• Episode 33: Sally O'Reilly, creative writing lecturer, on how to write a book
    Jun 29 2021

    Excellent advice, from a senior lecturer in creative writing at the Open University, on all stages of writing a novel.  How to start, keep going, and produce a draft ready for submission to an agent.
    Please leave feedback at https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/24385928-restarting-the-podcast

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    40 mins
  • Episode 32: Sally O'Reilly on the natural history of a writing career
    Jun 28 2021

    What can a writer expect from a "writing career"? Ups and downs, highs and lows, of course!  With experience comes wisdom.  Learning about writing, books, readers, and the publishing industry never stops.

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    36 mins
  • Episode 31: Dark Aemilia by Sally O'Reilly
    Jun 18 2021

    My guest is Sally O'Reilly, author of Dark Aemilia, published by Myriad in 2014.   Aemilia Lanyer meets William Shakespeare in the time of the plague, witchcraft, and a dying Queen Elizabeth, in this vividly imagined novel, rich in historical detail and speculation on who really wrote Macbeth.

    Publisher: https://myriadeditions.com/books/dark-aemilia/ 

    Dark Aemilia is available in hardcover, paperback and ebook.

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    37 mins
  • Episode 30: Fiona Melrose on how to write a book
    Apr 30 2021

    We discuss several topics in this episode.  How the act and art of writing books is central to Fiona's life.  How her intuitive approach to writing translates into advice for her creative writing students.  And how receiving fancy stationery as a present when young was an inspiration to write stories in the first place.

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    29 mins
  • Episode 29: Fiona Melrose on Midwinter
    Apr 29 2021

    My guest is Fiona Melrose, author of Midwinter, published by Corsair in 2016.  We discuss the book, its themes of coming to terms with grief and a fractured family, and how living in Suffolk informed the story.

    Publisher: https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/fiona-melrose/midwinter/9781472151780/

    Midwinter is available in hardcover, paperback and ebook.

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    27 mins
  • Episode 28: All about NaNoWriMo and why you should give it a go, with Elizabeth Haynes
    Oct 29 2020

    Elizabeth Haynes is a best selling crime author - seven of her published novels started life in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), a community-supported writing event where writers try and write a novel of 50,000 words in the month of November.  Learn about how NaNoWriMo works and why it's a good idea for writers to give it a go.



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    25 mins
  • Episode 27: Online book launches and the impact of Covid-19 on the creative spark, with Tyler Keevil
    Oct 4 2020

    Covid-19 has forced book launches, readings and festivals online to give a different experience for authors interacting with an audience.  The current situation, however, has not always been so kind on the creative process, and has dampened many efforts to write and even to know what would be worth writing.




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    26 mins
  • Episode 26: Tyler Keevil on how to write a book
    Oct 3 2020

    We discuss the creative writing courses Tyler teaches on, and how visiting authors are generous with their time and advice to students. Tyler's inspirational book is The Collector of Hearts: New Tales of the Grotesque, by Joyce Carol Oates.




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    30 mins