Author's Afterword

Charlie and C J Wray (The Excitements) discuss the WW2 women her book about fun-loving nonagenarians is based on and her views on modern and historical adoption as an adoptee herself. We also discuss the Peter Jones (John Lewis) department store, using Morse Code, and Diamond Doris, a jewel-thief who got away with quite a bit. Please note there are a couple of mild swear words in this episode. Please also note we talk of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry which is commonly shortened to FANY. A transcript is available on my site Tickets to my live show of Friday 4th April can be bought here Sign up to the Author's Afterword newsletter here General references: William Ernest Henley's Invictus poem Long Lost Family The Yoga teacher Chris mentions is Dorothea Barron. It isn't the same lady Charlie mentions, and unfortunately Charlie has been unable to find out who that was. Books mentioned by name or extensively: C J Wray: The Excitements C J Wray: Bad Influence Christian Lamb (with Chris): Beyond The Sea, A Wren At War Don Marquis: Archy and Mehitabel Pam and Jean Owtram (with Chris): Codebreaking Sisters Stella Knightley: The Girl Behind The Mask Stella Knightley: The Girl Behind The Fan Stella Knightley: The Girl Behind The Curtain W E Fairbairn's book: Hands Off! Self Defense For Women And Girls Buy the books: UK || USA Release details: recorded 26th September 2024; published 10th March 2025 Where to find Chris online: Website (as C J Wray) || Website (Chrissie Manby) || Instagram Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok Discussions 02:05 About Pat and Jean Owtram, the two sisters who inspired The Excitements 04:04 About the inspiration for Penny's stealing, Diamond Doris 07:25 Using the Peter Jones department store 09:05 All about Archie 10:20 Toujours gai! 11:43 How Chris went about the writing itself 14:13 The Invictus poem and Fairbairn book 16:53 Chris' use of Morse Code 19:16 Davinia and Sister Eugenia, and we then move on to Arlene 22:52 Chris talks about adoptions both historical and modern and her views on it as an adoptee herself 28:20 Did Chris consider having Penny and Josephine defeat the gunman? 29:03 Frank's choice not to send Penny back to into the field 31:59 About Chris' next book, Bad Influence 34:51 Chris once wrote a 90,000 page book in 2 months! Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Charlie is joined by Alex Hay, Lucy Barker, Stacey Thomas, and a wonderful audience at Goldfinch Books in Alton. You want a writing deep dive? You've got it! Please note that this episode has a whispered swear word in it - we were all adults! The next live event will be at P&G Wells in Winchester on Friday 4th April. Tickets are available here If you can't click the link, go to pgwells.co.uk Full show notes and a transcript to follow shortly. A video version of this live show will be available in a few weeks.

Charlie and Maggie Brookes (The Prisoner's Wife) discuss her stunning story which was inspired by a real happening - a woman who hid in plain sight as a British soldier in a prisoner of war camp. A transcript is available on my site General references: Maggie's previous episode with me is episode 92 Now The War Is Over Time Watch All Our Working Lives The Sphinx, Maggie's poem version of The Prisoner's Wife Colditz The party episode with Maggie is Milestone 01 (also with Elizabeth Fremantle, Gill Paul, and Amanda Geard) Books mentioned by name or extensively: Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre Maggie Brookes: The Prisoner's Wife Maggie Brookes-Butt: Wish John Nichol and Tony Rennell: The Last Escape Buy the books: UK || USA Release details: recorded 23rd September 2024; published 24th February 2025 Where to find Maggie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok Discussions 01:29 The inspiration - a woman who hid as a man in a Nazi prisoner of war camp and how real it might be 09:49 How Maggie's work as a BBC producer helped her write The Prisoner's Wife 11:49 How the book started as a poem and then Maggie's journey to Czechia to do research into the Long March 20:19 The inspiration of Maggie's father, a prisoner of war who never spoke about his experience 26:58 What Maggie cut from the novel 28:52 Izzy's character