Writer's Routine

This week we're chatting to one of the UK's best-selling thriller writers. Scott Mariani has published 30 novels in the 'Ben Hope series', a few more in his 'Will Bowman historical thriller adventures', and some chilling books about vampires. He writes in his sprawl of land hidden in the Welsh countryside, almost secluded with his stories.

Ben Hope is an ex-SAS soldier turned reluctant hero, who finds himself in thrilling chases across the world, all centred around an historic mystery waiting to be solved. His debut, 'The Alchemist's Secret', was a number 1 bestseller for 6 weeks, although it took quite a strange route to success. Following it up with 29 more Hope novels, Scott finally retired the character... only to be drawn back to his hero a few years later. He has announced a new one, 'The Jericho Road', due to be released in 2027.

We discuss why his routine is built around strict discipline, putting the words together much like a builder will make a house with bricks. Also you can hear about how he's learned what a reader wants, whether he's figured out any plotting tricks, and how he researches his globe-trotting adventures without the internet.

Get a copy of the debut novel here - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutine

This week's episode is sponsored by Faber Academy's 'Writing a Novel' course, which is back. Find out more - https://faberacademy.com/

Also, we're supported by Philippa Hall's 'Quick Book Reviews' podcast. Take a listen wherever you've got this show.

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Simon Wroe started work as a chef and still works in a kitchen. Only this time, he writes novels in them. He's worked as a journalist for The Guardian, The Economist, The Times and more, and his debut, 'Chop Chop', was nominated for the Costa First Novel Award. He also penned the screenplay for 'Sweet Dreams', a mixed-media film starring Munya Chawawa and Morgana Robinson.

His new novel is 'Ghost Month'. It tells the story of how strange a month September has become. Every year, the spirits of the dead return for 4 weeks only. The novel focuses on 4 characters and their experiences of this time, and how society has learn to live with, and profit from, the haunting month.

We talk about how it was inspired by personal, and societal, grief, also how he got into the headspace of multiple characters, and how much pressure he felt to make things chilling.

You can hear about his wide-ranging research and influences, the seeds for the idea, and why he wanted to write a novel for London.

Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutine

This week's episode is sponsored by Faber Academy's 'Writing a Novel' course. Find out more at faberacademy.com

Support the show -
patreon.com/writersroutine
ko-fi.com/writersroutine

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Kevin Wade is a screenwriter and show-runner, behind some of the biggest films and series of recent times. After acting for a bit, he started off penning Off-Broadway plays. Kevin moved on to write on 'Working Girl', 'Meet Joe Black', 'Maid in Manhattan', before getting huge success as the exec producer and showrunner for most of the 'Blue Bloods' series. The show was a police procedural starring Tom Selleck. It ran for years, and meant Kevin and his team needed to write over 20 mysteries a season, that individually wrapped up and all contributed towards the overall was series arc.

His debut novel, 'Johnny Careless', was nominated for an Edgar Award, and he's followed that up with 'One Good Eye'. It tells the story of Police Chief Jeep Mullane, who sets off on a lonely and dangerous path to find out who attacked one of his oldest, closest friends.

We discuss the marathon of writing 20+ episodes of a show every year, and learning to hit the beats and fit the format of network television. Also you can hear why he ditched the initial idea for the novel, and why a fire isn't really exciting.

Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutine

This week's episode is sponsored by Faber Academy's 'Writing a Novel' course. Find out more - https://faberacademy.com/creative-writing-courses/fiction-writing-courses/

Support the show -
patreon.com/writersroutine
ko-fi.com/writersroutine

Find the newsletter - writersroutine.substack.com

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Matt Hill is a Philip K. Dick nominated author, having published 6 books over the last 13 years. 'Lamb', 'The Breach', 'Zero Bomb', 'Graft' and 'Folded Man', have all be acclaimed for their prose, innovation and invention... he descibes them as 'getting a little weird'. He's also published novels as MT Hill. Matt's new novel is 'Wrecks'. It tells the story of mechanic Jim Sorrel, who is dismissed by his rally team for his part in a life-changing crash. When he is offered a second chance, he discovers his punishment has only just begun.

It's inspired by Matt's childhood spent in a motor-racing loving family, and we discuss how he's used that for a speculative, noirish thriller. You can hear how he keeps the pace of a car-focused book going across the novel, why he's very open to learning things, and what he's done with a new dedicated writing space.

We chat about the challenge of sticking the landing, his big editing change, and why his method and routine has changed over the last few years.

Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutine

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Vaseem Khan tried to be an author for a long time. He wrote widely, in all genres, even analytically studied the greats to learn from how they did it, but kept gettiing rejected. Finally, after many turned down pitches, he landed a deal for 'The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra'. It tells the story of a retiring police officer, who is given an elephant to adopt. It was selected by the Sunday Times as one of the 40 best crime novels between 2015-20.

He still writes widely. Vaseem published the 'Malabar House' novels set in 1950s India, which focus on the country's first female police officer. His most recent novel, 'The Edge of Darkness' is in that series. He also won the CWA Crime Dagger award in 2021 for his book, 'Midnight at Malabar House'. He's given psychological thriller a go with 'The Girl in Cell A', set in the United States which sold very well, and has more recently turned his hand to something like cosy crime, with his novel, 'Quantum of Menace'. It tells the story of Q from the world of James Bond. Recently fired and pottering about at home, he must solve the mystery of a friends murder. You can hear about the process of being approached by the Ian Fleming estate, and the deal-breaker that he insisted on for the character.

We talk about why everything needs to be spot on as he goes through the novel, also how he brought life to a caricature, and how he managed to keep going through the rejections. There's also a lot of editing and workplace tips to inspire your own day.

You can get a copy of the book at uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutine

Support us -
patreon.com/writersroutine
ko-fi.com/writersroutine

This week's episode is sponsored by Philippa Hall's 'Quick Book Reviews' podcast. Take a listen wherever you've got this.

@writerspod
writersroutine.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.