Reading Between Deadlines Podcast

Listen above or on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or if you want to SEE us in all our glory… watch at the bottom of this post. And if you LOVE the pod, please consider leaving us a review.
This episode's book: The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde is a bonkers alternate-history mystery where literary detective, Thursday Next, has to save Jane Eyre from a villain who is rewriting literature. A very bookish book!
This week’s guest is the delightful Kate Solly, who writes warm and feel-good cosy mystery. Her latest novel is The Paradise Heights Miniature Railway Bust-Up, and when Kate’s not writing, she’s wrangling six kids and doing crochet.
In this episode, we cover:
Audio books vs Print - some narratives suit one more than the other
Main characters - do we need to connect with them to love a story?
Rereading, DNFing and reading multiple books at once
Jasper’s literary influences (we speculate)
💋 And, of course, we rate THE EYRE AFFAIR: Kiss, Kill, or Marry.
📚 Books Mentioned in this Ep
Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Emma by Jane Austen
A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao
Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective by Kelli Gardiner and Sharmini Kumar
The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies by Alison Goodman
The Tea Ladies by Amanda Hampson
The Bookshop Detectives by Gareth and Louise Ward
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Tenderfoot by Toni Jordan
Tiny, Useless Hearts by Toni Jordan
Those Faraday Girls by Monica McInerney
The Other Bridget by Rachael Johns
Enid Blyton
Nancy Drew
Babysitters Club
⏰ Timestamps
0:00 – Anthea opens the show. Rach contributes by almost forgetting her own name.
1.31 - Anthea intros the charming, well-behaved and alarmingly fertile Kate Solly.
2.43 - Kate has chosen The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde – one of her all-time favourites. She does suspect, however, that Jasper has never heard of Coco Chanel.
3.40 - Rach and Anthea judges Kate's bio, become wildly jealous of her book-wraooubg skills, and marvel at the fact she once crocheted Rach a Diet Coke can. Frankly, she's showing off.
4.48 - What’s that smell? We all share the disgusting things we’ve found in our cars way too late. Perhaps this podcast should come with a biohazard warning.
6.57 - Kates reads the blurb of her chosen book - a novel on Rach and Anthea’s radar for YEARS. Thank god Kate finally made us read it.
8.43 - Time to judge Jaspers bio - there are three to choose from. Rach thinks that is two bios too many!
10.40 - Today's pick is over twenty years old. Anthea was convinced it was from the '80s. Close enough.
12.05 - Rach shares the book stats and fun facts, including Jasper's 76 rejections... then completely forgets the most interesting fact. Luckily Kate came prepared.
14.44 - Anthea explains our ratings system and, in a shocking turn of events, tries to get Rach cancelled. Again.
15.07 - Anthea explains her rating. She suspects Jasper occasionally ignores his editors, wanted more "lore" (she's down with the kids), and craved a little more heart and a few higher stakes.
17.11 - Kate promises Jasper really hits his stride in the later books, and suddenly we're considering adding several more novels to the TBR.
19.45 - Rach feels it makes sense this was his debut as it reads like a first novel. But hey, everyone has to start somewhere and this is a pretty good start.
22.58 - Kate reveals her family are thoroughly obsessed with Mr Fforde and his affairs. We also discuss the politics of sharing Kindles and Kobos.
25.01 - Rach didn't quite click with Thursday Next and suspects she may be the least interesting person in her own book.
28.24 - Plot takes centre stage, character takes the back seat, and Douglas Adams is very much in the passenger seat.
29.16 - Magic is afoot - the one-star Goodreads review Rach wanted to read aloud has mysteriously disappeared.
30.43 - Time to interrogate Kate about her reading habits: rereading, DNFing, and other controversial behaviour.
34.20 - Book formats do matter and Kate gets sweaty over our auto buy author question.
36.58 - Cozy mysteries have officially gone mainstream, and Kate shares some of her favourites.
38.45 - The loneliness of being the only person who didn't fall head over heels for a wildly hyped book.
39.59 - Reading reviews is like picking scabs. Gross? Yes. But this might just be our fave bookish analogy ever.
42.21 - An ode to Toni Jordan. (As she deserves.)
43.18 - Which book reignited Kate's love of reading?
45 - We all adore The Faraway Tree. We absolutely do not want to meet Dame Slap.
46.03 - What we're reading next, including the book that seems to be in absolutely everyone's hands right now.

