The Hobcast Book Show

We welcome back author and theatre-automation expert Jamie West to The Hobcast Book Show again this week. Jamie has just published his second novel, Murder at the Matinee, which reacquaints us with playwright and amateur sleuth Bertie Carroll, and glories in the setting of London's West End Theatreland in the 1930s. Bertie is intrigued when a newspaper advert predicts a death in Act 3 of a play in which there are no deaths expected. When a body is duly discovered, Bertie himself is not above suspicion. In this wide-ranging interview, Jamie explains how he's taken inspiration from promoting theatre shows to his book marketing, and how he now believes that authors would help themselves by taking time to build interest in their work long before publication date.Also this week, with distribution outlets for independent publishers becoming more challenging to find in the UK, how are they coping? And Adrian and Rebecca discuss the importance of fact-checking everything before a book goes to print.Jamie West Authorhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Murder-Matinee-golden-age-theatrical-Thorogood-ebook/dp/B0CYT7WQC5

It's always lovely to catch up with our guests on The Hobcast Book Show. We first spoke to author J.M. Simpson on episode #103, and eighty-seven episodes later she's back to discuss how Jo has developed her existing Castleby series, but how she's also poised to launch a new crime series based in the Highlands of Scotland and a mountain rescue team that operates there. We discuss how Jo's established audience has influenced the direction of her work, and we look at the challenges of balancing a busy day-to-day life with the demands of being an indie author.Also this week, Adrian and Rebecca run through the newly published Top 10 list of Kindle authors in the UK. Six on the list are crime authors, and three have been guests on this podcast! J.M. Simpson | Author of drama and suspense novels (jmsimpsonauthor.co.uk)Buy the Castleby series by J.M. Simpson here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sea-State-Castleby-Book-1-ebook/dp/B09L6W5XJL

We're heading back to Belfast for the second time in three episodes of The Hobcast Book Show to meet author James Murphy. James is the author of the Terror Trilogy crime series which follow the adventures of Mark Shaw, who inherits Farset Investigations based in the Falls Road. As James tells us, he draws heavily on his memories of growing up in the West Belfast area. His new series will be published by Spellbound next year. James is also a creative writing tutor, both in Belfast and at Liverpool's Edge Hill University. Remarkably, he became a head teacher at the age of just 28, and as he tells us, that challenging role has given him plenty of insights that feed his fiction. James has also presented his own crime podcast, as well as a weekly radio show, Crime Scene. This is a fascinating conversation.Also this week, we answer a question posed by listener Hannah Bainbridge - should authors aid AI narration systems by offering clearer emotional prompts in their fiction? You perhaps won't be surprised by Adrian and Rebecca's reaction...https://www.jamesmurphywriter.org/https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/James-Murphy/author/B07W5JBWGK

One half of The Hobcast Book Show team is a submarine obsessive. So imagine Adrian's delight when he learned that our guest this week, Russian author Valeriya Salt, shares that passion. Her debut novel, Dive Beyond Eternity, is a sci-fi adventure partly set on a German wartime Type 23 U-Boat which is discovered undamaged on the floor of the North Sea fifty years after the war ends. It's an intriguing premise, as the sub contains secret Nazi technology that threatens the future of the world. As Valeriya explains, her interest in submarines runs in the family - her mother served in Russia's Black Sea fleet. But how has Valeriya dealt with the challenges of writing a novel in English, her second language?Also this week, we report on more efforts by the Society of Authors to hold the mega-tech companies to account over the use of copyrighted material in AI systems, and we celebrate the success of fellow UK indie publishers, Blue Moose Books.https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dive-Beyond-Eternity-Sci-fi-Thriller-ebook/dp/B0CB78M7NM

Just long would you be prepared to endure a difficult marriage? How many years of mind games could you take? That's the dilemma facing Laura in Alison Irving's debut novel, Casual Cruelties, which was published by Bloodhound Books last year. As Alison is keen to stress to us from her home near Belfast, she is not writing from personal experience, but she did conduct extensive research in creating the world of her characters. Her second novel, Her Best Friend's Husband has just been published, and again it delves into the hidden darkness that can be masked by the outward trappings of a happy marriage and family life. As Alison tells us, she's so fulfilled by her writing experiences that she's chosen to change direction in her life - from a physiotherapist working in palliative care in a hospice - to writing full time.Also this week, Adrian and Rebecca discuss the revelations within a chart celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Sunday Times bestseller list. Which books spent most time in the top 10? The answers are quite surprising, and for fiction fans, not that encouraging!https://www.amazon.co.uk/Casual-Cruelties-nail-biting-domestic-suspense-breathtaking-ebook/dp/B0CHMNHBRLhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Her-Best-Friends-Husband-nail-biting-ebook/dp/B0D6RMNLP6

