Writer's Routine

Cathy Bramley has published 18 novels, and sold over 2 million of them. Since her debut in 2015, it's taken a while to finalise she is actually an author. Cathy writes light-hearted romantic uplit, often focused on ordinary women doing extraordinary things.

Her new novel is 'Somewhere Only We Know', telling the story of Magnolia Jones, who sets off on the gap year trip her daughter so wanted to do... and she finds a bit of herself along the way.

We talk about her busy, busy location, and the software that stops her panicking. Also you can hear how she navigated life moving from being a self-published writer, to a more traditionally published author, and all the unexpected work that comes with it.

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Julie Owen Moylan's debut novel, 'That Green Eyed Girl', was a Waterstones' Welsh Book of the Month and a runner up for the Paul Torday Memorial Prize. She followed that up with '73 Dove Street' and 'Circus of Mirrors'. Her short film, 'Baby Cakes', won the Celtic Media Award and won at the Swansea Film Festival. She's inspired by finding the fiction in history, thoroughly researching a time, so she can dive right in and create her own world.

Her new novel is 'Elizabeth and Marilyn', which takes us back to the summer of 1956. It looks at the intertwining lives of Queen Elizabeth II and Marilyn Monroe, two of the 20th Century's biggest icons, and why for a brief moment they were neighbours.

We discuss how art inspires her writing, and reminds her she's done the hard stuff before. You can hear why she doesn't believe in writers' block, why the idea came from, and how she has figured out her best writing process.

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This week, we're chatting to Joseph Eckert whose debut novel has been 15 years in the making, and almost took him to Hollywood.

It's an incredible hook, about Scott Treder who finds himself thrown forwards in time by a day. Then by 2 days. Then 4, 8 16, months, and years. You can hear how it all came from a childhood fascination with exponents and a pocket-money pact.

Joseph lives on the USA's west coast, but works east coast hours - we discuss how that affects his writing day. Also hear about his dream den, how his novel began directly on the big screen, and his very thorough first reader.

We discuss how time-travel novels often ask more questions of the author, than providing solutions, how he planned the future of humanity, and his scope for editorial push-back.

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This week, we chat to Foluso Agbaje. Her debut, 'The Parlour Wife', was published to widespread acclaim in 2024.

She's following it up with 'The Talk of the Party'. It tells the story of a 60th Birthday Party, the envy of Lagos. However, the dream of Bukola Obanile's perfection comes at a price, and this one glorious night could shatter and detroy a family buily on deception.

We talk about why she gets fussier in her pursuit of perfection in each book, also why she uses Canva to write her novel, and why she went back to school to learn to write. You can hear about the energy of Dubai influencing her storytelling, how she's trying to unpick Nigerian culture, and why she's always across how everything looks.

Get a copy at uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutine

This week's episode is sponsored by Philippa Hall's 'Quick Book Reviews' Podcast.

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Sara Sheridan's 2022 novel, 'The Botanists', was the Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year, and was a pick for 'The Queen's Reading Room'. Her debut, 'Truth or Rare', won the Scottish Library Award. 'On Starlit Seas', was shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Prize, and she's been shortlisted for the Saltire Prize and the CWA Dagger in the Library Award. Sara's published 20 novels, spanning crime, thrillers, TV tie-ins, ghostwriting and historical fiction.

Her new novel is 'The Jewel Keepers'. It tells the story of 25 year old Amarinta McKenzie-Moore, who in 1837 is summoned to her great-aunt's deathbed, and learns the family secret... that she is a Jewel Keeper to the Scottish Crown. She's thrust into a high-stakes treasure hunt that could change the lives of every woman alive.

We discuss comparisons to 'The Da Vinci Code', how public-speaking helps her writing, and how she gets into the mind of real people who lived so long ago. You can hear how she's realised exactly what he role as a writer is, what she needs to start, and about long-lunches that lead to exciting ideas.

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

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