👉Next Ep, we’re diving into Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke and our July guest is Tamara Moss who is making us read Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster.
July Books: 14th July - The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clark28th July - Junkyard Cats by Faith Hunter with guest author Fiona McArthur


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit readingbetweendeadlines.substack.com/subscribe

Hi Deadliners
We hope you enjoy this latest edition of Reading Between Deadlines. Honestly it might be our FAVOURITE episode yet. It’s a cracker, even if we DO say so ourselves.
This episode’s pick: THEO OF GOLDEN by Allen Levi is a book that was self-published and then picked up by a major publisher after it basically went viral. It’s about an old dude who turns up mysteriously in the fiction town of Golden, then starts buying up portraits for half the town.
We hope you enjoy our deep dive into this hyped book.
Happy Listening and Love lots,Rach and Anthea
PS. If you want to watch rather than listen, scroll down.
In this episode, we cover:
Why authors love the question “what if?”
Word length and editing
Plot vs character
Religion in fiction
And we rewrite the ending.
💋 And, of course, we rate it: Kiss, Kill, or Marry

⏰ Timestamps
000 – Intro – Rachael is a newsreader now.. and she’s been robbed..
2.24 – Rachael introduces Theo of Golden and reads the blurb. Anthea is already bored.
4.35 – Why we read Theo – International hype is REAL
5.50 Alan – 70 year old song writer who’s not Willie Nelson
6.42 – Should you write about stuff you see in a coffee shop? We’re about to find out..
7.19 – The bio you have when you don’t have a bio (is Alan a bit rock’n’ roll?)
9.40 – Rach goes Insta Detectives on Theo of Golden with interesting facts.. Anthea checks her watch..
12.16 Anthea is all about the rules.. Kiss, Kill, Marry…
13.38 – Shiz gets REEL. Anthea and Rach give their verdict.
15.21 – Rachael has gone completely crackers. Anthea tries to understand
16.58 – Nope, it’s no good – Rachael is crazily trying to justify her rating. Anthea is having a minor breakdown.
17.25 – A dead Theo wins Rach’s heart. Anthea passes out.
18.02 – Info dumping – Rachael’s new favourite. Anthea casts about for a new bestie…
19.02 - Rachael relishes Theo’s dumb AND boring secret baby trope. Anthea astral travels out of her office, to somewhere nice without any Theos.
20.12 – Anthea puts on her SURPRISED face on, and refuses to remove it.
21.25 – Rach decides she wouldn’t have finished it if she didn’t have to. Anthea wonders if she UNDERSTANDS THE RATINGS SYSTEM??!!!
21.45 – Rach admits she was PLODDING along with Theo. PUCKER UP BABY! (STILL a kiss?????????????)
22.18 – Anthea feels the phrase ‘this is boring’ is underused. (Not by her, obviously.)
22.38 – Dramatic death letter. It’s never too soon. (and stay away from windows.)
23.24 – Anthea expresses her disappointment in Rachael’s rating. Again. Seriously. We get it! (also Anthea goes global and kills it for her friend in Colorado)
26.07 – Anthea gently rants about the many, many, many problems with this novel. (Put the pen down, Grandad.)
27.05 – To the Theo of Golden Community. Well played. Well played, indeed.
28.18 – Rachael admits Theo WAS LONG AND BORING. Anthea rests her case. (mentally, you won’t hear that bit.)
28.37 – Ellen (the most exciting character Anthea barely remembers) is getting her own novel. Kill me now.
29.02 – No ticking clock on Theo’s death (it still wouldn’t have saved this novel, but it would have been nice to see him make the attempt)
29.19 – Christian messages. Too much? (Amen!)
32.30 – Tension please!! Pleeaase! Anthea and Rach agree Theo is boring. High 5!
33.20 – Sorry, but this book needed a good edit
34.50 - Old men and books. AB Facey. Owed Anthea’s great granddad money. Scandal!
37.14 - The cover - Anthea approves! Rachael approves! (it’s boring)
39.05 - Anthea threatens to sack Rachael. Realises Rach is the boss!! Settles to sentencing her to reading the sequel, about the boring Ellen.
41.32 – Rachael threatens Anthea with a Theo of Golden keepsake. Anthea feels physically ill..
42.29 – Readers Retreat! (Theo free zone!)
43.30 – We’re reading The Eyre Affair, Yesteryear and a bunch of other books which are possibly more exciting than Theo. (Sorry, Theo.) (Anthea is swiping LEFT) (But you still have a chance with Rach!)
45.00 BYE! (please don’t go around buying portraits and handing them out to people – it’s way less charming and life changing than you think.)