development, language progression, and 'Algernon Cousins' 34:38 Adding in Bill's chapters later 36:53 Ralph and his fate being left open 41:24 Scotty's character and his sacrifice 43:28 The real Rosa Rauchbach and her lover 44:32 What are you writing now? Photo credit: Lyn Gregory Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Charlie and Éric Chacour (What I Know About You) discuss Egypt in the 1970s for the Levantine community and LGBT people, the famous French-Egyptian singer Dalida, Romeo and Juliet, Éric's use of the second person, and author and translator working together on writing that had been in place for 15 years. A transcript is available on my site General references: Dalida's Helwa ya Baladi Books mentioned by name or extensively: Éric Chacour: What I Know About You Buy the books: UK || USA Release details: recorded 20th September 2024; published 10th February 2025 Where to find Éric online: Facebook || Instagram Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok Discussions 02:09 Éric's initial inspiration, Romeo and Juliet, for What I Know About You (he'd been writing the book for years) 05:18 The writing itself, including the use of the second person (Charlie has pointed out Éric's dedication to syllables and language) and the translation 10:31 The political backdrop, the use of it, and the decades chosen 13:29 The time period in terms of the LGBT community and Tarek's choices in that context 14:55 Entangled protons and love 16:25 Could Tarek have stayed with his family? 18:24 More on reader's interpretations and reactions 20:53 Nesrine and Mira and their importance 26:35 The servant, Fatheya 29:16 Talking of the impossibility of another point of view and the ending 31:20 Éric tells us why he included Vivienne 33:11 More about theatrical inspirations, and then we get on to how É wanted to be a songwriter 37:44 Dalida 39:22 Should we blame the grandmother? 41:54 Reality and fiction in terms of Rafik's narrative owing much to imagination and interpretation 45:41 What's next? Photo credit: Justine Latour Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Charlie and Edward Carey (Edith Holler) talk at length about the arts and the theatre in the context of his book and in general. They also talk about Norwich as Edward's book is his love letter to the city. Please note there is a mild swear word in this episode. A transcript is available on my site General references: Edward's previous episode on this podcast is number 52 Wikipedia's article on Norwich Robert Louis Stevenson's essay on toy theatres is called A Penny Plain And Twopence Coloured and is available on Project Gutenberg The downloadable theatre on Edward's website (scroll down, on the left) Luigi Pirandello's Six Characters In Search Of An Author My episode with Melissa Fu is number 59 Books mentioned by name or extensively: Edward Carey: Edith Holler Gaston Le Roux: The Phantom Of The Opera Jeanette Winterson: The Passion Julian Of Norwich: Revelations Of Divine Love Robert Louis Stevenson: Memories And Portraits Xavier de Maistre: Voyage Around My Room Buy the books: UK || USA Release details: recorded 2nd September 2024; published 27th January 2025 Where to find Edward online: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok Discussions 01:29 The starting point of Edith Holler - lockdown, not being able to go to the theatre, and Brexit. We then move on to the fictional missing children in the book 05:22 Norwich as both a location and inspiration 12:01 Further notes on creating Edith herself, and then we discuss interpretations 18:41 More on the drawings and card theatre 21:05 The other characters 25:10 The Iron Curtain that separates theatre crew and theatre goers 29:01 The language of the novel 30:37 Was there something in particular that lead to you setting the book in the Edwardian period? 33:23 Being in Edith's head 34:27 Beetle Spread! 38:30 Did you ever consider having Edith leave the theatre? 39:20 The undercrofts and the importance of moving the story underground. We then continue on to discuss further theatrical influences on both the novel and ourselves 47:12 The photograph of a woman at the very end of the book 48:59 Edward explains why he won't tell us about what he's currently working on Photo credit: Elizabeth McCracken Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

