Dann McDorman is an Emmy-nominated news producer, working for MSNBC in New York. His debut novel is 'West Heart Kill', which is something particularly unique. It places the reader at the heart of the mystery. Dann invites you in to an exclusive country club to be an active guest over a holiday weekend... when the bodies start dropping. We discuss the decision to put a singular twist on the crime mystery genre, and how it wasn't supposed to end up that way at all. You can hear how he began...

This week, we're chatting to D.L. Douglas and Donna Hay at the same time. For D.L. see Donna, and Donna see D.L. Donna Hay has published many saga novels, and worked as a journalist across magazines. She's now dipping her ink into historical crime mystery, as D.L. Douglas and her novel, 'Dr. Spilsbury and the Camden Town Killer'. It features the real life 1920's forensic pathologist Sir Bernard Spilsbury. It's a golden age mystery that meets CSI. We discuss how structuring crime stories and...

This week we're chatting to Claire Daverley. Her new novel is 'Talking at Night', which tells the story of Will and Rosie, two polar opposites who fall in love and are destined to be together forever, until a tragedy shatters their future. We discuss how much Claire thought about genre, and how she learned from working in the industry. Also, you can hear how she dealt with rejections and went to a writing course which helped her move into a new frame of writing mind. We run through why she...

Sarah Moorhead is busy. She's a doer who wants to achieve. She's been a teacher, a Chaplain, started youth-groups, has a black-belt in kickboxing, and writes novels. She published 'Witness X' in 2020, and is back with 'The Treatment'. The novel is all about the future of law enforcement. It looks at how ground-breaking technology could alter what we think of criminals... only psychiatrist Grace Gunnarsson discovers it could let people get away with murder. We chat through the 'what if?' that...

This week, we're joined by Nick Hunt. He's worked as a journalist and travel writer, publishing 'Outlandish', 'Where the Wild Winds Are', and 'Walking the Woods and the Water'. We discuss how he fell into becoming a travel writer, and how in reality it got in the way of his novel writing. He's published 'Red Smoking Mirror', an alternate history set in 1521, in the Mexican City of Tenochtitlan, in which 29 years earlier, Islamic Spain never fell to the Christians, and Andalus launched a...

Diana Janney is busy. She is a doer. She's worked as a barrister, a model, published two successful novels through the last 20 years, and has a new one out. 'A Man of Understanding' was named runner up for The People's Book Prize 2023. It tells the story of Horatio Hennessy, his orphaned grandson, and their journey together. It explores trauma which Diana has experienced, and she's used it as a way of understanding what it all means. We discuss her love of philosophy and poetry, and how that...

Alex Hay's new novel is 'The Housekeepers'. It won the Caledonia Novel Award 2022. It's all about Mrs King, a housekeeper from a world of con artists and thieves. She's dismissed from her position running the grandest home in Mayfair, and gets her revenge by recruiting an eclectic group of women to try and rob the house of its every position, right under the owner's nose. We discuss how he organises his writing around his day job, and how he manages to shift gears through different work. Also...

Susan Wiggs has written more than 50 books and sold more than 25 million copies in more than 20 languages. Her new one is 'Welcome to Beach Town'. It's a warm, summer read, about the idyllic beach town of Alara Cove. On graduation day, class valedictorian Nikki Graziola veers off script to reveal secrets that will break down the whole community, and have repercussions which never leave Nikki's life. We talk about the sweet spot of classics, how they blend literary language and an...

Sara Ochs is an attorney, law professor, and now author. Her debut is 'The Dive'. It's inspired by her own time travelling through Thailand, and hearing about a grisly murder near her hotel. We discuss why being an impatient person affects her drafting, also why getting an agent doesn't mean everything suddenly falls into place, and how she made characters feel genuine when they could so easily become stereotype. You can hear how splitting her time between the US and Sweden helped her write a...

Robert Thorogood's newest novel is 'Death Comes to Marlow'. It's the 2nd in the 'Marlow Murder Club Mysteries', about a group of amateur sleuths who solve crimes in a quintessentially British town. We talk about his love of cosy crime, why he is inspired by Agatha Christie's need to keep things fun, and why he wanted to write a mystery about where he lives. Robert created 'Death in Paradise', a tv series that has become a BBC institution, and is just wrapping it's 13th series. You can hear...

Jack Jordan's 7th novel is 'Conviction'. It tells the story of Neve Harper, a barrister who must make a terrifyingly tough choice: betray every principle she has and put an innocent man in prison, or put those she loves in mortal danger. Last summer, his novel, 'Do No Harm', was a runaway success and became a Waterstones 'Thriller of the Month'. We discuss the moment he knew that was becoming big, and how he dealt with the pressure of that when writing new stuff. You can hear how much he has...

Fiona Valpy is a historical fiction author who has sold millions of books, her work has been translated into more than 30 languages, and she's always up for a challenge. Her new novel, 'The Cypress Maze', is inspired by the true story of Iris Origo. An English-born woman in Italy, she sheltered refugee children and helped prisoners of war escape during World War II. It's a dual timeline novel, set across 1943 and 2015. We chat about the extensive research that goes into historical fiction,...

