The Worm Hole Podcast

Charlie and Susmita Bhattacharya (Table Manners; also The Normal State Of Mind) discuss her world-wide travel and moves abroad - including a visa-less stopover, the experiences of recent immigrants to Britain, and having your work featured and serialised on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 4 Extra. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/the-worm-hole-podcast/podcast-episode-32-susmita-bhattacharya Table Manners on BBC Radio 4 Extra 'Old Spice' on BBC Radio 4 Mayflower Young Writers on Artful Scribe Seacity Museum, Southampton Tudor House, Southampton In her role as Writer in Residence during spring and summer at the Word Factory, Susmita is holding 1 to 1 half hour sessions for new writers. Full details and price info are here. You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com Question Index 01:03 How did the serialisation of Table Manners on BBC Radio 4 Extra come about? 02:18 Your first story for radio was in 2015?... 03:48 You have travelled and lived all over the world, can you tell us about it? 09:22 Is your travel and your experience of living in other places always in your mind when you're writing? 11:40 Tell us about your work with Mayflower Young Writers 17:53 Why is 'Good Golly Miss Molly' the story you've read from for us, the one you read the most? 19:21 Why did you choose to use food as you do - sometimes as an obvious support to a story, other times more vague? 21:26 When did you come up with the title for the collection? 22:50 Can you talk about the use of relationships in this book? 25:01 You have a story that features 9/11 and 7/7, a story about the social affects of Brexit, and a story where a white westerner who wants to see the Real India. Is the present day and situations important to you? 28:21 Going back to what you said about your time as an English language teacher for immigrants to Britain, may I ask what kind of things affected people when they were here, in that context of the present day? 33:12 What's next? Purchase Links Table Manners: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Photograph used with the permission of the author.  Credit: Rohini Bhattacharya

Charlie and Elizabeth Baines (Used To Be; Astral Travel; also The Birth Machine; Balancing On The Edge Of The World; Too Many Magpies) discuss writing for radio, short stories - the relative importance of their first lines and differences to novels - writing a book about trying to tell a story, and the difficulties in labelling someone complicit or a victim in the context of past societal values. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/the-worm-hole-podcast/podcast-episode-31-elizabeth-baines You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com Question Index 00:38 Can you tell us about your screenplay work? 01:13 How did the vampire play come about? 01:48 Do your plays influence your prose or is it the other way around? 02:23 Do you have a preference between these three modes of writing? 09:39 All these stories were in other publications - how long in coming was the collection itself? 11:13 Tell us about the splitting of these stories into two categories 13:00 How important is the first line of a short story compared to a novel? 13:46 Did the short story 'Clarrie and You' inspire Astral Travel? 19:01 Astral Travel is a difficult read. How long did it take to write - was it difficult to write? 22:55 How far into the various drafts did the written structure (white space; chapter headings) come in? 23:55 Where is the father 'from'; what were the influences in creating him? 24:23 Is the mother complicit or a victim? 26:43 [Within and without the context of Josephine's boyfriend's family] do you think that Josephine would continue on her journey of healing? 27:50 Was the revelation about the father always in your mind? 28:30 Where on the scale between empathy and upset do you think the reader is, or should be, by the end? 29:13 What's your favourite Bronte novel? 29:50 What's next? Purchase Links Used To Be: Amazon UK Amazon US Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Astral Travel: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Chapters Indigo I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Photograph used with the permission of the author.

Charlie and Katy Yocom (Three Ways To Disappear) discuss tiger conservation in India and balancing numbers alongside human requirements for life, the importance of being diligent when writing about a culture that is not your own, and what the three ways to disappear are. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/the-worm-hole-podcast/podcast-episode-30-katy-yocom Katy's articles and essays: 'A Search for the Elusive Tigers in India Leads to a Novel' for Newsweek 'Muhammad Ali, my father and me' for Salon 'The Compelling Tales We Tell of Fictional Tigers' for LitHub Wikipedia's article on Born Free Wildlife Trails' website Birds of the Indian Subcontinent is a 1998 reference guide written by Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp, and Tim Inskipp You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com Question Index 00:51 You graduated from Spalding University and now work there - can you tell us what you do? 02:17 Tell us about your other publications (essays in magazines and so forth) 09:01 Tell us about the starting point for Three Ways To Disappear 12:59 (Further discussion on the possibility of telling the story without Quinn's narrative) 13:40 [In the context of what we're discussing] is this where the mythical aspects of the book come in? 15:46 Can you tell us about your research trip? 21:26 How well is the place you visited doing in terms of numbers of tigers? 29:02 What are the three ways to disappear? 30:52 I found Sarah's romance to be unexpected; was it always important to include? 34:11 What affect do you want your book to leave on readers once they've finished it? Purchase Links Three Ways To Disappear: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Barnes & Noble IndieBound Chapters Indigo I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Photograph used with the permission of the publisher.

