Writer's Routine

Ben Aaronovitch is a science-fiction enthusiast. He started off in TV, writing for Casualty, Doctor Who, and Jupiter Moon. Then, whilst working in a bookshop in London's Convent Garden, he had an idea for a magical mystery and murder that would happen nearby. The seed became 'Rivers of London', and the first in the 'Peter Grant series'. It tracks the adventures of a young policeman who discovers he's a wizard, and the secret department of the force that takes him in. It was a completely unexpected success, and the 9 novels that have followed are consistent bestsellers. He's a 'tentpole author', which means publishers and bookshops plan their calendars around his stories. Countless novellas and graphic novels are also in the series.His novels are - Rivers of London (2011) Moon Over Soho (2011) Whispers Under Ground (2012) Broken Homes (2013) Foxglove Summer (2014) The Hanging Tree (2016) Lies Sleeping (2018) False Value (2020) Amongst Our Weapons (2022) Stone and Sky (2025)We talk about why he's utterly focused on his job as a writer and what it actually means, also how he plans short-term arcs for his characters which keep the series going, and why he's learned to step away from the things he's bad at. You can hear why reviews are never useful, what he's learned about keeping track of characters, and the story behind his covers.Get a copy of 'Rivers of London' - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineSupport the show -patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com

Ryan Pyle is an adventurer, documentary-maker and now, author. He travels the world making films for the Discovery Channel, the Travel Channel, BBC Earth and more. After starting out living in China and writing for the New York Times, he was named by Photo District News as one of the 30 photographers to look out for. Now, he makes documentaries.His films have taken him on adventures up mountains in South America, through treks across India, and seen him set a Guinness World Record for the 'Longest Motorcycle Trip in a Country', when he travelled through China. When he returns from these adventures, he'll let them rest and then a few months later, will write their story. Following a process that involves video-diaries and many screens at home, he's able to remember precise moments from a journey months ago, and gets them down into books. These are self-published, and we talk about the fine points of improving when you're your own editor and soundboard. He's published 'The India Ride', 'Tough Rides: Brazil', 'The Middle Kingdom Road', and 'Sacred Mountains of China'. We talk about why it's important to not get misty-eyed and try to remember the bad bits. Also, how he's managed to translate a documentary into a gripping, page-turning read, and how he's moved from being a picture man to now someone who deals in words.Get a copy of one of Ryan's book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineThis episode is supported by Philippa Hall's 'Quick Book Reviews Podcast', take a listen wherever you've got this.Support the show - patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com

Daisy Stephens is a journalist who has written stories forever. When she was young she filled notebooks with them, now living in a house-share with 3 friends and a grumpy cat, she fills notebooks with ideas and plots. During lockdown, she tried to turn one into a novell. It didn't go well. After 100,000 words she fell out of love and put it away. Then, for her job, she interviewed an author who did what she hadn't. An author who carried on. That writer turned her lockdown project into a published novel... why couldn't Daisy?Then, whilst querying one finally finished novel, she had the idea for another. An idea about a twin that goes searching for her sister on a desolate, abandoned island. That novel became 'The Island of the Lost', which you can find on horror shelves in bookshops right now. We talk about why horror is hard to classify into genre, and why most scary stories are actually so much more. You can hear how Daisy manage to make her sentences chilling, and why she litters description through the plot to keep things claustrophobic. Daisy discusses why she still overthinks sentences, how to keep true to your characters even when the ending is in mind, and how to write a good query letter.Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineSupport the show - patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com

Laurell K. Hamilton is a pioneer of romantasy and urban fantasy. One of the biggest names in the genre, Sarah J. Mass has cited Laurell as an enormous inspiration. She's published more than 40 novels and has sold over 20 million of them. She's a Number 1 New York Times bestseller known for her 'Anita Blake' series and the 'Merry Gentry' books - the first of which was published in 2000. She's back with the penultimate novel in that series, 'A Glimmer of Death'. Merry Gentry, the Fairy Princess turned Private Investigator is looking into a string of magical attacks against up-and-coming Hollywood actresses, which bring up things from her past she'd preferred stayed forgotten. Originally it was the final book, but she was pursuaded by her publishers to split it in two.We talk about the lead in process for a book... how long does it take to get from premise to being published? Also you can hear why this new novel is probably the hardest thing she's ever done, and how she discovered which colours boost her creativity.We discuss her late in life ADHD diagnosis and how it's changed her process, also why an entire book was inspired by a fleeting glance at one picture gave her inspiration for an entire book, and how she's come to have 3 seperate desks.Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineThis week's episode is sponsored by Philippa Hall's 'Quick Book Reviews' podcast. Take a listen wherever you get your shows.Support the show - patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com

