The Hobcast Book Show

It's fair to say that 2025 has been an unusual and surprising year so, driven largely by events in the United States. Almost as soon as we record our news section for The Hobcast Book Show, it fast becomes out of date as President Trump signs a new executive order or publishes his latest social media post. Upheaval in America is nothing new of course, but for our guest this week, author and film maker Denise Ohio, current challenges hold strong echoes with an event she has spent many years researching and publicising, the 1916 Everett Massacre. It's the subject of Ohio's documentary Verona: The Story of the Everett Massacre which took twenty years to make. It tells the story of the events of Sunday 5th November, 1916, when members of a union, the I.W.W arrived on the dock at Everett to support the striking shingle weavers who'd been on strike for five months. When violence broke out, several men lay dead or dying. It's become a celebrated event in the struggle for free speech in the United States, but as Ohio tells us, events were far more complex than that - so much so - she has now embarked on writing eight novels telling the stories of some of the people involved. This is a fascinating and thought-provoking interview that draws parallels between today's events and the struggles of the past. Also this week, we discuss how the closure of crowd-sourced publishing pioneers Unbound will leave some contributors out of pocket, and is it ever write to microwave a mug of coffee?Verona: The Story of the Everett Massacre

We're really excited to be bringing you something different in this week's show. We're joined by six students from Toorop Mavo in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, all of whom are taking the Cambridge English course as an additional option to their usual studies. All our guests are around 15 years old, and each read one of our Hobeck books before we interviewed them - choosing between Echo Rock by Robert Daws, and a prequel novella by Lin Le Versha. So what did they make of their first taste of crime fiction? And what do they normally read? This is a fascinating interview that highlights the challenges younger reader face in finding time to read, and even access to books.Also this week, we ask if the UK government are exploiting the country's creative sector to secure a trade deal with the United States, and we discuss a new development for Kindle users - "Recap" - which uses AI to give readers a reminder of key events from book series they love before they read their next instalment.De Toorop Mavo De TooropMavo

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of speaking to veteran entertainment and celebrity public relations expert and author, Peter Berry. He gave us an insight into how difficult it is to mediate between his celebrity clients and the demands of journalists. It's time to hear from the other side of things. Debut author Caroline Westbrook is an entertainment journalist who has faced the challenge of encouraging her celebrity interviewees to say something fresh and interesting, even if it's the hundredth interview of their promotional tour. Drawing extensively on her career in newspapers, magazines and the BBC, her novel Troublemaker delves into the high-pressure world of entertainment journalism and gives it a murderous twist. As Caroline, writing as C.R Westbrook explains, many of her colleagues believe they've been the inspiration behind her characters.Also this week, Adrian and Rebecca discuss the potential impact of Donald Trump's trade tariffs on the publishing industry. Will books be harder to sell in uncertain economic times?https://www.amazon.co.uk/TROUBLEMAKER-C-R-Westbrook-ebook/dp/B0DQ16S84J

In the second part of our interview with award-winning historical author Chris Lloyd, we discover how unexpected historical research details impact his storytelling and novels. Chris spends three months digging into the minutiae of life in wartime Paris for each of his Occupation Series novels, and is often surprised by what he finds. As he explains, his plans can change dramatically as a result. Also this week, we discuss this year's author line-up for the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Festival in Harrogate. Is it the same old faces, or can we look forward to something a bit different from this year's chair, Mick Herron? The Occupation Series — Chris Lloyd

Some interviews are so fascinating we decide to run them over two episodes. That was certainly the case with our guest this week, Chris Lloyd, winner of the Historical Writers' Association Gold Crown for the best historical novel of the year. The winning title, The Unwanted Dead was the opening novel in his Occupation Series, set in wartime Paris, in which Detective Eddie Giral tries to ensure justice is served despite working under Nazi occupation. In part one of this interview, Chris explains that he's learned to accept that he's a born pantser as an author, and that his best work comes when he allows inspiration to lead him, rather than a firm plan. Also this week, we discuss the story that has dominated the minds of indie authors and publishers this week - the revelation that Facebook's parent-company Meta has used illegal pirate websites to ingest vast quantities of copyright-protected fiction and non-fiction to teach its AI models. How should authors react? And what can be done to protect their rights and incomes?Chris Lloyd - Crime Fiction Authorhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Unwanted-Dead-Chris-Lloyd-ebook/dp/B086GJ2B83

We'd like to introduce you to two words, if you haven't already discovered them, that will change your life. One is stramash, a Scottish noun for "uproar, brawl or tumult." The other, which also features in the back cover blurb of our guest Callum McSorley's second novel, is the brilliant shitemire, which we think succinctly sums up the world at present. As you'll hear, both words feature fairly heavily in our interview with Callum, who enjoyed a stellar debut with his breakthrough novel Squeaky Clean in 2023. Amongst the accolades and amazing critical reviews it received, it won the coveted McIvanney Prize for the best Scottish crime novel. Set in a car wash in East Glasgow, and inspired by Callum's experience of working in one, it's a dazzling and funny crime novel. His follow up, Paperboy, was released last week. So how has Callum coped with the pressure of second-novel syndrome?Also this week, it's an exciting week for Hobeck Books with the release of our psychological thriller , What You See by Hilly Barmby, and Rebecca reflects on her visit to this year's London Book Fair.callummcsorley.comhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Squeaky-Clean-Callum-McSorley-ebook/dp/B0BT8SGQLVhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Paperboy-Callum-McSorley-ebook/dp/B0DFYC9KFHhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/What-You-See-page-turning-psychological-ebook/dp/B0DS44FTSG