The Worm Hole Podcast: Recent Episodes
Charlie Place
Join me each second and fourth Monday of the month, when I'll be in conversation with an author about one (occasionally more) of their books. We'll be taking a fairly deep dive, looking at the background, the topics, writing, and the nitty gritty. Expect some spoilers and frequent discussions of the endings.
This podcast is part of The Worm Hole book blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com
Follow The Worm Hole on Twitter: @Carnelianvalley
Charlie and Phoenicia Rogerson (Aphrodite) discuss the latter's mythological comedy, an incredibly unique book about the Greek goddess of love which sports an ensemble cast of many narrators in an Ancient Greek theatre fashion, a variety of different modes and effective mediums of writing including interrupting footnotes, and more sexual references than Zeus himself could produce.
Please note that this episode includes necessary mentions of mythological regular and sexual violence and swearing.
General references: Pausanius says in his Description of Greece, chapter 19.2: "Now the shape of it is square, like that of the Hermae, and the inscription declares that the Heavenly Aphrodite is the oldest of those called Fates." Disney's Hercules
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Bram Stoker: Dracula Phoenicia Rogerson: Herc Phoenicia Rogerson: Aphrodite Suzanne Collins: The Hunger Games
Release details: recorded 12th September 2025; published 22nd December 2025
Where to find Phoenicia online: Website || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:41 Why Aphrodite? Changes made, and the Fates 07:01 Phoenicia's interesting writing style for her book, full of slang 09:47 Phoenicia's version of Zeus 12:25 The importance of humans in the mythology, how the gods rely on them, and how it's humanity who creates and furthers the story 16:14 Starting to discuss the different narratives and continuing on with the importance of humans to mythological stories 21:22 Phoenicia's favourite mythological character 22:37 Changing Cadmus' story to include dragons rather than serpents 23:57 The different written styles and multi-media writing Phoenicia uses, starting with the paragraph of one repeated word, and continuing on with the footnotes before talking about the way she allows reader interpretation 33:56 The chapter that is simply a list of the dead 36:34 The choice on when to change narrators 37:56 How the novel was planned 39:58 Did Phoenicia consider bringing her version of Prometheus back? 45:23 The ending, moving from Greek gods to Roman gods, in particular Aphrodite 47:03 Talking book cover knitwear 48:53 Brief notes about Phoenicia's next book
Charlie and Elodie Harper (Boudicca's Daughter) discuss the Iceni women history didn't deem important enough to give us names for, working with morally grey relationships for which there are no answers, and, in all this context, Ancient Britain and Ancient Rome.
Please note that there is mention of rape and violence in this episode.
General References: Butser Ancient Farm
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Elodie Harper: The Wolf Den trilogy Elodie Harper: Boudicca's Daughter
Release details: recorded 27th August 2025; published 8th December 2025
Where to find Elodie online: Website || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:28 Why Elodie wrote about Boudicca's daughters; how Elodie approached the story in terms of responsibility; and the basics of the history that is known 09:04 Working with and including ancient texts that talk about Boudicca 11:05 Weaving Solina's almost completely fictional and Paulinus' somewhat factual stories together 15:19 Solina and Paulinus' mirrored experiences and the importance Elodie placed on Solina being both a cultural victim and aggressor 18:40 Solina and Paulinus are both from non-Roman cultures - Iceni and Etruscan; and Paulinus' Etruscan goddess, Nortia 21:35 Elodie's choice to kill off Solina's younger sister 25:15 Paulinus' decision not to tell Solina, effectively until the end of the book, about the brooch she left in Britain 27:18 Was it important that Solina stayed in Rome at the end? 31:15 Senovara, the Easter egg from Elodie's The Wolf Den trilogy, and Pliny, who Elodie had already written about in that trilogy, written in Boudicca's Daughter from a different perspective 36:55 Elodie's choices for Nero's wife, Poppaea 38:56 The sold slave, Ressona - what does Elodie think happened to her 39:53 Especially given Elodie's choices in terms of morally grey aspects, how does she hope readers will view the story? 42:11 Very brief notes on Elodie's next book (at the time of recording she wasn't allowed to say)
Photo credit: Paula Majid
Charlie and Juhea Kim (A Love Story From The End Of The World) discuss Juhea's fantastic largely environmental and philosophical short story collection. This is a book that looks at the problems with our present as well as the possible futures that may result from them.
General references: Rocky Groundhog Day In The Mood For Love Kpop Demon Hunters
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Dante Alighieri: The Divine Comedy Juhea Kim: A Love Story From The End Of The World Juhea Kim: the Divine Comedy Mikhail Bulgakov: The Master And The Margarita
Release details: recorded 29th August 2025; published 24th November 2025
Where to find Juhea online: Website || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:25 The ordering of the stories in A Love Story From The End Of The World. We then go on to discuss the last story in the book and environmentalism 05:56 Looking at the theme of time and using metaphors 12:59 The ending of the first story, Biodome, the film adaptations, and the way Juhea ends her stories on a more general scale 19:45 Notting Hill (the story in the second person) and Juhea's writing of that point of view 24:07 The story Mountain Island and its themes of consumerism and pop idols 29:05 The philosophy, the question of god, in the stories as per two quotes from Juhea's book 37:14 What Juhea is writing now, a novel called The Divine Comedy
Photo credit: Nola Logan
Charlie and Clémence Michallon (Our Last Resort) discuss Clémence's epic multi-thousand-a-day writing streak and how she cuts sentences that don't work, often not replacing them, also Charlie's discomfort with the idea of the morally grey aspect of the novel and Clémence's thoughts that we think of morality in the context of the book/show, and fictional pets staying alive beyond the pages.
Please note that the book under discussion is about a murder.
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Clémence Michallon: The Quiet Tenant Clémence Michallon: Our last Resort Tyler Keevil: Your Still Beating Heart
Release details: recorded 8th August 2025; published 10th November 2025
Where to find Clémence online: Website || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:51 All about the title itself - Our Last Resort 04:07 The inspiration for the book 08:59 Talking about narratives and perspectives, which includes Clémence noting her previous book, The Quiet Tenant 11:41 The importance of using and including detail about the cult that is a part of Our Last Resort's in-the-past timeline 14:09 Did Clémence always known that Frida would be the person who'd committed the original murder? And how Clémence completely redrafted her novel 19:36 Clémence's use of italic text for particular categories of Frida's thoughts 22:38 Clémence likes the second person! 24:03 Clémence's chapter headings - the X day, and, in the past narrative X years ago 27:58 The effective themes of family and siblings in the book, including in the cult 32:34 What can we see happening in Frida and Gabriel's futures? 36:02 ...And then we discuss what might happen to Frida's dog beyond the last pages and get into a discussion on pets and death in fiction 39:25 Annie and the morally grey questions Charlie has about that character's choices 46:04 Joan, the local retail employee who becomes the first non-cult person Frida and Gabriel meet and who we find out later was killed off the page 47:18 Both of Clémence's books are being adapted for television! 48:21 Asking Clémence about how she goes about cutting sentences that don't work, as per Charlie's research 52:19 What Clémence is writing now
Photo credit: Gabrielle Malewski
Charlie and Nikki May (This Motherless Land) discuss her childhood in Lagos and moving to England, various ways Nikki's story changed over time (quite a lot!), the Nigerian women's relay team of 1992, and the upcoming TV adaptations of both This Motherless Land and Wahala.
Please note that there is some swearing in this episode.
General references: About the Nigerian Women's Relay team win at the 1992 Olympics Rocks (2019) Nikki made the shortlist of the Nigerian Prize for Literature
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Enid Blyton: The Famous Five (series) Jane Austen: Pride And Prejudice Jane Austen: Emma Jane Austen: Mansfield Park Nikki May: Wahala Nikki May: This Motherless Land
Release details: recorded 29th July 2025; published 27th October 2025
Where to find Nikki online: Website || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:50 Being inspired by Jane Austen and Mansfield Park and introducing the way that the book is inspired by Nikki's own life 05:27 Expanding on how this book is inspired by Nikki's childhood in Lagos, Nigeria, and later move to England 08:52 About Nikki's brother, to whom This Motherless Land is dedicated 09:56 Talking about the Ikoyi club in Nigeria Nikki's family was a part of 11:03 The story changed so much during the writing! We discuss a few different areas - Liv, romance, JoJo 16:10 Somewhat like Funke, Nikki changed her name when she moved to England. We also discuss switching between Nigerian English and British English 20:33 Funke's father's grief 23:42 Brief discussion on how Jane Austen's sister couldn't attend her funeral 24:53 Easter eggs - carnation milk, and differences with food between the nations in this context 27:39 Could Liv have been believed about Kate? 29:27 The story beyond the pages and brief info about both This Mother Land's and Wahala's TV adaptations 33:40 Making each book different 35:30 What Nikki is writing at the moment; discussing ageism and the difference between men and women in that context 39:53 About Billy the parrot 41:06 Nikki's dogs and doing a combined dog and plot walk
Charlie and Jim C Hines (Kitemaster) discuss how his story developed over a number of years, including wonder and physics reasoning in the book, his excellent study of grief (and humour in that context), and his unique and choices in regards to the book world's belief system of an afterlife.
Please note there is some very mild swearing in this episode, as well as discussions of cancer and death. Please also note, on a very different subject, that there are spoilers for The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe as well as Serenity (Firefly) and, sort of, for Star Wars: A New Hope. I doubt anyone but me will mind, but I'm including the info regardless.
General references: Cancelled Fable Legends game Jim's link-to-all-posts on his poses as women on the covers of fantasy books Jim's post about the physics of the kiteships 17 Again
Books mentioned by name or extensively: C S Lewis: The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe Jim C Hines: Slayer Of Old (referenced as Unchosen Ones) Jim C Hines: Kitemaster Jim C Hines: Fable: Blood Of Heroes Jim C Hines: Magic Ex Libris (series) Jim C Hines: Goblin Quest
Release details: recorded 23rd June 2025; published 13th October 2025
Where to find Jim online: Website || Instagram || Facebook
Where to find Charlie online: Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
02:03 Struggling to come up with Kitemaster's summary 02:33 Selling the book 04:27 The parts of Kitemaster that have remained over the time Jim had been writing the story 06:44 Jim's work on the physics of how the kiteships would work 09:38 The grief in the book 13:35 Including Ossa, Nial's grandmother, who accompanies her in the form of a spirit kite, and discussions of how she would be the sum of her entire life's personalities and ages 21:11 Vikaan and Xao 26:02 Working with the cloud sky serpents and dragons, the god-like nature of the latter 28:36 World building 33:27 Everyone holds Nial's wrist! 35:25 Working with humour when you've got a theme of grief 41:38 The fictional old oral history texts Jim includes 42:58 The importance of Jim's characters to him 46:02 Queen Kavaya's thread conclusion 47:39 Could there be other stories in this world? 49:17 Jim's next book, now called Slayers Of Old
Charlie and Julie Kagawa (Fateless) discuss video games, working with fate and destiny, Julie's brilliant world building and magic system, and the decisions she made about where to end the book.
General references: Charlie and Julie's pre-show chat (which is the reason Charlie knows Julie meant Final Fantasy X) My episode with Samantha Sotto Yambao is 122
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Julie Kagawa: The Iron Fey Julie Kagawa: The Blood Of Eden Julie Kagawa: Talon
Games mentioned: Assassin's Creed D&D Final Fantasy X Final Fantasy X-2 Guild Wars 2 Hitman Prince Of Persia Splinter Cell Tomb Raider
Release details: recorded 19th May 2025; published 22nd September 2025
Where to find Julie online: Website || Instagram || Facebook || YouTube (Minecraft channel)
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:35 The video game inspirations (this becomes a longer discussion) 06:09 Writing the main characters 09:36 The fatechasers as a people 11:38 Working with an ensemble cast of characters 14:34 How Julie came to choose when to reveal the details of being fateless to the character 16:39 Writing the slow burn romance 18:56 Julie's awesome world building and unique magic system 22:22 Raithe's world and what we might learn about it in book two 24:07 Kovass' religion and how Julie worked with different sects of it 27:33 On Julie's decisions as to killing characters off 29:45 Choosing where to end this book 32:29 More about book two
Charlie and Maggie Stiefvater (The Listeners) discuss the lesser-known history of the US hosting Axis diplomats in luxury hotels, the arrangements made to swap diplomats one for one, including disability and mental illness in such a story, Maggie's main character's dachshunds and their relationship to the man they never let pet them, the era-aligned game that Maggie created, and much more.
General references: Shiver (film adaptation) Charlie's conversation with Elaine Chiew is episode 111 Amelie Big Fish
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Maggie Stiefvater: Shiver Maggie Stiefvater: The Scorpio Races Maggie Stiefvater: The Raven Cycle Maggie Stiefvater: The Listeners
Release details: recorded 1st May 2025; published 8th September 2025
Where to find Maggie online: Website || Instagram || Facebook || TikTok
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
00:01:41 How the book started 00:08:01 The history and hotels in terms of Maggie's interest. Lots of info here! 00:13:08 How Maggie created the characters; whether there's been a change in her process of 'thieving' 00:16:30 Creating June and her role as 'Hoss' 00:20:51 June and Tucker together and in the context of the sweetwater 00:25:43 Are the sweetwater or Avalon hotel characters? 00:28:57 The letters Maggie bookends the story with, and then we move on to Pennybacker and the dachshunds and Edgar 00:38:12 411 00:41:18 Disability and labels in the book, including Sandy and Maggie's decisions in regards to his story thread 00:50:04 Edgar beyond the pages 00:51:55 The arrangements during WW2 where diplomats were exchanged between the powers 00:57:49 What did Pennybacker have to say about the Swiss that he said he'd tell June? 00:59:11 The game of Winnet! 01:03:46 Present news about the Shiver film adaptation 01:04:39 Brief info on what Maggie's next adult novel
Photo credit: Stephen Voss
Charlie and Emily Slapper (Everyone I Know Is Dying) discuss her phenomenal book that looks at a young woman spiralling from mental illness. This involves discussing romantic relationships when one is depressed, the affect of parents, the affect of society, and not using labels.
General references: I spoke to Samantha Sotto Yambao in episode 122
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Emily Slapper: Everyone I Know Is Dying Sylvia Plath: The Bell Jar
Release details: recorded 16th April 2025; published 25th August 2025
Where to find Emily online: Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:25 The inspiration, films that only scratched the surface 03:25 Emily's surprising answer to the question of what research she did 04:14 Talking of the nod to The Bell Jar 04:41 And to the question as to Emily's books in a drawer, and about Emily's original career plan 07:02 The first line and responses to Iris as a character 10:01 On not labelling Iris 11:10 The importance of writing fiction about mental illness 12:39 Including discussion on how society affects us 14:48 George and his role 18:00 Patrick and his role 20:24 The impact of Iris' parents and upbringing on her 24:44 Emily's choices as to the ending 28:30 How should we feel about Sara? 31:50 On privilege or the lack of it 33:05 Patrick's life beyond the book 34:58 The way Emily incorporates the passing of seasons 38:28 Emily's second book
Charlie and Michael Stewart (Black Wood Women) discuss the persecution of Irish people in the 17th century, the loss of and possible reintroduction of wolves in Britain, and 17th century hippies.
Please note that there is discussion of drugs in this episode.
General references: The Bronte Writing Centre
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Elizabeth Fremantle: Honey And The Sting Ian D Rotherham: Yorkshire's Forgotten Fenlands Michael Stewart: King Crow Michael Stewart: Walking The Invisible Michael Stewart: Black Wood Women Michael Stewart: Surrounded By My Enemy Stacey Thomas: The Revels
Release details: recorded 14th April 2025; published 11th August 2025
Where to find Michael online: Website || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:25 The inspiration for Black Wood Women. We continue on the subject of wolves and their loss and reintroduction 06:50 What having three narratives allowed Michael to explore 08:29 The persecution of Irish people in the 1600s 11:08 Michael talks about the 1600s communities that we might today call hippy 16:14 World building, making it all so real 19:19 The language of the novel - a mix, Charlie found, of old and new 21:54 On Michael's witches taking substances 23:52 Michael's interest in ravens 29:14 The men, particularly Johanne the Swedish wolf hunter who Charlie reckons is more witch than anything else 34:53 Was the questioning in Black Wood Women of what was going on with witch accusers drawn from the history? 39:31 More about Alice 42:16 About the ecology in the book and how this relates to our present day 45:28 Is it difficult writing such a dark book? 50:19 What Michael's writing now, Surrounded By My Enemies
Charlie and Paul McVeigh (I Hear You) discuss Paul's time writing stories for the BBC, being an emotional writer, and a traumatic medical experience that has had a big effect on some of his work.
Please note there are two incredibly mild swear words in this episode.
General references: BBC Writers Room, now BBC Writers Paul's play is called Big Man Paul's blog post about tips from Heather Larmour
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Kit de Waal: My Name Is Leon Kit de Waal (ed.): Common People Paul McVeigh: The Good Son Paul McVeigh: I Hear You Paul McVeigh (ed.) The 32 Paul McVeigh (ed.) Queer Love Sarah Butler: Ten Things I’ve Learnt About Love Sinéad Gleeson (ed.) The Art Of The Glimpse Wendy Erskine: Sweet Home Wendy Erskine: Dance Move
Release details: recorded 7th April 2025; published 28th July 2025
Where to find Paul online: Website || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:28 Paul talks about being commissioned by the BBC to write the short stories now featured in I Hear You, as well as his success in doing so 07:03 Why publish these short stories in a collection now? 13:01 Did Paul's working class background have an affect on the resilience he's discussed? 16:37 The first story, Tickles. We also talk about Paul being an emotional writer 26:01 The second story, Cuckoo, which is heavily influenced by an operation Paul had 32:45 About the 10 linked stories, The Circus 38:23 Paul tells us about the short story collection he's currently writing
Charlie and Sophie Jo (Red Flags) discuss healthy relationships particularly in the context of young people and in terms of values and hobbies. They also delve into popular media from the '90s and 2000s as included in Sophie's book.
General references: Love Respect 10 Things I Hate About You How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days The OC Girls Normal People TV adaptation
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Sally Rooney: Conversations With Friends Sally Rooney: Normal People Sophie Jo: Red Flags
Release details: recorded 17th March 2025; published 14th July 2025
Where to find Sophie online: Website || Instagram || Facebook || TikTok
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:35 The inspiration for Red Flags 04:10 More about Stephanie 08:34 Is there a sequel for Stephanie in Sophie's future? 10:54 Creating Poppy and Cam, who Charlie found were extremely well written 13:56 Sophie tells us about her work helping teens know what about healthy love looks like 17:58 The popular media references in the book from the 1990s and 2000s 20:39 The scene in the bookstore, the meta aspect to Red Flags 23:12 Talking more about relationships where people might not have interests in common 25:08 Cam's parents and their affects on his views of relationships and so on 28:55 Talking about the characters we haven't yet talked about 31:13 Cam's granddad 33:01 Where might Poppy and Cam end up in the future? 35:59 What the response has been from teen readers 37:23 Some details about Sophie's next book
Charlie and Carmel Harrington (The Stolen Child) discuss her stunning thriller wherein the reveal is given at the start and we have to find out the how and the why, a boy stolen as a child and now he's found his way home...
Please note we mention abuse, kidnapping, and prostitution.
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Carmel Harrington: The Stolen Child Carmel Harrington: The Nowhere Girls J R R Tolkien: The Lord Of The Rings
Release details: recorded 17th February 2025; published 23rd June 2025
Where to find Carmel online: Website || Instagram || Facebook
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:33 The inspiration for The Stolen Child 04:43 Carmel's research 06:18 Planning and plotting 10:37 On giving the answers up front and working with everything else after doing that 13:00 Exploring DNA tests 14:13 Creating the characters 21:02 More about Kimberley's father-in-law, Kevin 23:08 The locations - why them and why have four? 25:55 The prostitution storylines 28:47 On Sally not going back to the orphanage but being able to talk to Sister Jones 31:28 Ian, the exploitative abuser 44:37 On not dobbing Kimberley to the police 50:49 Was it difficult getting these characters out of your head after you'd finished the book? 52:11 Watering plants with pasta water?! 53:02 What Carmel is working on now
Photo credit: Patrick Browne Photography
Charlie and Samantha Sotto Yambao (Water Moon) discuss her UK debut - yay! - exploring the concepts of fate and choice, the process of evolving the romance, and, we catch up on the lives of Sam's dogs.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: Ticket link for the podcast live events Sam joined me to discuss The Beginning of Always in episode 50 Sam joined me to discuss Before Ever After, Love and Gravity, and A Dream of Trees in episode 5
Books mentioned by name or extensively: David and Leigh Eddings: The Belgariad J R R Tolkien: Return Of The King Samantha Sotto: Before Ever After Samantha Sotto: Love And Gravity Samantha Sotto: A Dream Of Trees Samantha Sotto Yambao: Water Moon
Release details: recorded 11th February 2025; published 9th June 2025
Where to find Sam online: Website || Facebook || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
03:38 This being Sam's UK debut; how it came about 07:32 The inspirations - Ninenzaka in Kyoto 10:28 Expanding on the pawnshop concept in terms of Water Moon's look at fate and choice 12:56 Sam's interest in putting science and fantasy and magical realism together 15:07 Neutrinos! 17:24 When in the process do you research? 19:01 Creating Hana 23:05 Writing about the loss of mothers 25:40 The romance in terms of when Keishin was included 31:19 The bad guys of the book 34:05 All about the ending and Sam's choices 37:17 Charlie brings in Death of the Author 41:06 Doctor Who references 42:19 What's next? 43:03 Asking about Sam's dogs who have made appearances in our previous episodes
Charlie and Amy Jordan (The Dark Hours) discuss the Irish police force, the Garda, in the 1990s, particularly where it involves sexism. They also discuss the effects on a relationship of being a member of the police, and the way trauma can influence extreme actions.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: The New York Times review (paywall)
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Amy Jordan: The Dark Hours
Release details: recorded 14th January 2025; published 12th May 2025
Where to find Amy online: Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:31 The inspiration 03:19 Writing Julia and exploring the effects of what she's been through 09:21 Exploring trauma and its effects 14:22 The pacing 18:49 More about how Amy included Julia's husband and what he goes through as a result of her career, which includes talking about people Amy knows 23:26 Where Julia says, "Call me Julia" 25:22 The misogyny and the Garda in general in the 1990s 32:36 Brendon and his Morse Code 35:08 Creating the fictional villages, and Amy's spooky story of a real house 38:33 Minor details of book 2, including where Amy will take Julia and Philip's relationship
Charlie and Amy Engel (I Did It For You) discuss her literary thriller wherein the killer did it but it isn't that simple, wherein both the victim's and killer's families are given empathy, and wherein the sister of the victim and the brother of the killer start a romance.
Please note that whilst there are no references to detailed violence, this episode looks at various issues surrounding murder cases.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: It was indeed Elmore Leonard who said, "You take out the parts that people skip when they're reading". This link has more information.
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Amy Engel: The Familiar Dark Amy Engel: I Did It For You
Release details: recorded 17th December 2024; published 28th April 2025
Where to find Amy online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || Facebook
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:15 The inspiration - location and character 02:37 Creating Greer 04:50 Creating Ludlow and the well-drawn townspeople 07:53 How Amy works with secrets and reveals 09:24 How was it writing Greer in terms of her being an unreliable narrator? 11:10 The different extra narratives 12:33 Roy, the killer's, difference, his potential neurodivergence, and the importance of looking at this 15:41 Did you ever consider not having Roy 'do' it? 17:33 The grief in the book, including a look at the different sets of parents 19:46 Including Dean and humanising the family of the murderer 22:30 Amy tells us more about how her career in law influenced her writing 24:35 The slower pacing, which isn't so usual for a thriller, and how Amy categorises her novels. We then move on to what Amy added to the novel in editing 27:59 Amy's thought process and planning in regards to the bad guy (different person to the killer) 34:03 Amy deciding to end Greer and Dean's romance 36:29 Where Greer and Dean may end up, separately, beyond the pages of the book. We then move on to Greer's parents in the same vein 39:03 What Amy is writing and planning now
Charlie and Nydia Hetherington (Sycorax) discuss the witch Shakespeare's Prospero hates so much and Nydia's reimagining slash prequel to The Tempest. This involves conversation about chronic illness, attitudes to women in regards to the occult, and on a seemingly unrelated subject, the tendency of pirates to leave problematic people on isolated islands.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: W H Auden: The Sea And The Mirror
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Libby Colman: Trixie - The Childhood Of Sycorax, Witch Of Algiers Margaret Atwood: Hag-Seed Marina Warner: Indigo Nydia Hetherington: A Girl Made Of Air Nydia Hetherington: Sycorax Tad Williams: Caliban's Hour William Shakespeare: The Tempest
Release details: recorded 4th December 2024; published 14th April 2025
Where to find Nydia online: Website || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:20 The initial inspirations - theatre and Nydia's chronic condition 10:23 Research and inspirations in regards to other adaptations 12:58 More on Nydia's dedication to Shakespearean writing 13:58 Disability and women being witches put together 20:01 The good women in the book, Yemma and Zari 24:11 Including Barbarossa the pirate and the way pirates left criminals isolated 28:26 Afalkey the Beautiful and charming men 30:05 The role the Crow plays 32:48 What Nydia is writing at the moment 34:30 Nydia's William Blake novel she mentioned earlier
Charlie and Gill Paul (Scandalous Women) discuss Jackie Collins, Jacqueline Susann, and the way the 1960s publishing industry treated women.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: My other episodes with Gill are 42 and 86 The Love Machine (movie) Some of Richard Osman's words on the subject can be found here Once Upon A Time In America Lady Boss trailer Mad Men Feud: Capote Vs His Swans Cold Blooded: The Clutter Family Murders I spoke to Èric Chacour in episode 115 The three books with a Mira in them were Eliza Chan's Fathomfolk, Èric Chacour's What I Know About You, and Rebecca Yarros' Fourth Wing
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Dale Carnegie: How To Win Friends And Influence People Gill Paul: Another Woman's Husband Gill Paul: The Second Marriage (Jackie And Maria) Gill Paul: A Beautiful Rival Gill Paul: Scandalous Women Helen Gurley Brown: Sex And The Single Girl Ian McEwan: On Chesil Beach Jackie Collins: The World Is Full Of Married Men Jacqueline Susann: Valley Of The Dolls Jacqueline Susann: The Love Machine Letty Cottin Pogrebin: How To Make It In A Man's World Truman Capote: In Cold Blood
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: recorded 11th October 2024; published 24th March 2025
Where to find Gill online: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram || TikTok
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:23 Why these women and why now? 03:02 More about Jacqueline Susann and Jackie Collins 04:15 Jacqueline Susann's screen work 05:58 On Gill's having Jacqueline Susann and Jackie Collins meet and support each other 09:06 The murder of Sharon Tate 10:29 Jacqueline's illness and bargaining with God 14:22 About Jackie Collins' marriages 17:28 Creating the fictional character, Nancy 20:55 More on Nancy in regards to the historical misogyny 26:19 Gill's fictional Truman Capote interview and the real stories including the facts behind Capote's In Cold Blood 31:06 Jacqueline Susann's keeping up to date with booksellers' lives 33:31 Nancy's relationships with Stephen and George 35:52 The Cousin, Louise, the drugs and trafficking 37:18 Gill's writing style and how it aligns with Scandalous Women 39:28 Including a small nod to A Beautiful Rival and how Gill includes these in her books in general 41:45 What Gill is writing now
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Charlie and C J Wray (The Excitements) discuss the WW2 women her book about fun-loving nonagenarians is based on and her views on modern and historical adoption as an adoptee herself. We also discuss the Peter Jones (John Lewis) department store, using Morse Code, and Diamond Doris, a jewel-thief who got away with quite a bit.