Charlie and Marianne Holmes (A Little Bird Told Me; All Your Little Lies) discuss procedures when children go missing, societal changes in regards to domestic violence in the 1970s, and, on a lighter note, trying not to finish books you’re not enjoying. Please note there is some noise in this episode - noise cancelling headphones are recommended (pun not intended) as they will make the vocals crisper. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/the-worm-hole-podcast/podcast-episode-29-marianne-holmes/ Wikipedia’s article on K M Peyton’s Flambards The act created in 1976 was the Domestic Violence and Matrimonial Proceedings Act. According to the British Library "This act enabled married women to obtain a court order against their violent husbands without divorce or separation proceedings. A court could order a man out of the matrimonial home, whether or not he owned it or tenancy was in his name. Problems arose because this protection did not apply to unmarried women." Missing People You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com Question Index 00:35 You grew up in different countries; your father was in the RAF. Can you tell us about that? 01:05 Has your career in marketing helped with your books? 01:49 Your road to publication started with a tweet?... 03:50 Do you plan your books? 10:22 Why the heatwave of 1976? 11:47 Was Robin's reading material, Flambards, a book you read yourself? 12:26 Could you talk about the era in terms of the social changes in regards to domestic violence? 13:54 The refusal of adults to tell things to children - for A Little Bird Told Me, was that inspired by a particular event? 20:03 What, to you, is the defining element of All Your Little Lies? 21:31 Your son's reaction to a missing child influenced the book?... 24:32 (For both books) how do you incorporate the two narratives, the character as a child and as an adult? 25:39 What was your reason for writing in the third person as opposed to the first? 26:51 How much time did you need to spend developing the secondary characters for the readers' understanding of Annie to work? 28:14 Is Annie going to be able to heal from all of this? 29:20 In both books you look at the ways young girls relate to each other - this is important to you? 30:38 You have a book on the go about a little known figure... 32:21 Have you been successful in putting down books you're not enjoying reading? Purchase Links A Little Bird Told Me: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters All Your Little Lies: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive IndieBound I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Photograph used with the permission of the publisher.

Charlie and Deborah Swift (Past Encounters; The Occupation; the forthcoming The Lifeline, also many books sets in the 1600s such as The Lady's Slipper; A Divided Inheritance) discuss Brief Encounter at Carnforth, the experiences of prisoners of war at the time and once back home, the real life story of a Jersey woman who hid her Jewish friend, and reactions to the death of the last woman in Britain to be given capital punishment. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/the-worm-hole-podcast/podcast-episode-28-deborah-swift BBC Radio 4's The Poetry Pharmacy BBC's People's War website The Long March Article about Dorothea and Hedwig when the former was nominated for an Israeli honour A video about Carnforth station in the context of Brief Encounter and subsequent tourism Deborah's books set in the 1600s, in the order of publication: The Lady's Slipper The Gilded Lily A Divided Inheritance Shadow On The Highway Spirit Of The Highway Lady Of The Highway Pleasing Mr Pepys A Plague On Mr Pepys Entertaining Mr Pepys You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com Question Index 01:01 You write poetry?... 03:25 You used to work as a costume and set designer - what productions did you work on? 04:23 Did this work influence any of your stories? 13:18 Past Encounters: who came first, Peter or Rhoda? 17:35 (Carnforth Station's cafe and museum) 19:30 What was the reception of prisoners of war when they came home? 21:32 Tell us about Lamsdorf 25:36 Why was it important to include mentions of the trial of Ruth Ellis? 35:45 The Occupation started out as two novellas?... 37:59 (About the inspiration for Celine and Rachel's story) 39:08 Rachel's quite a particular character - what were your thoughts when you were creating her? 41:00 Would you say Rachel's story, post-ending, would mirror Hedwig's? 42:46 The ending is perhaps unexpected - how did you come to write it? 44:40 Tell us about The Lifeline Purchase Links Past Encounters: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones The Occupation: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada The Lifeline: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada I am an IndieBound affiliate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Photograph used with the permission of the author.

