Shaun Bythell runs 'The Bookshop' in Wigtown, it's Scotland's largest second-hand bookshop, and is now incredibly popular. Back in 2017, Shaun published, 'The Diary of a Bookseller', a book filled with his daily experiences running the store. P

Jonny Sweet, author of 'The Kellerby Code' - Screenwriter and Author discusses jokes influencing novels, why guilt is useless, and dealing with praise

May 30th, 2024 45m 34s

Jonny Sweet won the 'Best Newcomer' Prize at the 2009 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, created a sketch group with 'The Inbetweeners' Simon Bird and Joe Thomas, and appeared in many TV Comedies, including 'Chickens' and 'Him and Her'. He wrote the mo

Kate Storey, author of 'The Memory Library' - Book Club author discusses why a change of genre means a change of name, whether outlining curbs creativity, and why she watches for jokes

May 23rd, 2024 45m 45s

Our special guest this week is Kate Storey. Under the name Lisa Timoney, she's published 3 books, 'Her Daughter's Secret', 'Her Mother's Lies' and 'His Secret Wife'... but a change of genre means a change of name.Kate's back with book club fict

Alina Khawaja, author of 'Maya's Laws of Love' - How to avoid tangents which block your ideas, dealing with rejections, and trying to get better

May 16th, 2024 48m 14s

After writing around 7 books and getting many rejections or near-misses, Alina Khawaja finally has a published novel. It's called 'Maya's Laws of Love', and tells the story of Maya on her way to Pakistan for an arranged marriage she hopes will

Samuel Burr, author of 'The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers' - Mystery writer talks about learning from making TV, spying for inspiration, and how the business actually works

May 9th, 2024 1h 1m

Samuel Burr has worked as a TV executive, creating shows like 'The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds', 'Eight Go Rallying', and 'The Secret Life of Cleaners'. Many years ago he worked on a documentary in a retirement home, now it's given him the basis

Caz Frear, author of 'Five Bad Deeds' - Thriller writer discusses the pressures of doing everything, getting into the right mindset, and making your day better

May 2nd, 2024 1h

Caz Frear was launched to debut success after winning the 'Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller' competition. Her novel, 'Sweet Little Lies', won the prize and found the bestselling status they searched for. What happens next? How do you fo

Chioma Okereke, author of 'Water Baby' - Poet and Author discusses writing without genre, changing how you plot, and performing poetry

Apr 25th, 2024 54m 16s

Chioma Okereke's writing career started as a performance poet, even though she was terrified of performing poetry. From there she wrote short fiction, and was a highly placed runner up in the Costa Short Story Award, for 'Trompette de la Mort'.

Paul Carlucci, author of 'The Voyageur' - Acclaimed author discusses moving from short stories to novels, by inspired by fact, and learning grammar

Apr 18th, 2024 57m 23s

Paul Carlucci has published 3 short story collections and works as a copywriter, making other peoples work read better. He's just released one of the most hotly anticipated debuts of the year, it's called 'The Voyageur'.It tells the story of Al

Kerry Andrew, author of 'We Are Together Because' - Award winning composer and writer discusses the search for the perfect word, imagining the worst, and finding what you really want

Apr 11th, 2024 54m 21s

Kerry Andrew is an all-round creative. As a composer, they've won 4 British Composer Awards, as a writer they've been nominated twice for the BBC National Short Story Award. Kerry has published 2 novels, 'Swansong', 'Skin', and is back with a t

Daisy Goodwin, author of 'Diva' - TV producer and screenwriter discusses thorough research, historical fiction, and creating legendary TV shows

Apr 4th, 2024 52m 10s

Daisy Goodwin has created some legendary television shows. She's the brains behind 'Grand Designs', 'Escape to the Country', and the historical drama, 'Victoria', based on Queen Victoria, which was sold in 146 countries.She's published poetry,

Max Moyer, author of 'Zodak - The Last Shielder' - Fantasy author talks world-building, stopping for 18 years, and why you don't need to be completely original

Mar 29th, 2024 51m 24s

One of the most frequent requests to writersroutine.com is for fantasy authors. World builders. Authors with the ability to take you on an adventure across times, dimensions and brand new maps.This week's guest, Max Moyer, has figured a way to

Mari Hannah, author of 'The Longest Goodbye' - Crime award-winner discusses planning across a series, her Murder Wall, and the book she never wanted to write

Mar 21st, 2024 43m 43s

Mari Hannah is a prolific writer. Over the last 12 years she's won the Northern Writer's Award, the Polari First Book Prize, the CWA Dagger in the Library Award, and Capital Crime's Crime Book of the Year. She's a series authors, publishing boo

Triona Campbell, author of 'The Traitor in the Game' - Young Adult writer talks moving countries to write, moving from TV to novels, and moving obstacles

Mar 15th, 2024 1h 5m

Triona Campbell worked as a TV producer and writer, creating many dramas and comedies for teens, and picking up 3 Emmy nominations. Through Lockdown (capital L?) she started writing a novel for teens... thus, a whole career change.Her debut, 'A