Coming up next:
👉Next Ep we’re chatting to Kate Solly about The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde.
📅 In July, we’re diving into possibly the MOST HYPED book of the year - Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke and we’re chatting to Tamara Moss about Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit readingbetweendeadlines.substack.com/subscribe

Listen above or on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or if you want to SEE us in all our glory… watch at the bottom of this post. And if you LOVE the pod, please consider leaving us a review.
This episode's book: The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell, is a story about two seemingly very unrelated women as they come to terms with new motherhood, love and hidden family secrets.
This week’s guest is Sara Foster is an internationally bestselling author known for her gripping psychological thrillers and emotionally rich storytelling. Originally from the UK and now based in Western Australia, Sara is one of our best writing friends and we can’t wait to hang out with her again on retreat later in the year. Most importantly she knows how to party and we were recently luck enough to attend her 50th 70s themed bday on a boat!
In this episode, we cover:
Maggie O’Farrell’s long, fabulous career (no, we’re not jealous)
Authors who write many different types of books
Themes of motherhood in fiction.
The tenses we like in fiction.
Simple but poignant premises
Sara’s reading tastes and recommendations
💋 And, of course, we rate THE HAND THAT FIRST HELD MINE: Kiss, Kill, or Marry.
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📚 Books Mentioned in this Ep
The Book of Unnamed Midwives by Meg Elison
Story Genius by Lisa Cron
Anything by Lisa Jewell, Taylor Jenkins Reid and Liane Moriarty
Far From The Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving
God of the Woods by Liz Moore
The Hush by Sara Foster
You Don’t Know Me by Sara Foster
⏰ Timestamps
0:00 – Intro to our fabulousness (even if we do say so ourselves)
0:41 – Rach’s disappearing act and all the many luncheons.
2:23 – Introducing our fabulous guest - Sara Foster. She’s been prepping hard but still feels nervous, making Rach feel ALL powerful.
2:56 – The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell - Sara beautifully reads the blurb.
4:48 – Judging Sarah’s author bio. She has a PhD AND a very cute dog. We are officially in awe yet Anthea still gives her tips on how to improve it! Rach suggests Sarah write a memoir about the boozy, long-lunch era of publishing.
9:23 – Judging Maggie O’Farrell’s bio - Rach feels she’s a bit of a braggart, then boasts about her own thirty-something books. Sara talks about Maggie’s varied career (spoiler - she loves everything she’s written).
14:49 – Book facts, awards and Goodreads. Goodreads give it the tick of approval but now it’s our turn to Kiss, Kill or Marry. Every gets nervous and Rach no longer trusts her own opinion!
17:15 – Book discussion: Oh Lord, it’s another quiet novel. Lexi vs Elena timelines – which gal was the funnest? Anthea likens the book to eating All Bran.
22.00 - Rach needs a few things explained. She’s really pissed off about a baby with no-name, but aside from that she sounds rather obsessed.
25.12 - Oh Lord, Rach is waxing lyrical about quiet novels again, yet can’t explain what she loves so much about this book.
26.41 - Why on earth is Maggie so compelling? Rach admits she’s really nosey!
29.07 - Sara tells us why Maggie is a literary genius! Speculating on Maggie’s writing process.
33:14 – Whose story is this? (Lexi vs Elena vs Ted debate) Does Ted even HAVE a passport?? Anthea really gets nit-picky, but makes a good point.
39:46 – Time to ask Sarah all the hard questions. Eg. Who are her auto-buy authors?(Rach and Anthea offended not to feature)
40:49 – Sarah’s top book recommendation: The Book of the Unnamed Midwife – this is the fancy kind of shiz we’ve come to expect from Sara… We can’t believe neither of us have ever even heard of it.
42:50 – Trigger warnings debate – When do we need to know?
44:34 – Classic novel Sarah hasn’t read and overhyped books
49:33 – Sarah’s favourite of her own books and insight into the podcast adaptation of You Don’t Know Me.
52:10 – Reading reviews: do our authors look?
56:03 – What’s next??
👉 Watch now and tell us - did you love The Hand That First Held Mine?
👉Next Ep, we’re diving into Theo of Golden by Allen Levi and our June guess is Kate Solly who is making us read The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde.
July Books: 14th July - Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke28th July - Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster with guest author Tamara Moss
Exciting NEWS - we’ve pretty much locked in all our books for the rest of the year! You can see them here!