Please note there are a couple of mild swear words in this episode. Please also note we talk of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry which is commonly shortened to FANY.
A transcript is available on my site
Tickets to my live show of Friday 4th April can be bought here Sign up to the Author's Afterword newsletter here
General references: William Ernest Henley's Invictus poem Long Lost Family The Yoga teacher Chris mentions is Dorothea Barron. It isn't the same lady Charlie mentions, and unfortunately Charlie has been unable to find out who that was.
Books mentioned by name or extensively: C J Wray: The Excitements C J Wray: Bad Influence Christian Lamb (with Chris): Beyond The Sea, A Wren At War Don Marquis: Archy and Mehitabel Pam and Jean Owtram (with Chris): Codebreaking Sisters Stella Knightley: The Girl Behind The Mask Stella Knightley: The Girl Behind The Fan Stella Knightley: The Girl Behind The Curtain W E Fairbairn's book: Hands Off! Self Defense For Women And Girls
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: recorded 26th September 2024; published 10th March 2025
Where to find Chris online: Website (as C J Wray) || Website (Chrissie Manby) || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
02:05 About Pat and Jean Owtram, the two sisters who inspired The Excitements 04:04 About the inspiration for Penny's stealing, Diamond Doris 07:25 Using the Peter Jones department store 09:05 All about Archie 10:20 Toujours gai! 11:43 How Chris went about the writing itself 14:13 The Invictus poem and Fairbairn book 16:53 Chris' use of Morse Code 19:16 Davinia and Sister Eugenia, and we then move on to Arlene 22:52 Chris talks about adoptions both historical and modern and her views on it as an adoptee herself 28:20 Did Chris consider having Penny and Josephine defeat the gunman? 29:03 Frank's choice not to send Penny back to into the field 31:59 About Chris' next book, Bad Influence 34:51 Chris once wrote a 90,000 page book in 2 months!
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Charlie is joined by Alex Hay, Lucy Barker, Stacey Thomas, and a wonderful audience at Goldfinch Books in Alton. You want a writing deep dive? You've got it!
Please note that this episode has a whispered swear word in it - we were all adults!
The next live event will be at P&G Wells in Winchester on Friday 4th April. Tickets are available here If you can't click the link, go to pgwells.co.uk
Full show notes and a transcript to follow shortly.
The video of the main conversation is on YouTube here
Charlie and Maggie Brookes (The Prisoner's Wife) discuss her stunning story which was inspired by a real happening - a woman who hid in plain sight as a British soldier in a prisoner of war camp.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: Maggie's previous episode with me is episode 92 Now The War Is Over Time Watch All Our Working Lives The Sphinx, Maggie's poem version of The Prisoner's Wife Colditz The party episode with Maggie is Milestone 01 (also with Elizabeth Fremantle, Gill Paul, and Amanda Geard)
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre Maggie Brookes: The Prisoner's Wife Maggie Brookes-Butt: Wish John Nichol and Tony Rennell: The Last Escape
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: recorded 23rd September 2024; published 24th February 2025
Where to find Maggie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:29 The inspiration - a woman who hid as a man in a Nazi prisoner of war camp and how real it might be 09:49 How Maggie's work as a BBC producer helped her write The Prisoner's Wife 11:49 How the book started as a poem and then Maggie's journey to Czechia to do research into the Long March 20:19 The inspiration of Maggie's father, a prisoner of war who never spoke about his experience 26:58 What Maggie cut from the novel 28:52 Izzy's character development, language progression, and 'Algernon Cousins' 34:38 Adding in Bill's chapters later 36:53 Ralph and his fate being left open 41:24 Scotty's character and his sacrifice 43:28 The real Rosa Rauchbach and her lover 44:32 What are you writing now?
Photo credit: Lyn Gregory
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Charlie and Éric Chacour (What I Know About You) discuss Egypt in the 1970s for the Levantine community and LGBT people, the famous French-Egyptian singer Dalida, Romeo and Juliet, Éric's use of the second person, and author and translator working together on writing that had been in place for 15 years.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: Dalida's Helwa ya Baladi
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Éric Chacour: What I Know About You
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: recorded 20th September 2024; published 10th February 2025
Where to find Éric online: Facebook || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
02:09 Éric's initial inspiration, Romeo and Juliet, for What I Know About You (he'd been writing the book for years) 05:18 The writing itself, including the use of the second person (Charlie has pointed out Éric's dedication to syllables and language) and the translation 10:31 The political backdrop, the use of it, and the decades chosen 13:29 The time period in terms of the LGBT community and Tarek's choices in that context 14:55 Entangled protons and love 16:25 Could Tarek have stayed with his family? 18:24 More on reader's interpretations and reactions 20:53 Nesrine and Mira and their importance 26:35 The servant, Fatheya 29:16 Talking of the impossibility of another point of view and the ending 31:20 Éric tells us why he included Vivienne 33:11 More about theatrical inspirations, and then we get on to how Éric wanted to be a songwriter 37:44 Dalida 39:22 Should we blame the grandmother? 41:54 Reality and fiction in terms of Rafik's narrative owing much to imagination and interpretation 45:41 What's next?
Photo credit: Justine Latour
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Charlie and Edward Carey (Edith Holler) talk at length about the arts and the theatre in the context of his book and in general. They also talk about Norwich as Edward's book is his love letter to the city.
Please note there is a mild swear word in this episode.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: Edward's previous episode on this podcast is number 52 Wikipedia's article on Norwich Robert Louis Stevenson's essay on toy theatres is called A Penny Plain And Twopence Coloured and is available on Project Gutenberg The downloadable theatre on Edward's website (scroll down, on the left) Luigi Pirandello's Six Characters In Search Of An Author My episode with Melissa Fu is number 59
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Edward Carey: Edith Holler Gaston Le Roux: The Phantom Of The Opera Jeanette Winterson: The Passion Julian Of Norwich: Revelations Of Divine Love Robert Louis Stevenson: Memories And Portraits Xavier de Maistre: Voyage Around My Room
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: recorded 2nd September 2024; published 27th January 2025
Where to find Edward online: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:29 The starting point of Edith Holler - lockdown, not being able to go to the theatre, and Brexit. We then move on to the fictional missing children in the book 05:22 Norwich as both a location and inspiration 12:01 Further notes on creating Edith herself, and then we discuss interpretations 18:41 More on the drawings and card theatre 21:05 The other characters 25:10 The Iron Curtain that separates theatre crew and theatre goers 29:01 The language of the novel 30:37 Was there something in particular that lead to you setting the book in the Edwardian period? 33:23 Being in Edith's head 34:27 Beetle Spread! 38:30 Did you ever consider having Edith leave the theatre? 39:20 The undercrofts and the importance of moving the story underground. We then continue on to discuss further theatrical influences on both the novel and ourselves 47:12 The photograph of a woman at the very end of the book 48:59 Edward explains why he won't tell us about what he's currently working on
Photo credit: Elizabeth McCracken
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
For live show tickets, click here
Charlie and Chloe C Peñaranda (The Stars Are Dying) discuss the incident wherein her heroine stabs the hero, getting around her hero's ability to run amok via deus ex machina, and becoming a hybrid author after success as a self-published writer.
Please note there are brief mentions of abuse in this episode.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: Chloe's TikTok
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Chloe C Peñaranda: An Heir Comes To Rise Chloe C Peñaranda: A Throne From The Ashes Chloe C Peñaranda: A Sword From The Embers Chloe C Peñaranda: The Stars An Dying Chloe C Peñaranda: The Night Is Defying Sarah J Maas: A Court Of Thorns And Roses
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: recorded 24th October 2024; published 13th January 2025
Where to find Chloe online: Website || Facebook || Instagram || TikTok
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:36 Was romantasy the genre you'd been waiting for? 02:55 The initial thought for The Stars Are Dying - Greek myths and Chloe's series An Heir Comes To Rise, and we talk about potential spin-off series 06:34 Why Chloe chose the second iteration of Nyte and Astraea's relationship to focus on instead of the first 08:04 On having a general direction or goal in mind for The Stars Are Dying 08:49 Creating Astraea and Nyte 10:26 Using a slow burn romance 11:45 Getting around the potential deus ex machina of Nyte's powers 13:07 Deciding when to give readers answers as to Astraea's mental state and so on 14:33 The inclusion of amnesia and abuse 15:44 The Libertatum 17:55 The planning before putting pen to paper 19:21 Discussing Astrea's stabbing of Nyte 20:53 Slight notes on the crossover between The Stars Are Dying and An Heir Comes To Rise 23:54 On Cassia's role 25:06 Drystan 25:38 About The Night Is Defying 27:06 How fans of An Heir Comes To Rise have responded to The Stars Are Dying 28:38 Being, now, a hybrid author 30:13 How the traditional publishing deal came about 32:19 On getting a house and garden for her dogs following the publishing deal 33:37 Ideas Chloe is considering for her next work
Photo credit: Caroline Anne
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Charlie and Eliza Chan (Fathomfolk) discuss many questions of immigration in both reality and her fantasy fiction, the different mythological creatures she used and decisions in regards to location inspiration, and Fathomfolk's controversial ending.
Please note there is a spoiler in this episode for N K Jemisin's The Fifth Season.
For live show tickets, click here.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: The Witcher Jessica Jones The Untamed
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Eliza Chan: Fathomfolk Eliza Chan: Tideborn N K Jemisin: The Fifth Season R F Kuang: Babel Rhonda Parrish (ed.): Sirens
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: recorded 14th August 2024; published 23rd December 2024
Where to find Eliza online: Website || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
02:25 The initial inspirations 04:34 More about the topic of immigration 06:57 World building and the world outside of Tiankawi 09:05 Creating Mira, Nami, and Cordelia 14:56 Having started with one narrative and changing it to three 17:44 Using different countries' mythologies, originally planning to set Fathomfolk in a British city, and the possibility of historical settings 25:25 Kai's significance and his relationship with Mira 28:59 Writing and pacing 31:23 Eliza's 'use' of The Drawbacks and the response to the book 37:06 The Onseon engine 39:20 Dragon pearls 42:25 The themes of motherhood and friendship 46:18 The use of gods 49:46 The controversial ending! 51:25 Book two, Tideborn 52:23 Harbour Of Hungry Ghosts 53:52 The game of Wulan
Photo credit: Sandi Hodkinson
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
First live show details
Guests: Alex Hay (The Queen Of Fives; The Housekeepers), Stacey Thomas (The Revels), Lucy Barker (The Other Side Of Mrs Wood) Date: Wednesday 26th February Location: Goldfinch Books, Alton, Hampshire Ticket link: https://bit.ly/3Das5kn
Accessibility: Both the shop itself and the toilets are accessible.
Charlie and Elaine Chiew (The Light Between Us) discuss early 20th century Singaporean photography and its influences on Elaine's novel in depth, which involves looking at social issues and the history of the qipao. We also dive into the time travel aspects and the use of Chinese spirit-mediums.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: The Lake House (2006) Il Mare (2000) The Young Companion magazine In The Mood For Love
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Constance Turnbull: A History Of Singapore Elaine Chiew: The Heartsick Diaspora Elaine Chiew: The Light Between Us Elaine Chiew (ed.): Cooked Up! Kevin Kwan: Crazy Rich Asians Terence Heng: Of Gods, Gifts and Ghosts Spiritual Places in Urban Spaces Viet Thanh Nguyen: The Sympathizer
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: recorded 23rd July 2024; published 9th December 2024
Where to find Elaine online: Website || Twitter || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
00:02:04 About Elaine's research into early 20th century Singaporean photographs and bringing voices that haven't had a say in fiction to the fore 00:10:28 How important is The Light Between Us's Tian Wei compared to Charlie [the character]? 00:14:48 Working out the time travel and including Charlie's family 00:21:04 How Elaine's career in the creative arts influenced the book, and how women in Singapore used their agency when being photographed 00:35:38 Looking at the smaller moments of war and the lead up to war. Also Elaine's inclusion of the Ghee Hin Kong Si 00:40:19 Aiko's creation and importance in the book 00:47:17 Elaine's writing style and use of punctuation which fascinated our host! 00:52:14 The use of the tangki and all that involved 01:00:59 Brief notes on what Elaine is writing now
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Charlie and Emma Cowell (The Island Love Song) discuss the Greek island of Hydra, reactions from readers in regards to IVF and polyamory plot threads, early onset dementia, and the Parthenon sculptures.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: Leonard Cohen's Bird On A Wire The photo of the lady in shadow that Emma took The Pirate Bar, Hydra
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Emma Cowell: One Last Letter From Greece Emma Cowell: The House In The Olive Grove Emma Cowell: The Island Love Song Emma Cowell: Under The Lemon Tree
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: recorded 9th July 2024; published 25th November 2024
Where to find Emma online: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
02:20 The inspiration - the Greek island of Hydra 04:10 The conflict in the book, siblings, and how being on an island makes it more dramatic 06:04 The island as a character 07:41 Why it was important to explore sisterhood and non-chosen family 13:40 Writing Georgia in all her chaos and character progression 18:24 Ella and having to live with your ex having wrote a song about you 20:18 Emma tells us about the songs in the book (they exist!) and her musical background 24:32 Leonard Cohen's influence in terms of Hydra, and Hydra's lack of technology 27:51 Emma's use of the island of Dokos and writing about researching Greek food at The Pirate Bar 34:29 Emma discusses IVF journeys, parenthood, and readers who contact her to thank her for the way she includes fertility and romantic issues. We then move on to a time in Greece where there were very problematic adoptions 40:00 The concept of twin flames 42:32 Emma's inclusion of early onset dementia 48:27 Why Emma set her 'present day' storyline in 2016 - student days and mobile phone usage 51:15 Emma's thoughts on returning the Elgin marbles/Parthenon sculptures 54:05 What's next - the book to be named Under The Lemon Tree. This morphs into a longer conversation about how Emma writes and plots 58:52 What Emma cut from The Island Love Song
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Charlie and Susan Muaddi Darraj (Behind You Is The Sea) discuss the Palestinian Christian community, her immigrant characters and their children, how she used the current conflict in her stories, and the segregation and working class in Baltimore, Maryland.
Please note this episode mentions domestic violence.
A transcript is available on my site
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Lawrence T Brown: The Black Butterfly Susan Muaddi Darraj: Farah Rocks Fifth Grade Susan Muaddi Darraj: Farah Rocks Summer Break Susan Muaddi Darraj: Farah Rocks New Beginnings Susan Muaddi Darraj: Farah Rocks Florida Susan Muaddi Darraj: Behind You Is The Sea
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: recorded 25th June 2024; published 11th November 2024
Where to find Susan online: Website || Twitter || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:49 The initial inspiration for Behind You Is The Sea - Susan's character, Marcus Salameh 05:01 How poetry runs in Susan's family 07:21 The focus on women and women's worth 09:15 Susan's choices in making most of her characters people from one family 10:36 The story Hashtag - including stories of domestic violence and murder - and how the West would see it 16:13 How Susan doesn't want to be 'nice' to her characters 18:37 The different generations and how they relate to one another, and then we move on to discuss a spin-off novel that Susan is writing 23:55 Where the title, Behind You Is The Sea, came from 26:16 How Palestinian Muslims and Palestinian Christians live peacefully together in Palestine 31:13 Segregation in Baltimore 35:53 The way Susan included the current Arab-Israeli conflict in the book 37:35 What's next - Susan's current works in progress, including her work for children
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Charlie and Louise Morrish discuss the extensive efforts the latter went to in order to be published, the networking she did prior to that, and how she's giving back to the writing community.
Please note there is a very mild swear word at the end of this episode.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: Goldfinch Books Owner Gary is Gary Clark of The Interland series
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Louise Morrish: Operation Moonlight Louise Morrish: Women Of War The Writer's And Artists' Yearbook
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: recorded 17th July 2024; published 4th November 2024
Where to find Louise online: Website || Twitter || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:11 The early days of Louise's writing and the Faber Academy course 03:54 The importance of networking with others 05:32 Struggling to get anywhere, submitting to the Penguin Random House First Novel Competition, and winning 12:27 Persevering in the face of rejection 14:30 Class, and, then, novels in the drawer 17:53 The process Louise used when submitting to all the agents and talking about shyness and gaining confidence 27:16 More on the writing groups Louise runs and 'giving back' 31:52 About Louise's books, Operation Moonlight, and Women Of War 37:07 Being a librarian and seeing your own books in the libraries
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Charlie and Mark Stay (The Witches Of Woodville) discuss writing humour into wartime, using period-correct language as well as slang, why community is important and how much we've lost over the decades, and the metric ton of projects he has on the go.
Please note there are various uses of very minor curse words.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: The Bestseller Experiment Claire Burgess' YouTube video about jam roly polyThe Fortean Times Mark's newsletter The Witches Of Woodville website I spoke to Jacquie Bloese in episode 101 I spoke to Lucy Barker in episode 96 A Canterbury Tale (Powell and Pressburger) Went The Day Well Threads The Day After When The Wind Blows Chernobyl The Last Of Us The transcript for Scriptnotes episode 403 Ben Aaronovitch's episode on The Bestseller Experiment Unwelcome Nautilus
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Becky Brown: Blitz Spirit C K McDonnell: The Stranger Times Constance Miles: Mrs Miles's Diary Dennis Knight: Harvest Of Messerschmitts Mark Stay: The Crow Folk Mark Stay: Babes In The Wood Mark Stay: The Ghost Of Ivy Barn Mark Stay: The Holly King Mark Stay: The Corn Bride Mark Stay: The End Of Magic Mark Stay: The End Of Dragons Mark Stay and Mark Oliver: Back To Reality Nella Last: Nella Last's War
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: recorded 19th June 2024; published 28th October 2024
Where to find Mark online: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram || TikTok
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
02:25 Where the series might go in terms of number of books 03:14 Jam roly poly, getting bell ringing correct, and the forthcoming inclusion of the Morris Dancers in a pivotal role 05:34 The very first beginnings of the Witches of Woodville series 10:05 All about Faye and her relative immaturity 13:10 Widening the scope beyond humour to be more serious 16:02 Creating Miss Charlotte and Mrs Teach 18:10 Does Mark have future plots in mind? 18:49 The characters of the community of Woodville, starting with a question about the librarian 22:45 On Bertie's Battle of Britain diary 26:35 The language in the books - repetitions, and old-fashioned phrases 30:34 Mark's inclusion of the work of German artist, Hannah Höch 32:57 Grief as a theme 36:39 Miss Charlotte's sight and not wanting to make people invincible 41:19 Mark's use of real people in the series, and where you might find pieces of himself in his work. Mark also talks about how we've lost a sense of community 48:05 Mark's time co-hosting The Bestseller Experiment Podcast, why he moved on, and the various projects he's planning 53:54 More about Mark's current film project
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Charlie and Jessica Bull (Miss Austen Investigates) discuss Jane Austen! The mysteries in her books, what and how she read, her likely views on slavery, her forgotten brother, the proposals of marriage she received (there were many!), and her life in her birthplace of Steventon.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: Charlie said she'd find info on the yew tree, here's Jessica Bull's Instagram reel on St Nicholas' Church
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Ann Radcliffe: The Mysteries Of Udolpho Charlotte Lennox: The Female Quixote Claire Tomalin: Jane Austen: A Life Daniel Livesay: Children Of Uncertain Fortune Deirdre Le Faye (ed.) Jane Austen's Letters Frances Burney: Camilla Frances Burney: Cecelia James Edward Austen-Leigh: A Memoir Of Jane Austen Jane Austen: Sense And Sensibility Jane Austen: Pride And Prejudice Jane Austen: Northanger Abbey Jane Austen: Sanditon Jessica Bull: Miss Austen Investigates (The Hapless Milliner) Jessica Bull: Miss Austen Investigates: A Fortune Most Fatal Lucy Worsley: Jane Austen At Home Henry James: Tom Jones Margaret Edgeworth: Belinda Matthew Gregory Lewis: The Monk PD James: Death Comes To Pemberley
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: recorded 29th April 2024; published 14th October 2024
Where to find Jessica online: Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
02:35 Jessica's love of and study of Jane Austen 05:30 Expanding on Jessica's statement that a lot of Austen involves mystery 10:45 Were you ever worried about how people might view your Jane Austen, her silliness? 17:15 The importance of including, in the novel, what Jane Austen was reading 21:11 Where Cowper, Austen's favourite poet, comes into it, and we begin to discuss Austen's views of slavery and abolition, and Jessica's response to such 27:04 The price of books in those days! 28:51 We discuss a ton about Steventon, Austen's birth place - Jessica's recreation of the house and our own visits to the location 32:57 Talking about the other family members, including Anna and, particularly, George and what we know about him 39:34 About the people Jessica had to cut from the book and how she's going to go forward in terms of including people later in the series 41:52 All about Jessica's fictional letters and the allusions to the real ones 45:22 What Jessica believes about Austen and Tom Lefroy's relationship and Austen's love live in general 49:53 Changing real events to suit the novel, as well as Austen's agency, and locations 53:20 Jessica's time in Hampshire, seeing Chawton and how it inspired her 54:57 About book 2, A Fortune Most Fatal, and the fraudster Princess Caraboo 58:04 Brief notes on how many books may be in the series
Photo credit: Cassie Burac
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Charlie and Nikki Marmery (Lilith) discuss her epic tale that looks from the start of the Genesis story all the way to our present day, showing how the biblical stories did away with an all-important goddess for women - Yahweh's wife - and the consequences that has had. There is discussion, too, on the Gnostic gospels, various mythologies, and environmentalism.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: Jeremiah 7:18 says: "The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven, and they pour out drink offerings to other gods." About Asherah poles, which Charlie notes, there are many references in the Bible. One such is Deuteronomy 16:21: "Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the Lord your God." Jennifer Saint's episode where she mentions Sarah Clegg is is 95 The quote from St Paul Nikki includes is from 1 Timothy 2:12
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Francesca Stavrakopoulou: God: An Anatomy John Milton: Paradise Lost Nikki Marmery: On Wilder Seas Nikki Marmery: Lilith Sarah Clegg: Women's Lore The Bible
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: recorded 18th April 2024; published 23rd September 2024
Where to find Nikki online: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram || TikTok
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
00:01:36 The inspiration - the way the goddess Asherah, god's wife, was taken out of tradition, and the icons that have survived through time 00:04:23 Is there a way Asherah might've been able to continue as a worshipped goddess longer than she did? 00:10:13 All about Nikki's character of Lilith and how the original faiths saw men and women as equal 00:18:25 Nikki's employment of other myths and religions, how they they interacted, and the origins of now-Christian symbols 00:24:49 Nikki's inclusion of Ereskigal, goddess of the Underworld in Sumerian mythology 00:28:41 Nikki's effective dismissal of Heaven and her historical and Biblical reasoning 00:34:23 The environmental aspect of the book 00:37:12 How Nikki's Eden and the events therein are just a small part of the wider world, and, also, Noah's Ark in this context 00:42:50 Nikki's Biblical language. We then move on to her character of Samael specifically 00:48:41 The varied inclusions of Jezebel and Salome 00:53:04 Nikki's depiction of Jesus and using the Gnostic gospels 00:59:51 Nikki's religious background 01:02:07 Brief notes on what Nikki's planning to write next
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Charlie and Natalie Jenner (Every Time We Say Goodbye) discuss the war years and 1950s Italian film industry and the Vatican's authority over it, changing working practices after being accused of discrimination, and including still-living celebrities in your book.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: I talked to Natalie about her previous book, Bloomsbury Girls, in episode 65 Day For Night Quo Vadis Umanità Nine Summertime Three Coins In The Fountain Roman Holiday A similar quote of Kurt Vonnegut's is "Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages." I talked to Liz Fenwick about the map girls in episode 100 Natalie's Instagram post on Ray Holland The Prince Of Foxes Natalie's episode on chapters 7-9 of Pride And Prejudice for the Rosenbach Library
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Charles Dickens: Our Mutual Friend Charles Dickens: A Tale Of Two Cities Edward Bulwer-Lytton: The Last Days Of Pompeii Henry James: The Portrait Of A Lady Jane Austen: Pride And Prejudice Jane Austen: Emma Joe Klein: Primary Colors Natalie Jenner: The Jane Austen Society Natalie Jenner: Bloomsbury Girls Natalie Jenner: Every Time We Say Goodbye Natalie Jenner: Austen At Sea Sophia Loren: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow My Life Zadie Smith: The Fraud Zoe Wheddon: Jane Austen's Best Friend
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: recorded 11th April 2024; published 9th September 2024
Where to find Natalie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
00:01:52 The different inspirations for the book - old films, Natalie's character Vivian from her previous book, Bloomsbury Girls, the WW2 refugees that lived at the Cinecittà movie studies and then used as extras (this turns into a longer discussion) 00:10:58 More about Cinecittà itself 00:13:08 The Vatican's past authority over the Italian film industry 00:17:59 How Natalie researches her books, and her love of Rome 00:29:30 John Lassiter, urgh! 00:34:20 The importance of Tabitha's story and how a reader's criticism changed how Natalie wrote 00:38:25 La Scolaretta and the stafetta - the young women messengers and assassins in WW2 Italy 00:44:45 Natalie's knowing, and the life of, Ray Holland, film-maker Jack Salvatori's son 00:52:28 Writing as characters celebrities who are still with us, with a focus on Sophia Loren 00:59:16 All about Natalie's forthcoming next book, Austen At Sea, which Charlie reckons will end up being her favourite of all Natalie's books 01:08:59 Natalie tells us why she likely won't write about Jane Austen herself
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Charlie and Matt Ottley (The Tree Of Ecstasy And Unbearable Sadness) discuss Matt's type I bipolar disorder and how it has influenced this, his latest book, and his life in general. As Matt is also a composer and illustrator and the book involves both, we also discuss in detail the creation of the music and artwork.
Please note that there are mentions of child sexual abuse and attempted suicide in this episode.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: The Sound Of Picture Books on YouTube Film trailer for The Tree Of Ecstasy And Unbearable Sadness Tina Wilson set up the Lester Prize
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Matt Ottley: The Tree Of Ecstasy And Unbearable Sadness
Buy the books: UK
Release details: recorded 16th April 2024; published 26th August 2024
Where to find Matt online: Website || Facebook || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
00:01:36 The whys of the book - why this story, why produce it in this way, why now (this turns into a larger discussion of Matt's bipolar disorder and how it affects him) 00:13:18 Matt's musical initiative for children, The Sound Of Picture Books 00:19:45 The artistic process of the book, the artwork 00:24:35 The image of the pregnant mother in water, Matt's painting of water in general, and the elephants 00:29:08 The animals in terms of metaphors of unreality, evolution, and mania 00:32:32 Where Matt started in illustration, music, and writing - the discussion revolves mostly around music - and also inspirations 00:42:01 All about the music - composing, recording, the orchestra, choir, and so on 00:52:01 [An extract of music from the score, courtesy of Matt] 00:58:34 Discussing the narration and narrator, Matt's wife, Tina Wilson 01:02:04 The book's text - starting point and so on 01:04:38 Matt tells us about his childhood, family, and experience of bipolar growing up 01:09:34 What's next? (A variety of projects are discussed.)