For live show tickets, click here Charlie and Chloe C Peñaranda (The Stars Are Dying) discuss the incident wherein her heroine stabs the hero, getting around her hero's ability to run amok via deus ex machina, and becoming a hybrid author after success as a self-published writer. Please note there are brief mentions of abuse in this episode. A transcript is available on my site General references: Chloe's TikTok Books mentioned by name or extensively: Chloe C Peñaranda: An Heir Comes To Rise Chloe C Peñaranda: A Throne From The Ashes Chloe C Peñaranda: A Sword From The Embers Chloe C Peñaranda: The Stars An Dying Chloe C Peñaranda: The Night Is Defying Sarah J Maas: A Court Of Thorns And Roses Buy the books: UK || USA Release details: recorded 24th October 2024; published 13th January 2025 Where to find Chloe online: Website || Facebook || Instagram || TikTok Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok Discussions 01:36 Was romantasy the genre you'd been waiting for? 02:55 The initial thought for The Stars Are Dying - Greek myths and Chloe's series An Heir Comes To Rise, and we talk about potential spin-off series 06:34 Why Chloe chose the second iteration of Nyte and Astraea's relationship to focus on instead of the first 08:04 On having a general direction or goal in mind for The Stars Are Dying 08:49 Creating Astraea and Nyte 10:26 Using a slow burn romance 11:45 Getting around the potential deus ex machina of Nyte's powers 13:07 Deciding when to give readers answers as to Astraea's mental state and so on 14:33 The inclusion of amnesia and abuse 15:44 The Libertatum 17:55 The planning before putting pen to paper 19:21 Discussing Astrea's stabbing of Nyte 20:53 Slight notes on the crossover between The Stars Are Dying and An Heir Comes To Rise 23:54 On Cassia's role 25:06 Drystan 25:38 About The Night Is Defying 27:06 How fans of An Heir Comes To Rise have responded to The Stars Are Dying 28:38 Being, now, a hybrid author 30:13 How the traditional publishing deal came about 32:19 On getting a house and garden for her dogs following the publishing deal 33:37 Ideas Chloe is considering for her next work Photo credit: Caroline Anne Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Charlie and Eliza Chan (Fathomfolk) discuss many questions of immigration in both reality and her fantasy fiction, the different mythological creatures she used and decisions in regards to location inspiration, and Fathomfolk's controversial ending. Please note there is a spoiler in this episode for N K Jemisin's The Fifth Season. For live show tickets, click here. A transcript is available on my site General references: The Witcher Jessica Jones The Untamed Books mentioned by name or extensively: Eliza Chan: Fathomfolk Eliza Chan: Tideborn N K Jemisin: The Fifth Season R F Kuang: Babel Rhonda Parrish (ed.): Sirens Buy the books: UK || USA Release details: recorded 14th August 2024; published 23rd December 2024 Where to find Eliza online: Website || Instagram Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok Discussions 02:25 The initial inspirations 04:34 More about the topic of immigration 06:57 World building and the world outside of Tiankawi 09:05 Creating Mira, Nami, and Cordelia 14:56 Having started with one narrative and changing it to three 17:44 Using different countries' mythologies, originally planning to set Fathomfolk in a British city, and the possibility of historical settings 25:25 Kai's significance and his relationship with Mira 28:59 Writing and pacing 31:23 Eliza's 'use' of The Drawbacks and the response to the book 37:06 The Onseon engine 39:20 Dragon pearls 42:25 The themes of motherhood and friendship 46:18 The use of gods 49:46 The controversial ending! 51:25 Book two, Tideborn 52:23 Harbour Of Hungry Ghosts 53:52 The game of Wulan Photo credit: Sandi Hodkinson Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

First live show details Guests: Alex Hay (The Queen Of Fives; The Housekeepers), Stacey Thomas (The Revels), Lucy Barker (The Other Side Of Mrs Wood) Date: Wednesday 26th February Location: Goldfinch Books, Alton, Hampshire Ticket link: https://bit.ly/3Das5kn Accessibility: Both the shop itself and the toilets are accessible.

