Writer's Routine

Shen Tao, author of 'The Poet Empress' - Debut author discusses magical mystery, changing routines, and 9 failed manuscripts

Shen Tao has always wanted to be a writer. For as long as she can remember, she's had ideas, developed characters, and written stories. It took her 9 attempts, 9 manuscripts, to finally get it done. Her debut is 'The Poet Empress'. It's a Chinese historical fantasy, blended with a love story and a murder mystery. It tells the story of a young woman, who enters the Imperial Court as a concubine, and learns poetry-magic to try and kill the heir to the tale. We talk about how she pushed on, through the failed manuscripts, and had an idea she knew would be a winner. A winner it was, eventually being bought in a 6-way auction.You can hear why she's prepared to chuck words away, why she writes a '0th draft', and how her routine has changed since going full-time.We chat about the pressure of getting it right, her unique inspiration blending both Chinese and Western myths and stories, and Shen shares her strong font opinions.Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineRead the newsletter - writersroutine.substack.comSupport the show - patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Goodman, author of 'A Reluctant Spy' - Thriller writer discusses juggling projects, soft word-counts, and day-notes

David Goodman writes edge-of-your-seat spy thrillers. His debut, 'A Relucant Spy', was published in 2024. We follow Jamie Tulloch, a successful exec at a top tech company, who has a secret... he's part of the Legend Programme. It's a secret intelligence effort to help provide backstories for undercover agents. It's simple, real people, living real lives and are willing to hand over their identities for a few weeks to help a spy blend in. Yet, when Jamie gets a tap on the shoulder, and things go wrong... he needs to play himself well enough to save the world.It won the McDermid Debut Award at the Theakston Old Peculiar Harrogate Crime Writing Festival, also the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize, and was nominated for many more. He's publishing the second in the series, 'Solitary Agents', in June.David is at a really interesting time of his writing life. He's in between novels, had debut success, things are being optioned for TV, and whilst still busy with the day job, has been able to give up fridays for writing. We discuss how his writing life has changed now he's firmly in the publishing business. Also, why his 'day-notes' keeps the writing muscle going. You can hear about future writing plans, juggling projects, and waking up early.Get a copy of the book(s) - uk.bookshop.com/shop/writersroutineThis week's episode is sponsored by Philippa Hall's 'Quick Book Reviews Podcast', take a listen wherever you get your shows.Support the show -patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutineRead the newsletter - writersroutine.substack.com@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sam Sedgman, author of 'The Galileo Heist' - Children's author discusses finding magic in the real world, being confident with curiosity, and getting it finished

Sam Sedgman is a 'British Book Award' winning author, who writes fantastic adventure stories for children. He started co-writing with MG Leonard, who has also been a guest on this show, working on the 'Adventures on Trains' series. She was a published author, he was a train nerd, it worked perfectly. In the process they won and were nominated for many awards. Now, he's writing on his own.'The Galileo Heist' is the new novel in the 'Isaac Turner Investigates' series, which sees Isaac on a quest across Italy, to discover the wonder of light. Sam loves to take an interest, learn every strange fact he can about it, and then use it for a gripping adventure. In the series, he's explored time with 'The Clockwork Conspiracy', maps in 'The Forbidden Atlas', and now light in 'The Galileo Heist'. Sam has also published two non-fiction books - 'Epic Adventures' and 'Epic Cities'.You can hear why he struggles to get things finished, also how he managed moving from co-writing to solo-writing, and why he builds words around a quirk of numbers.If you know a child who needs to read more, you'd do well to introduce them to Sam's work. Get a copy - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineThis week's episode is sponsored by Philippa Hall's 'Quick Book Reviews' podcast. Take a listen wherever you've got this.Support the show - patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutineSubscribe to the newsletter - https://writersroutine.substack.com/@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sally-Anne Martyn, author of 'The Beauty Queen' - Creepy thriller writer discusses 5 am starts, trying to improve, and discovering the plot when the characters do

In this week's episode, we chat to creepy thriller writer Sally-Anne Martyn.Sally-Anne didn't grow up wanting to be a writer. She studied performing arts, working in film and TV, before working many different jobs in many different places, even a stint as a carer in one of England's last asylums. In her 40's, she had the epiphany that perhaps writing had always been waiting for her. She took that realisation very seriously, enrolling on writing courses, and life-coaching seminars, all to try and make her dream of being published come true. When it finally happened, she was shocked at how quickly the realities of being a writer set in. You can hear all about that in the chat.She's published 'The Clinic', 'The Home', and her new novel is 'The Beauty Queen'. It's all about the journalist Zoe Kincade, who arrives in the rundown seaside town of Sunshine Sands to report on the local talent show. Within moments, it brings up memories of her sister, and the last place she was seen alive, when she was also crowned Miss Sunshine Sands.We discuss dark thrillers, and how she's always improving her routine. You can hear why Sally-Anne is envious of old-school writers, how different jobs have influenced her novel ideas, and why she's a member of the 5am club.Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineThis week's episode is sponsored by 'Whale Cemetery', the 12th instalment in the 'DCI Finnegan Yorkshire Crime Thriller' series by Ely North. Get a free book here - https://elynorthcrimefiction.com/Support the show - patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutineSubscribe to the newsletter - writersroutine.substack.com@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Georgie Codd, author of 'Never Had a Dad' - Memoir writer discusses making people care, planning an adventure, and finding a father figure

Georgie Codd is a writer of all-sorts. She's dabbled in fiction, written for publications, created the 'BookBound' literary festival, and now focuses on narrative non-fiction.Her first book, 'We Swim to the Shark', came out in 2020, and followed Georgie’s quest to overcome her deepest fears by crossing the planet, learning to scuba dive, and attempting to swim with the largest fish in the world: an adult whale shark. She's followed it up with 'Never Had a Dad', which sees Georgie advertise for a father figure. It was inspired by a strange meeting with an older man on holiday with her mum. We talk about how she expanded on that idea, and how much she can plan and plot an adventure memoir.You can hear about the differences in the process of fiction and narrative non-fiction, and how she decides what her next adventure should be. We chat about how she makes a reader care, being trained to write prose fiction, and how she works on the go whilst being easily distracted.Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineThis week's podcast is sponsored by 'Whale Cemetery: Murder On A Smuggler's Tide', the new book in the 'DCI Finnegan Yorkshire Crime Thriller' series by Ely North. Find out more and get a free book at elynorthcrimefiction.comSupport the show -patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutineSubscribe to our newsletter - writersroutine.substack.com@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.