Charlie and Tammye Huf (A More Perfect Union) discuss her great-great-grandparents’ relationship as an 1840s Irishman and a Black American slave, the way owners used Christianity to support their views of a racial hierarchy, and the lengths reached in order to label people by skin colour. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/the-worm-hole-podcast/podcast-episode-27-tammye-huf Tammye's Radio 2 interview Library of Congress audio interviews with freed people You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com Question Index 01:02 (Discussing Tammye's recent interview on Radio 2) 02:04 Tell us about your great-great-grandparents 03:28 What made you want to tell this story, to start with your grandparents and take it further? 08:22 How important was balancing the romance with the history? 09:23 Any there are specific primary sources you used that you can highlight? 11:56 Do you feel closer to your grandparents now? 12:48 How did you go about creating Sarah? 17:52 Who is Maple; why did you include her in the story? 20:49 Did you always plan to have this 'nicer' owner? 23:32 Were there many people who were offered their freedom, didn't take it for family reasons and so forth, and were then used as a puppet? 26:35 To me Henry comes across as quite careless sometimes - did you ever consider a different bearing for him? 30:13 Could you tell us about the Potato Famine era 'tumbling'? 32:03 Do you think Red ever found his freedom? 32:54 What's next? Purchase Links A More Perfect Union: Amazon UK Amazon US Waterstones Hive I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.  Likewise IndieBound. Photograph used with the permission of the publisher.

Charlie and Eric Beck Rubin (School Of Velocity) discuss the representation of the Holocaust in literature, using classical music as a literary device, having a main character whose person limits the opportunity for dialogue through his obsession with another, and the reader being a writer. Please note that the first reading contains sexual content. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/the-worm-hole-podcast/podcast-episode-26-eric-beck-rubin Wikipedia’s article on Imre Kertész Wikipedia’s article on Georges Perec Wikipedia’s article on Jonathan Safran Foer’s Everything is Illuminated Wikipedia’s article on Ford Madox Ford’s The Good Soldier The full quote on reading and writing, by the writer Jonathan Lethem, is: “Reading and writing are the same thing; it’s just one’s the more active and the other’s the more passive. They flow into each other.” Wikipedia’s article on John Irving’s A Prayer For Owen Meany Czerny’s School Of Velocity on YouTube Eric has written many articles on cultural history – among them are: ‘Not Again’ ‘Georges Perec, Lost and Found in the Void: The Memoirs of an Indirect Witness’ (requires a JStor account to access) ‘Avoided: On Georges Perec’ ‘Sisyphus in Kertész’s Fatelessness’ (opens in a PDF) Eric’s literary podcast ‘Burning Books’ You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com Question Index 00:41 Tell us about your PhD on the Holocaust in literature 03:13 What musical instruments do you play? 04:12 Favourite classical musician? 05:10 I know that reviews say School of Velocity is like The Great Gatsby – is there anything in this? 06:11 Why The Netherlands for the story? 13:48 It’s a while until anyone but Dirk and Jan are given any dialogue. Is this something you’d considered doing throughout? 16:58 How did you go about choosing the classical music that Jan plays? 19:11 Can you talk about your choice to use Czerny’s music as the title and in the context of your characters? 20:44 Do you see Jan and Dirk as having loved each other? 32:20 Do you think it would’ve been possible for Dirk to narrate the story from his side? 33:41 How much affect did Dirk’s parents have on him? 35:38 How important was Lena’s inclusion in the story? 37:39 Where did the idea of using this ‘musical tinnitus’, enough to cause sickness, come from? 39:10 What’s next? Purchase Links School Of Velocity: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.  Likewise IndieBound. Photograph used with the permission of the author.

