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Confessions of a Debut Novelist
Episode 16. Susannah Wise - This Fragile Earth
In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to to Susannah Wise whose sci-fi debut This Fragile Earth was published in 2021. I wanted to ask Susannah on the podcast, just as her paperback comes out and before her second book is published, to discuss being a debut one year on. In this episode we talk about how her world-building developed through different drafts, the ups and downs on the way to publication, and the highlights of her debut year.
Buy This Fragile Earth: http://hyperurl.co/ThisFragileEarthHB
Pre-order Okay Then That's Great: https://www.orionbooks.co.uk/titles/susannah-wise/okay-then-thats-great/9781473232372/
Follow Susannah on Twitter: @susannahwise
https://www.susannahwise.com
Follow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimms
Pre-order Chloe's debut novel The Seawomen: https://linktr.ee/chloetimms
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More episodes
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21. Episode 4.21 Mel Pennant - A Murder for Miss Hortense
47:11||Season 4, Ep. 21In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Mel Pennant about her crime novel A Murder for Miss Hortense. We discuss how Miss Hortense was inspired by Mel’s grandmother and golden age mysteries, the importance of balancing lightness and humour within the tragedy and resilience of the Black British community and what it’s like to write a novel when you’re used to writing plays. Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*Buy A Murder for Miss Hortense: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9781399814379Follow Mel: @mel_pennantListening In: https://www.youtube.com/@ListeningInFollow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimmsBuy Chloe's debut novel The Seawomen: https://linktr.ee/chloetimmschloetimms.co.uk20. Episode 4.20 Barnaby Martin - The Quiet
53:17||Season 4, Ep. 20In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Barnaby Martin about his dystopian novel The Quiet. We discuss how his writing career began with video essays on YouTube, his tips for taking history and making it more extreme when writing dystopia and why he believes you need to know the theme of the novel before you start writing. Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*Buy The Quiet: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9781035051489Follow Barnaby: @BarnabyMartinListening In: https://www.youtube.com/@ListeningInFollow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimmsBuy Chloe's debut novel The Seawomen: https://linktr.ee/chloetimmschloetimms.co.uk19. Episode 4.19 Lisa Smith - Jamaica Road
45:00||Season 4, Ep. 19In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Lisa Smith about her historical novel Jamaica Road. We discuss how the idea for this novel came from a creative writing exercise and voices that wouldn't leave her alone, using real newspaper extracts to make the political backdrop come alive and how a cancer diagnosis and a competition inspired her to take her writing seriously.Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*Buy Jamaica Road: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9780349703572Follow Lisa: @lisa4884smithhttps://www.lisa-smith.co.ukFollow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimmsBuy Chloe's debut novel The Seawomen: https://linktr.ee/chloetimmschloetimms.co.uk18. Episode 4.18 Seán Hewitt - Open, Heaven
42:55||Season 4, Ep. 18In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Seán Hewitt about his literary novel Open, Heaven. We discuss having to transport himself back to the intensity and naivety of teenage years, using 1st person perspective to explore what love feels like when you don't know whether the other person feels the same and why you should frame a query letter as you giving agents an amazing opportunity. Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*Buy Open, Heaven: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9781787335196Follow Seán: @seanehewitthttps://www.seanehewitt.comFollow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimmsBuy Chloe's debut novel The Seawomen: https://linktr.ee/chloetimmschloetimms.co.uk17. Episode 4.17 Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin - Ordinary Saints
37:06||Season 4, Ep. 17In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin about her contemporary novel Ordinary Saints. We discuss how her inspiration came from a true story about a modern-day teenager being made into a saint, why she deleted her first 20k words and how entering a competition to give herself a deadline changed her life. Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*Buy Ordinary Saints: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9781786584236Follow Niamh: @niamhsquaredhttps://www.niamhnimhaoileoin.comFollow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimmsBuy Chloe's debut novel The Seawomen: https://linktr.ee/chloetimmschloetimms.co.uk16. Episode 4.16 Claire Gleeson - Show Me Where It Hurts
36:21||Season 4, Ep. 16In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Claire Gleeson about her contemporary novel Show Me Where It Hurts. We discuss how she was inspired to write a story of survival after a shocking act of familicide, writing intense grief and high emotion in a restrained way, and how she does all her writing in snatched moments between work and parenting. Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*Buy Show Me Where It Hurts: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9781399734721Follow Claire: @clairegleeson_writerhttps://www.clairegleeson.comFollow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimmsBuy Chloe's debut novel The Seawomen: https://linktr.ee/chloetimmschloetimms.co.uk15. Episode 4.15 Chris Bridges - Sick to Death
46:35||Season 4, Ep. 15In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Chris Bridges about his psychological suspense novel Sick to Death. We discuss how Chris subverted tropes of having a sick protagonist, why almost 60 rejections from agents inspired him to write a more personal story and how having MS impacts his writing. Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*Buy Sick to Death: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9780008698140Follow Chris: @chrisbridgeswriterFollow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimmsBuy Chloe's debut novel The Seawomen: https://linktr.ee/chloetimmschloetimms.co.uk14. Episode 4.14 Niloufar Lamakan - Aged to Perfection
40:38||Season 4, Ep. 14In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Niloufar Lamakan about her romance novel Aged To Perfection. We discuss changing the narrative by putting women in their 60s in the spotlight and writing them truthfully, why as a complete novice how a diary form helped her find structure and her experience working with One More Chapter, a digital first publisher who accepts unagented submissions. Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*Buy Aged to Perfection: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9780008685492Follow Niloufar: @nlamakanFollow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimmsBuy Chloe's debut novel The Seawomen: https://linktr.ee/chloetimmschloetimms.co.uk13. Episode 4.13 Kate Kemp - The Grapevine
45:42||Season 4, Ep. 13In this episode of Confessions of a Debut Novelist, I’m talking to Kate Kemp about her crime novel The Grapevine. We discuss why she used a murder to explore a range of women in a 1970s suburban community, the challenge of writing from a 12-year-old narrator and how using social media to learn about the publishing industry helped her take the plunge to take her writing seriously. Confessions of a Debut Novelist Bookshop*Buy The Grapevine: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/10990/9781399618977Follow Kate: @kate.kemp.writerFollow Chloe on Twitter: @clotimmsBuy Chloe's debut novel The Seawomen: https://linktr.ee/chloetimmschloetimms.co.uk