There was a time, not so long ago, when the name Moss Side conjured up images of dystopian Manchester streets riddled with drug-related gang gun crime. The epicentre of 'Gunchester' in the 90s, the district was one of the toughest areas in the UK to police. Our guest this week, James Ellson did just that, and was responsible for serious crimes in the division, from shootings, robberies to suspicious deaths. Seeking a change of direction after his police career, James is now a smallholder in the Peak District, as well as a crime author. Drawing on his passion for Nepal where he has trekked extensively, James devised the DCI Castle series, which plunges Manchester-based DCI Rick Castle into a series of investigations in the Himalayan nation. As James tells us, it's a passion project, combining his front-line police experience with his love of Nepal and its people.Also this week, we discuss how a Liverpool library was caught up in recent social unrest across the UK and the campaign to raise funds to replace the books destroyed in the subsequent fire, and we hear about the latest efforts to protect creative professionals and their incomes against the march of AI.James Ellson – Writer, Smallholder, SpeakerDCI Castle Series - available hereFundraiser by Alex McCormick : Books for Spellow Lane (gofundme.com)

When it comes down to it, The Hobcast Book Show is above all else a celebration of storytelling. Our guest this week, Tim Sullivan, has been a storyteller his whole career - beginning with theatre productions at Cambridge University, making short films, working throughout the Granada TV empire in all departments including news and drama, and becoming a director of shows such as Coronation Street, Cold Feet and The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes. Tim has directed and written films too, working with legendary figures such as Judi Dench, Alec Guinness and Eileen Atkins. He's written big-budget Hollywood animation movies, and most recently he's turned to crime fiction and the DS Cross Crime series, set in Bristol. As Tim tells us, he's proud of how George Cross has been received by readers, particularly those in the autism community. Tim spent many months research into autism before creating his lead detective, who he describes as being rude, awkward and difficult with people, but also a champion of the voiceless and dispossessed, with the best conviction record on the force. The most recent novel in the series, The Teacher, was released earlier this year. This interview is a celebration of storytelling in all its forms.Also this week, we learn which genres dominate sales on Amazon in the UK, and Adrian reveals the impact that a new audiobook project on the Titanic disaster is having on him.Home - Tim SullivanThe Teacher: A brand new case full of twists for the unforgettable must-read detective in 2024 (A DS Cross Thriller) eBook : Sullivan, Tim: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

There seems to be a theme emerging on The Hobcast Book Show. Iet's amazing how many guests begin their literary careers in comics and graphic novels. That's certainly the case for our guest this week, D.V. Bishop. David was the youngest editor ever of the celebrated 2000 AD comic. As he explains, many of the lessons he learned from that experience have given him advantages as a novelist and creative writing course leader. Author of the Historical Dagger-winning Cesare Aldo series of historical crime novels set in Renaissance Florence, David's evocative recreation of the city at its height in the 16th century has gained him many admirers. As he explains in this illuminating interview, his passion for literature was forged in his New Zealand upbringing - where finding books to read involved a lengthy bike ride to access the mobile library service once a week.Also this week, we look ahead to the release of two new Hobeck audiobooks, and we debate some of the 3200 new words added to the Cambridge Dictionary. Just what is a "face journey"?D. V. BISHOP (dvbishop.com)https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0CKXN9W6SBodies in the Water Audiobook: https://open.spotify.com/show/2zPQ27dQcCWbRAKOJaxloG?si=zkWTF7icTlOB_2RtHQ8bgABlood Notes Audiobook: https://open.spotify.com/show/5QREmjP90mjN7A4sQ47dJc?si=chp1InqCSk-JUinSwjNIig

There can't be many authors who haven't dipped into the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook at least once in their career. First published in 1906, the 2025 edition came out last week. It's the go to reference guide for the UK publishing industry, with comprehensive listings of all the agents, publishers, periodicals, newspapers, awards and festivals that make up the British publishing scene. But as yearbook editor, Alysoun Owen, tells us - the book is far more than that. Each year she commissions articles and essays from leading authors and industry figures shining a light on the key developments within the industry - whether it be the growth of independent publishing or the influence of new technology and AI. It's a huge challenge for Alysoun and her team to reflect all the changes within publishing and illustration each year, but the yearbook has retained it's reputation as the most trusted chronicle of the evolution of the industry over the 118 years since it was first published. It's a fascinating insight into what it takes to keep this great institution fresh and relevant.Also this week, we discuss the shock felt by some academics that their work has been licensed to Microsoft AI by their publisher without consulting them, and we reflect on our feelings at missing this year's Harrogate festival.https://www.amazon.co.uk/Writers-Artists-Yearbook-2025/dp/1399411780Alysoun Owen Consulting