Charlie and Intisar Khanani (Thorn; Sunbolt; Memories Of Ash; the forthcoming The Theft Of Sunlight) discuss working to better the health of people in Cincinnati, rewriting and exploring the Goose Girl fairy tale to stunning effect, bonkers jail-breaking heroines, and men who take a far more subtle approach than riding in on horses to save the day. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/the-worm-hole-podcast/podcast-episode-25-intisar-khanani BookBub Wikipedia's article on The Goose Girl Wikipedia's article on Robin McKinley's The Blue Sword Please note that some copies of Thorn do not feature The Bone Knife You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com Question Index 00:44 Before you were a writer, you worked for the Cincinnati Health Department. May I ask what your work involved? 02:19 Did your work at the health department influence how you write? 03:54 You’re a hybrid author – where does one meet the other? 13:46 Why The Goose Girl? 16:34 Was keeping some of the poignant aspects of The Goose Girl a difficult decision? 20:37 What was behind the study of truth and honour? 24:06 Could you expand on the hows and whys of incorporating the trauma in the book? 27:57 How did you use magic to further this plot? 29:46 Can we talk about the role of the men?… 33:13 Do you see yourself writing another adaptation in future? 34:02 Tell us about the world of The Sunbolt Chronicles, how you came to create it, were there any inspirations? 38:27 Where does Hitomi’s personality come from? 49:50 Where does Val fit into the story? 52:03 How many Chronicles are we looking at? 52:23 What was the book you mentioned at the start of our Sunbolt conversation, the one fantasy book you’d read back in the day, that was diverse? 53:37 What is behind your use of religion as it is in Thorn and The Sunbolt Chronicles? 55:59 Tell us about The Theft Of Sunlight Purchase Links Thorn: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters Sunbolt: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters Memories Of Ash: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters Brambles (Thorn mini-prequel, pre-order) Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada The Theft Of Sunlight (pre-order) Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.  Likewise IndieBound. Photograph from the author's media kit.

Charlie and Joanna Hickson (First Of The Tudors; The Tudor Crown; The Lady Of The Ravens also The Agincourt Bride; The Tudor Bride; Red Rose, White Rose) discuss the royal and noble individuals of the War of the Roses, the women who made an impact, the ever-present question of who killed the princes in the tower, and, on another topic entirely, using weasels to prevent conception. Please note that the question about the fear of pregnancy and childbirth includes a couple of mentions of a weasel's particulars. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/the-worm-hole-podcast/podcast-episode-24-joanna-hickson John Constable Orford Castle Recent photograph of Joanna at Orford Wikipedia's article on Jackanory (Joanna's episodes were 2422-2426) Pembroke Castle Carmarthen Castle Wikipedia's article on Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time James Butler (the 'fleeing' Earl of Wiltshire) The blog of The Ravenmaster, Chris Skaife Wikipedia's article on Joan Vaux Frank Cadogan Cowper - 'Erasmus and Thomas More Visit the Children of Henry VII' (1910) The GoodReads page for Alison Weir's book on Elizabeth of York Wikipedia's article on the Trotula You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com Question Index 00:51 You had a holiday recently?... 01:24 Tell us about your young adult novel 04:23 Why Jasper Tudor? 09:48 How did you go about creating Jane Hywel? 12:33 You are not a Ricardian... 14:11 Who do you think killed the princes in the Tower? 17:06 Is your interest in Henry VII woven into your thoughts of Richard III, or are they separate? 27:06 Do you think that Henry VII would have got to the throne without Margaret Beaufort’s input? 31:56 You seem to me to place a distinct emphasis on filling in the gaps where women are concerned... 36:38 Tell us about the inspiration for the ravens and how you came to make them a central part of the novel 39:15 Tell us more about Joan 42:20 Did you find any primary sources related to the fear of pregnancy and childbirth? 44:05 How did you come to fictionise Elizabeth of York? 45:21 What’s next? Purchase Links First Of The Tudors: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters The Tudor Crown: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters The Lady Of The Ravens: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters The Agincourt Bride: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters The Tudor Bride: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters Red Rose, White Rose: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.  Likewise IndieBound. Photograph used with permission from the author.

Charlie and Nicholas Royle (Quilt; An English Guide To Birdwatching; Mother: A Memoir) discuss killing yourself – your avatar – off in your fiction, using ‘it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife’, and sharing a name with another British writer who also writes fiction… that is also about birds… Please note that the first reading is set in a public toilet and discusses explicitly concepts around discomfort in this regard, ‘size’, and so forth. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/the-worm-hole-podcast/podcast-episode-23-nicholas-royle-critic Nicholas' critical and essay books are as follows: Helene Cixous: Dreamer, Realist, Analyst, Writing (2020) An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory (5th edition, 2016, co-authored with Andrew Bennett) This Thing Called Literature (2015, co-authored with Andrew Bennett) Veering: A Theory of Literature (2011) In Memory of Jacques Derrida (2009) How to Read Shakespeare (2005, new edition 2014) Jacques Derrida (2003) The Uncanny (2003) Deconstructions: A User's Guide (2000) (as editor) E.M. Forster (1999) After Derrida (1995) Elizabeth Bowen and the Dissolution of the Novel: Still Lives (1995, co-authored with Andrew Bennett) Telepathy and Literature: Essays on the Reading Mind (1990) The Guardian’s review of An English Guide to Birdwatching My review of the same The Financial Times’ review of the same The Art of the Novel on the publisher’s website Publisher’s page on Nicholas’ book on Helene Cixous You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com Question Index 01:05 You’re a professor of English – do you have an outright favourite area of study? 02:49 You’ve written a lot of books on literary criticism and theory, but what was it that got you wanting to start writing fiction? 04:42 Have you ever had someone ask what on earth your books are about? 06:27 What is behind the theme of death? 09:33 What’s it like to kill yourself off in your fiction? 13:41 You use wordplay throughout your books – what is it you like the most about it? 21:10 When did you first know that there was another writer with your name? 24:15 Quilt’s afterword is very much related to the content of An English Guide To Birdwatching – were the initial parts of An English Guide written closely in time with Quilt? 27:43 Why does modern day Stephen Osmer write for the London Literary Gazette, which ceased production in 1863? 36:38 Can you tell us about your mother in terms of your relationship with her? 40:52 How did you mother influence your interest in books and writing? 43:34 What’s next? 44:37 Do things like exploration or language, close reading, and so forth, have value in the wider world? Purchase Links Quilt: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters An English Guide To Birdwatching: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters Mother: A Memoir: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.  Likewise IndieBound. Photograph used with permission from the author.

