an industry which is rapidly approaching a #MeToo moment. It tells the story of Ali Lauder, a radio producer enlisted to hire Paul Bonatti to host a show. It could be her career breakthrough. Bonatti is a comedian who is thought to be cosy, warm, cool, and a fun feminist... turns out he's anything but.

We talk about how the idea developed from experiencing life at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, covering it as a journalist, and then thinking there was more to be discussed as a novel. You can hear why being a journalist isn't always helpful to novel writing, why she had to trick herself to write, and whether she was ever worried it wasn't her story to tell.

You can get a copy of the novel at uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutine

Support the show at

patreon.com/writersroutine

ko-fi.com/writersroutine

@writerspod

writersroutine.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we chat to Rosaria Girorgi, a mystery writer whose life has been as busy as one of her plots. Whilst studying in Denmark, she got a job working for who she thought was an antique dealer. He turned out to be 'The Umbrella Assassin', a cold war legend, who assassinated the Bulgarian dissident journalist Georgi Markov, with a poison pellet discharged from an umbrella.

It's inspired her novel,'The Less Unkind', which tells the story of Pico, a young woman making her way in the world and forging new friendships, when she takes a job with a strange antique dealer... who turns out to be something different than he first seemed.

Rosaria has lived all over, after being born in Tuscany, moving to Denmark, she founded a fashion start-up in Ireland, and is now living in Canada. We discuss how much where you live inspires what you write and how you write it. You can hear why she writes non-linearly and without a plot, which leads to a tricky edit smoothing the gaps of where chapters should join seemlessly.

Also we chat about how to start your second novel when the first mines so much of your life, why a plot is like a flock of birds, and all about her day.

Get a copy of the book at uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutine

Support the show

patreon.com/writersroutine

ko-fi.com/writersroutine

@writerspod

writersroutine.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James Alistair Henry has had a hand in writing some seismic shows across T.V. He is a BAFTA award winning writer for the comedy, 'Green Wing', worked on the sketch show, 'Smack the Pony', and his diverse career has seen him write for 'Bob the Builder', 'Hey Duggee', and 'Shaun the Sheep'.

He's just published his debut novel, 'Pagans', which has already been optioned for Apple TV. It's set in an alternative Britain, threatened with political turmoil to unite the Celtic West, the Saxon East, and the powerful Nordic Kingdom of Scotland. It's inspired by a blend of Icelandic mythology, 'Game of Thrones', and scandi noir classics.

We talk about why he started writing this kind of story as a complete reverse of what he'd worked on before, and how he tried to blend the comedy he knows with a darker story. Also, hear about what he learned from writing sitcoms that he could use in novels, and we get quite theoretical with discussions of rules and what stories need to include.

You can hear why he's happy to chill, writing on the sofa, also what he's learned from the first novel that he can take into the second, and find out why one of his main motivations was simply to finish something.

This week's episode is sponsored by Scribe Shadow, find out more about what they do at app.scribeshadow.com

Support the show at patreon.com/writersroutine OR ko-fi.com/writersroutine

Get a copy of the book at uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutine

Subscribe to the newsletter at writersroutine.substack.com

@writerspod

writersroutine.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we're chatting to Maz Evans, a celebrated Children's author who has taken the plunge into Adult fiction, publishing her second cosy crime book.

Maz is a Carnegie Award and CWA Golden Dagger Shortlisted writer. 'Who Let the Gods Out', 'Vi Spy', and her 'Scarlett Fife' series are loved by kids across the world. Her new adult novel is 'That'll Teach Her', it's a multi-media novel telling the story of a group of parents trying to solve a murder over their WhatsApp group. It's the perfect blend of Richard Osman and Janice Hallett. We discuss the intricate plotting of crime novels - setting up the character, laying enough red herrings, and making everything believable. You can hear why everything comes from character, why she's mindful of taking care of herself, and about the only rule she has.

Maz is busy writing multiple books a year across different genre, for different audiences, and she brilliantly takes us through twelve months in her writing life. We dissect the business of writing, and why celebrities think they've got what it takes to instantly write a bestseller.

This week's episode is sponsored by Scribe Shadow, find out more at app.scribeshadow.com.

Get a copy of the book on uk.bookshop.com/writersroutine

Support the show on -

patreon.com/writersroutine

ko-fi.com/writersroutine

Watch the video in full technicolour glory on www.youtube.com/@writersroutine

@writerspod

writersroutine.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Imran Mahmood has 30 years experience as a criminal defence lawyer, working on all manner of high-profile cases. He's taken that knowledge and forged a successful 2nd career as a crime writer. His debut, 'You Don't Know Me', was presented as a closing argument to a jury. It was long-listed for the Theakston Crime Novel of the year, the CWA Gold Dagger in 2017, and was a BBC Radio 2 Book Club Choice. It's been adapted for a BBC/ Netflix Crime Drama.

He followed that up with 'I Know What I Saw', which was a Sunday Times Crime Novel of the Month, and is now back with 'Finding Sophie'. It's about Harry and Zara, parents struggling to come to terms with their daughter who is missing. The police are unable to find any leads and they're growing ever more frantic and obsessed with their supicious neighbour who won't answer the door.

We discuss his busy life as a barrister with a young family, and why he's chosen to spend what little free time he has writing novels. You can hear how both jobs have affected each other, why talking to a jury has helped novel writing, and why he thinks his greatest skill is simply getting words down.

This week's episode is supported by Scribe Shadow, a game-changing tool for writers trying to reach international readers. Find out more at app.scribeschadow.com

Get a copy of Imran's book at uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutine

Support the show -

patreon.com/writersroutine

ko-fi.com/writersroutine

@writerspod

writersroutine.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.