Mel Sherratt has published 12 books, and written many, many more, across a wide range of genres. She loves writing so much that even now, in the middle of a proper book deal, she's writing other books for herself and to self-publish. Her new novel is called 'Tick Tock', it's a procedural crime novel in her 'DS Grace Allendale' series.

We talk about the different stages of her writing, when she starts to put in clues as to the killer, how she knows how many time her killer needs to strike, and how she can get ideas for a gruesome story anywhere. You can hear how her characters dictate her plot as much as her planning does, also what she thinks a good crime story needs to be and why she needs to switch up the genres she works in, and the characters she works with.

If you love the show, and have had any help from the authors we've chatted to so far, please do give some help back and support the show on patreon.com/writersroutine.

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Not many authors have debut success like Trent Dalton. His book 'Boy Swallows Universe' won the 'Debut Fiction Prize' and 'Book of the Year' at the Australian Indie Awards, and went straight into the top 10, selling over 100,000 copies. It's a semi-autobiographical story about all Eli, in Brisbane in 1983, muddling through family life, trying to not be coaxed into drug-dealing, and having to save his mum from prison.

Trent works as a journalist, so we talk about the challenges of writing features or news-pieces by day, then heading to the rumpus room to tell the story he yearns to write at night. Also, we chat about work/family balance, planning, plotting and writing tight.

You can also get a writing tip from a top crime writer!

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Jeffery Deaver has published over 40 novels. He's a globally renowned author, writing crime and thrillers. To him, they're not lauded works of art, they're intricate puzzles, fun and games for the reader - and we talk about how he builds these. His new book is 'The Never Game', introducing the enigmatic investigator Colter Shaw, and we hear the first idea for the story, and why it went to Colter, not another of his myriad characters.

Jeffery works anywhere he can - any chance he gets to type away, if that's at home, on the plane, perhaps at a dog show, he will. We chat about how he finds time and space to work no matter where he is. There's also talk about research, about genre and some ace tips about timesaving.

Give us a shout!

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'Critical Incidents' is Lucie Whitehouse's 5th book, and it marks something of a departure for her. Her previous novels are mainly focused on psychological thriller, whereas the new one is procedural. This means things need to be spot on, the way the police work, the way the crime is committed and how it's solved. We talk about the move, how she found changing styles liberating and where it takes her next.

You can also hear how Lucie Whitehouse prefers working in an all-women space, why she needs to leave the house to write, and how well she knows her characters and why even sometimes they come to her fully-formed, from thin air.

There's a top writing tip from a rom-com author in there, and we'll get your writing advice too.

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Mhairi McFarlane has published 5 novels, her new first 'You Had Me At Hello' was a huge bestseller, and her new one 'Don't You Forget About Me' looks set to do the same. It tells the story of Georgina, and her new boss at work who turns out to be an old flame... only he seemingly doesn't remember her at all.

We talk about the planning of rom-com novels, how she likes to embrace the contrivances that must happen and focus on ways to build surprises into stories. You can hear how she plans her years worth of writing, and works her routine around that, why 'pub-a-clock' plays a large part in her story-telling, and what she thinks of the term 'chick-lit'.

Also, there's some of your writing tips, and one from an award-winning author too.

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Namwali Serpell had been named one of the best African writers under 40 before she'd even published a novel. She's a student of the craft, and now a teacher of it at the University of Berkeley. Finally, after finishing a book that will forever sit in a drawer, she's publishing her first novel, 'The Old Drift'. It's a huge project, telling the stories of 3 families across generations in the new nation of Zambia.

We chat about how to tell this story she needed a rigid structure of planning and plotting, also how she backed up her thorough characters and huge ideas with plot, and how she wants this book to be remembered in hundreds of years.

There's also a top writing tip in there from one of the most successful crime authors working today, all about making friends. You can send your top tip over to writersroutine.com.

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Val McDermid is one of the most successful crime authors in the world. Her novels have been translated into 40 languages, they've sold over 15 million copies and show no sign of letting up. She has written procedural crime, cold-case crime, and even penned the first ever 'cynical, socialist, lesbian, feminist journalist'.

We talk about how her method of writing has changed over the course of 38 books, moving from heavy plotting to hardly plotting at all. Also we chat about how much she cares about her readers, and how she knows which of her characters will solve the crime currently swirling around her mind.

There's some of your writing tips, and one from another crime writer too. You can send your advice to the show over at writersroutine.com.

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C.L. Taylor has just released her 6th thriller 'Sleep', after having much success in psychological thriller over the last 10 years, even writing YA fiction too. We talk about how she works her story-telling around children, family life and Twitter.

Also, we talk about the busiest year of Cally's life, writing a book having just gone back to work, with a child, and a lot of words to crack through. She's also won a prize for the 'Most Unreliable Narrator Award', which I was VERY interested to learn about - you can hear why she thinks she won it during the chat. We learn how the idea for 'Sleep' came about, and why a slightly bored response from her editors sparked the story to life.

Fire over your tips and advice for us too, please!

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Although she's not a fan of the word, Sarah Pinborough is a prolific author. She's written over 20 books across a wide range of genres, always looking to keep interesting and varied. Her new book, 'Cross Her Heart' takes inspiration from a real-life crime, and tells the story of a group of women all trying to keep their past a secret. It's been called a 'feminist novel', and you can hear why Sarah revels in that description.

Also, we talk about her method of triple-writing, why her books have recently gained great success and how getting a dog has completely rejuvenated her writing day.

We'll get your writing tips on too, and hear from a Booker Prize nominee who wants you to take a walk.

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This week Adam Foulds shares his writer's routine. He's a Booker Prize nominee, being shortlisted for 'The Quickening Maze', and is now publishing his fifth novel, 'Dream Sequence' about an actor who becomes embroiled in a strange, twisted relationship. It's literary fiction, and we talk about why that genre pulls Adam's creativity in, and why he thinks different authors write in different styles.

Adam is also a poet, and discusses the difference between writing novels and poetry, and what it's like to wait for the lightning of an idea to strike. We talk about plotting through character, forcing inspiration and how he hopes to improve as a writer.

We'll get some of your writing tips on too, and a top bit of advice from Frank Cottrell-Boyce.

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