Charlie and Elaine Chiew (The Light Between Us) discuss early 20th century Singaporean photography and its influences on Elaine's novel in depth, which involves looking at social issues and the history of the qipao. We also dive into the time travel aspects and the use of Chinese spirit-mediums. A transcript is available on my site General references: The Lake House (2006) Il Mare (2000) The Young Companion magazine In The Mood For Love Books mentioned by name or extensively: Constance Turnbull: A History Of Singapore Elaine Chiew: The Heartsick Diaspora Elaine Chiew: The Light Between Us Elaine Chiew (ed.): Cooked Up! Kevin Kwan: Crazy Rich Asians Terence Heng: Of Gods, Gifts and Ghosts Spiritual Places in Urban Spaces Viet Thanh Nguyen: The Sympathizer Buy the books: UK || USA Release details: recorded 23rd July 2024; published 9th December 2024 Where to find Elaine online: Website || Twitter || Instagram Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok Discussions 00:02:04 About Elaine's research into early 20th century Singaporean photographs and bringing voices that haven't had a say in fiction to the fore 00:10:28 How important is The Light Between Us's Tian Wei compared to Charlie [the character]? 00:14:48 Working out the time travel and including Charlie's family 00:21:04 How Elaine's career in the creative arts influenced the book, and how women in Singapore used their agency when being photographed 00:35:38 Looking at the smaller moments of war and the lead up to war. Also Elaine's inclusion of the Ghee Hin Kong Si 00:40:19 Aiko's creation and importance in the book 00:47:17 Elaine's writing style and use of punctuation which fascinated our host! 00:52:14 The use of the tangki and all that involved 01:00:59 Brief notes on what Elaine is writing now Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Charlie and Emma Cowell (The Island Love Song) discuss the Greek island of Hydra, reactions from readers in regards to IVF and polyamory plot threads, early onset dementia, and the Parthenon sculptures. A transcript is available on my site General references: Leonard Cohen's Bird On A Wire The photo of the lady in shadow that Emma took The Pirate Bar, Hydra Books mentioned by name or extensively: Emma Cowell: One Last Letter From Greece Emma Cowell: The House In The Olive Grove Emma Cowell: The Island Love Song Emma Cowell: Under The Lemon Tree Buy the books: UK || USA Release details: recorded 9th July 2024; published 25th November 2024 Where to find Emma online: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok Discussions 02:20 The inspiration - the Greek island of Hydra 04:10 The conflict in the book, siblings, and how being on an island makes it more dramatic 06:04 The island as a character 07:41 Why it was important to explore sisterhood and non-chosen family 13:40 Writing Georgia in all her chaos and character progression 18:24 Ella and having to live with your ex having wrote a song about you 20:18 Emma tells us about the songs in the book (they exist!) and her musical background 24:32 Leonard Cohen's influence in terms of Hydra, and Hydra's lack of technology 27:51 Emma's use of the island of Dokos and writing about researching Greek food at The Pirate Bar 34:29 Emma discusses IVF journeys, parenthood, and readers who contact her to thank her for the way she includes fertility and romantic issues. We then move on to a time in Greece where there were very problematic adoptions 40:00 The concept of twin flames 42:32 Emma's inclusion of early onset dementia 48:27 Why Emma set her 'present day' storyline in 2016 - student days and mobile phone usage 51:15 Emma's thoughts on returning the Elgin marbles/Parthenon sculptures 54:05 What's next - the book to be named Under The Lemon Tree. This morphs into a longer conversation about how Emma writes and plots 58:52 What Emma cut from The Island Love Song Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Charlie and Susan Muaddi Darraj (Behind You Is The Sea) discuss the Palestinian Christian community, her immigrant characters and their children, how she used the current conflict in her stories, and the segregation and working class in Baltimore, Maryland. Please note this episode mentions domestic violence. A transcript is available on my site Books mentioned by name or extensively: Lawrence T Brown: The Black Butterfly Susan Muaddi Darraj: Farah Rocks Fifth Grade Susan Muaddi Darraj: Farah Rocks Summer Break Susan Muaddi Darraj: Farah Rocks New Beginnings Susan Muaddi Darraj: Farah Rocks Florida Susan Muaddi Darraj: Behind You Is The Sea Buy the books: UK || USA Release details: recorded 25th June 2024; published 11th November 2024 Where to find Susan online: Website || Twitter || Instagram Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok Discussions 01:49 The initial inspiration for Behind You Is The Sea - Susan's character, Marcus Salameh 05:01 How poetry runs in Susan's family 07:21 The focus on women and women's worth 09:15 Susan's choices in making most of her characters people from one family 10:36 The story Hashtag - including stories of domestic violence and murder - and how the West would see it 16:13 How Susan doesn't want to be 'nice' to her characters 18:37 The different generations and how they relate to one another, and then we move on to discuss a spin-off novel that Susan is writing 23:55 Where the title, Behind You Is The Sea, came from 26:16 How Palestinian Muslims and Palestinian Christians live peacefully together in Palestine 31:13 Segregation in Baltimore 35:53 The way Susan included the current Arab-Israeli conflict in the book 37:35 What's next - Susan's current works in progress, including her work for children Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Charlie and Louise Morrish discuss the extensive efforts the latter went to in order to be published, the networking she did prior to that, and how she's giving back to the writing community. Please note there is a very mild swear word at the end of this episode. A transcript is available on my site General references: Goldfinch Books Owner Gary is Gary Clark of The Interland series Books mentioned by name or extensively: Louise Morrish: Operation Moonlight Louise Morrish: Women Of War The Writer's And Artists' Yearbook Buy the books: UK || USA Release details: recorded 17th July 2024; published 4th November 2024 Where to find Louise online: Website || Twitter || Instagram Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok Discussions 01:11 The early days of Louise's writing and the Faber Academy course 03:54 The importance of networking with others 05:32 Struggling to get anywhere, submitting to the Penguin Random House First Novel Competition, and winning 12:27 Persevering in the face of rejection 14:30 Class, and, then, novels in the drawer 17:53 The process Louise used when submitting to all the agents and talking about shyness and gaining confidence 27:16 More on the writing groups Louise runs and 'giving back' 31:52 About Louise's books, Operation Moonlight, and Women Of War 37:07 Being a librarian and seeing your own books in the libraries Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Charlie and Mark Stay (The Witches Of Woodville) discuss writing humour into wartime, using period-correct language as well as slang, why community is important and how much we've lost over the decades, and the metric ton of projects he has on the go. Please note there are various uses of very minor curse words. A transcript is available on my site General references: The Bestseller Experiment Claire Burgess' YouTube video about jam roly polyThe Fortean Times Mark's newsletter The Witches Of Woodville website I spoke to Jacquie Bloese in episode 101 I spoke to Lucy Barker in episode 96 A Canterbury Tale (Powell and Pressburger) Went The Day Well Threads The Day After When The Wind Blows Chernobyl The Last Of Us The transcript for Scriptnotes episode 403 Ben Aaronovitch's episode on The Bestseller Experiment Unwelcome Nautilus Books mentioned by name or extensively: Becky Brown: Blitz Spirit C K McDonnell: The Stranger Times Constance Miles: Mrs Miles's Diary Dennis Knight: Harvest Of Messerschmitts Mark Stay: The Crow Folk Mark Stay: Babes In The Wood Mark Stay: The Ghost Of Ivy Barn Mark Stay: The Holly King Mark Stay: The Corn Bride Mark Stay: The End Of Magic Mark Stay: The End Of Dragons Mark Stay and Mark Oliver: Back To Reality Nella Last: Nella Last's War Buy the books: UK || USA Release details: recorded 19th June 2024; published 28th October 2024 Where to find Mark online: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram || TikTok Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok Discussions 02:25 Where the series might go in terms of number of books 03:14 Jam roly poly, getting bell ringing correct, and the forthcoming inclusion of the Morris Dancers in a pivotal role 05:34 The very first beginnings of the Witches of Woodville series 10:05 All about Faye and her relative immaturity 13:10 Widening the scope beyond humour to be more serious 16:02 Creating Miss Charlotte and Mrs Teach 18:10 Does Mark have future plots in mind? 18:49 The characters of the community of Woodville, starting with a question about the librarian 22:45 On Bertie's Battle of Britain diary 26:35 The language in the books - repetitions, and old-fashioned phrases 30:34 Mark's inclusion of the work of German artist, Hannah Höch 32:57 Grief as a theme 36:39 Miss Charlotte's sight and not wanting to make people invincible 41:19 Mark's use of real people in the series, and where you might