Photo credit: Tina Wilson
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Charlie and Kate Weston (You May Now Kill The Bride) discuss her hilarious comedy thriller wherein a group of friends go on a hen do, one of them is murdered, but they don't stop going to hen dos...
Please note there is some swearing in this episode.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: Below Deck
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Kate Weston: Murder On A School Night Kate Weston: You May Now Kill The Bride
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: Recorded 14th March 2024; published 12th August 2024
Where to find Kate online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Where to find Charlie online: website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:56 The starting point/inspiration - hen dos (and Kate's own) 06:17 Why the murders? 08:01 How did you plan/write the book? 10:34 Creating the friends and their personalities 14:58 Was there a particular reason why you offed Tansy first? 16:37 Did you want the murderer to be worked out? 18:36 Have you got a favourite character? 20:00 How did you keep the balance between the bonkers and the realistic? 21:55 Jeremy's club 23:34 Could someone else have been the murderer? 25:29 Could DI Ashford and Lauren's thread ever end happily? 27:04 Transitioning from writing YA 28:59 What are you writing now? 29:29 Tell us about your stand-up career
Photo credit: Joanna Bongard
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Celebrating 100 episodes of this podcast, Charlie is Joined by Liz Fenwick, Emma Cowell, Ronali Collings, and Tammye Huf, for a general bookish chat. We start off with an excellent conversation on the industry's use of 'women's fiction' when the genderless 'commerical fiction' would do very well.
Please note there is one use of 'damn' in this episode.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: Leonard Cohen's Bird On A Wire The 'Women in Love' panel Liz was on was part of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2015 The Constant Gardener (film) Desert Island Discs Escape To The Country
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre Elissa Soave: Ginger And Me Emily Brontë: Wuthering Heights Emma Cowell: One Last Letter From Greece Emma Cowell: the House In The Olive Grove Emma Cowell: The Island Love Song John Le Carré: The Constant Gardener Kate Atkinson: Life After Life Liz Fenwick: One Cornish Summer Liz Fenwick: The Secret Shore Paul Auster: The Brooklyn Follies Paul Auster: The New York Trilogy Ronali Collings: All The Single Ladies Sarah Winman: A Year Of Marvellous Ways Tammye Huf: A More Perfect Union
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: recorded 6th May 2024; published 5th August 2024
Where to find Liz online: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram || TikTok
Where to find Emma online: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram
Where to find Ronali online: Website || Twitter || Instagram
Where to find Tammye online: Website || Twitter || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
04:02 What is your genre? (The authors discuss labels in terms of gender expectations and marketing in this vein.) 08:25 How do you books do overseas? 10:40 If you wrote in another genre, which would it be? 15:14 If your book was turned into a film or TV show, who would you want cast in it? 20:33 If you could've written someone else's book, whose would you choose? (Some interesting discussions on individual writing styles here.) 26:01 What is the best fan or reader encounter you've had? 31:50 What do you wish you'd known before you became a published author? (Turns into a longer conversation about the difficulty of writing to a deadline.) 41:28 Can you remember any particularly interesting fact that you discovered in your research that couldn't be included in the book? 44:54 Tell us about what you're currently writing
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Celebrating 100 episodes of this podcast, Charlie is joined by Phillip Lewis, Melissa Fu, and Amanda Geard for a general bookish chat. This is a slightly quieter episode with some incredibly poignant and compelling stories.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: Seamus Heany's Limbo Phillip quotes from Dorothy L Sayers' Unnatural Death. The full quote is "...After all, it isn't really difficult to write books. Especially if you either write a rotten story in good English or a good story in rotten English, which is as far as most people seem to get nowadays." Melissa's episode of The Diverse Bookshelf Amanda's episode of Richard & Judy's podcast Phillip's episode of Charlotte Readers Information about Charles Ray Finch Information about Ronnie Long Netflix's The Staircase The episode of this podcast that includes Dorothy L Sayers is episode 100 with Liz Fenwick
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Amanda Geard: The Midnight House Amanda Geard: The Moon Gate David S Rudolph: American Injustice Dodie Smith: I Capture The Castle Dorothy L Sayers: Unnatural Death Frances Hodgson Burnett: The Secret Garden Grace Paley: Enormous Changes At The Last Minute Judy Finnigan: Roseland Melissa Fu: Peach Blossom Spring Phillip Lewis: The Barrowfields
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: recorded 28th March 2024; published 29th July 2024
Where to find Phillip online: Website || Twitter || Instagram
Where to find Melissa online: Website || Instagram
Where to find Amanda online: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
04:10 What does your genre do and what it is for? 09:48 Where do you write, and where do you like to read? 16:46 What's the nicest thing anyone's said about your books, or the nicest review? 20:29 Tell us about a time when you were a guest on another podcast 25:38 What did you do before you were a published author or what do you do alongside your writing? 33:06 You can have a coffee morning with three other authors. Who are you choosing? 39:44 What bookish event or personal bookish event are you looking forward to within the next few years?
Photo credit: Isil Dohnke, Sophie Davidson, Amanda Geard
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Charlie and Manda Scott (Any Human Power) discuss her book in terms of its Shamanist contexts, her informed ideas for how we can change and thus improve the UK political system, and playing Dungeons And Dragons with Terry Pratchett and Fay Weldon. We also discuss Mass Multiplayer Online gaming in the context of both Manda's book and, briefly, ourselves - this is an episode wherein two gamers meet.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: Historical Writer's Association Accidental Gods Podcast Thrutopian Writer's Association Ursula K Le Guin's original quotation, "We live in capitalism, its power seems inescapable - but then, so did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art" is from her speech in acceptance of the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, 19th November 2014 Chauvet Cave artwork The writer Charlie couldn't remember is Max Porter, his book is Grief Is The Thing With Feathers World Of Warcraft Guild Wars 2 Doom The Accidental Gods membership program
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Isabel Harman: Why We Get The Wrong Politicians Manda Scott: Any Human Power Manda Scott: Boudica Max Porter: Grief Is The Thing With Feathers
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: recorded 11th March 2024; published 22nd July 2024
Where to find Manda online: Website || Twitter || Facebook
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:50 What was the very initial thought or kernel of this book? 08:52 What Manda would like to see happen in order to start accomplishing the environmental and political goals put forth in Any Human Power 14:13 Lan - why is she dead? 18:00 About the 'spirit guides' in the book, discussing crows 22:02Lan not stopping the story thread in which Kaitlyn dies 25:42 Manda delves into all the political change in the book and her thoughts on our real UK world in this context 37:10 How far we're meant to like/connect with the characters and how flaws are important 41:16 At the end we have the sense of cycles; do we see a chance for things to change for Lan later on? 43:43 Manda talks about one of her influences, Taiwan's government system 46:22 Talking Manda's use of World Of Warcraft (WoW) in the book, which devolves into a short gaming conversation 50:21 Manda played D&D with Terry Pratchett and Fay Weldon - details 53:07 About Manda's podcast, Accidental Gods 56:30 What Manda's writing now, including book 2
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Celebrating 100 episodes of this podcast, Charlie is joined by Elissa Soave, Jenni Keer, and Chloe Timms for a general bookish chat. This one is big on writing, branding, and marketing, and, if Charlie dares says herself, is one of the most fun episodes of this entire show.
Please note there is a mild swear word in this episode.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: Confessions Of A Debut Novelist Groundhog Day Elissa episode with me is number 80 Elissa's episode on Chloe's podcast Chloe's writer's club The Lake House
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Chloe Timms: The Seawomen Daphne Du Maurier: Rebecca Elissa Soave: Ginger And Me Elissa Soave: Graffiti Girls Eliza Clark: Penance Guillermo del Toro: The Shape Of Water Janice Galloway: Collected Stories Janice Galloway's The Trick Is To Keep Breathing Jenni Keer: The Secrets Of Hawthorn Place Jenni Keer: At The Stroke Of Midnight Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood: The Testaments Roget's Thesaurus
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: recorded 7th March 2024; published 15th July 2024
Where to find Elissa online: Twitter
Where to find Jenni online: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram || TikTok
Where to find Chloe online: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
02:21 What is your genre and what does it do, what's it for? 11:31 If you wrote in another genre, which would it be? 17:47 How is your social media strategy? 27:22 What's the best reader or fan encounter you've had? 33:01 If you could have written someone else's book, which book would you choose? 37:17 What is the best writing advice you've ever been given? 43:56 All three tell us what they're currently writing, soon publishing (in two cases), and Elissa also tells us about her November 2024 release
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Charlie and Jacquie Bloese (The Golden Hour/The Secret Photographs) discuss early erotic photography, Victorian erotic stage performances, and the beginnings of bicycle use for women which had a huge impact on female agency.
Please note there are mentions of suicide and abuse in this episode
A transcript is available on my site
General references: The photograph of Marie Berin Marion Sambourne's diary I can recommend the keyword phrase 'early bicycle wear women' for lots of pictures of the outfits Jacquie describes Wikipedia's article on the history of women cycling (bicycling and feminism)
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Jacquie Bloese: The Golden Hour
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: recorded 3rd April 2024; published 8th July 2024
Where to find Jacquie online: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:26 The whys of this book and the inspiration, particularly in the context of the photography 03:56 More about the model written about by Linley Sambourne, who committed suicide, and how Jacquie was influenced by it 05:47 Why Jacquie chose Brighton, and why she chose the Victorian period in that context also 09:00 About the female photographer, Marie Bertin, that Jacquie mentioned 09:58 About Holywell Street in London 11:30 The women points of view of The Golden Hour - Ellen, Clem, and Lily 16:23 Harriet (Harry) Smart and the music halls/theatres 20:28 More about The Vigilant Association 24:08 How Jacquie plotted her book and kept all the secrets straight in her mind 28:34 How Ottile had a bigger role in previous drafts 31:46 The importance of the questions of sexuality 34:53 Ellen and Reynold's mother, her story and the significance of her story 38:05 Women! Cycling! And the importance of cycling for women at the time 42:09 About Jacquie's inclusion of cats and the way they influenced the book 44:35 What Jacquie's writing now, her book that includes silent films
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Celebrating 100 episodes of this podcast, Charlie is joined by Alex Hay, Stacey Thomas, and Lucy Barker for a general bookish chat with a concentration on the writing. The trio toured together as debuts and we get to witness just how well they work together.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: Downton Abbey Ocean's Eleven Mary & George (Julianne Moore) Zsolt's Instagram post on The Revels Euphoria Fear The Walking Dead Pride And Prejudice Persuasion
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Alex Hay: The Housekeepers Isabella Beeton: Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management Stacey Thomas: The Revels Lucy Barker: The Other Side Of Mrs Wood
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: Recorded 18th January 2024; published 1st July 2024
Where to find Alex online: Website || Twitter || Instagram
Where to find Stacey online: Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Where to find Lucy online: Website || Twitter || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
02:44 How the trio's debut novelist tour came about 05:42 Anecdotes about the tour 08:37 Will you do another tour? 09:40 Last discussion on the tour 10:39 What is historical fiction, what does it do, what's it for? 20:51 Was there anything particular that you liked in research but couldn't include in your book? 31:25 What is the best reader or fan encounter you've had? 34:25 If your book was to be adapted who would you want cast in it? 37:46 Tell us more about what you're writing at the moment
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Charlie and Liz Fenwick (The Secret Shore) discuss the women cartographers who were fundamental in the Allies winning the Second World War and the way women at university at the time had to choose between their career and having a family. We also discuss Liz's love of Cornwall, her use of Dorothy Sayer's Gaudy Night, and we go back a few times to the people who were involved in the secret flotillas that preceded the Normandy landings.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: My previous interview with Liz is episode 35 Liz's TikTok plot walk on Frenchman's Creek The Woman's Hour episode including women's intuition
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Daphne Du Maurier: Frenchman's Creek Dorothy Sayers: Gaudy Night Ernie Pyle: The Best Of Ernie Pyle's World War II Dispatches Liz Fenwick: A Cornish Stranger Liz Fenwick: The Returning Tide Liz Fenwick: The Path To The Sea Liz Fenwick: The River Between Us Liz Fenwick: The Secret Shore Liz Fenwick: A Portrait Of You
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: recorded 25th March 2024; published 24th June 2024
Where to find Liz online: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram || TikTok
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
01:45 You'd wanted to write about the secret flotillas for a long time? 02:58 Women's work in cartography in the Second World War 05:48 Furthering this discussion we go to Liz's character, Merry, or Dr Tremayne, and begin a discussion on what Liz left out of this book 09:42 More about Merry's work in the context of how a woman had to choose between a career and having a family, particularly in the context of Oxford University 16:06 Merry's mother, Elise, including her story in The Secret Shore 19:46 The romance in the book, including the love story 23:00 Liz's love and use in her novels of Frenchman's Creek, Cornwall 25:06 Ridifarne! 27:01 Is heart or head more important? 28:16 Liz's use of Dorothy Sayers' Gaudy Night and the character of Peter Wimsey 31:19 The real people in the book and how Liz made it all happen 33:38 All about Maurice Cohen and the mouse 35:22 The sacred wells in Cornwall 38:14 All about Liz's plot walks, which she releases to TikTok 41:03 Does it feel strange when you're not writing about Cornwall? 44:10 Liz's next book, A Portrait Of You
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Celebrating 100 episodes of this podcast, Charlie is joined by Elizabeth Fremantle, Amanda Geard, Gill Paul, and Maggie Brookes for a general bookish chat, Worm Hole style.
A transcript is available on my site
General references: Firebrand - the UK release date it 14th June A Royal Affair House Of The Dragon Netflix's The Queen's Gambit Amanda's interview with me on The Moon Gate is episode 84 Elizabeth's appearance on BBC Front Row The Irish Times' article on Amanda's house (includes a photo of the room we discuss) Father Ted The Historical Novel Society 2024 Conference
Books mentioned by name or extensively: Amanda Geard: The Midnight House Amanda Geard: The Moon Gate Diana Gabaldon: Voyager Dodie Smith: I Capture The Castle Elizabeth Fremantle: Queen's Gambit Elizabeth Fremantle: Disobedient Elizabeth Fremantle: The Sinners (working title) Gill Paul: The Secret Wife Gill Paul: Another Woman's Husband Gill Paul: The Manhattan Girls Gill Paul: A Beautiful Rival Gill Paul: Scandalous Women Jenny Ashcroft: Echoes Of Love Kerry Fisher: The Secret Child Maggie Brookes: The Prisoner's Wife Maggie Brookes: Acts Of Love And War Maggie O'Farrell: I Am, I Am, I Am Paula McLain: The Paris Wife Walter Tevis: The Queen's Gambit
Buy the books: UK || USA
Release details: Recorded 26th September 2023; published 26th February 2024
Where to find Elizabeth online: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram
Where to find Amanda online: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram
Where to find Gill online: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram || TikTok
Where to find Maggie online: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Discussions
02:36 What is historical fiction - what does it do, what it is for? 06:09 If you wrote in another genre, what would it be? 08:29 If your book was to be made into a film or TV show, who would you want cast in it? 13:03 Can you describe your latest book without talking about the plot at all? 15:47 If you could have written someone else's book, whose would you choose? 18:38 What's the weirdest thing anyone's said about one of your books? 22:43 What's the best reader or fan encounter you've had? 26:11 Have you ever been mistaken for another author? 28:55 What is the best interview you've had excluding this podcast? 32:53 What is the best writing advice you've ever been given? 37:27 Can you remember any particularly interesting fact that you discovered in research that you couldn't include in your book? 42:48 What bookish event are you looking forward to in the next couple of years? 45:52 What is everyone's next book? (Except Gill - she mentioned hers earlier.)
Photo credit: Gill Paul, JP Masclet, Amanda Geard, Lyn Gregory
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Charlie and Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ (Dazzling) discuss Igbo mythology, the differences between polygamy and monogamy in Igbo culture, and the social impacts of colonialism and military coups in Nigeria. Chịkọdịlị also talks about having her characters bother her when she's trying to shower, finding literature in rubbish heaps, and needing a literary residency - please let her know if you've one to spare!
Please note there are mentions of rape and general violence in this episode.
Where to find Chịkọdịlị online
Twitter || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online
Website || Twitter || Instagram
Discussions
01:43 The starting point of Dazzling 04:54 The original narratives and the hows and whys of Chịkọdịlị's choices in terms of points of view and tenses 07:41 Why Chịkọdịlị doesn't have a favourite character and how she knows her characters 09:23 Is Chịkọdịlị writing a sequel? Shhh... 14:13 Chịkọdịlị tells us about how she worked on world building, which includes information about her childhood in Nigeria and how it compared to her initial years in the UK. She also discusses colonial and Christian impacts on Igbo culture 22:03 Why it was important to include the lack of family - Chịkọdịlị talks about polygamy in her culture and the differences between that and a one-mother family 29:08 The spirits and Igbo mythology in the book 34:32 Chịkọdịlị's use of the leopard society, which is a factual society, and who they were in reality 39:47 The 'lost girls' in the book - the whys and hows and the connections to reality. And the 'use' of menstruation 44:15 The inclusion of politics and its importance - looking at the civil wars and coups 47:04 Bringing the Harmattan into what Chịkọdịlị's been saying 49:25 What Chịkọdịlị is writing now
Photo credit: The Visual Team.
Charlie and Sarah Marsh (A Sign Of Her Own) discuss the lesser-known aspect of Alexander Bell's work - teaching deaf children to speak - in terms of both the real history and the fictionalised character she created in order to explore the events. This includes snippets about the manufactured rivalry between the two inventors of the telephone; Bell's wife, Mabel Hubbard (who was deaf); the Deaf community in London in the late 1800s; and the way Sarah employs language - written, signed, spoken - to excellent effect.
A transcript of this episode is available on the podcast website.
Reuben Conrad's 1979 book is called Deaf School Child Wikipedia's page on Bell and Elisha Grey's rivalry
Where to find Sarah online
Twitter || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online
Website || Twitter || Instagram
Discussions
01:55 The inspiration for A Sign Of Her Own 03:27 Alexander Bell's work with deaf children, 'Visible Speech', and the reality of it all 07:08 The Deaf community in London at the time 08:13 The locations - America and London 09:21 The characters, particularly Sarah's fictional heroine, Ellen, and where bird names as surnames come into it 11:49 Talking about Mabel Hubbard, Alexander Bell's wife, who was deaf 13:24 The rivalry between Alexander Bell and Elisha Grey 15:30 The way Sarah uses different languages in her book 18:57 The romance in the book, between Ellen and Frank 20:48 Where Sarah sees Ellen going in her life beyond the book 22:34 Brief notes on what Sarah's writing now
Charlie and Natasha Solomons (Fair Rosaline) discuss Natasha's interpretation of Romeo and Juliet, told from the perspective of Rosaline, wherein Romeo is a groomer and Juliet must be saved from him. We discuss as well Natasha's stylistic choices for her prose and the changes she made to the original ending.
Please note that there is a lot of discussion of sexually predatory behaviour and some explicit language in this episode.
Mark Scott's rephrasing of Charles Dibdin's argument can be found in his 1987 publication, Shakespearean Criticism, page 419 Natasha's I, Mona Lisa Natasha's Mr Rosenblum's List Ros Barber, The Marlowe Papers Pamela Butchart's To Wee Or Not To Wee Susan Calman's audiobook version of Pamela Butchart's To Wee Or Not To Wee
Where to find Natasha online
Twitter || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online
Website || Twitter || Instagram
Discussions
01:39 The inspiration for Fair Rosaline - Natasha's interpretation of Romeo and Juliet as being darker than it's portrayed 06:18 How we never see Rosaline in the original, and how Natasha changes this 07:01 Shakespeare's own thoughts on his characters, and Natasha's interpretations here 10:29 How Natasha borrowed from other Shakespearean Rosalines and Rosalinds 16:32 The importance of Juliet and her relative relevance in the book, and how Natasha considered different types of readers when she wrote 19:39 We start talking about the changes Natasha makes to the ending 20:44 Romeo's copying Tybalt - the balcony and roses not being Romeo's original idea in Fair Rosaline 21:57 The theme of roses and thorns 24:54 How Natasha wrote her prose - similar but not the same as Shakespeare's 28:12 How Natasha changes (or, as she says, 'made it more explicit') Friar Lawrence 32:45 The men being in on it 34:17 The importance of the convent and the theme of women's freedom 40:25 Tybalt's death and why Natasha made the choices she did 42:29 How Natasha wrote with her young daughter beside her on Zoom in lockdown 44:34 What Natasha's writing now: Cleopatra, with the Shakespearean influence again 47:18 There will be a play of Fair Rosaline!
Charlie and Lucy Barker (The Other Side Of Mrs Wood) discuss Victorian mediums both factual and fictionalised - their work, the spiritualism that led to their popularity, the social circles, the rivalry, the rumours of fraud, and the women's roles as early grief counselors. We also talk about the early days of the Suffrage movement and various aspects of the book's ending.
Please note there is a very mild swear word in this episode.
The Courtauld's exhibition of Georgiana Houghton's spirit paintings A preview of Tracy Ann Oberman's audio version of The Other Side Of Mrs Wood Lucy's blog post on the postal service in Victorian times One Night At McCool's Lucy's blog post on using Notting Hill
Where to find Lucy online
Blog || Twitter || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online
Website || Twitter || Instagram
Discussions
01:50 The real mediums who inspired the book: Agnes Guppy and Florence Cook 05:17 Lucy talks about how mediums in general were able to escape accusations of falsehood despite many being outed as frauds 08:53 The fickleness and loyalty of medium patrons 10:35 Why the Victorians were in to Spiritualism 14:00 The importance of the references to America throughout the book - America's own spiritualism 15:27 Mrs Wood, Miss Newman, and Miss Finch 19:07 The very early days of the women's suffrage movement 22:30 About Mrs Wood's circle of people 26:35 How Mrs Wood seeing herself as providing a service for grieving people, and the role of mediums in early grief counseling 29:34 The comedy in the book, and Lucy speaks briefly about her next book in the context of humour 30:58 Lucy's use of letters in the book, and Mr Clore's columns 33:23 The ending: why Lucy chose the ending she did for Mrs Wood and Mr Larson 35:32 Charlie thought it was going to be revealed that Miss Finch could really talk to spirits - Lucy discusses this point. Listen in! 37:24 The ending: Mrs Wood and Miss Finch and their terms 39:20 Lucy tells us about the locations in the book: Victorian-era Notting Hill, Portobello Road, Ladbroke Grove 42:32 Lucy gives us more information about her next book
Charlie and Jennifer Saint (Atalanta) discuss the forgotten story of the female member of the Argonauts - Jennifer's use of and changes to the various versions of the mythological story, including her usage of motherhood as a theme, Homer's thoughts on his women characters, the assault of Callisto, and the fact that Jason isn't much of a hero.
Please note there are mentions of sexual assault in this episode.
Episode 60 of this podcast is my interview with Jennifer about Elektra Jennifer's Elektra Jennifer's Ariadne The Argonautica Sarah Clegg's Women's Lore Cicero said, in the Tusculan Disputations, Book I, On The Contempt Of Death, section XXXIX: "If a child dies young, one should console himself easily. If he dies in the cradle, one doesn't even pay attention." Emily Wilson's translation of The Iliad
Where to find Jennifer online
Website || Twitter || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online
Website || Twitter || Instagram
Discussions
01:42 Why Atalanta, what drew you to her? 03:19 Why the first person in particular and how did you create Atalanta's voice? 06:31 The relevance of Atalanta's story to our present day, especially compared to Elektra 08:49 The unimportance of Jason (of the Argonauts) 10:07 Atalanta's growth as a person and her relative genderlessness 12:49 How and why Jennifer included motherhood in the way that she does (and how there are bad parents in Greek mythology) 17:54 Depending on the version of the story, Atalanta doesn't always meet Artemis - Jennifer talks about this and her choices for her story. We then move on to Callisto's story and the different versions of it 24:25 Jennifer talks about how Homer seems to have empathy for the women in his stories as part of a wider discussion as to the reception of the female characters in Ancient Greek society 27:49 How Jennifer approached writing the male characters, who revolve around Atalanta rather than the other way around 34:57 The ending - becoming lions would've been seen as a punishment in Ancient Greece, so how did Jennifer change this for her story? 38:02 Artemis' and Aphrodite's relationship 41:16 What's next - Jennifer's book on Hera 42:23 Might Jennifer ever write a 'regular' high fantasy novel?
Charlie and Elizabeth Fremantle (Disobedient) discuss the formative life, and Elizabeth's fictionalisation, of Artemisia Gentileschi, a woman painter from the 17th century.
Please note that there are many mentions of rape in this episode, and there is also a mention of animal death.
The previous episodes with Elizabeth are episode 7 and episode 70 The exhibition at The National Gallery Judith Slaying Holofernes Caravaggio's Judith Beheading Holofernes Mary D Garrard's Artemisia Gentileschi Elizabeth's Queen's Gambit Firebrand
Where to find Elizabeth online
Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram
Where to find Charlie online
Website || Twitter || Instagram
Discussions
01:18 Why Artemisia, and the general inspiration for the book 04:40 Elizabeth talks about Artemisia's work in general, as well as her success in her lifetime 10:58 How much does your fictionalisation of Orazio Gentileschi align with what's known? 15:14 Where Artemisia worked on her father's paintings 16:47 The Stiatessi family and what we know about Artemisia's husband 20:12 About Zita, real name Tuzia 22:49 The fragments of translations in the book - listen in for some interesting facts! 25:56 The use of laundry and light coming through the laundry lines 28:21 The Nightingale (Ovid's Metamorphoses' Philomel and Procne) 31:19 About Beatrice Cenci and Elizabeth's next book 35:28 Asking Elizabeth about what Charlie feels is her defining element - her honing in to one or two specific elements - and how she may continue in this vein in future 40:42 Lola the dog, who is mentioned at the start of the novel 41:29 Release dates for Firebrand, the film of Queen's Gambit
Photo credit: JP Masclet.
Charlie and Kristy Woodson Harvey (The Summer Of Songbirds) discuss whether we should like her character, Lanier (who stops her best friend and brother being together); the various plot threads she left out of the book (including alternative endings); and US summer camps (both Kristy's experiences, and the effect of the pandemic lockdowns). We also spend a good amount of time discussing the pre-actor's-strike announcement of an adaptation of Kristy's Peachtree Bluff series and her next two books.