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit readingbetweendeadlines.substack.com/subscribe

Hi Deadliners
We hope you enjoy this latest edition of Reading Between Deadlines.
This episode’s pick: HALF HIS AGE - a supposedly funny story about sex, power, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive. The story is about Waldo, a teenaged girl who becomes obsessed with her teacher. It’s the debut novel by Jennette McCurdy, child star, now writer, filmmaker and more. Although this is her first novel, her memoir, GLAD MY MOM DIED, was a massive hit!
We hope you enjoy our deep dive into this hyped book.
Happy Listening and Love lots,Rach and Anthea
PS. If you want to watch rather than listen, scroll down.
💋 And, of course, we rate it: Kiss, Kill, or Marry.
⏰ Timestamps
0:05 — Welcome to the Pod!
1:18 — Rach entering witness protection to avoid socialising with Anthea (understandable!)
4:55 — We read Half His Age by Jeanette McCurdy…but why?
6:05 — Hype – has it tricked us again?
8:00 — Blurb – a tale as old as time (or if not time, as old as that creepy Russian book..)
9:38 — Author bio – Fancy enough for ya?
11:50 — Goodreads – Rach gets forensic…
13:01 — So – how did it sell? Rach runs the figures – Anthea is impressed!
13:20 — Kiss, Kill, Marry! The rules…
14:15 — Judging, but in a nice way..
14:47 — Rach reports back on her time with Waldo and her creepy boyfriend
15:47 — Rach is over stories with older male love interests. (Ageist!) (and she says something about character growth..?)
16:11 — Is the older man plot too creepy to enjoy? (Anthea feels bad about Harrison Ford, but not THAT bad..)
18:02 — Does anything shock us anymore? Anthea can’t remember..
18:17 — Anthea and Rach discuss period sex/bloody penis play – hot or not? (NOT!!!)
19:31 — Anthea on kissing Waldo.. (not just after the bloody penis bit, obvs..)
21:52 — What makes a good book? Anthea is still confused.
24:43 — What makes a book successful? (no, really??!)
26:03 — Is Waldo SUPER mature? Or just really into menopause?
30:57 — Waldo – lumbered with a middle-aged man. #goals
32:55 — Family dinner with a rando kid – weird? Or massively cosy and appropriate?
35:06 — Is Jeanette ok? A tough childhood on the page.
41:42 — What’s coming next on the podcast (Anthea writes things down..) And we add Yesteryear to the menu…(Anthea thinks it’s about her..)
44:15 — Bye!