find pieces of himself in his work. Mark also talks about how we've lost a sense of community 48:05 Mark's time co-hosting The Bestseller Experiment Podcast, why he moved on, and the various projects he's planning 53:54 More about Mark's current film project Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Charlie and Jessica Bull (Miss Austen Investigates) discuss Jane Austen! The mysteries in her books, what and how she read, her likely views on slavery, her forgotten brother, the proposals of marriage she received (there were many!), and her life in her birthplace of Steventon. A transcript is available on my site General references: Charlie said she'd find info on the yew tree, here's Jessica Bull's Instagram reel on St Nicholas' Church Books mentioned by name or extensively: Ann Radcliffe: The Mysteries Of Udolpho Charlotte Lennox: The Female Quixote Claire Tomalin: Jane Austen: A Life Daniel Livesay: Children Of Uncertain Fortune Deirdre Le Faye (ed.) Jane Austen's Letters Frances Burney: Camilla Frances Burney: Cecelia James Edward Austen-Leigh: A Memoir Of Jane Austen Jane Austen: Sense And Sensibility Jane Austen: Pride And Prejudice Jane Austen: Northanger Abbey Jane Austen: Sanditon Jessica Bull: Miss Austen Investigates (The Hapless Milliner) Jessica Bull: Miss Austen Investigates: A Fortune Most Fatal Lucy Worsley: Jane Austen At Home Henry James: Tom Jones Margaret Edgeworth: Belinda Matthew Gregory Lewis: The Monk PD James: Death Comes To Pemberley Buy the books: UK || USA Release details: recorded 29th April 2024; published 14th October 2024 Where to find Jessica online: Twitter || Instagram || TikTok Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok Discussions 02:35 Jessica's love of and study of Jane Austen 05:30 Expanding on Jessica's statement that a lot of Austen involves mystery 10:45 Were you ever worried about how people might view your Jane Austen, her silliness? 17:15 The importance of including, in the novel, what Jane Austen was reading 21:11 Where Cowper, Austen's favourite poet, comes into it, and we begin to discuss Austen's views of slavery and abolition, and Jessica's response to such 27:04 The price of books in those days! 28:51 We discuss a ton about Steventon, Austen's birth place - Jessica's recreation of the house and our own visits to the location 32:57 Talking about the other family members, including Anna and, particularly, George and what we know about him 39:34 About the people Jessica had to cut from the book and how she's going to go forward in terms of including people later in the series 41:52 All about Jessica's fictional letters and the allusions to the real ones 45:22 What Jessica believes about Austen and Tom Lefroy's relationship and Austen's love live in general 49:53 Changing real events to suit the novel, as well as Austen's agency, and locations 53:20 Jessica's time in Hampshire, seeing Chawton and how it inspired her 54:57 About book 2, A Fortune Most Fatal, and the fraudster Princess Caraboo 58:04 Brief notes on how many books may be in the series Photo credit: Cassie Burac Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Charlie and Nikki Marmery (Lilith) discuss her epic tale that looks from the start of the Genesis story all the way to our present day, showing how the biblical stories did away with an all-important goddess for women - Yahweh's wife - and the consequences that has had. There is discussion, too, on the Gnostic gospels, various mythologies, and environmentalism. A transcript is available on my site General references: Jeremiah 7:18 says: "The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven, and they pour out drink offerings to other gods." About Asherah poles, which Charlie notes, there are many references in the Bible. One such is Deuteronomy 16:21: "Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the Lord your God." Jennifer Saint's episode where she mentions Sarah Clegg is is 95 The quote from St Paul Nikki includes is from 1 Timothy 2:12 Books mentioned by name or extensively: Francesca Stavrakopoulou: God: An Anatomy John Milton: Paradise Lost Nikki Marmery: On Wilder Seas Nikki Marmery: Lilith Sarah Clegg: Women's Lore The Bible Buy the books: UK || USA Release details: recorded 18th April 2024; published 23rd September 2024 Where to find Nikki online: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram || TikTok Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok Discussions 00:01:36 The inspiration - the way the goddess Asherah, god's wife, was taken out of tradition, and the icons that have survived through time 00:04:23 Is there a way Asherah might've been able to continue as a worshipped goddess longer than she did? 00:10:13 All about Nikki's character of Lilith and how the original faiths saw men