Yangsze Choo, author of 'The Fox Wife' - New York Times bestseller talks about streaming pressure, debut success, and how we think differently

Mar 8th, 2024 49m 32s

Yangsze Choo's debut novel 'The Ghost Bride', was released 10 years ago, and has been adapted by Netflix. Her follow-up 'The Night Tiger', was a BBC 2 'Between the Covers' pick, a Reese Witherspoon Book Pick, and was selected for the UK's Big J

Mandy Robotham, author of 'The Hidden Storyteller' - Historical Fiction writer discusses the rules of genre, needing a deadline, and stopping when it gets good

Mar 1st, 2024 51m 20s

Mandy Robotham has had many careers, and is busy. She's worked as a midwife, a journalist, and now is an author across genres. Her newest novel is 'The Hidden Storyteller', tells the story of reporter Georgie Young who, in 1946 returns to Germa

Caroline Dunford, author of 'The Augmentors' - Prolific writer discusses plotting over a series, switching genres, and reaching for the perfect novel

Feb 23rd, 2024 58m 9s

Caroline Dunford has published over 30 books across many genres. Her best loved is the 'Euphemia Martins' Mysteries', which solves crimes set one hundred years ago. Her latest release is 'The Augmentors', a Young Adult novel published under the

Orlando Murrin, author of 'Knife Skills for Beginners' - Chef, writer and all-round doer discusses the perfect keyboard, going on tangents, and why kitchens make the perfect place for murder

Feb 16th, 2024 52m 14s

Orlando Murrin has had many careers. In the early 90's he appeared on 'Masterchef', reaching the semi-final on a show watched by 12 million people. From then, he's worked as a chef and hotelier, written cookbooks, edited magazines, made podcast

Maura Cheeks, author of 'Acts of Forgiveness' - Debut writer discusses free-writing, how journalism affects novel-writing, and important stories

Feb 9th, 2024 47m 28s

This week we chat to Maura Cheeks, who has written pieces and columns all over the place, being featured in the New York Times, The Atlantic and the Harvard Business Review. Her debut novel is called 'Acts of Forgiveness', and is out on the 13t

Sarah Marsh, author of 'A Sign of Her Own' - Debut writer discusses finding the truth in history, taking 12 years to write a debut, and thorough research

Feb 2nd, 2024 29m 41s

This week, we're joined by Sarah Marsh. Her debut is 'A Sign of Her Own'. It tells the story of Ellen Lark, who discovers a side to Alexander Graham Bell, one of history's most famous figures, that few other people know. Sarah was shortlisted f

Rebecca Thorne, author of 'The Grief House' - Writing without a genre, how pseudonyms help switch between tasks, and a strictly-planned day

Jan 26th, 2024 58m 20s

Rebecca Thorne's new novel is 'The Grief House', it's about the ex-tarot reader Blue, who escapes to a grief retreat on a beautiful country estate. Only, when the weather closes in, and someone disappears in the night, Blue wonders whose grief

Helen Fisher, author of 'Joe Nuthin's Guide to Life' - Writer discusses the rocky road to publication, writing when you're not writing, and the plot road map

Jan 19th, 2024 55m 22s

Helen Fisher's debut, 'Space Hopper' was acclaimed as one of the most unique debuts of 2021, recommended by Cosmopolitan, Woman's Weekly', Marian Keyes, and many more, it looked set to launch her to a glittering career.Things weren't that simpl

Professor Emma Smith, author of 'Portable Magic: A History of Books and Their Readers' - Academic discusses commercial non-fiction, who Shakespeare really was, and why we can't throw books away

Jan 12th, 2024 57m 14s

Professor Emma Smith teaches Shakespeare Studies at the University of Oxford. She has published some academic non-fiction works before, but this is her first work of real commercial non-fiction. 'Portable Magic: A History of Books and Their Rea

D.V. Bishop, author of 'Ritual of Fire' - Historical fiction author talks his rules of writing, planning in the past, and tie-in novels

Jan 5th, 2024 1h 16m

Happy New Year! Let's start 2024 with a bumper episode from a fantastic historical fiction author. D.V Bishop has published 3 'Cesare Aldo' novels, and the 4th is on the way. He's won the CWA Historical Dagger Award, and his novels are highly c

Jane L. Rosen, author of 'On Fire Island' - Turning screenplays into novels, the balance of writing and promoting, and how to capture a sense of place

Dec 22nd, 2023 38m 4s

In our last episode of 2023, we chat to Jane L. Rosen, whose new boook 'On Fire Island' is out now. It’s all about Julia, a book lover that lives on Fire Island in New York, who… dies, and then we follow the different lives of those she loves,

Amanda Prowse, author of 'All Good Things' - Prolific bestseller discusses creating a universe of characters, completely pantsing and why creativity helps trauma

Dec 15th, 2023 47m 4s

Amanda Prowse has written over 30 books. Her newest is 'All Good Things', which tells the story of life-long neighbours, the Kelleways and the Harrops, who couldn’t be further apart. However, when they celebrate a big anniversary, huge secrets