Elif Shafak is an incredibly successful and influential author. Born in France to Turkish parents, Elif was raised by her single mother and traditional grandmother. She spent her childhood moving across the world, living in Madrid, Cologne, Amman and Istanbul. Her debut 'Pinhan', won the Rumi Prize in Turkey, and since her first English translated novel, 'The Gaze', she's published more than 20 books which have been translated into almost 60 languages. Her books have been finalists for the Costa Award, the British Book Awards, the Women's Prize for Fiction, have been Reese Witherspoon Book Club Picks, and Elif has been nominated for the Booker Prize. Her novel, 'The Forty Rules of Love', was picked by the BBC as one of the 100 novels that have shaped our world, and her book, 'There are Rivers in the Sky', was the UK's bestselling literary hardback novel in 2025. Elif's new book is 'In One Brief Moment All Eternity'. It's a reinvention of the story of Gustave Flaubert. The French author created perhaps literature's most scandalous heroine, in Madame Bouvary. Shafak imagines a moment where the women history have overlooked get to tell their side of his story.We discuss why colour is so important to her space and stories, also why connection is more important than ever, and why she doesn't really believe in routines.You can hear why she believes stories tap into something bigger than us all, why you need to ask childish questions, and also how it ends up damaging her health.Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineThis week's episode is sponsored by Damonza, the premier cover design and formatting solution for independent authors. Head to damonza.com/routine for a free cover genre guide, and use ROUTINE10 when you're ready to get started, to save 10%.Support the show - patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutineRead the newsletter - writersroutine.substack.com@writerspodwritersroutine.com

Jenna Helwig is a food editor, a cookbook evangelist, and now novel writer. She's a culinary school graduate, and in 2025 launched, the Cookbookery Collective, a very successful Substack for cookbook lovers. Jenna has published 5 cookbooks herself focusing on everything from feeding a baby, to cooking on a budget.Her debut novel, 'The Foreign Correspondent's Wife' tells the story of reporter Kat Kelly, and her husband, a foreign correspondent. She lives in Paris in 1949, just a few years after the end of the war, at a time when the city is starting to find its joy again. When Kat finds the body of an old American classmate, she must race to solve the case, and save her marriage, before it's too late.We talk about what inspired her switch to novel writing, and how difficult she found diving into the story after so long focusing on food. You can hear about her incredibly focused research, and how she got into the mind of a half-French, half-American journalist living in Paris 70 years ago.Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineSupport the show - patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutineThis week is sponsored by Philippa Hall's 'Quick Book Reviews Podcast', take a listen wherever you've found this.@writerspodwritersroutine.com

Benjamin Abravenel practiced medicine for 35 years, whilst in snatches of spare time, started work on a novel with a message he was passionate to get heard in the world. When he retired with something like a first draft, he hired a Professor to help him edit into something publishable - she said there was very little chance it would ever be traditionally published. Benjamin went the hybrid-route, and has spent the last few years putting the finishing touches on 'The Past, Again'.It asks the question, what if the horrors of Jewish history could happen again in 21st Century America?'. The story tells the tale of Judah Cohen, who whilst living in sun-drenched California, stumbles upon the truth of the Holocaust, he then spends the rest of his life running from his Jewish identity.We talk about learning from history and having a message you're so passionate about, you'd do anything to get it heard. Also, his unique road to publication, and how hard it was to act on feedback you've paid for.You can hear about the name change that helped him tell his story, where he goes from here, and how he researched by finding real life experience.Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineSupport the show - patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutineThis week is sponsored by the 'Quick Books Reviews' podcast with Phillipa Hall. Take a listen wherever you're listening to this.@writerspodwritersroutine.com

This week, we're chatting to the million-copy bestseller, Claire McGowan. She's an Amazon bestselling crime and thriller author, with almost 30 novels. Best known for the 'Paula Maguire series', she's also known for non-fiction true crime, and has published women's fiction under the name Eva Woods. Claire was director of the Crime Writers' Association, and launched the UK's first MA program in Crime Writing, and now writes regularly for TV and radio.Her newest novel, 'The Other Couple', tells the story of Beth and Vince, who escape to a luxurious Spanish resort for a break from the brewing tensions in their marriage. They befriend a a glamorous couple who seem perfect, but when a body is found in the water, Beth begins to wonder if everything she knows about her husband is the truth. We discuss why Claire floats across genre, regularly writing out of contract if there's a subject she's interested in. Also, Claire joined us on the show 5 years ago, and is one of our rare returning guests, so we chat about how her life and routine has changed in that time. Plus, what she's learned about the publishing industry, and how that affects what she works on, and how much she thinks about the future.Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineThis week's episode is sponsored by Faber Academy, their flagship 'Writing a Novel' course is back. Find out more - https://faberacademy.com/creative-writing-courses/fiction-writing-courses/Support the show -patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutineGet the newsletter - writersroutine.substack.com@writerspodwritersroutine.com

This week we're chatting to one of the UK's best-selling thriller writers. Scott Mariani has published 30 novels in the 'Ben Hope series', a few more in his 'Will Bowman historical thriller adventures', and some chilling books about vampires. He writes in his sprawl of land hidden in the Welsh countryside, almost secluded with his stories. Ben Hope is an ex-SAS soldier turned reluctant hero, who finds himself in thrilling chases across the world, all centred around an historic mystery waiting to be solved. His debut, 'The Alchemist's Secret', was a number 1 bestseller for 6 weeks, although it took quite a strange route to success. Following it up with 29 more Hope novels, Scott finally retired the character... only to be drawn back to his hero a few years later. He has announced a new one, 'The Jericho Road', due to be released in 2027.We discuss why his routine is built around strict discipline, putting the words together much like a builder will make a house with bricks. Also you can hear about how he's learned what a reader wants, whether he's figured out any plotting tricks, and how he researches his globe-trotting adventures without the internet.Get a copy of the debut novel here - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineThis week's episode is sponsored by Faber Academy's 'Writing a Novel' course, which is back. Find out more - https://faberacademy.com/Also, we're supported by Philippa Hall's 'Quick Book Reviews' podcast. Take a listen wherever you've got this show.Read the newsletter - writersroutine.substack.comSupport the show - patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutine@writerspodwritersroutine.com