and women as equal 00:18:25 Nikki's employment of other myths and religions, how they they interacted, and the origins of now-Christian symbols 00:24:49 Nikki's inclusion of Ereskigal, goddess of the Underworld in Sumerian mythology 00:28:41 Nikki's effective dismissal of Heaven and her historical and Biblical reasoning 00:34:23 The environmental aspect of the book 00:37:12 How Nikki's Eden and the events therein are just a small part of the wider world, and, also, Noah's Ark in this context 00:42:50 Nikki's Biblical language. We then move on to her character of Samael specifically 00:48:41 The varied inclusions of Jezebel and Salome 00:53:04 Nikki's depiction of Jesus and using the Gnostic gospels 00:59:51 Nikki's religious background 01:02:07 Brief notes on what Nikki's planning to write next Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Charlie and Natalie Jenner (Every Time We Say Goodbye) discuss the war years and 1950s Italian film industry and the Vatican's authority over it, changing working practices after being accused of discrimination, and including still-living celebrities in your book. A transcript is available on my site General references: I talked to Natalie about her previous book, Bloomsbury Girls, in episode 65 Day For Night Quo Vadis Umanità Nine Summertime Three Coins In The Fountain Roman Holiday A similar quote of Kurt Vonnegut's is "Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages." I talked to Liz Fenwick about the map girls in episode 100 Natalie's Instagram post on Ray Holland The Prince Of Foxes Natalie's episode on chapters 7-9 of Pride And Prejudice for the Rosenbach Library Books mentioned by name or extensively: Charles Dickens: Our Mutual Friend Charles Dickens: A Tale Of Two Cities Edward Bulwer-Lytton: The Last Days Of Pompeii Henry James: The Portrait Of A Lady Jane Austen: Pride And Prejudice Jane Austen: Emma Joe Klein: Primary Colors Natalie Jenner: The Jane Austen Society Natalie Jenner: Bloomsbury Girls Natalie Jenner: Every Time We Say Goodbye Natalie Jenner: Austen At Sea Sophia Loren: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow My Life Zadie Smith: The Fraud Zoe Wheddon: Jane Austen's Best Friend Buy the books: UK || USA Release details: recorded 11th April 2024; published 9th September 2024 Where to find Natalie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok Discussions 00:01:52 The different inspirations for the book - old films, Natalie's character Vivian from her previous book, Bloomsbury Girls, the WW2 refugees that lived at the Cinecittà movie studies and then used as extras (this turns into a longer discussion) 00:10:58 More about Cinecittà itself 00:13:08 The Vatican's past authority over the Italian film industry 00:17:59 How Natalie researches her books, and her love of Rome 00:29:30 John Lassiter, urgh! 00:34:20 The importance of Tabitha's story and how a reader's criticism changed how Natalie wrote 00:38:25 La Scolaretta and the stafetta - the young women messengers and assassins in WW2 Italy 00:44:45 Natalie's knowing, and the life of, Ray Holland, film-maker Jack Salvatori's son 00:52:28 Writing as characters celebrities who are still with us, with a focus on Sophia Loren 00:59:16 All about Natalie's forthcoming next book, Austen At Sea, which Charlie reckons will end up being her favourite of all Natalie's books 01:08:59 Natalie tells us why she likely won't write about Jane Austen herself Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

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Charlie and Matt Ottley (The Tree Of Ecstasy And Unbearable Sadness) discuss Matt's type I bipolar disorder and how it has influenced this, his latest book, and his life in general. As Matt is also a composer and illustrator and the book involves both, we also discuss in detail the creation of the music and artwork. Please note that there are mentions of child sexual abuse and attempted suicide in this episode. A transcript is available on my site General references: The Sound Of Picture Books on YouTube Film trailer for The Tree Of Ecstasy And Unbearable Sadness Tina Wilson set up the Lester Prize Books mentioned by name or extensively: Matt Ottley: The Tree Of Ecstasy And Unbearable Sadness Buy the books: UK Release details: recorded 16th April 2024; published 26th August 2024 Where to find Matt online: Website || Facebook || Instagram Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok Discussions 00:01:36 The whys of the book - why this story, why produce it in this way, why now (this turns into a larger discussion of Matt's bipolar disorder and how it affects him) 00:13:18 Matt's musical initiative for children, The Sound Of Picture Books 00:19:45 The artistic process of the book, the artwork 00:24:35 The image of the pregnant