In this episode I chat to novelist Claire North (aka Catherine Webb) about her amazing career spanning 20 (!) novels so far, starting when she was just 14. We chat about genre, growing up geeky, dystopias, craft, and changing the world – and her latest novel, 84K, set in a frighteningly familiar corporate near-future where … Read more
This episode I chat to Peter Newman, author of Fantasy trilogy THE VAGRANT, THE MALICE and THE SEVEN, and – released in the UK *this week* (!) – his latest, THE DEATHLESS. I grill him for precious, precious info on how he builds worlds, his philosophy on creating characters, and what makes Fantasy so compelling. … Read more
To mark the 100th episode of Death Of 1000 Cuts, my writing advice podcast, I thought I’d record a Q&A, answering listeners’ questions. Here are the questions I answer, in the order I answer them. Thanks very much to everyone who submitted questions! – How do you know when you’re being original? – When can … Read more
In this episode I take a look at a listener’s first page and suggest ways to make it better. That’s right, it’s an old school In The Barber’s Chair critique! This is a great episode to listen to if you want to know: – how can I be a better self-editor? – how can I … Read more