Kristy's The Wedding Veil Kristy's Christmas In Peachtree Bluff Friends & Fiction Kristy's interview with Susan M Boyer The announcement about the Peachtree Bluff adaptation on Kristy's website
Where to find Kristy online
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Where to find Charlie online
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Discussions
02:14 The inspiration: a sailing trip at a summer camp Kristy went to with her family during the pandemic 06:49 So Lanier and Rich came first?... 08:02 How Kristy doesn't write in chronological order and how it ends up working well 12:01 How Kristy feels about Lanier 15:35 Why was important to write about Daphne's family and the problems there are there? 19:21 Why no narrator for Mary Stuart? 25:39 This book was originally longer (what got cut) 29:24 Kristy's childhood experiences of US summer camps 33:52 Why Kristy ends her book with a scene about Daphne, Lanier, and Mary Stuart's children going to camp 34:51 Real camps that had to close due to the lockdowns 36:24 The concept of 'hard things' 40:27 Other endings Kristy had in mind for The Summer Of Songbirds 44:43 A sequel? 48:18 The on-hold Peachtree Bluff adaptation 52:16 What's next (A Happier Life, and and very, very brief peak at Kristy's 2025 book)
Charlie and Maggie Brookes (Acts Of Love And War) discuss the small group of British Quakers who went to aid refugees during the Spanish Civil War, the way the war tore families apart as people chose different sides, and why she ended her romantic thread differently than might be expected.
All referenced media in this episode: Francesca Wilson's In The Margins Of Chaos Maggie Brookes' Acts Of Love And War Maggie Brookes' The Prisoner's Wife
Buy Acts of Love and War and other books mentioned
Where to find Maggie online
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Where to find Charlie online
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Discussions
01:53 The initial inspiration: Professor Farah Mendlesohn's PhD on the Spanish Civil War 03:39 The very small group of Quakers, including Alfred Jacob, who went out to Spain from Britain to help refugees 07:02 The real life women in Maggie's book: Francesca Wilson, Kanty Cooper 09:30 How the Quakers got their supplies to Spain, and the refugee children's colonies 15:03 What happened to the refugees after the war 18:26 Maggie's fictional characters - Lucy, Tom, and Jamie and having two brothers on different sides of the war 22:20 People in Britain who thought Franco was right, and why they thought that, and we mention the non-intervention pact many countries agreed to 27:27 On why Maggie had one of the brothers die, and who was better for Lucy 29:59 The ending, Maggie leaving Lucy single 32:00 Maggie tells us about the inspiration of her first book, The Prisoner's Wife, and Maggie briefs us on what she's writing now
Photo credit: Lyn Gregory Disclosure: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops
Charlie and Stacey Thomas (The Revels) discuss English Civil War era witch hunting which includes the methods, the propaganda, and the awful theatre of it all. We also discuss Stacey's inclusion of actual witches in her narrative, and Stacey's recommendations of Wolf Hall and A Little Life.
Witchfinder General James VI/I's Daemonologie Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life Bridget Collins' The Binding Stacey's episode on Witches Of Scotland I spoke to Amita Parikh in episode 72
Where to find Stacey online
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Where to find Charlie online
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Discussions
01:20 What made you want to tell this story of a man who is a witch, and his role in the judgement of witches? 02:23 Stacey's interest in James I and his favouritism of different male courtiers 04:22 The theatrical elements of the book 05:58 The torture of the accused 'witches' that led to fantasy stories being created 08:51 The influence of the printing press and propaganda pamphlets on the public's thoughts about accused women 10:02 About knot magic 12:09 The importance of having actual witches in the book and the impact of religion 14:32 Stacey's interest in taxidermy and Althamia's experience 16:41 Althamia's impact on the novel 17:54 The themes of grief and guilt in the book 20:51 Castor and Pollux 22:20 The writing style and narrative voice, and Stacey recommends Wolf Hall and A Little Life 25:24 All about Will and how he fits into the story 30:44 Is John Rush a witch?... And the fact he's left at large at the end 34:40 The initial execution scene did not originally happen... 35:57 Althamia says "Happy endings are beyond most people" and talks of proper endings - how does Stacey see The Revels in that sense? 39:15 Modern day apologies for witch hunters by the church 42:02 What Stacey's working on now (this turns into a lengthy discussion on debutantes and their publicity machines
With thanks to Jawnson.
Charlie and Celina Baljeet Basra (Happy) discuss the experiences undocumented migrants to Western Europe face, French film director Jean Luc Goddard's seminal film Bande À Part, Indian talkshow Koffee With Karan, and Celina's particular usage of Umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh.
The Abduction Of Europe A review of 'Park', the 2017 exhibition curated by Celina Bande À Part Bruce Bégout's Le Park Uski Roti There are no clips of the discussed Koffee With Karan episode on YouTube, but if you've the right channel, it is from 7th November 2010
Where to find Celina online
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Where to find Charlie online
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Discussions
01:48 Why Celina wanted to tell this story: inspiration from a distant relatives' migration from India to Italy 05:24 Celina's highly unique narrative structure (fragmented) and how she used it to further achieve her aims 09:45 Would there have been a way for Happy's life to improve, if what happened to him at the end didn't happen? 12:07 The real riot of exploited migrants that was mentioned in the book 14:36 The character of Europe and the way Celina created a woman from a continent 19:32 The importance of the presence of Happy's family in the novel 21:20 The phrases of Italian vocabulary included that shows us where Happy is in his learning about his new life 24:35 Wonderland - the real one in Jalandhar and Celina's fictionisation of it 28:53 The inclusion of Jean Luc Goddard's Bande À Part 34:35 The inclusion of Indian talkshow Koffee With Karan 40:22 Why Celina included the other narrative voices of Harbir and Zhivago at the end 43:37 What's next
Photo credit: Lilian Scarlet.
Charlie and Rachel Abbott (Don't Look Away) discuss young carers and the guilt they can feel, trafficking in Cornwall - both fact and fiction - and having her series' policewoman staying in the background of the story rather than take the spotlight. (We talk about that a couple of times, I loved it!)
Please note that there are mentions of suicide in this episode.
And So It Begins Stranger Child Come A Little Closer Sleep Tight About the trafficking at Newlyn Harbour in late 2019
Where to find Rachel online
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Where to find Charlie online
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Discussions
01:40 The inspiration for Nancy and Lola's story 03:15 Nancy's feeling of guilt as a young carer who failed to save her mother 06:23 The way Rachel really fleshes out the non-police characters in her thriller 11:05 How long Lola will be in prison 13:48 Research Rachel does in terms of the police 16:55 How important is policewomen Stephanie (the linking factor of the books) compared to Nancy (one of this book's victims)? 20:18 Stephanie is written in the third person and Nancy is in the first person... 22:20 Why set the book in Cornwall, and why create a fictional village in Cornwall 25:36 The trafficking in the book and real situations 29:34 How Rachel goes from one plot to many - the expansion 33:15 How Rachel uses technology in her books as opposed to finding tech makes things too easy 35:03 What's next for Stephanie King, book 4 in the series? 41:26 Was there anyone that Rachel's editing agent didn't like, or did really like? 43:26 Rachel's current work on her next Tom Douglas book
Photo credit: Andrew Crowley.
Charlie and Karen Hamilton (The Contest) discuss the specifics of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and the vast support crews, her ridiculously privileged holidaying characters and where their requests are based in reality, and why everyone is obsessed with toilets. We then move on to an extensive discussion of the thriller aspect of Karen's book and whether, even though there is one killer in her book, there are in fact more.
Erick Kivelege's Climbing Kilimanjaro With Africa's Top Guide Kilimanjaro Porters Society
Where to find Karen online
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Where to find Charlie online
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Discussions
01:14 Mt Kilimanjaro and luxury travel 05:26 How climbing the mountain goes - the specifics of it 15:30 Karen's characters - Florence, Jacob, and Hugo 24:55 The grief in the book and the whole contest of two groups climbing Kilimanjaro 26:54 The violence and discussing who the killer is, and the associated theme of isolation 36:31 Ethical Getaways and BVT merging and the effect on Florence and Jacob 39:34 What's next (brief)
Photo credit: Emma Moore.
Charlie and Radhika Sanghani (I Wish We Weren't Related) discuss having alopecia, healing from being a people pleaser and self-empowerment in general, and her comic novel which includes an ex-fiance turned future brother-in-law, and a father who died, was not dead, but then died - true fictional story. Radhika's book also includes beloved cats, so we talk about cats too.
Asha Bhosle Pema Chödrön Marian Williamson talking about choosing between love and fear Radhika's novel 30 Things I Love About Myself
Where to find Radhika online
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Where to find Charlie online
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Discussions
01:35 The inspiration, in particular the theme of healing from alopecia 04:39 The characters, in particular Saraswati in Bollywood 08:14 Satya Auntie, and spirituality, in particular Buddhism and what Marian Williamson teaches about all our decisions being due to love and fear 12:37 On character Reeva's people pleasing and our own! 15:27 Reeva's trauma from her accident 17:36 Reeva's speech at her father's funeral 19:21 The choices made in regards to Reeva and Nick's relationship 21:34 The importance of including a second funeral, this time for someone Reeva knew and loved 22:55 Cats! All the cats! 25:52 What Radhika wanted to say about family 27:14 What's next
Photo credit: SEBC Photography.
Charlie and Gill Paul (A Beautiful Rival) discuss the working lives of and rivalry between businesswomen Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein, and the antisemitism in the US during WW2. We also discuss our views of Wallis Simpson.
We spoke about Gill's book The Second Marriage (Jackie And Maria in the US) in episode 42 The Powder And The Glory Lindy Woodhead's Warpaint Cosmetics And Skin Gill's Another Woman's Husband Wendy Holden's The Duchess
Where to find Gill online
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Where to find Charlie online
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Discussions
01:03 Why these women? 02:20 Elizabeth Arden and Helena Rubinstein hated each other but they never met... 02:59 Elizabeth's and Helena's backgrounds 07:28 The work Arden and Rubinstein put in to become successful 10:30 How Gill wrote her versions of Elizabeth and Helena 11:29 Elizabeth Arden's snobbery 13:46 The antisemitism in the West despite those countries going to war, particularly that coming from Arden 17:49 Irene Delaney, Elizabeth's forgotten 40-year-long PA 20:34 Moving factual events round to suit the narrative 22:24 Elizabeth employed her rival's ex-husband! 24:14 Advertisements and selling the companies 28:03 Helena Rubinstein's first husband was the publisher of Lady Chatterley's Lover 29:40 Rubinstein created the idea of skin types 32:39 The Suffragettes apparently wore lipstick on their marches, and talking about Gill's next book 34:53 What other people might Gill write about in future 36:33 Discussing our views of Wallis Simpson
Charlie and Tasneem Abdur-Rashid (Finding Mr Perfectly Fine) discuss writing a story that hadn't yet been told in novels and working with getting the balance and choices right when it came to writing for Bengali Muslims, Muslims from other cultures, and other readers. We also discuss the guys she cut from the first draft, why she decided to finish her rom-com on the somewhat controversial note she did, oh and if you're looking for a great Turkish restaurant in North London, we've got you covered.
Please note that there is swearing and discussion of rape in this episode.
Not Another Mum Pod ('Was My Husband Gay?' is episode 6) Tasneem's 'he's a 10 but...' TikTok video Capital Restaurant, Wood Green Hala, Green Lanes Gokyuzu Antepliler Tasneem's Instagram
Where to find Tasneem online
Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
Where to find Charlie online
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Discussions
01:44 The inspiration for Finding Mr Perfectly Fine 04:33 About Zara, Adam, and Hamza 08:48 How Tasneem wrote and planned the book, and balancing the different audiences she was writing for 13:30 Wherein Tasneem's dad bought her a computer for writing on when she was 10 years old 17:17 Deleted sections of the book - Zara met a lot more people! 20:16 Writing from a specific Muslim perspective (British Bengali) and pushback; also the Sylheti dialect 24:12 On the part where Yasmin wears hijab to cover her beauty when chaperoning Zara on a meet up 27:04 Hamza and Zara's lack of thinking about how controlling he is whereas others can see it 31:47 The Tariq plotline and backstory 33:26 Adam and Zara's mismatched values and working them out, Hamza, and the decisions Tasneem made for the ending 42:02 What happens beyond the ending pages 43:17 The possibility of a book about Amina 44:03 Further info about Tasneem's next book 47:31 On North London Turkish restaurants 49:47 On Tasneem's podcast, Not Another Mum Pod
Charlie Place and Amanda Geard (The Moon Gate) discuss Tasmania in WW2 and in general, Australia's famed poet Banjo Paterson and his fellow Bush Ballad writers, British Blackshirts and the Mitfords, and the Moorgate Tube Crash in London. On a lighter note, Amanda also tells us much about the writing of her book, including a lot of what she left out in order to reduce her book from the lengthy draft it was to the mere 500 hardback pages it is.
Amanda was the guest in episode 63 in which we spoke about The Midnight House Waltzing Matilda The Man From Snowy River The Mitfords - Letters Between Six Sisters The Moorgate Tube Crash I spoke to Kate Thompson about the Bethnal Green Tube Disaster in episode 76 Penghana
Where to find Amanda online
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Where to find Charlie online
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Discussions
01:50 The inspiration - Banjo Paterson's Bush ballads and mining in Tasmania 03:17 Keeping up with all the characters and planning the timelines 08:43 How there is so much of Amanda in this book 10:51 Mining on the West Coast of Tasmania, and Amanda's dad 13:41 Banjo Paterson and Australian poetry 17:49 Tasmania in WW2, including Prime Minister Robert Menzies 26:01 Women Blackshirts in Britain (including Diana Mitford) and the awfulness of Edeline 30:47 The Moon Gate's lengthy first draft 33:12 Moon Gates and rebirth 35:45 The focus on grief 37:23 Including the Moorgate Tube Crash 40:44 Amanda's Balinn returns! 42:45 The epilogue and what was left out 44:45 Rose and what might have been 47:20 The House of the book, Towerhurst and Australia's Federation houses, and huon pine trees 52:46 What Amanda found when renovating an old Irish house 55:07 More on Amanda's current manuscript, a story looking at occupied Norway
Charlie and Alex Hay (The Housekeepers) discuss his meticulously planned and fast-paced 1900s heist novel wherein the entire contents of a grand house are to be removed... and the mistress of the place is in on it. Alex tells us about the successful collaboration between himself and his three editors and we discuss the various comedy aspects of the book.
Sadie Jones' The Uninvited Guests Julia Laite's The Disappearance Of Lydia Harvey Alex's conversation with Sarah Penner for Always Authors
Where to find Alex online
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Where to find Charlie online
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Discussions
01:25 The inspiration for The Housekeepers 06:14 Alex's extensive planning of the book and some of the changes made 10:01 Mrs Bone, Danny/Mr de Vries, and the O'Flynn family 12:54 The many narratives and including Miss de Vries in her own narrative as an 'equal' 17:20 The comedy! 21:33 The trafficking plot line 24:37 On Alice and keeping secrets 27:23 Working with three editors 31:22 Was there ever another ending in mind? 33:37 The 'What-choo' boy 34:59 Jane One and Jane Two 36:59 The reality of the smoking machine 38:11 The possibility of an adaptation 38:50 What's next?
Charlie and Paula Cocozza (Speak To Me) discuss how phones have taken the place of conversation, a number of literary Susans, and Paula tells us about her love of reading and libraries in childhood.
The Guardian's story on Kirstie Allsopp smashing her daughter's IPad Susan Cain's Quiet Suze Rotolo's A Freewheelin' Time I am (happy?) to say that Susan the dog is no longer the first Susan mentioned on pages about 'Susan' on Wikipedia Hanif Kureshi's Intimacy (beware NSFW cover) The Reading Agency Paula's column, A New Start After 60
Where to find Paula online
Where to find Charlie online
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You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Discussions
01:08 The inspiration and our modern phone usage 09:01 The hows of how Paula wrote the book 16:12 On the narrator's reliability 19:43 All the Susans in this book! 22:21 The Victorian terrace house, our main character's former home 24:22 Anthony 27:51 So Paula wrote some of the book with pen and paper... 29:40 The use of Shakespeare's Malvolio 31:30 Our narrator's dealings with Anthony and Kurt later in the book, and miscommunication 36:32 Our narrator's relationship with her sons 38:55 Why our narrator is a librarian - Paula's reading journey 43:40 What's next 45:39 On Paula's current feature series for The Guardian, A New Start After 60
Charlie and Nicolai Houm (The Gradual Disappearance Of Jane Ashland) discuss a unique and somewhat extreme form of coping with grief, where his characterisation blends into his own writer self, and the opening ending he left his readers with.
Please note that there swearing and mentions of suicide in this episode.
Wikipedia's article on Andersonville Prison
Where to find Charlie online
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You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Discussions
01:20 The starting point of loss and trauma
07:32 Jane, family, and replacing family
12:59 Jane as a writer and how she could have written the book herself
15:35 Nicolai's use of language and how his writer self is included in the book
20:51 Everything about Ulf
24:05 The significance of the musk oxen
28:14 Continuing on the musk oxen in regards to the ending of the book
31:48 How Jane's parents affected who she is
33:03 Nicolai's travels for surfing reasons and what's next
Charlie and Elissa Soave (Ginger And Me) discuss including the working class in fiction, writing about neuro-divergence without labels, and social care and society in context. We also discuss Elissa's Greggs habit, writing about her hometown, and why her editor told her 'this is not Reservoir Dogs...'
Please note that there is a mild swear word in this episode.
The Primadonna Prize
Laura Pearson's episode was number 11
Kazuo Ishiguru's Nobel Prize speech
Gail Honeyman's Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Where to find Elissa online
Where to find Charlie online
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You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Discussions
01:27 The starting point for the book and discussing 'difference' of personality and labels
09:36 The people on the bus and exploring the lives of the working class
13:49 Ginger
15:21 Diane
17:13 Friendship and loneliness
20:23 The writing group
24:20 Uddingston
27:44 The importance of food in the novel
29:17 Wendy's parents
32:14 Social care in the book and our society
36:24 Ginger's death
40:56 Wendy not changing at the end (and including Ali Smith!)
43:53 What's next
Charlie and Lisa See (Lady Tan's Circle Of Women) discuss the medieval Chinese woman doctor Tan Yuanxian, whose book is still in use today. We also discuss, in this context, the isolation and disability of being an aristocratic woman in the time period.
Please note that there is swearing in this episode.
Tan Yuan Xian's Miscellaneous Records Of A Female Doctor
Hildegard Von Bingen
The Washing Away Of Wrongs
Where to find Lisa online
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Where to find Charlie online
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You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Discussions
00:55 About Tan Yuan Xian
06:00 Facts versus fiction, where we don't know all that much about Yuan Xian
11:21 While there were many of them, we don't know much about other women doctors in China at that time...
12:44 The importance of friendship in the novel
17:50 Being born in the year of the (Metal) Snake
22:22 The true story of a midwife who had a miscarriage in front of the empress
26:52 The focus on isolation, and foot binding
34:47 Lady Kuo
41:54 Miss Zhao
44:25 The murder mystery
49:58 The men, and in particular Yuan Xian's grandfather
51:16 What's next
Photo credit: Patricia Williams.
Charlie and Eleanor Shearer (River Sing Me Home) discuss how slavery didn't really end when it was abolished, and Eleanor's experiences studying the Caribbean during this time and the knowledge she gained. We also explore different versions of freedom, and the way Eleanor's family influenced her writing.
The Windrush Foundation
Samuel Smith's To Shoot Hard Labour
Toni Morrison's Beloved
Marianne Hirsch
V S Naipaul's The Loss Of El Dorado
Wikipedia's extensive article on Black Nova Scotians
Andrea Levy's Small Island
Where to find Eleanor online
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You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Discussions
00:47 The 'apprenticeships' that happened after slavery had 'ended'
02:47 About Eleanor's two 'main' inspirations
06:23 On reparations
10:23 Rachel, and Eleanor's family
15:41 The order in which Rachel finds her children
17:53 Nobody
21:21 The children's fathers
23:42 The theme of motherhood
26:36 Eleanor's wanting to use Creole languages but wanting to keep it accessible to non-Creole speakers
28:28 Mary Grace's muteness
31:59 The oral storytelling
34:34 The different versions of freedom
37:30 The theme of water
40:24 The Maroon communities and their movements
42:27 The Rising of Demerara
45:57 Eleanor's use of the search for El Dorado
47:34 What's next?
Photo credit: Lucinda Douglas-Menzies.
Charlie and Jenni Keer (The Legacy Of Halesham Hall) discuss wacky puzzle houses, writing as a reader, the age gap in her book, and Rebecca-like characters who remain alive.
The Winchester Mystery House, California
Where to find Jenni online
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You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Discussions
01:16 The inspiration/reason for the story
03:29 The house... and Clement Bellingham
08:16 The influence of Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca
13:52 On Phoebe ending up with Sidney, and age gaps
16:45 On what Sidney looks like
18:04 The Bellingham board game company
20:52 Sidney's choices, adolescence, and the etymology of 'teenager'
32:45 Phoebe's gaining of the house
37:43 Not needing to live an 'exciting' life in order to be an author
39:20 What's next?
Charlie and Kate Thompson (The Little Wartime Library) discuss the wartime history and community of East London's Bethnal Green - the Tube station that housed locals during the Blitz, the library that moved down into the tunnels and is now back overground, and the people that made the community what it was. We also discuss wartime reading and the measures put in place to stop women reading escapist fiction.
Please note that there is a moderate swear word in this episode.
Bethnal Green Library
The Stepney Doorstep Society
Bethnal Green Tube Station and history
Pellicci's restaurant
You can find photos of the underground library, tunnels, Kate in the library archives, and the quotes read, in Kate's article for Historia Magazine
Shoes on the Danube Bank memorial in Budapest
The event that Kate references that also led to a crush disaster was The Hillsborough Disaster
Forever Amber
Secrets Of The Singer Girls
The Paris Library
The Last Bookshop in London
The Librarian Of Burned Books
Where to find Kate online
Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Discussions
02:02 How Kate found her story
04:36 Mrs Chumbley
06:09 The framing, using the Covid lockdown each end of the story
12:57 Why Kate created fictional narrators
15:55 How the tunnels at Bethnal Green Tube Station came to be used as bomb shelters and what it was all like
21:58 The Bethnal Green Tube Disaster
29:24 The Hughes Mansions bombing
31:09 Discussing Bethnal Green Library
32:28 The attempts to stop women reading whatever they wanted
37:26 Wartime reading: Mein Kampf and Forever Amber
40:54 Kate's writing and language
43:06 What's next?
47:05 Bethnal Green Library today
48:44 Kate's forthcoming podcast
Photo credit: Debbie Clark.
Charlie and Ronali Collings (Love & Other Dramas) discuss her relationship with her mother and where that influences her novel, racist comments and decisions in the workplace, and her experiences of female friendships during her IVF journey. We begin with her studies for a Masters - her supervisor was Bernardine Evaristo.
The Madeline Milburn Mentorship Programme Ronali's interview on The Two Of Us Ronali's episode on Chloe Timms' Confessions Of A Debut Novelist
Where to find Ronali online
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Discussions
01:19 On Ronali's MA for which she was supervised by Bernadine Evaristo 06:18 On the inspirations and reasons for writing Love & Other Dramas 13:10 The characters 20:11 Stephen! 22:55 The importance of Tanya remaining single at the end 27:06 Ronali's relationship with her mother and the influence on Helen and Tanya 33:46 Catholicism in Ronali's life and in the book 39:11 The micro-aggressions related to racism 43:06 Priya and Bianca's relationship 46:16 Discussing female friendships - Ronali discusses the absence of them in parts of her life and we then go on to discuss friendship in the context of her IVF treatments 56:38 What's next?
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Kristina McMorris (Sold On A Monday; The Ways We Hide) discuss the harrowing photographs of children that inspired her last two novels, why she chose to focus - in the first book - on the news reporters rather than the children, and changing the fictional outcome of the stories.
The photograph of the children for sale and an article with the basics Kristina's Facebook post about her and RaeAnn's appearance on NPR Interview with RaeAnn for North West Indiana Times Interview with David McDaniel Christina Baker Kline's Orphan Train The first sentence on Sold On A Monday ended up being: 'Outside the guarded entrance, reporters circled like a pack of wolves.' (The photograph that inspired The Ways We Hide is a photograph of some of the children who died in the Italian Hall Disaster and shows them laid out after death.) "How Monopoly Helped The Allies Win WW2" article The videos of the various MI9 tools are listed on Kristina's website
Where to find Kristina online
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You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Discussions
01:21 Tell us about the photograph Sold On A Monday was inspired by 06:09 Changing the outcome for the fictional children 07:40 The book's focus on the reporters rather than the children 11:11 How Kristina's experience in media informed her writing 13:41 About the original title 17:55 The reliability of the characters 19:10 Ellis and Lily 22:33 Theme of family and motherhood 23:45 The photograph that inspired The Ways We Hide 27:17Fenna! 28:25 The four books Kristina is currently working on 32:29 Kristina introduces the extra content on her website
Charlie and Orlando Ortega-Medina (The Fitful Sleep Of Immigrants) discuss the reality for LGBT asylum seekers in the US, Orlando's own experiences as a lawyer, and same-sex marriage rights now Roe v Wade has been overturned.
Orlando's law firm Authority Magazine video "How Do We Master Our Ego?" an discussion with Rabbi Joseph Dweck for J-TV
Where to find Orlando online
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You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Discussions
01:33 Orlando's career as a lawyer and his own firm 3:55 How Orlando might have changed his plans for his career if he'd been able to write part time and be a lawyer part time 05:38 Creating the characters 09:08 Issac and the situation in El Salvador in the late 1990s at the time 11:22 The court hearing 15:08 Alejandro Silva! 23:11 The original version of the book 26:18 The Saint Cloud case and realities 28:06 On the same-sex marriage rights of LGBT people in the US now that Roe v Wade has been overturned 32:04 The passage about darkness and light in the context of people 34:19 Mitzpe Ramon and Orlando's use of it in his work
Photograph credit: Marte Lundby Rekaa
Charlie and Amita Parikh (The Circus Train) discuss how Amita's dancing and performing experiences influenced her work, her controversial decision to have her wheelchair-using heroine learn to walk, and the Theresienstadt Ghetto (concentration camp) where prisoners led a fairly cultured life.
'Ten Fun Facts About The Circus Train' on Amita's website The Night Ferry Elizabeth Kenny The Theresienstadt Ghetto Information and links about #PublishingPaidMe
Where to find Amita online
Website
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Discussions
01:20 The inspiration behind the characters and the theme of illusion 04:29 The circus itself and Amita's dancing experience 07:01 Real travelling circuses of the time 08:53 Getting the balance between magic and reality 09:22 The original drafts 11:47 Back to the train aspect 13:37 The decision to have Lena learning to walk and the historical medical context for it 18:35 The Theresienstadt Ghetto 22:20 Horace! 26:31 About another book Amita has written (not published), her reaction to getting an agent, and her upcoming second book
Photograph credit: Helen Tansey
Charlie and Emma Cowell (One Last Letter From Greece) discuss grief, miscarriage and expectations surrounding it, and, in keeping with her book's title, Greece and its culture.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-71-emma-cowell
Methoni Cadgwith Petalidi
Emma's Links:
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Discussions and Readings
01:30 First reading 03:56 Emma's mum 07:49 The how, when, and so forth of Emma writing One Last Letter From Greece 11:42 Emma's inclusion of Greece in the book 14:44 Second reading 18:09 All about Sophie 24:38 Discussion of friendship, miscarriage and fertility 31:32 Theo! 33:25 Emma's angling experience and its influence 35:04 Art and the art world 39:00 The paranormal elements 42:27 Lindsay and Grigor what ifs 49:36 Emma's next book, The House In The Olive Grove
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
She's back! Charlie and E C Fremantle (The Honey And The Sting) discuss producing a book that is utterly devoid - and then some - of filler, Black people of the Stuart era, and the film of Fremantle's first novel, which will star Jude Law and Alicia Vikander.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-70-e-c-fremantle
The Honey And The Sting
George Villiers
Frances Coke
John Felton
Eleanor Davies
Miranda Kaufmann's Black Tudors
Pearl diver Jacques Francis
The Poison Bed
Robert Carr
The painting of Anne of Denmark
Firebrand
Artemisia Gentileschi
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:40 [Asking Liz about her writing choices in terms of the stripped-back style of her book]
05:43 [Reading]
13:08 Could you talk more about the creation of the sisters themselves?