mother in water, Matt's painting of water in general, and the elephants 00:29:08 The animals in terms of metaphors of unreality, evolution, and mania 00:32:32 Where Matt started in illustration, music, and writing - the discussion revolves mostly around music - and also inspirations 00:42:01 All about the music - composing, recording, the orchestra, choir, and so on 00:52:01 [An extract of music from the score, courtesy of Matt] 00:58:34 Discussing the narration and narrator, Matt's wife, Tina Wilson 01:02:04 The book's text - starting point and so on 01:04:38 Matt tells us about his childhood, family, and experience of bipolar growing up 01:09:34 What's next? (A variety of projects are discussed.) Photo credit: Tina Wilson Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Charlie and Kate Weston (You May Now Kill The Bride) discuss her hilarious comedy thriller wherein a group of friends go on a hen do, one of them is murdered, but they don't stop going to hen dos... Please note there is some swearing in this episode. A transcript is available on my site General references: Below Deck Books mentioned by name or extensively: Kate Weston: Murder On A School Night Kate Weston: You May Now Kill The Bride Buy the books: UK || USA Release details: Recorded 14th March 2024; published 12th August 2024 Where to find Kate online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok Where to find Charlie online: website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok Discussions 01:56 The starting point/inspiration - hen dos (and Kate's own) 06:17 Why the murders? 08:01 How did you plan/write the book? 10:34 Creating the friends and their personalities 14:58 Was there a particular reason why you offed Tansy first? 16:37 Did you want the murderer to be worked out? 18:36 Have you got a favourite character? 20:00 How did you keep the balance between the bonkers and the realistic? 21:55 Jeremy's club 23:34 Could someone else have been the murderer? 25:29 Could DI Ashford and Lauren's thread ever end happily? 27:04 Transitioning from writing YA 28:59 What are you writing now? 29:29 Tell us about your stand-up career Photo credit: Joanna Bongard Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Celebrating 100 episodes of this podcast, Charlie is Joined by Liz Fenwick, Emma Cowell, Ronali Collings, and Tammye Huf, for a general bookish chat. We start off with an excellent conversation on the industry's use of 'women's fiction' when the genderless 'commerical fiction' would do very well. Please note there is one use of 'damn' in this episode. A transcript is available on my site General references: Leonard Cohen's Bird On A Wire The 'Women in Love' panel Liz was on was part of the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature 2015 The Constant Gardener (film) Desert Island Discs Escape To The Country Books mentioned by name or extensively: Charlotte Brontë: Jane Eyre Elissa Soave: Ginger And Me Emily Brontë: Wuthering Heights Emma Cowell: One Last Letter From Greece Emma Cowell: the House In The Olive Grove Emma Cowell: The Island Love Song John Le Carré: The Constant Gardener Kate Atkinson: Life After Life Liz Fenwick: One Cornish Summer Liz Fenwick: The Secret Shore Paul Auster: The Brooklyn Follies Paul Auster: The New York Trilogy Ronali Collings: All The Single Ladies Sarah Winman: A Year Of Marvellous Ways Tammye Huf: A More Perfect Union Buy the books: UK || USA Release details: recorded 6th May 2024; published 5th August 2024 Where to find Liz online: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram || TikTok Where to find Emma online: Website || Twitter || Facebook || Instagram Where to find Ronali online: Website || Twitter || Instagram Where to find Tammye online: Website || Twitter || Instagram Where to find Charlie online: Website || Twitter || Instagram || TikTok Discussions 04:02 What is your genre? (The authors discuss labels in terms of gender expectations and marketing in this vein.) 08:25 How do you books do overseas? 10:40 If you wrote in another genre, which would it be? 15:14 If your book was turned into a film or TV show, who would you want cast in it? 20:33 If you could've written someone else's book, whose would you choose? (Some interesting discussions on individual writing styles here.) 26:01 What is the best fan or reader encounter you've had? 31:50 What do you wish you'd known before you became a published author? (Turns into a longer conversation about the difficulty of writing to a deadline.) 41:28 Can you remember any particularly interesting fact that you discovered in your research that couldn't be included in the book? 44:54 Tell us about what you're currently writing Disclosure: If you buy books linked to my site, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops