EP347: Alan Gillespie & Emma Grae — Vernacular Voices
Alan Gillespie & Emma Grae are writers from Scotland who both have unique and distinct voices. Alan wrote The Mash House dialogue without punctuation, and Emma wrote Be Guid Tae Yer Mammy in Scottish vernacular. We talk about finding your voice as an author — and the voices of characters — who might otherwise have been overlooked by traditional […]
Continue readingEP346: Fifth Anniversary Live Show!
The Two Marks celebrate five years of the Bestseller Experiment and answer listener questions on favourite moments, best writing advice, how their writing has changed and how much of Mr D’s woo-woo had rubbed off on Mr Stay and why semi colons are the work of Satan. We’ve also added some birthday messages from guests […]
Continue readingEP345: Felix Francis — Writing as a Family Business
Felix Francis has continued the legacy of his father Dick Francis’s literary success, selling over 80 million novels in 40 languages. Felix tells us how the books were always a family business, and why the continued success owes so much to knowing the reader wants, and how he works really hard to make the books […]
Continue readingEP344: Elise Valmorbida — How to be a Happy Writer
Elise Valmorbida’s new book The Happy Writing Book is a unique guide for writers at all levels with 100 prompts to help you develop your writing and wellbeing. We discuss show not tell, success, engaging the senses and why we are all a work-in-progress. Also, the Two Marks launch a new hashtag upon an unsuspecting […]
Continue readingEP342: Awais Khan — Do Your Bit, Let The Universe Do The Rest
Awais Khan returns to the podcast after the publication of his second novel No Honour, which has been getting the most extraordinary acclaim. Awais tells us about the lessons he’s learned since the publication of his debut, In The Company of Strangers, not least what he did at times when he felt like giving up. […]
Continue readingEP340: Abi Silver — Why We Write
Abi Silver is a lawyer and the author of Burton & Lamb courtroom thrillers, including the latest The Midas Game, which dives into the world of online gaming and Youtubers. Abi also wrote an article on why writers write and she tells us why your writing matters. And the two Marks get nostalgic for early […]
Continue readingEP338: Sarah Denzil — If I Surprise Myself, I Surprise the Reader
Sarah Denzil is the million-copy bestselling author of Silent Child, and its sequel Stolen Girl is premiering on audio first. We discuss writing at work, writing in notebooks, how feedback boosted her confidence, and recording and releasing audiobooks in various formats, including multi-voice recordings and dramatisations. In this episode you will discover: Tips for writing […]
Continue readingEP337: Joe Abercrombie — The Magic Happens When You Work It
We celebrate international bestselling fantasy writer Joe Abercrombie’s return to the podcast with The Wisdom of Crowds, which brings his Age of Madness trilogy to a thrilling climax. As always, Joe is a treasure trove of amazing advice for writers and he answers our listener questions on outlining, symmetry, POV and much more. We also […]
Continue readingEP336: Steve Cavanagh — Engage the Reader Straight Away
Sunday Times bestselling thriller writer Steve Cavanagh returns triumphant to the podcast. When we last spoke to him he was on the verge of a great breakthrough. Today he’s an award-winner and international bestseller and with his new thriller The Devil’s Advocate he’s done it again. Steve reveals how he works hard to engage the […]
Continue readingEP334: Piers Torday — What Matters is the Book
Piers Torday is the award-winning author of the extraordinary The Last Wild trilogy for children, and he’s back with an amazing prequel The Wild Before. Piers’ writing comes from a lifelong passion for wildlife and for giving voice to characters that might not otherwise be heard. He also tells us about the Paul Torday prize for debut […]
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