This week, we're chatting to Nick Bradley. He's an author, a creative writing teacher, a translator, and his new novel is, 'Four Seasons in Japan'. It's about about Flo, a translator in Tokyo. She finds a book on the subway and tries to track down the author and translate it. We discuss his previous novel, 'The Cat and the City', which was a BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick. Also, how his time living in Japan transformed how he thought of novels, and how he spoke to his characters. You can hear how...

This week, we're chatting to Jenna Clake. Her new novel is 'Disturbance', it tells the story of a young woman who, with the help of her strange, witchy neighbour, seems to bring her boyfriends presence back to haunt her. It's eery, creepy, razor sharp and beautifully written. Jenna began writing with poetry. Her first collection 'Fortune Cookie' won many awards, and she teaches creative writing. We discuss how writing poetry influenced her storytelling, and how much it affects the way she...

Kerry Chaput is an award-winning historical fiction author. Her 'Defying the Crown' series has had much success, and her new book is 'Chasing Eleanor'. Set in 1935, it's all about Magnolia Parker, who must protect her sick brothers who get put in an Orphanage. She sets out to find Eleanor Roosevelt, the most famous woman in America, to help bring them home. We discuss how she researches novels set hundreds of years ago. Also, why she started writing again after putting her pen down, suffering...

This week, we're joined by JP Reiger, whose brand new novel, 'Clonk!' is out now. Paul worked as an attorney, and now spends his time as an amateur musician, and writing novels. We talk about how his work as an attorney has affected how much he plans out novels, and why he's quite casual about where and when he writes. 'Clonk!' is about the Baltimore City Police Detective Kev Dixit, seeking the murder of a local artist, and the unique characters that he meets along the way. We run through how...

Rebecca McKanna has published short stories in anthologies and quarterlies. Something about one idea made her want to write a full novel. 'Don't Forget the Girl' is about Bree and Chelsea, trying to discover what really happened to their best friend Abby Hartmann. Her presumed murderer, the serial killer Jon Allan Blue, is about to be executed when a flurry of interest in the case makes them turn to a true-crime podcaster to tell Abby's story before it's too late. We discuss the balance of...

Over Tim Lott's 10 novels, he's won the Whitbread First Novel Award, been shortlisted for The Guardian Kids Book Award and the Costa Award. He's been published in 16 countries, works as a screenwriter, and has taught creative writing for over 10 years. He's got a brilliant Substack page, filled with tips and advice at timlott.substack.com. His new book is a writing guide, 'Yes! No! But Wait! - The One Thing You Need to Know to Write a Novel'. It takes you through much of the process in...

Corie Adjmi's debut novel, 'Life and Other Shortcomings' won a whole bunch of prizes, and has steamrollered her towards the new novel, 'The Marriage Box'. It's all about Casey Cohen, a 16 year old in New Orleans, and in the 70s, her parents decide to return to their roots and move to the orthodox Syrian jewish community in Brooklyn. In time, Casey meets Michael and marries him at 18 thinking she can adjust to his Syrian ways, but starts to question things when Michael says he doesn’t want her...

John Wray is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Award, he was named as one of the Best Young American Novelists in 2007. He's just published his 6th novel, 'Gone to the Wolves'. It’s the story of high school outcasts, making their pilgrimage from their small town in Florida, to the famed Hollywood Strip, and off to Norway (enter blackened death metal). Along their vision quest, these teens experience mystery, loss and love, all in the name of music, littered with feelings...

J.D. Kirk is a prolific writer. He's written comics and screenplays, under the name Barry Hutchison he's published over 170 children's books, and is back with a new crime novel, 'The One That Got Away'. It's the first in the DI Heather Filson series, about a 15 year old girl who doesn’t make it home so is suspected as another teenage runaway. However, when her grandfather, a notorious Glasgow gangster, disagrees, it takes Heather Filson into a battle of underworld enemies, and her own...

Senta Rich is busy. She has the energy to keep up with everything. She has worked in philosophy, psychology, written radio plays, has a film and TV series in the works, and her new novel, 'Hotel 21' is out now. It tells the story of Noelle, a kleptomaniac hotel cleaner, and the stories she uncovers. We talk about why, when she had the idea on holiday, she had to drop everything and get it down immediately. You can hear why she still writes in notebooks, how she spreads energy and time between...

Jude Yawson edits '14 Magazine', writes film and music reviews, and has co-authored 'Rise Up - The #Merky Story So Far' with Stormzy. It looks behind the scenes at Stormzy's life, the story of his team, and details everything that led to the release of 'Gang Signs and Prayer', Stormzy's debut album that sold millions of copies and won many awards. We talk about inspiration that comes from working with a team, how important it was to capture the truth of where they grew up and why it's vital...

Becky Hunter's debut novel is 'One Moment'. It looks at best friends Scarlet and Evie, incredibly close until a tragic accident changes everything. It talks about why just one moment makes a huge difference. It's already been sold across the world, and we talk about how this has finally happened. It took Becky a while to get published, and it was only when she stopped thinking about what was on trend and what might sell, that she found the space to write something personal that got her...

Tim Weaver is a Sunday Times million copy bestseller, he's been nominated for a National Book Award, is a Richard and Judy Book Club Pick, and has been shortlisted for a CWA Dagger Award. He's just published his 12th David Raker book, 'The Blackbird'. It follows the story of Cate and Aidan Gascoigne, whose car plunges into a ravine, but the couple vanish. We talk about the challenges writing disappearing persons thrillers, how do you have new ideas about what's happening, and who might be...