📖 Coming up next:
👉Next Ep we’re chatting to Sara Foster about The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell.
In June, we’re diving into Theo of Golden by Allen Levi and chatting to Kate Solly about The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde.
For what we’re up to after that, click here.
🛍️ Do you read between deadlines too? Grab the merch


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit readingbetweendeadlines.substack.com/subscribe

Listen above or on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or if you want to SEE us in all our glory… watch at the bottom of this post.
This episode's book: The Only One Left by Riley Sager, a gothic thriller packed with family secrets, dodgy characters, and a creepy old-mansion. The story follows a home health aide caring for a woman accused decades earlier of murdering her family.
This week’s guest is Mercedes Mercier (otherwise known as Rach’s co-writers). Mercedes is a crime and thriller author known for her fast-paced, twist filled novels. When she’s not writing or looking after her twin daughters, she works in the criminal justice system - no wonder her crime novels are so realistic! Her latest book is The Couple’s Retreat.
In this episode, we cover:
Bios - men vs women.
Creepy, gothic settings.
Is Riley the male Frieda McFadden?
Materialism and old houses.
Co-writing and more!

💋 And, of course, we rate THE ONLY ONE LEFT: Kiss, Kill, or Marry.
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📚 Books Mentioned in this Ep
Anything by Robin Hobbs
The Baby-Sitters’ Club series
Goosebumps series
IT by Stephen King
Sophie Kinsella’s novels
DOVE by Georgia Harper
Harry Potter series
The Lord of the Rings
⏰ Timestamps
1.0 – Welcome, and feel free to be intimidated
2.19 – Mercedes Mercier – pretty much James Bond but a lady
3.57 – The Only Once Left – Tik Tok hype at work
4.43 – Mansions, murder and cliff tops – the blurb is a total vibe
8.28 – The male bio – fewer dogs and kids than you’d think
9.51 – Mercedes shamelessly (and quite correctly) brags that she has kept Rach to a95 000 word count! Anthea passes out…!
11.09 Mercedes and Rach celebrate their (reading) promiscuity
12.31 – Kiss, Kill, Marry – it’s unanimous!
13.45 – Anthea says it’s crazy at the end. FIFTY YEARS CRAZY!
16.15 – Rach loves the crazy – but she doesn’t want to marry it
18.43 – Riley Sager – how to fit a whole lot of crazy into one book at a time
20.39 – Themes - Rach wonders what her books are about??
21.43 – Anthea goes postal about 50 years of arse-wiping
23.40 – Why 1983? Does this novel really need to be set in Dark Ages??
25.57 – We question Mercedes about her personal choices – and find out she’s a crier! (and a nerd) (both of which we wholeheartedly support!)
28.54 – DNF – is it our right? Or our DUTY?
31.22 – Fantasy novels and Sophie Kinsella – because dragons like Jimmy Choo’s, too?
33.18 – Reviews – the work of the Devil, and dummies with no taste…!
33.48 – Co-writing – a brief masterclass from Rach and Mercedes
37.46 – Book recommendations.
41.22 – Harry Potter – divisive? Or still magical?
43.11 – Rach tells Anthea what she’s reading next – Anthea writes it down.
44.57 – See you next time!
👉 Watch now and tell us - did you love The Only One Left?
👉Next Ep, we’re diving into Half His Age by Jeanette McCurdy and our May guest is Sara Foster who has chosen to make us read The Hand that First Held Mine by Maggie O’Farrell.
June Books: 14th June - By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult28th June - Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster with guest author Tamara Moss
Exciting NEWS - we’ve pretty much locked in all our books for the rest of the year! You can see them here!
🎽 Do you read between deadlines too? Grab the merch


This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit readingbetweendeadlines.substack.com/subscribe