16:31 Is this book moving towards the fantasy genre?
17:21 Can you talk about the bees, honey, this concept?
19:08 George Villiers - can you talk about how you included the story and why you made the choices you did?
23:45 Were James I and George Villiers lovers, in your opinion?
26:58 Can you talk about your decision to use Francis Bacon's work in your book?
28:16 Can you talk more about your research of Black people of the era and their inclusion in your book?
31:55 Your first novel has now been made into a film (called Firebrand; in post-production). What can you tell us about it at this point?
34:10 Can you tell us about your next book, Disobedient?
Photograph used with the permission of the author. Credit: JP Masclet.
She's back! Charlie and E C Fremantle (The Honey And The Sting) discuss producing a book that is utterly devoid - and then some - of filler, Black people of the Stuart era, and the film of Fremantle's first novel, which will star Jude Law and Alicia Vikander.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-70-e-c-fremantle
The Honey And The Sting
George Villiers
Frances Coke
John Felton
Eleanor Davies
Miranda Kaufmann's Black Tudors
Pearl diver Jacques Francis
The Poison Bed
Robert Carr
The painting of Anne of Denmark
Firebrand
Artemisia Gentileschi
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:40 [Asking Liz about her writing choices in terms of the stripped-back style of her book]
05:43 [Reading]
13:08 Could you talk more about the creation of the sisters themselves?
16:31 Is this book moving towards the fantasy genre?
17:21 Can you talk about the bees, honey, this concept?
19:08 George Villiers - can you talk about how you included the story and why you made the choices you did?
23:45 Were James I and George Villiers lovers, in your opinion?
26:58 Can you talk about your decision to use Francis Bacon's work in your book?
28:16 Can you talk more about your research of Black people of the era and their inclusion in your book?
31:55 Your first novel has now been made into a film (called Firebrand; in post-production). What can you tell us about it at this point?
34:10 Can you tell us about your next book, Disobedient?
Photograph used with the permission of the author. Credit: JP Masclet.
Charlie and Cecelia Tichi (A Fatal Gilded High Note) discuss the Gilded Age in its success and its crimes, her rebellious 1890s character who defies class, and the history of French Bulldogs.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-69-cecelia-tichi
The 1897 World Expedition in Nashville
Parton's, Harris', and Ronstadt's Trio
Cecelia's book on country music and literature
Virginia City
"Boss" Tweed
Jay Gould
Upton Sinclair's The Jungle
John Mackey
Evelyn Walsh McLean
(Cecelia's book on Gilded Age Cocktails)
The Gilded Age Society on Facebook
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:58 Where do country music and literature meet for you?
07:58 [Reading]
12:09 Why the Gilded Age?
15:57 There was a lot of crime in that era?...
21:43 How did you come to create Val, the fictional aspects?
27:11 Tell us about Velvet the French Bulldog
30:50 Tell us about A Deadly Gilded Freefall
31:32 Will there be a fifth book in this series?
31:55 How is Val going to progress as a character going forward?
Purchase Links
A Fatal Gilded High Note:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
A Deadly Gilded Free Fall:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the marketing team.
Charlie and Kate Glanville (The Peacock House) discuss her main character who is 90 years old, and villains who aren't so villainous after all. Kate also discusses the way her dyslexia has effected her reading, and some of her thoughts on education in this vein in the context of her younger character.
Please note that there are spoilers throughout the episode.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-68-kate-glanville
Kate's ceramics
Newton House
St David's College
Llandudno and Conway
Bodysgallen
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:33 How did you first know when you wanted to write?
03:17 [Reading]
07:41 Can you tell us where the story comes from and your inspiration?
16:17 In terms of Evelyn's romance were there any wartime inspirations?
17:52 Why didn't you include Evelyn and Jack's reunion in the book?
20:34 Kind of on this, is a more pleasant cast of characters what you prefer to go for?
23:18 Tell us about the future for Tilly, Bethan, and Tom
25:20 What's next?
27:53 Tell us more about your ceramics business
29:02 [Kate talks about audiobooks and how they've helped her read]
Purchase Links
The Peacock House:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Kristin Harmel (The Forest Of Vanishing Stars) discuss the true story, and Kristin's own fictional one, of a group of over a thousand Jewish people who during WW2 slowly escaped to and hid in a vast forest away from the Nazis.
Please note that there are spoilers throughout the episode.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-67-kristin-harmel
Quotation from Patti Callahan Henry taken from the Friends & Fiction Launch Party for The Forest Of Vanishing Stars (audio only)
The Bielski Partisans
Naliboki Forest
Nechama Tec's Defiance
Defiance (the film)
The Sweetness Of Forgetting
The martyrs of Nowogrodeck
Vadem Sidorovich
Friends & Fiction website
Friends & Fiction Facebook group
Mary Alice Monroe
Mary Kay Andrews
Patti Callahan Henry
Kristy Woodson Harvey
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
01:13 As a reporter you were interested in ordinary people who were heroes and also the stories of how people got to where they were. How dd this segue into you becoming a novelist?
04:21 [Reading]
08:47 You've got Yona, who's fictional, but the history is real?...
12:32 You said twelve hundred people - how on earth did they hide all that time?
15:40 One of the Bielkski brothers was a Zus, and you have a character called Zus...
18:03 Is there a reason this fact of so many people hiding in the forest isn't well known?
23:11 Are you able to talk about the theme of stars?
27:59 Why the mysticism?
31:57 On this, what might have happened if Yona hadn't been stolen, with her father?
35:51 Why did you feel the need to have Yona die?
42:04 You weren't able to visit the forest to research it due to the pandemic. Do you think you might go to it at some point?
46:18 What's next?
47:29 Tell us about your weekly web show, Friends & Fiction, and the spin-off podcast, Writer's Block
Purchase Links
The Forest Of Vanishing Stars:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Sally Page (The Keeper Of Stories) discuss story collection, the forgotten mistress of the abdicated Edward VIII, and dogs who swear something chronic!
Please note that there are some spoilers throughout the episode.
Please also note that there is a mild swear word in this episode.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-66-sally-page
Sally's website (with info about floristry, flower books, and her painting)
Libby Page
Olivia Coleman's Oscar win and speech
Scheherazade
Marguerite Alibert
Wendy Holden's The Duchess
Sally's fountain pens, Plooms
(I was incorrect - there is a mention of Marguerite on Edward VIII's Wikipedia page.)
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
01:03 Tell us about your flower shop
03:15 On this then, would you say you yourself are a keeper of stories?
04:27 You're a painter - tell us all about it
06:45 [Reading]
09:00 You never give the name of the National Treasure - is there a reason for this and what is their purpose?
10:20 Janice - can you talk about her creation and any inspirations?
12:33 In terms of this subject, were the other characters more function or important in themselves?
14:21 And Mrs B - her creation, etc...?
15:29 You use the Arabian Nights - can you talk about using this, the reasons, etc?
16:57 Janice never asks what the real name of 'Becky' was. Does this help her progression as a character?
18:58 You've mentioned it twice now so I have to ask - what's your favourite period of history to study?
19:43 How did you come to know and use the story of Margherite and what was it about it that interested you?
23:43 [Talking Decius]
27:02 Fiona and Adam - how important was their story to the overall narrative?
28:13 What's next?
29:22 What is it about needing happy endings?
30:19 Tell us about the fountain pens you sell, Plooms?
31:38 [Sally talks about her readers' responses]
Purchase Links
The Keeper Of Stories:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Natalie Jenner (Bloomsbury Girls) discuss Jane Austen in all Natalie's interesting concepts, tales of related auctions she has been involved in, and the work to 'preserve and pull together' a record of the books that inspired her. They also discuss Natalie's inclusion of Daphne du Maurier in her novel, Persephone Books, and genre in its context as a label.
Please note that there are (very slight) spoilers throughout the episode.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-65-natalie-jenner
Persephone Books
84 Charing Cross Road (film)
Sunwise Turn
Madge Jemisin's memoir
Lamb's Conduit Street
The Second Shelf Bookshop, London
Daphne du Maurier's Myself When Young: The Makings Of A Writer
Emily Midorikawa: Daphne du Maurier and Oriel Malet
Daphne du Maurier's The Doll
Sonia Orwell
Jane Wells Webb
The Mummy!
The Godmersham Lost Sheep Society's blog
Reading With Austen
McGill's Burney Centre
Sample and Audible edition of Richard Armitage's narration of The Jane Austen Society
Sample and Audible edition Juliet Stevenson's narration of Bloomsbury Girls
Natalie's favourite Persephone book is Julia Strachey's Cheerful Weather For The Wedding
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
01:14 You owned a book shop. Tell us about it
05:40 You are obviously very interested in classical writers, Jane Austen in particular. Can you tell us where your inspiration stems from?
14:37 [Reading]
19:55 How much are the Jane Austen Society and Bloomsbury Girls related - can Bloomsbury Girls be a standalone?
21:09 Can you talk about three of your inspirations for Bloomsbury Girls - the book 84 Charing Cross Road, and the bookshops Sunwise Turn and Persephone Books?
26:17 Why as it important to you to include Daphne du Maurier?
32:51 Why Jane Wells Webb - why The Mummy, why include this author in particular?
37:20 You have auctions of books in your novel. Are auctions something that interests you and were there real life ones that inspired you?
41:40 You've mentioned genre a couple of times. Can you expand on your thoughts here?
45:51 What's next?
47:59 (Natalie talks about the British audiobook editions of her novels)
Purchase Links
The Jane Austen Society:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
Bloomsbury Girls:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Chloe Timms (The Seawomen) discuss Chloe's dystopian fictional religious cult in all its fantasy and reality, the major changes she made to the book as the editing progressed, and her own interpretations of the various parts of the ending.
Please note that there are spoilers throughout the episode.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-64-chloe-timms
The blog post that mentions the Bridport Prize, 'Fighting Self Doubt and Embracing Writing Opportunities'
The Bridport Poetry Prize
The Faber Academy
Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale
Kirsty Logan
The Literary Consultancy
Evie Wyld's The Bass Rock
Confessions Of A Debut Novelist
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
01:01 You say on your blog you'll mention Your Bridport Prize for Poetry longlisting at every opportunity. I've introduced it - tell us about it
02:32 How did you find your agent?
05:58 [Reading]
10:49 Can you tell us about the starting point of this novel - the idea, the inspirations, etc?
13:57 Is Esta important for herself or more for what she represents?
17:04 Is what we're talking about to do with the major structural change?
19:22 Why mermaids and selkies?
22:04 The way you incorporated the seawomen, the concept etc, was that always the plan?
24:59 Did you ever consider keeping the untethered women alive?
26:24 Cal, a man, helps Esta to see what was going on. Can you talk about your use of him here, how he came to be the defining moment of that point of the book?
29:11 When in Esta's life is the narrative being written?
30:50 What are The Otherlands to you, what are they like?
33:33 What's the importance of having the men in the dark - or are they?
35:52 Should Mull be forgiven?
37:08 Where does the grandmother fit in terms of her belief and what's going on?
40:33 Does Esta survive?
42:07 What happens to Cal?
43:47 Is Esta's mother okay?
44:15 What's next?
45:41 Tell us about your podcast, Confessions of a Debut Novelist
48:02 [Chloe discusses our conversation, the detail etc]
Purchase Links
The Seawomen:
Amazon UK
Waterstones
Hive
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the publisher.
Charlie and Amanda Geard (The Midnight House) discuss buying big derelict houses, the importance of community in County Kerry, and Amanda's stunning epilogue - which is one of Charlie's favourites.
Please note that there are spoilers throughout the episode.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-63-amanda-geard
Writer's Week
Patricia O'Reilly
My discussion with Liz Fenwick is episode 35; Hazel Gaynor is 46; Nicola Cornick 1 and 38
The Ring of Kerry
Delphi Logue, Galway
The Kerry Way
Canary Girls
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
01:03 You're a geologist - tell us about your background and what came before writing
01:44 Where does your writer self come in to this?
04:43 So you have planned this book meticulously...?
05:18 So are you going to write a time-slip book?
06:25 [Reading]
09:17 How did you come to the title, The Midnight House?
10:13 Whereabouts does the House itself fall on the scale of importance?
13:28 You mentioned the house you bought - you renovated it etc?...
14:57 The community in the book - was it always important from the get go?
17:36 Can you tell us about Nancy, Charlotte, and Hattie?
19:58 Why did you want to explore Charlotte's story through Ellie's, or was it maybe the other way round for you?
21:54 Were there any particular historical influences that worked for Charlotte's story?
23:57 Was it Charlotte's disappearance itself or more so the subject of it that was important?
25:58 You reveal Ellie's 'mysteries' a lot slower. What was the reason for that?
28:32 Had you considered having Charlotte still alive?
30:29 Why the epilogue, why include Charlotte like this?
31:45 Did a lot of pregnant women work as Canary Girls?
34:10 What would have happened with Charlotte if she'd lived?
34:40 What's going to happen with the peerage and the house, would you say?
36:03 What's next?
37:21 [Amanda talks about reader reactions to The Midnight House]
Purchase Links
The Midnight House:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the agent.
Charlie and Grace D Li (Portrait Of A Thief) discuss Chinese American identity, art theft and repatriation, and bonkers fun fictional heists.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-62-grace-d-li
The Sackler Museum
The real thefts
The Old Summer Palace
The Second Opium War looting
Information (from last year) about the Netflix deal
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:52 How do you combine your medical studies with your writing?
02:24 You're a museum tour guide?...
03:51 [Reading]
08:15 Can you tell us about the real stories behind your heists?
10:44 Are you able to give us a brief history the palace and the original looting?
12:12 Can you tell us what’s currently happening in terms of art that’s been given back, the changes that have happened since the heist that you’ve fictionalised?
13:28 How have your own feelings of identity progressed?
14:53 Can you talk about your characters in terms of identity, how you created them and so on?
16:03 You give each character their own narrative. Was this always the plan?
16:46 Are you able to talk about the theme of loss in this context?
18:29 Why a heist to explore identity?
19:37 You mention the pandemic – where in our current time does the novel fit?
20:53 Was there a reason for the different levels of digital (and so forth) security in the book?
22:29 Why have Daniel’s father be so high up in the FBI; why was his role important?
25:42 Do you have a favourite character?
27:11 The romances – to you as the writer, how did they help the stories messages and topics come to the fore, etc?
30:37 The ending – was it always going to be this different heist?
32:36 Did you ever considered having more ‘full’ heists than you did?
34:38 Could the characters have found who they were without the heists?
35:44 Has there been progress with the Netflix purchase?
36:41 What’s next?
Purchase Links
Portrait Of A Thief:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author. Credit: Yi Li.
Charlie and Yvonne Bailey-Smith (The Day I Fell Off My Island) discuss the effects on children of immigration from Jamaica to the UK, the effects on parents, and the lack of educational care afforded to and the assumptions made about Black British students.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-61-yvonne-bailey-smith
The Day I Fell Off My Island on the Author Club's Best Novel Award
Professor Carolyn Cooper
Lisa Allen-Agostini's The Bread The Devil Knead
Diane Abbott
After we finished recording, Yvonne spoke to me about how people from all across the world, ethicities, places, religions, have read her book and contacted her about it, and how wonderful that has been.
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
01:55 [Reading]
11:43 Tell us about Grandma Melba
14:25 Can you tell us about your work as a social worker and psychotherapist?
15:54 You've been writing this book for a very long time?
18:22 Is there anything interesting you can tell us about what was edited out?
19:18 How much of this book is informed by your own story of immigration to England?
22:01 Did it take you a while to get used to living in Britain; how similar are yours and Erna's experiences?
24:47 Can you talk about your choices to write half of the novel's dialogue - the half set in Jamaica - in Jamaican patois?
28:58 You said about Carolyn Cooper checking through the book the night beforehand, was anything able to be done about the errors?
31:16 Can you tell us about Violet - what went into creating her, and so on?
36:21 Erna is not given advice about university until she asks about it and she says this happened to other black school mates. Was this something that happened a lot then and further in the future?
40:11 Tell us all about the title!
41:31 Is there anything you can tell us about the sequel?
Purchase Links
The Day I Fell Off My Island:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of Yvonne's publicist. Credit: Elena Heatherwick.
Charlie and Jennifer Saint (Elektra) discuss the Trojan War in terms of the women the men left behind - Elektra, Clytemnestra, Cassandra, and, arguably, Helen.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-60-jennifer-saint
The Trojan War
Elektra
Clytemnestra
Cassandra
Agamemnon
The Odyssey
Odysseus
Penelope
Ariadne
Aegisthus
Helen
Iphigenia
Andromache
Paris
Roger Lancelyn Green's The Tale Of Troy
Atlanta
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:32 When did you first become interested in Greek mythology?
02:00 [Reading]
05:39 Why Elektra, why is she the title character?
06:47 [Jennifer talks about how she initially saw Clytemnestra as more important]
09:39 Is Clytemnestra the character you sympathise with the most?
12:22 Would events have gone the way the did if Clytemnestra had spent more time with Elektra?
14:15 Why is it important to keep telling these stories?
18:16 What was important to you to add in that was missed in the other variations?
21:14 What is your favourite Greek myth?
23:19 Did you ever consider a different narrative - Helen, for example?
27:56 In your opinion, did Helen go willingly to Paris?
31:05 How has history regarded Cassandra - should she have slept with Apollo?
33:43 Is it right that Elektra's left at the end?
35:02 What was the belief in the Underworld at the time in regards to Iphigenia's place in it?
36:30 What's next?
Purchase Links
Elektra:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of Jennifer's publicist.
Charlie and Melissa Fu (Peach Blossom Spring) discuss the experiences of Chinese refugees during the Second Sino-Japanese War - particularly those who fled to Taiwan - the centuries old hand scrolls that inspired her own character’s scroll, and how the lives of her family influenced her work.
Please note that there are spoilers throughout the episode.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-59-melissa-fu
The David TK Wong Fellowship
George Ella Lyon's Where I'm From
Danke Li's Echoes Of Chongqing
The Second Sino-Japanese War
Chi Pang-yuan's The Great Flowing River
The Great Tunnel Disaster of Chongqing
Q M Zhang's Accomplice To Memory
The Admonitions scroll
The British Museum's page on the Admonitions scroll (thanks to Melissa)
YouTube scroll-through of Along The River During Qingming
Animated version of Along The River (see top of page; thanks to Melissa)
Background information on Along The River
The Taiping steamer
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:45 You wrote some of this book during a fellowship at UEA?
02:30 [Reading]
05:00 What made you start on the note that you did?
06:56 Can you tell us about the other starting point of the novel, your father and his peach trees?
10:13 Is it right to say there might be a bit of you in Lily?
11:18 Can you tell us about Meilin - how you came to create her and what went in to making her?
14:38 Can you tell us about the experiences of women and refugees during the war?
16:56 The incidence in the tunnel and the plane on the road - are these real events that happened?
21:55 Can you tell us about Taiwan in terms of what it was like for the refugees?
26:10 Why did you include the hand scroll as an item and as a concept in itself?
30:15 Was it always in your mind to shrink Longwei's family as the narrative continued?
34:52 Was Meilin right not to marry Longwei?
36:50 Could things have been fixed so that Meilin could have joined Henry in the US?
39:12 In the US, Henry is paranoid about political people coming after him due to his uncle. Was his uncle actually in a position to make that a possibility?
43:28 What's next?
Purchase Links
Peach Blossom Spring:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of Melissa's publicist. Credit: Sophie Davidson.
Charlie and Natasha Miller (Relentless) discuss Natasha's incredible and inspirational life as a classical violinist and jazz singer, and founder and owner of a multi-million dollar events company. Our discussion includes her childhood - she's a survivor of abuse - and being a parent who strives to get it right.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-58-natasha-miller
Entire Productions on the Inc. 5000 list
Jamie Blaine
Simon Estes
2004 article about Bobby Sharp and Natasha
Entire Productions
Entire Productions' YouTube channel
Covenant House
Fascinating Entrepreneurs
'Over The Moon'
Preview Natasha's albums on YouTube Music
Buy the CDs and MP3s
Previews and other digital versions
Natasha's older YouTube channel with earlier performances and other bands
Recent Christmas performances and Entire Productions' bands
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:56 Can you tell us how you created this book with Jamie Blaine?
03:49 [Reading]
07:54 Can you tell us about your childhood?
11:44 How do you feel your experiences in childhood have shaped who you are in adulthood, your progression in life?
14:02 Can you tell us about your music career?
16:18 How did your friendship with Bobby Sharp impact your career and life?
18:08 Would you say you're more a singer than a violinist?
19:58 Can you tell us about Entire Productions - how it started, how it grew, and what it's all about?
24:26 Would you say you're more of a musician than a business woman?
25:10 Do you ever have Impostor Syndrome?
26:36 Why have you written Relentless now, why this part of your life?
28:16 The proceeds (partial) are going to Covenant House?...
29:10 Tell us about your podcast, Fascinating Entrepreneurs
30:18 What's next?
31:42 You say about how you've parented Bennett differently - can you give us an example?
35:25 [Natasha discusses her daughter's singing with her and her then-upcoming book launch]
36:42 [Natasha reminds us that if you want to do something, you need to go for it]
Purchase Links
Relentless:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of Natasha's assistant.
Charlie and Kate Quinn (The Rose Code; The Diamond Eye) discuss the extraordinary people behind Bletchley Park's successes, including socialite Osla Benning, and her relationship with Elizabeth II's future husband, Prince Philip. And, in a nod to her latest novel, Kate introduces us to Lyudmila Pavlichenko, a WWII Soviet sniper from Kyiv.
Please note there is a swear word in this episode.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-57-kate-quinn
Osla Benning
Lord Mountbatten
Mavis Lever
Dilly Knox
Battle of Cape Matapan
Mavis Lever's biography of Dilly Knox
John Cairncross
The Cambridge Five
Coventry Blitz
Lyudmila Pavlichenko
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:34 Tell us about your degrees in Classical Voice
02:55 How did you come to choose how to write The Rose Code, whose stories to tell?
04:59 Could you tell us more about Osla - who she was factually, and in the context of your novel?
08:01 Were you daunted at all, using Prince Philip as a character?
11:17 Could you tell us about Mavis Lever (a person who worked at Bletchley who made up a portion of Quinn's character, Beth)?
13:52 You've said before that Bletchley was quite diverse. Could you expand on this?
15:47 You've used references to Alice In Wonderland as metaphors - why?
17:11 Did many people suffer from mental illness due to their work?
20:10 How vital were Beth's awful parents to you in terms of her character development?
23:01 The second narrative set in the 'current' day - why include this new code-breaking and traitors?
26:16 How important was it for the traitor to be easy to work out?
27:48 You have a second, fictional, aid raid happening in Coventry. Can you tell us about the facts of the real one and the decisions made?
31:47 Should the reader's opinion of Beth have changed during this section?
35:08 [Reading]
39:55 How was Lyudmila recruited?
Purchase Links
The Rose Code:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
The Diamond Eye:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Imogen Clark (Impossible To Forget) discuss her latest novel - a pre-release bestseller, creating the story as she goes and publishing what is her first draft, and beginning her career as a novelist in her 50s.
Please note that there is a very mild swear word in this episode.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-56-imogen-clark
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:42 Your first book was published when you were in your 50s. How was that?
01:47 You publish what is basically your first draft?
02:49 It seems to me that you often write about secrets. What is it about secrets that gets to you?
04:37 [Reading]
08:01 How important was the plot compared to the characters?
09:09 Hope and her storyline was in your mind from the beginning?...
11:18 Can you tell us about Angie?
13:48 How much of you is in this book?
15:30 The narrative's told by different characters in batches, why this style of narrative?
17:32 Was Leon's exclusion as a narrative voice due to his choices in life?
19:02 (Spoiler question) Did Maggie and Leon getting together come to you as you were writing?
20:25 Was it important that Romany was a narrator?
21:29 Where would Romany be without the friends?
23:18 (Spoiler question) Has Tiger found himself at last by the end of the book?
25:21 How early did you want people to 'get' the twist with Hope?
28:09 Can you tell us about your next book, An Unwanted Inheritance?
31:02 (About the numbers of ideas and their possibilities)
33:04 Is there a possibility for more sequels of your books to be written?
Purchase Links
Impossible To Forget:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
An Unwanted Inheritance:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the publicity team.
Charlie and Patrick Gale (Take Nothing With You; Mother's Boy) discuss musicality - his own and his character's, setting a childhood in a care home, the beloved Cornish poet Charles Causley, and a future stage production of Take Nothing With You.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-55-patrick-gale
North Cornwall Book Festival
The Penzance Orchestral Society
Steven Isserlis' tribute to Jane Cowan (cello teacher)
Weston-super-Mare
Charles Causley
The Charles Causley Trust
Work on the stage production of Take Nothing With You begins this year for performance in 2023.
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:40 You're talking from today from your writing room - can you tell us about it?
02:43 Tell us about your farm and how your writing fits in with the routine
04:41 The use of music in Take Nothing With You is inspired by your own passion for the cello?
07:50 Would you say that Eustace is living his best life (without the cello)?
09:26 You've had a cello made?
10:29 What's your favourite piece of music to play?
11:01 Were Eustace's teachers and the cello school based on anyone, any thing?
14:43 Why did you leave a gap between Eustace's childhood and later adulthood?
17:16 The religion is both a big slice of the book and, in literal, word, terms, not so big. Why did you incorporate it in this way?
19:56 Is there any literary significance to Naomi?
21:58 Why did you set Eustace's childhood in a care home?
23:54 Eustace's state school - what was the significance of using this part of the working class?
27:52 What happened to Vernon?
29:36 [Reading]
34:22 Mother's Boy is about the poet, Charles Causley?...
36:58 You are a patron of the Charles Causley Trust?
39:31 (The upcoming theatre production of Take Nothing With You)
Purchase Links
Take Nothing With You:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Indigo Chapters
Mother's Boy:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author. Credit: Jillian Edelstein.
