233: The Romance of Italy - with Katherine Mezzacappa
This week we're joined from Italy by the brilliant Katherine Mezzacappa. Born in Ireland, Katherine is now based Tuscany, a country which has inspired her work as a historical and contemporary novelist. Her most recent novel, The Ballad of Mary Kearney was published earlier this year, sees Katherine return to her Irish roots, telling the tragic tale of an 18th century nobleman who secretly marries his servant, in defiance of law, class, and religion. But Italy also features heavily in Katherine's work, including The Maiden of Florence published in 2024, based on true events involving the powerful Medici family. Writing as Katie Hutton, Katherine has also published four novels with leading publisher Bonnier Zaffre. Katherine is also a passionate advocate of short fiction, and works with us as a judge on The Henshaw Short Story competition. This interview is laced with brilliant advice for authors of all persuasions.Also this week, we hear about trouble for retail giant WH Smith, while rivals Waterstones go from strength to strength thanks to a growth in sales to a younger generation of readers.Katherine Mezzacappa – Katherine Mezzacappa – Authorhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Ballad-Mary-Kearney-Katherine-Mezzacappa-ebook/dp/B0CZQJFJD6https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maiden-Florence-captivating-historical-retelling-ebook/dp/B0CWFBKHX7 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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232: Ice and Crime - with Sólveig Pálsdóttir
If you're beginning to think we're obsessed with Icelandic crime fiction here on The Hobcast Bookshow - you may be right. We're delighted to be joined this week by our third great Icelandic crime fiction writer in recent months, Sólveig Pálsdóttir, the author of the popular Ice and Crime series. As we explore in this wide-ranging interview, Sólveig enjoyed a varied career prior to becoming an author, including several years as one of Iceland's leading actors, before family life encouraged a switch to teaching, with the occasional appearance in TV dramas. But now her principal focus is writing further cases for her detectives, Guðgeir and Elsa Guðrún, translated into English by the brilliant Quentin Bates and published by Corylus Books.Also this week, we discuss the threat posed by AI-written low quality books posing as established titles. Is it time for online retailers to tighten up their submission protocols?Sólveig Pálsdóttir – Corylus Bookshttps://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08Y5NPMKV Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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231: Launching a new series - with Victoria Dowd
In many ways, British crime authors are lucky. They stand on the shoulders of giants from the so-called 'Golden Age' of the genre: Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham, G.K. Chesterton and Ronald Knox were just a few of the greats who established both the rules of the genre, and laid the foundations for crime fiction's enduring popularity with UK and international readers. Our guest this week, Victoria Dowd, is an avowed fan of this era, so when it came to creating her new series, The Charlotte Blood Chronicles, it was natural that she set the opening novel, Death in the Aviary in 1928. Victoria has given both the traditional country house setting and locked mystery a twist: her cast of characters are trapped in a lift, the lights cut out, there's a shot, and a victim lies dead. As Victoria tells us, launching a new series in a historical period required huge levels of research, not least into the habits and behaviour of ravens! It's a departure from the books that established Victoria as one of Britain's rising crime-writing stars, The Smart Woman's Mystery Series. And it doesn't harm that Victoria is a former barrister who worked regularly at the Old Bailey.Also this week, we ask is the CEO of Penguin Random House's response to the recent scandal engulfing Raynor Winn's The Salt Path adequate? And can you really give each of the novels long-listed for this year's Booker Prize a two word review? About – Victoria Dowdhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Aviary-Charlotte-Blood-Chronicles/dp/1915523532https://www.amazon.co.uk/COMPLETE-MYSTERIES-gripping-terribly-mysteries-ebook/dp/B0DQVHFGKB Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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230: A love letter to Oakland - with Nick Baham
It sometimes feels as if this podcast feeds our "must visit pile". Whether it's Iceland, Seattle, Barcelona, Romania or Maine, our guests fuel our wanderlust with their passion for their home areas. That's the case again this week with our enthralling conversation with Dr. Nicholas Louis Baham III as we discuss his debut crime novel, The People's Detective. Set in present day Oakland, California, it's a celebration of all facets of Nick's fascinating home city. As he tells us, Oakland is a city of contradictions with great wealth and considerable poverty, and being a major port, a true melting pot of different nationalities. It's also a city with a proud record of protest and the struggle for equality, which underpin Nick's work. Nick's passion for Oakland shines through in this fascinating interview.Also this week, as the dust settles on another Harrogate Crime Fiction festival for another year, we ask "how much?". Yes, it seems bar prices have reached a new stratospheric level at the UK's premier crime fiction event. And we celebrate the growth of niche independent bookshops as a romance specialist store opens in Notting Hill in London.Home | Nicholas Louis Bahamhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Peoples-Detective-Sonny-Trueheart-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0D886W1ZG Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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229: The Organised Writer - with Antony Johnston
Some guests are so good we have to give them two shows. So we're delighted to welcome back Antony Johnston again this week to discuss the methods and techniques he uses to cope with writing multiple projects in multiple formats at the same time. His advice is based on years or trial and error during his career as a writer for video games, films, graphic novels and fiction, as well as extensive research into many productivity systems and ideologies. First published in 2020, his book The Organised Writer distils all this research and advice, and suggests methods all creative professionals can adopt to improve their productivity and flow. So prepare to put aside a weekend, re-organise your workspace, and enjoy the benefits of uninterrupted creative endeavour. It's a brilliant interview full of useful insights and advice.Also this week, we delve into the controversy surrounding Raynor Winn, the author of the best-selling memoir The Salt Path, and we discuss if AI really can translate your work into multiple languages at the press of a button.Antony Johnstonhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Organised-Writer-projects-never-deadline/dp/1472977181 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How do you launch a publishing house from scratch? The Hobcast brings you insights, interviews and ideas for aspiring authors and creative entrepreneurs, as well as anyone who loves books. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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