Charlie and Kaia Alderson (Sisters In Arms) discuss the little-known 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only all-Black female US unit in WW2 - their day-to-day work dealing with a backlog of post that no one else could figure out, the leaders, and the various responses to them then and now - and Kaia tells us about the influential Dr Mary McLeod Bethune as well as the baseball Negro Leagues.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-54-kaia-alderson
Links about the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion:
Website
Article
Wikipedia
Footage of Charity Adams' unit in England
Charity Adam Earley's One Woman's Army
Brenda L Moore's To Serve My Country To Serve My Race
Wikipedia's article on Charity Adams Earley
Video interview with Charity Adams Earley
Progress on the Congressional Gold Medal as of the publication of this episode
The Negro Leagues
Effa Manley
Spelman College
Mary McLeod Bethune
Bethune-Cookman University
Dovey Johnson Roundtree
Keys versus Carolina Coach Company
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:43 You are a romance writer as well (as historical)?
01:28 You made initial inroads to this book in your middle school years?
03:13 You found your editor because she posted a photo of the women you were writing about?...
04:18 Can you give us a brief history of the work the 6888th did?
08:23 How did you research your book - were you able to interview surviving members?...
11:48 [Reading]
21:08 Can you tell us more about Charity Adams?
26:33 Can you tell us about the racism they experienced?
29:45 The 6888th didn't get a parade when they got back home?
33:14 Can you tell us about the baseball Negro Leagues? (Includes info about Kaia's next book)
38:24 Grace and Eliza's on-again off-again friendship - why was that important?
40:04 Can you tell us about Mary McLeod Bethune?
44:12 What's the release date for your next book?
44:30 Anything else you'd like to add?
Purchase Links
Sisters In Arms:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author. Credit: Jillisa Hope Milner.
Charlie and Sara Nisha Adams (The Reading List) discuss books! The ways they can bring very different people together, the importance of libraries in Sara's life and their impact as a community hub, and her family in the context of her work.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-53-sara-nisha-adams
Hodder Studio
Barham Community Library
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:48 You've worked at a few different publishers - can you tell us about your job?
12:34 This book has a lot of you and your grandfather in it?
14:15 Where's Aleisha 'from'?
16:11 You've spoken about your maternal grandfather, can you tell us about your paternal grandmother, how she influenced you?
18:51 The list of books Mukesh and Aleisha read - why these books?
21:45 Was The Time Traveller's Wife initially included in a similar way to the other books?
23:25 We learn at the end who wrote the book list. How important was their identity, and revealing it, to you?
25:19 Why the chapters focused on other people?
27:48 What led you to include the narrative device of the answerphone messages?
30:07 The way the write about Aiden, the hint to the reader about what might be going on - what was important about his role in the book for you?
31:58 Was it important to you to stay away from discussing what Leilah suffers from?
33:35 Your fictional Harrow Road Library and the hopes of saving it - is this based on a real library?
36:35 What's the next book Mukesh and Aleisha would be reading (after the end)?
37:54 You've included your own reading list at the end; tell us about your most favourite books
41:00 Your dad wanted to wait until your book was published to read it. Has he read it?
42:01 To sum up, what is the most important thing(s) about reading, to you?
43:29 What's next?
Purchase Links
The Reading List:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the agency. Credit: Will Handysides.
Charlie and Edward Carey (B: A Year in Plagues and Pencils; The Swallowed Man) discuss his epic drawing project wherein he undertook to create a sketch each day of the pandemic, the various individuals whose lives became a part of the wider picture, and finish on a completely different but relevant subject - the literary and social history of Pinocchio.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-52-edward-carey
The Harry Ransom Centre
Edward's Twitter
Edward's Instagram
The Tombow B pencil
Robert Louis Stevenson's The Land Of Counterpane
Xavier de Maistre's A Journey Around My Room
Theodor Kittelsen
Pesta is the personification of the Black Death
The Parco di Pinocchio
Carlo Collodi
Wikipedia's article on the original story of Pinocchio
The oak tree in Collodi where Pinocchio was hanged
Robert Coover's Pinocchio in Venice
The Foundling Hospital Museum, London
The Ospedale degli Innocenti
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:53 Was there a defining moment in your life when you realised you wanted to write and illustrate?
02:25 (Asking about Edward's role at the University of Texas)
04:24 Plague and Pencils: why did you start the project?
07:58 Was there any day's work/a couple of days' work that defines the project for you in terms of the actual drawings?
10:11 How many pencils did you get through?
10:54 Can you tell us about your art supplies and the pencils you use?
12:14 If you ever ran out of the Tombow Bs, what would be the next best pencil?
13:01 You often drew people who wrote in isolation or quarantine...
17:08 Was there a particular reason for the dates of the drawings not being included in the book?
19:53 You drew for 500 days; when did you know you had finished?
23:16 You've said you'd never written a diary, but you have now effectively got one. Do you think you might consider doing anything similar again?
23:58 If we can funnel what's been said already, what effect did this project have on you?
25:15 Your latest book is The Swallowed Man. Can you introduce it to us?
33:44 You wrote a stage adaptation of Pinocchio?...
Purchase Links
B: A Year In Plagues And Pencils:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
The Swallowed Man:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the marketing team. Credit: Elizabeth McCracken.
Charlie and Janie Chang (The Library Of Legends) discuss the incredible journeys made by Chinese university students, during the 1937 Japanese invasion, as they evacuated their campuses and made their way on foot to safer areas of the country. We also discuss the Shanghai International Settlement and Janie's compelling family history.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-51-janie-chang
Janie's article on the TIME website, 'The Risky Journey That Saved One of China's Greatest Literary Treasures'
Blog post: The Difficult Daughter (about her paternal grandmother)
Blog post: The Idle Son (paternal grandfather)
Blog post: The Years of War
Blog post: The Village Doctor (Dr Mao)
Blog post: The Origins of Nightmares (father's university years during the war)
Du Fu
Pinghu
Sophie's Choice, named after the book and film, relates to making an impossibly difficult choice, which is forced on a person.
The Shanghai International Settlement
Empire of the Sun (film)
About the monument honouring Chinese workers in WW1
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:44 [This becomes a longer discussion] Can you tell us about your blog, which is filled with your family's stories?
11:36 Your father and uncle were university students who were evacuated like your characters?
16:49 How do the myths and legends in your book align to the myths and legends told in real life?
18:41 Within the fantasy of your book, what would have happened to the gods in regards to the progress of science and so forth?
21:45 Were the students all okay - did they get through the war?
24:12 Was Doctor Mao and this side of the story influenced by your mother's family history?
26:57 You've mentioned the International Settlement - can you tell us more about it?
29:28 The stories in your book of refugee parents leaving their children behind whilst on the road, did this happen a lot?
30:57 In the history, a couple of years after your book finishes, the International Settlement was invaded and taken over. What would have happened to your characters?
33:03 Why was it important to have the romance in your book?
35:48 What's next - what are you writing now?
Purchase Links
The Library Of Legends:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Samantha Sotto returns! We discuss her latest book The Beginning Of Always (its inspiration was the woman whose death mask was used to create the first aid dummy Resusci Annie), and, not to be outdone, Sam's dog Alfie also returns to make a second appearance.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-50-samantha-sotto
Wikipedia: Resusci Annie
Article on The Paris Morgue by the Wellcome Trust
The Shoes on the Danube Bank monument
Sam's Instagram
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
01:03 The proceeds from the sales of The Beginning Of Always went to help those effected by the pandemic?
03:19 Your daughter designed the cover of The Beginning Of Always?...
04:26 Tell us about the Unknown Woman and how you came to write about her
05:46 You started writing this book years ago?...
06:54 What do you think happened to the Unknown Woman?
08:05 Why is reincarnation, immortality, and so on, important in your work?
10:58 Can you tell us about the Paris Morgue?
13:32 What was important in creating your main couple and bringing them to life?
14:38 Where did the idea of Thomas' heart condition come from?
16:45 (Spoiler question) The couple at the end - could they have been included more?
17:54 Why is it important to explore love and everything that goes into it?
20:25 (We discuss location in a similar context to love, as written in the book)
22:46 What do you think happens after death?
25:22 Why was Elise a blogger?
27:19 (Discussing a book Sam was working on two years ago)
28:31 Tell us about the book you've just finished
32:38 We've had Alfie introduce himself; tell us about your dogs, you have another now?
34:13 Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Purchase Links
The Beginning Of Always:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Rebecca F John (The Haunting Of Henry Twist) discuss being gay and bisexual in the 1920s, the way the flapper years could mask the effects of War, and the fictional man who cannot believe that his male partner is not some sort of reincarnation of his dead wife.
Please be aware that there are spoilers throughout this episode; we couldn't discuss the book properly without them!
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-49-rebecca-f-john
The Hay 30 list
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
01:09 You were named on the Hay Festival's 'Hay 30' list. Can you tell us about that?
02:23 Would you categorise this book as historical fiction or historical fantasy?
07:54 Why did you choose to include Ruby in the way you did?
10:16 Is there a connection between the pacing of the novel and what Henry's going through?
11:42 Why were Monty, Matilda, and Grayson's stories included?
14:04 Henry lives a lot of his life with fear; how much is this a book about the war?
15:57 Were the surnames, Twist and Turner, chosen for any particular reason?
16:52 Is there more to Jack than Henry's ideas - is he even a fully-fledged person?
19:28 I know it's down to reader interpretation, but who is Jack to you, as far as you're concerned?
22:21 Henry and Jack's relationship is accepted by their friends, but what would have happened if it hadn't been?
25:24 What was the treatment of single fatherhood like at the time?
27:47 Did you ever consider having Henry become comfortable as a bisexual person?
29:39 Does Henry love Jack?
30:51 What do you want readers to take away from reading this book?
32:18 Could Monty, Matilda, Grayson, and Sally, be happy together?
33:51 What's next?
Purchase Links
The Haunting Of Henry Twist:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
The Empty Greatcoat (January 2022):
Amazon UK
Fannie (February 2022):
Amazon UK
Waterstones
Hive
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Rosie Travers (The Theatre Of Dreams) discuss writing novels set amongst the working class of the south coast, Art Deco buildings we've lost and those we've saved, and the sporting professional heroine publishers rejected.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-48-rosie-travers
My post on The Theatre of Dreams' first book launch
Lee-On-Solent
Pictures and memories of Old Lee Tower
Reading Room Lane, Curdridge (Google Maps)
The De La Warr Pavilion at Bexhill
The Midland Hotel, Morcambe Bay
The Facebook page for the campaign to save The Floral Hall, Belfast Zoo
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:36 As writers do you've always written but you got into it more seriously when living in California and The Netherlands. Can you tell us about your publication journey?
02:52 Why have you decided to relaunch The Theatre of Dreams?
04:57 This story was somewhat inspired by Old Lee Tower in Lee-On-Solent?
06:27 Could you have set this book in a real place; would it have worked for you?
08:21 Lee-On-Solent was going to become either a resort or residential, and ultimately it became residential. Do you think that was the right decision?
13:04 Is either of these two characters more important than the other?
14:03 Was it difficult working with such a large cast of characters?
15:31 Was setting the book amongst so many working class characters important for you?
16:55 Where does Tara in fit in terms of her being a celebrity?
18:54 Have we lost many buildings of the sort you write about?
20:27 Have you ever been involved in a campaign to save a building?
21:09 Was the mystery of Jez's death always going to be a part of the book?
22:59 What was the element you wanted to leave your readers with at the end?
24:17 A Crisis At Clifftops - you found it difficult to get published because of the heroine's career?...
Purchase Links
The Theatre Of Dreams:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
A Crisis At Clifftops:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Jennifer Robson (Our Darkest Night) discuss the horrors of life as an Italian Jew during the Second World War, those who fled and those who helped them, and the people who chose to stay behind.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-47-jennifer-robson
Monte Grappa
San Zenone Degli Ezzelini
Father Stocco Oddo's page on Yad Vashem
Borso del Grappa
Chiara Ponchia
Rabbi Ottolenghi
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:43 What is it about the First and Second World Wars that interests you?
03:44 Your idea for Our Darkest Night was sparked by a question your son asked you?...
15:07 [Spoiler conversation] Was that Nico?
26:29 Were there many Jewish people who chose to stay behind and not leave?
30:09 How did you come to write about the farm?
33:54 What's next?
Purchase Links
Our Darkest Night:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author. Credit: Natalie Brown/Tangerine Photography.
Charlie and Hazel Gaynor (The Bird In The Bamboo Cage) discuss the lives of the pupils and teachers of the Chefoo school for missionaries' children in China during the Japanese occupation, and the way being Brownie Guides helped to keep them going. We also discuss the beginnings of her career, and her collaborations with fellow historical fiction writer, Heather Webb.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-46-hazel-gaynor
Heather Webb's site
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:55 Can you tell us about the story of your first publication and its bestseller status?
09:29 You have written about something not covered much - can you tell us about the story it's based on?
12:45 What was being done back home to help these people stuck under occupation?
14:33 A big theme is Brownies and Guides - why so central?
18:08 Can you talk us through the reasoning for the two narratives - Elspeth and Nancy?
23:43 Were you able to get stories from war generation to help with the book?
25:49 Can you tell us about the honeypot girls?
28:01 You look at the way these children are the children of missionaries and know nothing of China beyond the school - why was this important to explore?
30:14 If you had to choose one or two characters who were most important to the novel or what you were trying to say, who would you choose?
32:11 How is your book with Heather Webb - Three Words For Goodbye - doing?
33:52 How do you collaborate with Heather, in terms of the writing itself?
Purchase Links
The Bird In The Bamboo Cage/When We Were Young And Brave: Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
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Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Claire North (Notes From The Burning Age) discuss climate change today and into the future, sexism back of house in theatre, and how she views her books in terms of colours and shapes rather than words.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-45-claire-north
CBBC Newsround article from 2002
Peter Kenny and Claire North Audible interview
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:45 How did your first publication, as a teenager, come about?
03:33 (Discussing Claire's lighting design work)
10:46 Could you tell us about your seeing the book in terms of colour?
12:49 How would you categorise this book, genre-wise?
16:57 Where do you fall on the subject yourself in terms of the two sides, Temple and the Brotherhood?
22:50 What was it about Ven's position, as a character and in terms of his place in society, that made him the right person to be the narrator?
26:08 Does this whole thing of Ven being a regular person but not so regular extend to Yue?
28:33 Going to the extremes of what you've been saying, could your books be told by yourself through the first person, without a character narrator?
29:55 Are the kakuy open to interpretation?
33:13 What inspired the servers of all our modern day information?
37:24 Have we the power, do you think, to reverse the burning age that we're at the beginnings of?
41:23 Back to your tangent from earlier, what is the period of history you enjoy studying the most?
42:29 Could Ven ever have become a proper member of the Brotherhood?
44:45 What's next?
Purchase Links
Notes From The Burning Age:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
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Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Tyler Keevil (Your Still Beating Heart) discuss using the violence of Snow White in an adult thriller to shocking and literary effect, writing in the second person to tell a story within a story where either - or both, or none - may be 'true', and the many hearts at the heart of his novel.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-44-tyler-keevil
I was joined by Susmita Bhattacharya for episode 32
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:54 What does your job as Director of the BA in Creative Writing entail?
09:08 Is the story we are told about Eira true or is it an attempt at writing by our struggling fictional creative?
11:48 How much of you is in this book?
15:53 Why the second person narrative?
21:12 What was behind the small exploration of what Eira can do now that her husband is gone?
23:33 How crucial is Tod's presence, or lack of presence, to the story as a whole?
25:00 The chapters are like short stories; why did you choose to write in this way?
27:34 You have a linking theme in the use of 'heart' - could you expand on this?
31:45 Is Eira and Gogol's future life good?
34:50 What was the message or takeaway you wanted to leave your readers with?
36:28 What's next?
Purchase Links
Your Still Beating Heart
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the publisher.
Charlie and Rachel Hore (A Beautiful Spy) discuss the life and work of a female spy in the years between the First and Second World Wars, the man who inspired James Bond's M, and how Rachel took care to do right in her representation of a real person.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-43-rachel-hore
Rachel Hore's The Dream House
Rachel's article on Olga Gray for the Historical Writers' Association
Wikipedia's article on Max Knight
Wikipedia's article on Mata Hari (contains semi-nude photo)
Wikipedia's article on John Buchan
Wikipedia's article on Johnny Morris
iTunes
Podchaser
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:36 How did being an editor (HarperCollins) before becoming an author influence your writing?
01:46 Did you always know you wanted to write a book, had you always had a book in you?
12:55 This book is based on a spy, Olga Gray?...
15:30 Was it usual for people to be a spy for such a relatively short period of time?
17:28 Were there many women spies in this period of time?
18:57 Was it difficult to work with the facts and add your fiction into the story?
22:21 Was Max Knight an author in real life?
24:35 How did you expect readers to take to your fictionised Max?
26:08 How much did Minnie's relationship with her father impact her choices in these spy years?
32:23 Can you tell us about the Friends of the Soviet Union?
36:20 What's next?
37:21 A Beautiful Spy was your first novel about a real person - do you think you'd do similar again?
38:51 Do you feel you did right by Olga?
Purchase Links
A Beautiful Spy:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author. Credit: Charlotte Murphy.
Charlie and Gill Paul (The Second Marriage) discuss the lives and loves of Jackie Kennedy and Maria Callas from their early married years until later life, the womanising ways of the men in their lives, and the opera and celebrity that in Gill's book links them all.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-42-gill-paul
The Time article Gill references, published on 29th October 1956
Barbara Walters interviews Maria Callas for NBC's Today programme on 15th April 1974
Carly Simon's Touched by the Sun
Barbara Leaming's book on Jackie Kennedy
EOnline - 'Inside the Tragic Strength of Jackie Kennedy'
Gill discusses how she researches a novel (in this context, The Second Marriage)
Lyndsy Spence's Cast A Diva
Maria Callas' Casta Diva
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
06:36 Why Jackie and Maria, why this idea?
10:50 Is there a significance to you having started the book with Maria?
12:10 Maria and Jackie never met?...
13:39 What are you thoughts on who Jackie was as a person?
17:09 Could you tell us more about JFK and Aristotle Onassis as people and in their relationships?
21:12 There were issues with the book's content in terms of Jackie's sister Lee?...
24:17 Why was it important to include the rumour of Maria Callas having had a child?
28:05 What is your favourite recording of Maria?
29:27 What was your research like for the operatic aspects?
31:09 What did you want readers to take away with them in regards to their thoughts on these two women?
32:04 Tell us about your next book, The Collector's Daughter
Purchase Links
The Second Marriage/Jackie And Maria:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
The Collector's Daughter:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Rosanna Ley (The Orange Grove) discuss whether one of her main characters, Ella, made the right decision with the situational contexts at hand, the viability of a shop focused on orange-related products and set up in Dorset, the Seville producers of those products, and the secrets of the flour-free cake that starts the whole thing off.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-41-rosanna-ley
Gospa Citrus Organic Orange Farm
Bridport, Dorset
The cake
Rosanna's writing retreats
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
07:24 Would it be right to say that the Flamenco is an important aspect further than as itself, symbolically?
09:01 Was there a starting point for Ella's story?
10:44 Tell us about your research
13:05 Would Holly's shop be a viable business?
14:46 Where did you come across the cake?
16:58 Had you set out to include Felix's narrative from the first?
19:18 (Spoiler question) Had you considered having the 1988 Ella staying on in Seville?
21:55 Will Ella and Ingrid's relationship continue to get better?
22:55 What's next?
25:36 Tell us about your writing retreats
Purchase Links
The Orange Grove:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Chapters Indigo
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Zen Cho (Black Water Sister) discuss traditional Chinese beliefs, smashing up shrines, and Jane Austen.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-40-zen-cho
Jean DeBernardi's The Way That Lives In The Heart
Podchaser website
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
08:13 Was the book always going to be comedic?
08:29 Why did you choose to make Jess American?
10:21 Can you tell us about your research in terms of what inspired Black Water Sister herself?
13:02 Are there any gods in the book that are true to the folklore and religion?
16:08 Did you ever consider extending the fantastical aspect?
17:53 You have the smashing up of a shrine - was that difficult to include?
18:31 How much are the characters, other than Jess, Ah Ma, and Black Water Sister, a device to keep Jess' development going?
19:31 You start and end the book on Jess' sexuality - why was it important to do that?
22:27 How much are Jess, Ah Ma, and the Black Water Sister the same person?
24:36 Was it always the plan to have Manglish phrasing without translations?
26:06 Favourite Jane Austen novel?
26:40 Did you ever consider having Sharanya there in person?
28:02 Is Shering's life going to be more above board going forward?
Purchase Links
Black Water Sister:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Chapters Indigo
Spirits Abroad:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Chapters Indigo
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of EDPR. Credit: Darren Johnson.
Charlie and Christina Courtenay (Echoes Of The Runes; The Runes Of Destiny) discuss what the Vikings were really like, time travellers' historical partners travelling back with them, and predictability and coincidence as plot devices.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-39-christina-courtenay
Jorvick Viking Festival, York
Birka
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:35 You've been published for a long time; tell us about your past work
04:52 You say in Echoes of the Runes that the Vikings aren't quite as we think they are. Can you expand on this for us?
06:33 What research did you do for the books?
08:40 You explore disability, with the main character finding a way to communicate with Jorun. Why was this important to explore?
10:27 Did you ever have any issues with getting Haakon how you wanted him to be?
11:52 The noted predictability and coincidences between time periods - was this something you always planned to use?
13:30 What was behind the decision to have Destiny of the Runes take us to another country?
15:14 Linnea takes a good number of pages to accept she's travelled in time - what lead to this decision?
16:22 Were you always going to have the time travel in the reverse?
22:23 Linnea's possible experience or possible virginity in the context of the history - had you considered a different story here?
24:09 The forthcoming Whispers of the Runes and Tempted by the Runes - tell us about them
Purchase Links
Echoes Of The Runes:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Chapters Indigo
The Runes Of Destiny:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Chapters Indigo
Whispers Of The Runes:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Chapters Indigo
Tempted By The Runes:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
IndieBound
Chapters Indigo
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
She's back! Nicola Cornick (The Forgotten Sister; The Last Daughter) returns to discuss Amy Robsart and the mystery of her death, the relationship between Robert Dudley and Elizabeth I, and the Princes in the Tower.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-38-nicola-cornick
Our previous interview, episode 1
Lydiard House
Amy Robsart
Robert Dudley
Thomas Seymour
The portrait of young Elizabeth I
Cumnor (the village)
Walter Scott's Kenilworth
University Church, Oxford
Susanna Kearsley's The Rose Garden
Francis Lovell
The Princes in the Tower
Josephine Tey's The Daughter Of Time
The discovery of Richard III's bones
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
01:09 How has writing and reading been different for you during the lockdown and now?
03:13 You have a role at Lydiard House?...
04:52 Who was Amy Robsart?
06:49 Would you say that the present day narrative helped look at the historical story in a more objective manner?
07:53 The press at the time, and historians afterwards, believed Dudley killed Amy?...
09:18 Do you think Elizabeth I and Dudley were lovers?
12:11 What do you think happened to Amy?
13:29 Can you tell us about the sightings of Amy's ghost?
16:13 (Spoiler-ish question) Who thought of the title?
17:22 If we say time slip and time travel are two different things, do you have a preference?
18:18 Tell us about The Last Daughter
20:01 Who do you think killed the Princes in the Tower?
Purchase Links
The Forgotten Sister:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
The Last Daughter:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Kimberly Derting (The Body Finder) discuss publishing a dark YA series in the wake of Twilight, avoiding romance and family tropes, and the further lives of her characters beyond the final page.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-37-kimberly-derting
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:45 What was it like juggling two jobs, family, and writing?
03:42 What was it like publishing a (dark, Young Adult) book in the wake of Twilight?
10:37 Was Violet's ability inspired by anything?
12:42 Family is important in the books...
13:44 What is the significance of the various imprints that you chose?
14:42 Violet goes to a school that exists in real life...
16:06 Why did you start the series with Violet and Jay's burgeoning romance, avoiding tropes and such?
18:47 Why did you include narratives of the killers, particularly in the way that you did?
20:55 Was there a particular reason for diverging from that narrative path in book two, with Megan?
22:05 Why the shift in focus in Desires of the Dead (Sara and Rafe)?
23:29 Was Violet always going to have her own imprint?
24:27 If Jay had ever got an imprint, do you think Violet would have been able to live with it?
29:28 Was Chelsea easy to write?
30:23 Beyond the series, would Chelsea continue to have an aspect in Violet's 'secret' life?
31:40 Are Violet and Jay going to be better cooks than their parents?
32:11 Do you have any regrets and is there anything you're particularly happy with?
33:58 Do you have any more YA books in the planning stages at the moment?
Purchase Links
The Body Finder:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
Desires Of The Dead:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
The Last Echo:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
Dead Silence:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Kate Forsyth (Bitter Greens; The Wild Girl) discuss the story and history of Rapunzel - which was part of Kate's doctoral thesis - as well as the woman who told the Brothers Grimm many of their tales, and the progression of change those tales went through as the brothers pursued success.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-36-kate-forsyth
The page on Kate's website summarising her published academic research on Rapunzel
Information on Charlotte-Rose de la Force
Disney's Tangled
William Morris' poem
Information on Giambattista Basile
Plot of Basile's Petrosinella
Biography of Charles Perrault
Andrew Lang
Jack Zipes' Spells Of Enchantment
Jack Zipes' The Great Fairy Tale Tradition
Hessen-Cassel
Wikipedia's page on the Brothers Grimm, including a drawing of Dortchen
Information on Ludwig Grimm
The 1824 English translation of the Brothers Grimm stories
Biography of Herman Grimm
Biography of Marie Hassenpflug
Kate's Cotswolds writing retreats
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
01:07 You've written a plethora of books for various ages - how much does the fantasy genre crossover between them?
13:05 What is your general feeling about the witch from Rapunzel?
17:35 So you've got these three different people literally locked away, and then you've this extra subtext of you as a child...
20:11 You've mentioned your doctorate - what sort of information can we expect from the thesis as opposed to the fiction?
21:24 Why did you choose Charlotte-Rose de la Force's version of Rapunzel?
26:10 Are there any other stories by Charlotte-Rose that we know of today?
27:49 You keep detailed notebooks for your research?
30:58 We don't know how Charlotte-Rose found out about the original Rapunzel story?...
32:50 What do you think of Tangled?
47:46 The Wild Girl - you created quite a bit of Dortchen's story yourself?
52:17 (More on the changes made from the original Brothers Grimm collection)
59:26 (More on the subject of the women who told the Brothers the stories)
1:01:43 How much time did you have to spend researching the Napoleonic Wars?
1:02:29 Can you tell us about the treatments for Asthma in the early 1800s?
1:03:49 You have writing retreats in the Cotswolds every year?
Purchase Links
Bitter Greens:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Amazon Australia
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Chapters Indigo
The Wild Girl:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Amazon Australia
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
The Rebirth Of Rapunzel:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Amazon Australia
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Liz Fenwick (The Path To The Sea; also The Cornish House, The Cornish Affair, One Cornish Summer and more) discuss the success of spies in the Cold War who were - on the face of it - 'just' housewives, bringing new characters to more prominence and bringing past characters back from other books, and the age-old question of cream or jam first.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-35-liz-fenwick
Cape Cod
Porthpean House
About Time
Godolphin House
The SOE (Special Operations Executive)
Exercise Tiger
Hotel Endsleigh
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:38 You're originally from Massachusetts and settled in Cornwall. Why Cornwall?
01:51 Do you like Cornish pasties?
02:07 You first looked into publishing when you were in your early 20s?...
09:20 Boskenna is based on a real house?...
11:47 The past and present dates you look at are the same dates?
12:59 When you were planning it, did you have to keep up with events and how they were weaving into each other?
14:09 Was Diana frustrating to write?
15:07 Why first-person for Joan (compared to third-person for Lottie and Diana)?
16:12 Joan is a spy in the Cold War - were you inspired by any real life women spies of that era?
17:42 Where did Joan's hostess book come from?
24:06 Were there many people who kept Cold War secrets for life or for so long?
25:37 Why did you create a similarity between what happened to Allan and what happened to John?
26:15 What was the significance of Alex and Paul?
28:37 Why did you start the book with Lottie and Alex?
30:06 Is there a character that is the most important to you?
33:42 What happened to Salome?
34:35 Tell us more about The River Between Us
37:27 Scones - cream or jam first?
Purchase Links
The Path To The Sea:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Chapters Indigo
The River Between Us:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Hive
Barnes & Noble
Chapters Indigo
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Lillian Li (Number One Chinese Restaurant) discuss racial prejudice in Chinese restaurants, looking at the narrative of immigrant parents and sacrifice, and how her editor pushed her to increase the impact of themes and ideas.
Please note that I have not censored the swear words in this episode because the over all effect would be different without them.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-34-lillian-li
The article Charlie quotes from: "'Customers looked right through me': what I learned working in a Chinese restaurant"
The video of Lillian's event for Politics and Prose
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:57 You work at Literati. What is it like working in a bookshop as an author?
08:03 You have a few origin stories for Number One Chinese Restaurant. Is there one that's the most important to you to tell, the one that's most crucial to the book?
17:03 How did you come to decide to discuss issues of race in the way you do?
20:57 Does the title have a place in what you've been talking about?
30:08 Is Jimmy your favourite character?
32:17 Why is Nan and Pat's relationship important to the book?
36:16 There's a lot of language switching in the book - why did you decide to do this and what were your choices informed by?
38:58 Could the story have been told without Uncle Pang?
40:46 Was it always your intent to include moments of comedy?
41:37 What is the importance of food further than it's simple inclusion, so to speak, in the book?
45:39 What's next?
Purchase Links
Number One Chinese Restaurant:
Literati (during Covid curb-side pick up in Ann Arbor)
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author. Credit: Margarita Corporan.
Charlie and Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen (The Rabbit Back Literature Society; Secret Passages In A Hillside Town) discuss dreams that become literature - vampires; books where words and plot points change in a sort of book plague; secret passages that wipe your memory, and many more - writing a book that's difficult for a reader to work out and not knowing yourself what the answer is, creepy and traumatic fictional games, and issuing an alternative ending to your novel in a brand new publication.
Please note if you have children around that we mention people sitting together without any clothes on.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-33-pasi-ilmari-jaaskelainen
Tips to unlock the secrets in The Rabbit Back Literature Society
Wikipedia's article on Jules et Jim
Wikipedia's article on 2046
Wikipedia's article on In The Mood For Love
Wikipedia's article on My Neighbour Totoro
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
01:38 How has being a literature teacher influenced your writing?
02:54 What is your role when it comes to translation; do you work with the translators?
05:03 'Nosterafu' is used in both The Rabbit Back Literature Society and Secret Passages in a Hillside Town - you're interested in vampires?
11:29 What is the importance to you of the Finnish title, Lummiko and Nine Others?
13:27 Would it be right to say you're interested in folklore?
15:11 Why did you want Rabbit Back to be difficult to understand?
16:39 You say you yourself don't know what happened to Laura White. Do you have a preference in regards to readers' interpretations?
20:03 You've got this book 'plague' where words and plots change. Where did you get the idea?
24:32 Where is The Game from?
31:22 The idea of a 'cinematic life' in Secret Passages - where did that come from?
34:49 How did you choose the films that you refer to?
36:30 Why did you use the Famous Five?
37:49 Is Ollie's lack of use of his son's name (in terms of the third person narrative) important to the plot?
39:35 Secret Passages has two endings - is there one you prefer?
41:19 What are you writing at the moment?
Purchase Links
The Rabbit Back Literature Society:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Secret Passages In A Hillside Town:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Chapters Indigo
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Susmita Bhattacharya (Table Manners; also The Normal State Of Mind) discuss her world-wide travel and moves abroad - including a visa-less stopover, the experiences of recent immigrants to Britain, and having your work featured and serialised on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 4 Extra.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-32-susmita-bhattacharya
Table Manners on BBC Radio 4 Extra
'Old Spice' on BBC Radio 4
Mayflower Young Writers on Artful Scribe
Seacity Museum, Southampton
Tudor House, Southampton
In her role as Writer in Residence during spring and summer at the Word Factory, Susmita is holding 1 to 1 half hour sessions for new writers. Full details and price info are here.
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
01:03 How did the serialisation of Table Manners on BBC Radio 4 Extra come about?
02:18 Your first story for radio was in 2015?...
03:48 You have travelled and lived all over the world, can you tell us about it?
09:22 Is your travel and your experience of living in other places always in your mind when you're writing?
11:40 Tell us about your work with Mayflower Young Writers
17:53 Why is 'Good Golly Miss Molly' the story you've read from for us, the one you read the most?
19:21 Why did you choose to use food as you do - sometimes as an obvious support to a story, other times more vague?
21:26 When did you come up with the title for the collection?
22:50 Can you talk about the use of relationships in this book?
25:01 You have a story that features 9/11 and 7/7, a story about the social affects of Brexit, and a story where a white westerner who wants to see the Real India. Is the present day and situations important to you?
28:21 Going back to what you said about your time as an English language teacher for immigrants to Britain, may I ask what kind of things affected people when they were here, in that context of the present day?
33:12 What's next?
Purchase Links
Table Manners:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author. Credit: Rohini Bhattacharya
Charlie and Elizabeth Baines (Used To Be; Astral Travel; also The Birth Machine; Balancing On The Edge Of The World; Too Many Magpies) discuss writing for radio, short stories - the relative importance of their first lines and differences to novels - writing a book about trying to tell a story, and the difficulties in labelling someone complicit or a victim in the context of past societal values.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-31-elizabeth-baines
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:38 Can you tell us about your screenplay work?
01:13 How did the vampire play come about?
01:48 Do your plays influence your prose or is it the other way around?
02:23 Do you have a preference between these three modes of writing?
09:39 All these stories were in other publications - how long in coming was the collection itself?
11:13 Tell us about the splitting of these stories into two categories
13:00 How important is the first line of a short story compared to a novel?
13:46 Did the short story 'Clarrie and You' inspire Astral Travel?
19:01 Astral Travel is a difficult read. How long did it take to write - was it difficult to write?
22:55 How far into the various drafts did the written structure (white space; chapter headings) come in?
23:55 Where is the father 'from'; what were the influences in creating him?
24:23 Is the mother complicit or a victim?
26:43 [Within and without the context of Josephine's boyfriend's family] do you think that Josephine would continue on her journey of healing?
27:50 Was the revelation about the father always in your mind?
28:30 Where on the scale between empathy and upset do you think the reader is, or should be, by the end?
29:13 What's your favourite Bronte novel?
29:50 What's next?
Purchase Links
Used To Be:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Astral Travel:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Chapters Indigo
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Katy Yocom (Three Ways To Disappear) discuss tiger conservation in India and balancing numbers alongside human requirements for life, the importance of being diligent when writing about a culture that is not your own, and what the three ways to disappear are.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-30-katy-yocom
Katy's articles and essays:
'A Search for the Elusive Tigers in India Leads to a Novel' for Newsweek
'Muhammad Ali, my father and me' for Salon
'The Compelling Tales We Tell of Fictional Tigers' for LitHub
Wikipedia's article on Born Free
Wildlife Trails' website
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent is a 1998 reference guide written by Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp, and Tim Inskipp
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:51 You graduated from Spalding University and now work there - can you tell us what you do?
02:17 Tell us about your other publications (essays in magazines and so forth)
09:01 Tell us about the starting point for Three Ways To Disappear
12:59 (Further discussion on the possibility of telling the story without Quinn's narrative)
13:40 [In the context of what we're discussing] is this where the mythical aspects of the book come in?
15:46 Can you tell us about your research trip?
21:26 How well is the place you visited doing in terms of numbers of tigers?
29:02 What are the three ways to disappear?
30:52 I found Sarah's romance to be unexpected; was it always important to include?
34:11 What affect do you want your book to leave on readers once they've finished it?
Purchase Links
Three Ways To Disappear:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Chapters Indigo
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the publisher.
Charlie and Marianne Holmes (A Little Bird Told Me; All Your Little Lies) discuss procedures when children go missing, societal changes in regards to domestic violence in the 1970s, and, on a lighter note, trying not to finish books you’re not enjoying.
Please note there is some noise in this episode - noise cancelling headphones are recommended (pun not intended) as they will make the vocals crisper.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-29-marianne-holmes/
Wikipedia’s article on K M Peyton’s Flambards
The act created in 1976 was the Domestic Violence and Matrimonial Proceedings Act. According to the British Library "This act enabled married women to obtain a court order against their violent husbands without divorce or separation proceedings. A court could order a man out of the matrimonial home, whether or not he owned it or tenancy was in his name. Problems arose because this protection did not apply to unmarried women."
Missing People
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:35 You grew up in different countries; your father was in the RAF. Can you tell us about that?
01:05 Has your career in marketing helped with your books?
01:49 Your road to publication started with a tweet?...
03:50 Do you plan your books?
10:22 Why the heatwave of 1976?
11:47 Was Robin's reading material, Flambards, a book you read yourself?
12:26 Could you talk about the era in terms of the social changes in regards to domestic violence?
13:54 The refusal of adults to tell things to children - for A Little Bird Told Me, was that inspired by a particular event?
20:03 What, to you, is the defining element of All Your Little Lies?
21:31 Your son's reaction to a missing child influenced the book?...
24:32 (For both books) how do you incorporate the two narratives, the character as a child and as an adult?
25:39 What was your reason for writing in the third person as opposed to the first?
26:51 How much time did you need to spend developing the secondary characters for the readers' understanding of Annie to work?
28:14 Is Annie going to be able to heal from all of this?
29:20 In both books you look at the ways young girls relate to each other - this is important to you?
30:38 You have a book on the go about a little known figure...
32:21 Have you been successful in putting down books you're not enjoying reading?
Purchase Links
A Little Bird Told Me:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
All Your Little Lies:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
IndieBound
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the publisher.
Charlie and Deborah Swift (Past Encounters; The Occupation; the forthcoming The Lifeline, also many books sets in the 1600s such as The Lady's Slipper; A Divided Inheritance) discuss Brief Encounter at Carnforth, the experiences of prisoners of war at the time and once back home, the real life story of a Jersey woman who hid her Jewish friend, and reactions to the death of the last woman in Britain to be given capital punishment.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-28-deborah-swift
BBC Radio 4's The Poetry Pharmacy
BBC's People's War website
The Long March
Article about Dorothea and Hedwig when the former was nominated for an Israeli honour
A video about Carnforth station in the context of Brief Encounter and subsequent tourism
Deborah's books set in the 1600s, in the order of publication:
The Lady's Slipper
The Gilded Lily
A Divided Inheritance
Shadow On The Highway
Spirit Of The Highway
Lady Of The Highway
Pleasing Mr Pepys
A Plague On Mr Pepys
Entertaining Mr Pepys
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
01:01 You write poetry?...
03:25 You used to work as a costume and set designer - what productions did you work on?
04:23 Did this work influence any of your stories?
13:18 Past Encounters: who came first, Peter or Rhoda?
17:35 (Carnforth Station's cafe and museum)
19:30 What was the reception of prisoners of war when they came home?
21:32 Tell us about Lamsdorf
25:36 Why was it important to include mentions of the trial of Ruth Ellis?
35:45 The Occupation started out as two novellas?...
37:59 (About the inspiration for Celine and Rachel's story)
39:08 Rachel's quite a particular character - what were your thoughts when you were creating her?
41:00 Would you say Rachel's story, post-ending, would mirror Hedwig's?
42:46 The ending is perhaps unexpected - how did you come to write it?
44:40 Tell us about The Lifeline
Purchase Links
Past Encounters:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
The Occupation:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
The Lifeline:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Tammye Huf (A More Perfect Union) discuss her great-great-grandparents’ relationship as an 1840s Irishman and a Black American slave, the way owners used Christianity to support their views of a racial hierarchy, and the lengths reached in order to label people by skin colour.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-27-tammye-huf
Tammye's Radio 2 interview
Library of Congress audio interviews with freed people
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
01:02 (Discussing Tammye's recent interview on Radio 2)
02:04 Tell us about your great-great-grandparents
03:28 What made you want to tell this story, to start with your grandparents and take it further?
08:22 How important was balancing the romance with the history?
09:23 Any there are specific primary sources you used that you can highlight?
11:56 Do you feel closer to your grandparents now?
12:48 How did you go about creating Sarah?
17:52 Who is Maple; why did you include her in the story?
20:49 Did you always plan to have this 'nicer' owner?
23:32 Were there many people who were offered their freedom, didn't take it for family reasons and so forth, and were then used as a puppet?
26:35 To me Henry comes across as quite careless sometimes - did you ever consider a different bearing for him?
30:13 Could you tell us about the Potato Famine era 'tumbling'?
32:03 Do you think Red ever found his freedom?
32:54 What's next?
Purchase Links
A More Perfect Union:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Waterstones
Hive
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Likewise IndieBound.
Photograph used with the permission of the publisher.
Charlie and Eric Beck Rubin (School Of Velocity) discuss the representation of the Holocaust in literature, using classical music as a literary device, having a main character whose person limits the opportunity for dialogue through his obsession with another, and the reader being a writer.
Please note that the first reading contains sexual content.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-26-eric-beck-rubin
Wikipedia’s article on Imre Kertész
Wikipedia’s article on Georges Perec
Wikipedia’s article on Jonathan Safran Foer’s Everything is Illuminated
Wikipedia’s article on Ford Madox Ford’s The Good Soldier
The full quote on reading and writing, by the writer Jonathan Lethem, is: “Reading and writing are the same thing; it’s just one’s the more active and the other’s the more passive. They flow into each other.”
Wikipedia’s article on John Irving’s A Prayer For Owen Meany
Czerny’s School Of Velocity on YouTube
Eric has written many articles on cultural history – among them are:
‘Not Again’
‘Georges Perec, Lost and Found in the Void: The Memoirs of an Indirect Witness’ (requires a JStor account to access)
‘Avoided: On Georges Perec’
‘Sisyphus in Kertész’s Fatelessness’ (opens in a PDF)
Eric’s literary podcast ‘Burning Books’
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:41 Tell us about your PhD on the Holocaust in literature
03:13 What musical instruments do you play?
04:12 Favourite classical musician?
05:10 I know that reviews say School of Velocity is like The Great Gatsby – is there anything in this?
06:11 Why The Netherlands for the story?
13:48 It’s a while until anyone but Dirk and Jan are given any dialogue. Is this something you’d considered doing throughout?
16:58 How did you go about choosing the classical music that Jan plays?
19:11 Can you talk about your choice to use Czerny’s music as the title and in the context of your characters?
20:44 Do you see Jan and Dirk as having loved each other?
32:20 Do you think it would’ve been possible for Dirk to narrate the story from his side?
33:41 How much affect did Dirk’s parents have on him?
35:38 How important was Lena’s inclusion in the story?
37:39 Where did the idea of using this ‘musical tinnitus’, enough to cause sickness, come from?
39:10 What’s next?
Purchase Links
School Of Velocity:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Likewise IndieBound.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Intisar Khanani (Thorn; Sunbolt; Memories Of Ash; the forthcoming The Theft Of Sunlight) discuss working to better the health of people in Cincinnati, rewriting and exploring the Goose Girl fairy tale to stunning effect, bonkers jail-breaking heroines, and men who take a far more subtle approach than riding in on horses to save the day.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-25-intisar-khanani
BookBub
Wikipedia's article on The Goose Girl
Wikipedia's article on Robin McKinley's The Blue Sword
Please note that some copies of Thorn do not feature The Bone Knife
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:44 Before you were a writer, you worked for the Cincinnati Health Department. May I ask what your work involved?
02:19 Did your work at the health department influence how you write?
03:54 You’re a hybrid author – where does one meet the other?
13:46 Why The Goose Girl?
16:34 Was keeping some of the poignant aspects of The Goose Girl a difficult decision?
20:37 What was behind the study of truth and honour?
24:06 Could you expand on the hows and whys of incorporating the trauma in the book?
27:57 How did you use magic to further this plot?
29:46 Can we talk about the role of the men?…
33:13 Do you see yourself writing another adaptation in future?
34:02 Tell us about the world of The Sunbolt Chronicles, how you came to create it, were there any inspirations?
38:27 Where does Hitomi’s personality come from?
49:50 Where does Val fit into the story?
52:03 How many Chronicles are we looking at?
52:23 What was the book you mentioned at the start of our Sunbolt conversation, the one fantasy book you’d read back in the day, that was diverse?
53:37 What is behind your use of religion as it is in Thorn and The Sunbolt Chronicles?
55:59 Tell us about The Theft Of Sunlight
Purchase Links
Thorn:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
Sunbolt:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
Memories Of Ash:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
Brambles (Thorn mini-prequel, pre-order)
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
The Theft Of Sunlight (pre-order)
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Likewise IndieBound.
Photograph from the author's media kit.
Charlie and Joanna Hickson (First Of The Tudors; The Tudor Crown; The Lady Of The Ravens also The Agincourt Bride; The Tudor Bride; Red Rose, White Rose) discuss the royal and noble individuals of the War of the Roses, the women who made an impact, the ever-present question of who killed the princes in the tower, and, on another topic entirely, using weasels to prevent conception.
Please note that the question about the fear of pregnancy and childbirth includes a couple of mentions of a weasel's particulars.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-24-joanna-hickson
John Constable
Orford Castle
Recent photograph of Joanna at Orford
Wikipedia's article on Jackanory (Joanna's episodes were 2422-2426)
Pembroke Castle
Carmarthen Castle
Wikipedia's article on Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time
James Butler (the 'fleeing' Earl of Wiltshire)
The blog of The Ravenmaster, Chris Skaife
Wikipedia's article on Joan Vaux
Frank Cadogan Cowper - 'Erasmus and Thomas More Visit the Children of Henry VII' (1910)
The GoodReads page for Alison Weir's book on Elizabeth of York
Wikipedia's article on the Trotula
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:51 You had a holiday recently?...
01:24 Tell us about your young adult novel
04:23 Why Jasper Tudor?
09:48 How did you go about creating Jane Hywel?
12:33 You are not a Ricardian...
14:11 Who do you think killed the princes in the Tower?
17:06 Is your interest in Henry VII woven into your thoughts of Richard III, or are they separate?
27:06 Do you think that Henry VII would have got to the throne without Margaret Beaufort’s input?
31:56 You seem to me to place a distinct emphasis on filling in the gaps where women are concerned...
36:38 Tell us about the inspiration for the ravens and how you came to make them a central part of the novel
39:15 Tell us more about Joan
42:20 Did you find any primary sources related to the fear of pregnancy and childbirth?
44:05 How did you come to fictionise Elizabeth of York?
45:21 What’s next?
Purchase Links
First Of The Tudors:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
The Tudor Crown:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
The Lady Of The Ravens:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
The Agincourt Bride:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
The Tudor Bride:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
Red Rose, White Rose:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Likewise IndieBound.
Photograph used with permission from the author.
Charlie and Nicholas Royle (Quilt; An English Guide To Birdwatching; Mother: A Memoir) discuss killing yourself – your avatar – off in your fiction, using ‘it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife’, and sharing a name with another British writer who also writes fiction… that is also about birds…
Please note that the first reading is set in a public toilet and discusses explicitly concepts around discomfort in this regard, ‘size’, and so forth.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-23-nicholas-royle-critic
Nicholas' critical and essay books are as follows:
Helene Cixous: Dreamer, Realist, Analyst, Writing (2020)
An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory (5th edition, 2016, co-authored with Andrew Bennett)
This Thing Called Literature (2015, co-authored with Andrew Bennett)
Veering: A Theory of Literature (2011)
In Memory of Jacques Derrida (2009)
How to Read Shakespeare (2005, new edition 2014)
Jacques Derrida (2003)
The Uncanny (2003)
Deconstructions: A User's Guide (2000) (as editor)
E.M. Forster (1999)
After Derrida (1995)
Elizabeth Bowen and the Dissolution of the Novel: Still Lives (1995, co-authored with Andrew Bennett)
Telepathy and Literature: Essays on the Reading Mind (1990)
The Guardian’s review of An English Guide to Birdwatching
My review of the same
The Financial Times’ review of the same
The Art of the Novel on the publisher’s website
Publisher’s page on Nicholas’ book on Helene Cixous
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
01:05 You’re a professor of English – do you have an outright favourite area of study?
02:49 You’ve written a lot of books on literary criticism and theory, but what was it that got you wanting to start writing fiction?
04:42 Have you ever had someone ask what on earth your books are about?
06:27 What is behind the theme of death?
09:33 What’s it like to kill yourself off in your fiction?
13:41 You use wordplay throughout your books – what is it you like the most about it?
21:10 When did you first know that there was another writer with your name?
24:15 Quilt’s afterword is very much related to the content of An English Guide To Birdwatching – were the initial parts of An English Guide written closely in time with Quilt?
27:43 Why does modern day Stephen Osmer write for the London Literary Gazette, which ceased production in 1863?
36:38 Can you tell us about your mother in terms of your relationship with her?
40:52 How did you mother influence your interest in books and writing?
43:34 What’s next?
44:37 Do things like exploration or language, close reading, and so forth, have value in the wider world?
Purchase Links
Quilt:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
An English Guide To Birdwatching:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
Mother: A Memoir:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Likewise IndieBound.
Photograph used with permission from the author.
Charlie and Midge Raymond (Forgetting English; My Last Continent; also Everyday Writing; Everyday Book Marketing) discuss the current situation in Antarctica and the balance of keeping it clean whilst allowing research and tourism, environmental and climate changes in the same location, and being followed to the toilet by a penguin.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-22-midge-raymond
Amongst other places, Midge's fiction has appeared in TriQuarterly, American Literary Review, Bellevue Literary Review, the Los Angeles Times magazine, the Chicago Tribune, and Poets & WritersMidge's blog
Ashland Creek Press
The Siskiyou Prize
Information on John Yunker's The Tourist Trail
Information on Three Ways To Disappear by Katy Yocom
The Center for Ecosystem Sentinels and their mailing list
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:50 You have a background in publishing? 01:48 What genres did you work on? 02:54 Tell us about Ashland Creek Press 06:11 You have published a couple of books on writing?... 14:39 You have lots of locations and languages in Forgetting English: are you a big traveller? 16:26 What is it about travel and life choices that got to you in terms of your short stories? 18:08 Was there a particular reason for situating the last story at the end? 27:38 Have you been to Antarctica? 30:44 How do people balance visiting and research in Antarctica with the fact that it is causing damage? 33:05 The health and lives of penguins – are we looking at something we can change, going forwards? 34:55 How did the lifestyle of birds, penguins, influence the way you constructed Deb and Keller’s relationship? 38:07 Tell us about the roles of Kate and Richard in the book 39:51 Keller has experienced a lot of losses- where did he come from? 42:11 What’s next? 43:23 If you could, would you have a penguin as a pet?
Purchase LinksEveryday Writing:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
Everyday Book Marketing:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
Forgetting English:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
My Last Continent:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Likewise IndieBound.
Photograph used with permission from the author.
Charlie and Peter Ho Davies (The Ugliest House In The World; Equal Love; The Welsh Girl; The Fortunes) discuss moving as a writer from Britain to the US, Welsh with English as a second language, the first Chinese Americans, Hollywood star Anna May Wong, and the impact - then and now - of the murder of Vincent Chin.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-21-peter-ho-davies
Information about the Brighton Pavillion chinoiserie panels
Wikipedia’s article on The Thief of Bagdad
Wikipedia’s article on Shanghai Express
Anna May Wong documentary footage (what Peter used in his story)
A section from the 'Who Killed Vincent Chin' 1987 documentary
A selection of clips from 'Who Is Vincent Chin'
Annie Tan and Helen Zia (maker of the '87 documentary) discuss Vincent's importance to Asian Americans
Vincent Chin trial reenactment
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:50 Tell us about your background, your journey to publication
02:06 What courses do you teach?
06:09 Tell us about The Ugliest House In The World and Equal Love
15:32 What was it like writing the sentence beginning 'But the lights came up' (wherein an investigator for the allies considers whether he might not have joined the Nazis)?
16:45 Who was the most important character in The Welsh Girl to write about?
18:55 What led you to write about the D-Day period?
22:32 In The Welsh Girl, English is a second language - how far was this the case in reality?
24:15 (On the context of the Welsh concept of 'cynefin')
25:49 (The Fortunes - Peter talks about the novellas and short stories in the context of the format)
28:01 Why did Chinese people (first) emigrate to America?
30:49 When did things improve for the first Chinese women in America?
31:51 How widespread was chinoiserie and did people ever turn to real Chinese decorations?
36:51 Can you give us a brief overview of Anna May Wong's journey in the film industry?
42:31 Is Vincent Chin's story well known in America?
45:32 (Peter talks about John's character - fact and fiction - from the fourth story in The Fortunes)
49:22 Is there any significance to Zhen and Jia, names mentioned together in three of the stories?
54:28 Tell us about your next book
Purchase Links
The Welsh Girl:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
The Fortunes:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Likewise IndieBound.
Photograph used with permission from the author.
Charlie and Tracy Rees (Amy Snow; Florence Grace; The Hourglass; Darling Blue; The House At Silvermoor) discuss Richard, Judy, Dickens, Austen, and Bronte - not all at once - coffee houses in Victorian times, landslides and hourglasses, changes to the Yorkshire mines in the late 1800s to early 1900s, and the inclusion of the average person in historical fiction.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-20-tracy-rees
You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com
Question Index
00:58 Tell us about Richard and Judy 02:48 You had a background in non-fiction publishing… 04:32 Dickens’ influence, or Austen, Brontë? 05:51 Who are your favourite non-classical authors? 12:03 Who came first, Aurelia or Amy? 12:36 Was including the ‘average person’ in your books always part of the plan? 13:55 Did you ever get to researching how coffee culture was in the Victorian period? 14:44 So your library has expanded vastly since you became a writer? 15:01 Do we have any idea how many children were abandoned or how many women had trouble in that period? 17:32 What was behind the idea to use Florence’s name as the title (of Florence Grace)? 18:49 What was the inspiration for the Grace family? 19:46 Houses are important in this book – where did Heron’s Watch come from? 20:47 When did you conceive the idea of a landslide as like an hourglass? 22:13 What had you deciding to look at mother-daughter relationships? 24:37 Why did you choose to tell Darling Blue over the course of a year? 25:52 The Camberwells taking in working class Delphine – were there many families in the 1920s that would have done similar? 26:54 Was the concept of the letters based on anything you’d heard before? 27:47 Did you find out anything interesting in regards to women in the 1920s becoming reporters? 31:09 Did the mining strike coverage in Darling Blue inspire The House at Silvermoor? 32:26 The House at Silvermoor contains your first male narrative – was that interesting to do? 38:20 Were there good mine owners as there are in the book? 40:09 Does the thread of owners changing the mines for the better align with the reality? 41:17 What happened to the horses – were they ever able to leave the mines? 42:15 Will you go back to any of the periods you’ve already covered? 43:06 So was your agent meaning you when she was saying someone should write about mining? 43:23 What is your favourite period to write about? 44:11 Do you ever see yourself going back further in history? 45:10 What’s next?
Purchase Links
Amy Snow:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
Florence Grace:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
The Hourglass:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Darling Blue:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
The House At Silvermoor:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Likewise IndieBound.
Photograph used with permission from the author. Credit: Ludwig Esser.
Charlie and Sofie Laguna (One Foot Wrong; The Eye of the Sheep; The Choke; the forthcoming Infinite Splendours) discuss beginning with acting, writing from a child’s perspective and not labelling those who are different, bad fictional parents, not liking John Wayne… and we have the inaugural reading of Sofie’s October release.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-19-sofie-laguna
Wikipedia's article on the Murray River
Dean Martin: My Rifle, My Pony, and Me
Question Index
01:03 You studied law, then became an actor and a playwright; tell us more about your background 04:59 Were you in pantos? 09:40 You started with children's literature - when did you decide to add adult fiction into the mix? 17:01 What is behind your decision to rarely reveal any names of conditions the characters might have? 20:47 Did you ever want to switch the main characters' parents for nice ones? 28:01 What draws you to the type of endings you write? 30:10 Tell us about the Murray River that features in The Choke 33:06 Is there a particular reason you set your books in decades past? 34:51 Tell us more about Infinite Splendours 40:47Do you like John Wayne films?
Purchase Links
One Foot Wrong:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Amazon Australia
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
The Eye of the Sheep:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Amazon Australia
Waterstones
Hive
The Choke:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Amazon Australia
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Likewise IndieBound.
Photograph used with permission from the author.
Charlie and Abubakar Adam Ibrahim (The Whispering Trees; Season of Crimson Blossoms) discuss Nigeria at this time, publishing a novel on a very controversial subject and reactions to it, effects of grief, and looking at cultural expectations of women as the generations change.
Please note: this episode includes discussion of sexual content, and the second reading includes a sex scene. There is some noise in this episode: headphones are recommended.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-18-abubakar-adam-ibrahim
Dreams and Assorted Nightmares on the publisher's page
The Daily Trust
Question Index
01:31 How are you all doing in Nigeria at the moment?
03:27 Tell us about your background
07:30 Tell us about your work at The Daily Trust
13:00 Do you prefer the first or third person?
15:00 Was Season Of Crimson Blossoms difficult to publish?
22:10 Was is going through Binta’s mind as she makes her decision?
23:29 Tell us about Reza’s situation in life
24:53 Tell us about the theme of grief
33:08 Was the contrast between Fa’iza and Binta, a young woman and an older woman, something you were looking at?
36:35 Tell us about Dreams And Assorted Nightmares
Purchase Links
The Whispering Trees:
Publisher's website
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
Roving Heights
Season of Crimson Blossoms:
Publisher's website
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
Roving Heights
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Likewise IndieBound.
Photograph used with permission from the author. Credit: Jill Jennings.
Charlie and Roselle Lim (Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune; Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop) discuss weaving culture, mental illness, and magic into your fiction, an aid for your eyes when chopping onions, and children you excitedly take to tourist attractions who wonder what you see in them.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-17-roselle-lim
Fresh Fiction's review of Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune, as quoted
Question Index
02:03 Tell us about your writing background
03:45 Is Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune one big metaphor?
05:27 You have a particular love of words?...
06:09 Was Natalie always planned to be unsure of herself?
06:53 How did your relationship with your own mother influence the novel?
07:51 What's your favourite meal to make?
08:55 Have you had experience yourself of food solving, or helping to solve, a problem?
11:16 What was behind the decision to incorporate recipes into the narrative?
12:37 Does chewing mint gum help when chopping onions?
13:14 Was the thread about outsiders, trying to disrupt for their own gain, based on a particular event?
14:09 Introduce us to San Francisco's Chinatown
15:24 Do you love classical music?
16:12 Was the romance between Natalie and Daniel always in the book?
17:26 How much was filial piety in your mind when writing?
18:53 Is Vanessa Yu Miss Yu from Natalie Tan?
19:20 (We discuss Paris and London - Roselle went there to research Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop)
25:28 Did you ever wonder about using a different name to Natalie, given that that is your daughter's name?
32:25 Vanessa Yu - is it fair to say this is a very different book to Natalie Tan?
33:09 Are you writing your next book?
33:35 Natalie Tan has been optioned for a TV show...
Purchase Links
Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Indigo Chapters
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with permission from the author. Credit: Shelley Smith.
Charlie and Isla Morley (Come Sunday; Above; The Last Blue) discuss growing up and travelling back to South Africa, creating a negative heroine, the 1800s medical phenomenon wherein people were literally blue, and what it's like owning five tortoises.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-16-isla-morley
Image of the Fugate family, as mentioned
Cathy Trost's article 'The Blue People of Troublesome Creek'
Question Index
01:03 Can you tell us more about your background in South Africa?
03:04 How did novel writing come about?
08:05 You've lived in several places - can you tell us about your journey?
11:12 Have you been back to South Africa?
13:48 Have you ever considered writing a memoir?
15:34 Come Sunday's Abbe isn't a nice person; why did you want to create her?
17:41 Why was grief important to explore?
18:19 When did you decide to incorporate Christianity?
20:19 Was narrative style always in your mind?
22:08 Why poetry?
23:38 Was African mythology, used in the book, something you experienced in childhood?
29:01 Was it daunting to have so much of Above set underground?
31:31 Would it be fair to assume that the book will continue to be an outlier as you move forward?
33:48 When did the idea of going along with Dobb's idea of what's going on come into your process of writing?
42:02 Tell us about the medical background to The Last Blue
46:48 Am I barking up the wrong tree thinking the concept of blue people as per your book has to do with commentary on racial discrimination in history?
51:31 How important is the narrative of women to you?
52:34 Is there any interesting fact you can share with us about photography in the 1930s?
55:15 What's next?
55:54 What's it like having five tortoises?
Purchase Links
Come Sunday:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Above:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
The Last Blue:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with permission from the author.
Charlie and Terri Fleming (Perception) discuss looking at the further lives of Mary and Kitty Bennet, working with Austen's original stories and prose, Mr and Mrs Bennet's relationship, and organising bookshelves.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-15-terri-fleming
The Romantic Novelists' Association website
Question Index
00:37 Tell us about your background - writing and Australia
00:59 Have you been able to write articles regardless of the career switch?
03:12 Why Pride and Prejudice?
04:06 Who are you other favourite writers?
04:49 How long have you been a member of the RNA?
05:50 Were your initial thoughts for your book different to how it played out?
08:41 Did it take time to get the balance between your own Mary and Austen's just right, and were you worried about the reception?
15:09 How did you go about creating the gentlemen?
17:11 Was there anything difficult about using Pride and Prejudice as a base?
24:43 What was the best part of writing Kitty's story?
27:08 Did you find anything out about Pride and Prejudice that readers may not know?
29:10 What's your opinion on the dynamic between Mr and Mrs Bennet?
32:36 How do you organise your bookshelves?
34:15 What's next?
Purchase Links
Perception:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Zoe Duncan (The Shifting Pools) discuss coping with and healing from war trauma in reality and fiction, the use and power of dreams, employing various styles and formats, and how fascinating reader interpretations can be.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-14-zoe-duncan
Interview with Danuta Kean for Mslexia magazine
On Cornwall and Enanti
Article in The Times about Zoe's life and work
Question Index
00:46 How long have you been writing?
01:55 Favourite poet?
02:40 Tell us about your childhood (that relates to the book)
03:53 What was it like being in England?
08:32 Is there a reason for the lack of a name for the place Eve lives in?
09:41 How did you come to use Enanti as Eve's coping method?
11:08 How do you see the ending, do you have an answer for it for yourself?
12:53 Was water always to be the healing element?
14:32 The style and structure - what was the purpose of it?
19:23 Was Time something you were thinking about when writing?
21:04 What did you learn about dreams in the context of the subconscious?
24:00 Was the idea of womanhood, sisters, siblings, a theme?
31:04 There is so much hope in the book...
31:48 What did you want readers to take away?
33:47 What is the impact of long-term trauma and grief if not dealt with?
36:07 Was the book cathartic for you?
37:40 What's next?
39:56 (Given everything we've discussed) it must have been busy in your head whilst you were writing?
Purchase Links
The Shifting Pools:
Publisher's website
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author. Credit: Ashvin Mistry.
Charlie and Dan Richards (Holloway, The Beechwood Airship Interviews, Climbing Days, Outpost) discuss asking to join well-known people for lunch and producing fascinating interviews for your book, travelling the less beaten paths of your mountaineering great-great aunt, finding society in isolated places, and looking ahead to how we might continue to approach humanity's harming of nature after the benefits to scaling back have been shown by this current crisis.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-13-dan-richards
Dan’s articles at Caught by the River
'Dream ticket – the night train from Cologne to Vienna’
‘My search for the real Moominland’
BBC Radio 4: Start the Week – Life in the Wilderness
Wikipedia’s entry for Dorothy Pilley (includes photographs)
Second-hand copies of Dorothy’s memoir on AbeBooks (there are a couple of 1935 and 1965 editions on there)
Question Index
00:46 How did you get into writing, specifically the type you do?
02:39 The first book to be written was the second published…
03:37 Tell us about the interviewing process for The Beechwood Airship Interviews
07:43 Has this book had a knock-on affect on your further work in ways we may not pick up on?
08:56 These books are a mixture of travel/adventure (and so on) and there’s a lot of your personality there…
10:11 Tell us about mountaineer Dorothy Pilley and how she inspired you
15:00 How did the women mountaineers of the time help future generations?
18:58 Is Dorothy’s 1935 memoir available to purchase?
19:51 What was the easiest part of your Climbing Days adventure?
22:26 What did you learn about yourself?
27:27 What draws you to the wilderness?
27:57 You talk about our human destruction of nature – what do you hope will happen following this time that we’re living in right now?
31:01 Tell us about the supernatural aspect of the first outpost; did you experience anything yourself?
34:27 In all the outposts you went to, what surprised you the most?
35:11 How did the social aspect of these otherwise isolated places impact your experience of it?
38:52 What’s next?
Purchase Links
Holloway:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
The Beechwood Airship Interviews:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Barnes & Noble
Climbing Days:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Outpost:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author.
Charlie and Weike Wang (Chemistry) discuss having both a scientific – in epidemiology no less! – and a writer background, making use of extracts and white space and preferring them beyond more long-form prose, the difficulties of studies and incorporating friends’ experiences in your stories, and fictional dogs who are inherently important to the text.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-12-weike-wang
Short story ‘Omakase’ in The New Yorker
Short story ‘Nanjing’ in the Alaska Quarterly Review
Short story ‘By the Pantheon’ in Kenyon Review
Short story ‘The Poster’ in the Gulf Coast journal
Weike Wang on the Privilege of Not Having to Think About Race
Question Index
01:01 Your background is in Chemistry and Public Health - how have you come to mix these with writing and are you still doing Chemistry?
03:23 You wrote an introduction to Villette - does Bronte inspire your writing, and who else inspires you?
06:02 Why an unnamed narrator?
08:34 How did you come to strike the balance between the presence and the lack of a presence in regards to the narrator's boyfriend?
10:10 Was the dog always a part of the book, and can you discuss his role?
11:55 Is the dog based on your own?
18:00 Is the writing style (vignettes and so forth) something that was in your mind and something you'll continue in future?
20:46 So with this 'excess', you've potentially got lots of ideas you could use for future books?
21:23 When did the narrator first arrive in your mind, so to speak?
23:25 How did you com to strike the balance between the different cultures and how important was it to the overall effect?
25:33 Is there a lot you see in chemistry that we can learn from?
30:32 The narrator's growth in knowledge of English idioms and metaphors
32:21 Might the narrator be a successful teacher one day?
33:35 How true to life are the experiences of specific pressures for PhD students?
36:44 What's next?
Purchase Links
Chemistry:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with permission from the author. Credit: Shang Saavedra
Charlie Place and Laura Pearson (Missing Pieces; Nobody’s Wife; I Wanted You To Know) discuss the process of grieving for various members of a family, writing a book about cancer when you are working through the same, and changing stories almost entirely from their beginnings.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-11-laura-pearson
The Motherload Book Club
Laura’s blog ‘Breast Cancer and Baby’
Laura’s article ‘When Pregnancy and Cancer Collide’ for The Motherload
Laura’s article for The Guardian
Question Index
00:33 Your first book was found in your publisher's slush pile...
02:53 Were your books difficult to write?
03:54 Tell us about your bookclub
06:13 What was the inspiration for Missing Pieces?
13:07 Tell us about Bea's role in the book
15:28 The chapters specify 'days after' - did you ever consider altering it at the end, after the revelations had come out?
17:21 The use of seasons
18:44 Is there anywhere people who are in a similar situation can go?
20:13 Why Southampton?
26:30 Nobody's Wife - what came first, the characters or the plot?
27:23 The start of the book: was it always the plan to say that only three of the four people remained?
28:03 Character you like; character you dislike?
33:41 Was there a lot of difference between the first draft of I Wanted You To Know and the final book?
36:43 Was there a reason for Jess's mum to be as she is?
38:34 What was your reason for writing something so related to your own experiences?
41:37 Would you recommend that other writers write about what scares them in life?
42:45 What did you want to leave the reader thinking?
44:22 So your next book is going to be happy...
Purchase Links
Missing Pieces:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Barnes & Noble
Nobody's Wife:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Barnes & Noble
I Wanted You to Know:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with permission from the author.
Charlie Place and Camilla Bruce (You Let Me In) discuss the darker side of faerie, being as in the dark about answers as your readers are, survival and coping methods following trauma, and the habits of cats inspiring your work.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-10-camilla-bruce
Question Index
00:42 Tell us about your background and writing experience
01:12 Have you written any non-fiction before?
02:23 What authors do you admire; do you have any favourite Norwegian writers?
06:43 What inspired your book?
08:34 Have you lived in the woods?
08:53 Are houses in fiction important to you?
09:34 What was the idea behind the lack of a distinct location?
10:25 Did you draw on any folklore?
13:43 Was there a starting point for the dynamic where there's the potential for abuse, and the relationship with Tommy and the Pepperman?
16:06 Did you have a plan?
17:19 What did you want readers to take away at the end?
18:54 How important was it to only give Cassie's voice and viewpoint?
20:44 Cassie's sister Olivia - do you think there's hope for her to come to a better understanding of everything?
21:57 Was the psychiatrist's book an idea that came about during the writing, with you wanting an extra truth added to the story?
22:35 Do you have your own idea of what happened to Cassie?
23:20 Do you believe in faeries?
23:51 Do you have any rough plans for another book?
Purchase Links
You Let Me In:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photo credit: Lene J. Lokkhaug
Charlie Place and Fran Cooper (These Dividing Walls, The Two Houses) discuss open mic nights, current and recent sociopolitical situations in Paris (and the world), the way we talk about women and motherhood, and the complexity of relationships.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-09-fran-cooper/
Question Index
00:33 Did you have a good time in Italy?
00:47 Who was the most interesting to study in English Literature at Cambridge?
02:24 Are there any French classics you particularly enjoy?
03:38 Are you a city or a country person?
04:16 Have you or someone you know had experience of moving to an established community?
05:05 Do you speak French?
09:48 Was there a particular event that inspired These Dividing Walls?
11:36 Was this your first foray into writing in this manner?
12:54 Are there any buildings that are important to you in the sense of a residence?
14:09 Why Paris rather than England?
15:27 The terrorism in the book
17:54 Edward and Frederique - what was the significance for you of these characters coming together and experiencing their separate griefs
20:28 Is discussing the issue of motherhood important to you?
23:13 Frederique and her husband - was there any inspiration for their living arrangement?
29:02 Was The Two Houses inspired by a scene in These Dividing Walls?
30:30 Working with foresight in the book
31:52 What is your particular interest in art?
33:03 Do you have a favourite artist?
33:54 The metaphors of broken things
35:00 Are you interested in 'smaller stories' in your own reading?
35:52 What's most important to you when exploring issues of division in relationships?
37:47 What's next?
Purchase Links
These Dividing Walls:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
The Two Houses:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photo credit: Alex Mantei
Charlie and Andrew Blackman (On the Holloway Road, A Virtual Love) discuss life on the road, following in Jack Kerouac’s footsteps, offline and online identity, writing an entire book about a character but never giving them a voice, current climate change activism, and withholding – for very good reason – the endings your readers expect.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-08-andrew-blackman
Andrew's round up of his travels in 2019
A list of selected articles written
Question Index
00:57 You’ve been travelling for quite a few years now, can you tell us more about this?
01:57 You sold your books…
02:33 Where can we read your articles?
03:22 What was your journey to publication like?
11:07 When did you first read Kerouac’s On The Road?
11:59 Had you made a journey of the sort Neil and Jack go on?
13:34 Were you ever tempted to emulate Kerouac’s writing style?
15:42 What’s the relationship between your own characters and Kerouac’s?
17:28 Why the Holloway Road?
18:51 The ending – what did you want readers to take away with them? [vague spoilers]
21:18 How much did your experience of blogging influence A Virtual Love?
22:52 Was Jeff’s granddad inspired by your own relationship with a grandparent?
24:47 Why doesn’t Jeff have a voice in the novel?
34:38 Is there a way we can be more social in our current age?
37:40 Where did the environmental activism stem from?
40:01 How important is a sense of silence?
41:20 [Spoiler question] Can you talk about your choice not to have a big reveal?
44:27 What’s next?
Purchase Links
On the Holloway Road:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
Book Depository
A Virtual Love:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
Book Depository
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author. Credit Genie Austin.
Charlie Place and E C Fremantle (The Poison Bed; also Queen's Gambit, Sisters of Treason, Watch the Lady, The Girl in the Glass Tower) discuss changing pen names, a horrific murder case in the Stuart nobility, coping as a new mother in a one-of-a-kind situation, and the historical line between witchcraft and 'simple' superstition.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-07-e-c-fremantle
Liz and Charlie's previous conversation (YouTube)
The painting of Frances Howard by William Larkin, included in Liz's blog post.
Question Index
00:59 You’ve changed your pen name…
02:41 Are you going to be E C Fremantle for a while?
12:51 Can you tell us about the history of this story and what made you want to write about it?
15:22 Was it a difficult writing it?
16:57 Was the way Frances felt closer to the reader compared to Robert planned?
18:09 Who was Robert Carr?
21:01 Do you think there was love between Robert and Frances?
24:43 Do you think your version of Frances would have come to like her baby?
26:54 [Spoiler questions] 1) Were you ever tempted to change the history? 2) Can you tell us the story of Anne Turner?
34:23 Who was Northampton and did he work alone?
36:47 Did any other stories, films, media inspire the book?
39:02 Had you read Gone Girl?
40:24 Where did the line fall between what was witchcraft and what was not witchcraft?
43:11 What else can you tell us about your next book?
45:24 Queen’s Gambit adaptation.
46:37 They introduced themselves to us earlier – how long have you had your poodles?
Purchase Links
The Poison Bed:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
Queen's Gambit:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
Sisters Of Treason:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
Watch The Lady:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
The Girl In The Glass Tower:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with the permission of the author. Credit: JP Masclet.
Charlie Place and Nancy Bilyeau (The Crown; The Chalice; The Tapestry; The Blue; Dreamland) discuss the lifestyle of Dissolution-era nuns, using a website's 'contact me' form to great success, there being more relics than there were items, using your family's name in your work, and the grand amusement parks and luxury hotels of New York's past.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-06-nancy-bilyeau/
Nancy will be discussing Dreamland at the Astoria Bookshop (31-29 31st Street, Astoria NY) on Thursday 16th January, 19:00-20:00
Dartford Museum's website
Elizabeth Vigee Le Brun, the artist who painted Marie Antoinette
Question Index
00:50 You’ve been on the staff of various magazines – did you always hope to write novels?
04:23 Where do you head to, sources-wise, when you’re first thinking about a book?
17:48 How much work was it to get around the issue of Reformation?
23:13 Was there a particular reason you wanted to focus on Catherine Howard rather than Henry’s other wives?
27:20 Is Joanna based on anyone in particular?
29:56 The Athelstan crown – is it real object or inspired by anything?
33:18 The part about the nun’s having to host a Lord for a feast – was this something that happen in convents at that time?
39:18 What was the position of women artists in the 1700s?
42:02 How much of the idea about shades and discovering what other factions were doing is based on fact?
44:13 So Genevieve’s grandfather’s surname is Billiou…
49:00 (Introducing Dreamland)
55:09 What can you tell us about The Ghost of Madison Avenue?
58:56 Do you have a favourite time period to write in out of the three you’ve used so far?
Purchase Links
The Crown:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Book Depository
Barnes & Noble
The Chalice:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Book Depository
Barnes & Noble
The Tapestry:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Book Depository
Barnes & Noble
The Blue:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Book Depository
Barnes & Noble
Dreamland:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Book Depository
Barnes & Noble
The Ghost Of Madison Avenue:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with permission from the publisher. Credit: Joshua Kessler.
Tune in as Charlie Place and Samantha Sotto (Before Ever After, Love and Gravity, A Dream of Trees) discuss characters that join you in your car in the midst of a traffic jam, time travelling with Issac Newton, switching from your fully researched work in progress to a story that needs to be told, and... chickens?
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-05-samantha-sotto
The trailer for Love and Gravity as mentioned
Question Index
00:37 The story of how Sam became a writer involves traffic jams…
02:57 Did anything inspire the chicken and egg situation?
04:58 You’ve gone for lesser-known historical stories in Before Ever After, can you tell us about that?
07:41 Is there a secret ingredient for the egg and cheese dish?
08:57 Where does Doctor Who come into the story?
10:53 How was it working from the present day backwards?
12:15 Was there any particular time period you enjoyed working on?
14:40 Where did the campers first come into the story?
15:32 Where did Shelley first come into the story?
21:45 When did you have the idea to fill in the gap in Issac Newton’s story?
23:43 Where did John Maynard Keynes come in?
25:40 Issac Newton and Andrea are both motherless – was this comparison something you were working towards?
27:24 What was it like mixing science and music together in one book?
29:50 Daughter’s name being included in the book
32:13 Are your dogs [heard in the background] going to star in a book?
32:49 Do you like classical poetry?
34:29 Have you ever owned any chickens?
38:06 Why self-publish A Dream of Trees?
41:17 Is the content something you have/have developed a passion for?
44:11 Will you be returning to the Scotland fairy story book?
45:26 Sam’s recent NaNoWriMo book.
Purchase Links
Before Ever After:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Hive
Book Depository
Love And Gravity:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
A Dream Of Trees:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with permission from the author. Credit: Samantha Sotto.
Charlie Place and Phillip Lewis (The Barrowfields) discuss planning out fictional houses, the detail and beauty of classical music, books about books, and how real life in all its ups and downs makes its mark on your work.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-04-phillip-lewis
Question Index
00:25 You’re a litigation lawyer and used to write an online journal of criticism – tell us about your writing background
03:46 Where did this book come from?
08:00 Was there a reason for creating a fictional town (Old Buckram) related to what you’ve been saying?
09:56 What was your inspiration for the vulture house?
12:51 Tell us about the library
21:53 How important was music as a general part of the book compared to the other aspects?
26:04 How does the literature in the book relate to your own interests?
31:01 Did you ever worry that a significant number of literary references would be missed?
33:40 Was leaving until the end the mystery of what happened to Henry Senior always the plan?
42:34 Where did Bullar the dog first fit into the story for you?
45:20 What’s next?
Purchase Links
The Barrowfields:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with permission from the author. Copyright © Isil Dohnke.
Tune in as Charlie Place and author Naomi Hamill (How To Be A Kosovan Bride) discuss post-war Kosovo, using a narrative method that divides opinion, and researching Albanian folklore.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-03-naomi-hamill
Question Index
01:29 Could you expand on your time in Kosovo?
03:57 You started writing the book with a short story?...
05:46 What has the reaction in Kosovo been to your book?
07:50 What is Kosovo like today?
11:00 Have you learned Albanian?
12:25 What made you choose to tell the story through two women, the Kosovan Wife and the Returned Girl?
15:38 Tell us more about the folklore aspect in regards to its comparison to real Albanian folklore?
21:11 The second person perspective - why use it?
25:59 What's next?
Purchase Links
How To Be A Kosovan Bride:
Publisher's website
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photo used with permission from the author and publisher.
Tune in as book blogger Charlie Place and author Orlando Ortega-Medina (Jerusalem Ablaze; The Death of Baseball) discuss celebrity fictional reincarnation, writing short stories that don't have messages, and working with ideas that could - if misinterpreted - look like something else.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-02-orlando-ortega-medina
Question Index
00:36 Tell us about your writing background
03:09 Where do you get your ideas?
04:16 What was behind the decision not to include messages in your short stories?
06:18 How much of the content of your stories are related to your experiences?
07:48 Is Japan a place you have a particular interest in?
12:29 Why Marilyn Monroe?
15:12 Discussing choices in regards to baseball
19:03 Is Jimmy Joe Di Maggio in a different form?
19:40 The abuse in the book - what were you using it for?
21:30 The use of the cat and the blocking out of its name
23:52 Were you worried about any misunderstandings happening in regards to gender, Clyde wanting to be Monroe?
26:34 Tell us about Raphael, particularly in the context of religion and identity
38:08 Has writing a novel changed your preference for novels versus short stories?
38:51 What's next?
Purchase Links
Jerusalem Ablaze:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
The Death of Baseball:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
Barnes & Noble
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photograph used with permission from the author. Copyright © Marte Lundby Rekaa.
Tune in as book blogger Charlie Place and author Nicola Cornick (House of Shadows; The Phantom Tree; The Woman in the Lake) discuss burning down your place of work in fiction, every day objects of ill repute, and solving Tudor mysteries yet to be solved.
Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/podcast/episode-01-nicola-cornick/
Question Index
00:48 Regency romance to time-slip novelist
01:50 House of Shadows research and creation process
06:29 What was it like burning down your place of work in fiction and what was the reaction?
12:38 Where is your interest in everyday objects from?
14:54 Why the obscure Mary Seymour?
18:27 Was The Woman in the Lake, with its flawed characters and abusive relationships, difficult to write?
21:49 Did smuggling really happen in Swindon? Do you think you might go back to the topic in a future book?
31:36 More about The Forgotten Sister
Purchase Links
House of Shadows:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
The Phantom Tree:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
The Woman in the Lake:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Hive
The Forgotten Sister:
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Amazon Canada
Waterstones
Barnes & Noble
I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.
Photo used with the permission of the author.