Charlie and Midge Raymond (Forgetting English; My Last Continent; also Everyday Writing; Everyday Book Marketing) discuss the current situation in Antarctica and the balance of keeping it clean whilst allowing research and tourism, environmental and climate changes in the same location, and being followed to the toilet by a penguin. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/the-worm-hole-podcast/podcast-episode-22-midge-raymond Amongst other places, Midge's fiction has appeared in TriQuarterly, American Literary Review, Bellevue Literary Review, the Los Angeles Times magazine, the Chicago Tribune, and Poets & WritersMidge's blog Ashland Creek Press The Siskiyou Prize Information on John Yunker's The Tourist Trail Information on Three Ways To Disappear by Katy Yocom The Center for Ecosystem Sentinels and their mailing list You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com Question Index 00:50 You have a background in publishing? 01:48 What genres did you work on? 02:54 Tell us about Ashland Creek Press 06:11 You have published a couple of books on writing?... 14:39 You have lots of locations and languages in Forgetting English: are you a big traveller? 16:26 What is it about travel and life choices that got to you in terms of your short stories? 18:08 Was there a particular reason for situating the last story at the end? 27:38 Have you been to Antarctica? 30:44 How do people balance visiting and research in Antarctica with the fact that it is causing damage? 33:05 The health and lives of penguins – are we looking at something we can change, going forwards? 34:55 How did the lifestyle of birds, penguins, influence the way you constructed Deb and Keller’s relationship? 38:07 Tell us about the roles of Kate and Richard in the book 39:51 Keller has experienced a lot of losses- where did he come from? 42:11 What’s next? 43:23 If you could, would you have a penguin as a pet? Purchase Links Everyday Writing: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters Everyday Book Marketing: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters Forgetting English: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters My Last Continent: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.  Likewise IndieBound. Photograph used with permission from the author.  

Charlie and Peter Ho Davies (The Ugliest House In The World; Equal Love; The Welsh Girl; The Fortunes) discuss moving as a writer from Britain to the US, Welsh with English as a second language, the first Chinese Americans, Hollywood star Anna May Wong, and the impact - then and now - of the murder of Vincent Chin. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/the-worm-hole-podcast/podcast-episode-21-peter-ho-davies Information about the Brighton Pavillion chinoiserie panels Wikipedia’s article on The Thief of Bagdad Wikipedia’s article on Shanghai Express Anna May Wong documentary footage (what Peter used in his story) A section from the 'Who Killed Vincent Chin' 1987 documentary A selection of clips from 'Who Is Vincent Chin' Annie Tan and Helen Zia (maker of the '87 documentary) discuss Vincent's importance to Asian Americans Vincent Chin trial reenactment You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com Question Index 00:50 Tell us about your background, your journey to publication 02:06 What courses do you teach? 06:09 Tell us about The Ugliest House In The World and Equal Love 15:32 What was it like writing the sentence beginning 'But the lights came up' (wherein an investigator for the allies considers whether he might not have joined the Nazis)? 16:45 Who was the most important character in The Welsh Girl to write about? 18:55 What led you to write about the D-Day period? 22:32 In The Welsh Girl, English is a second language - how far was this the case in reality? 24:15 (On the context of the Welsh concept of 'cynefin') 25:49 (The Fortunes - Peter talks about the novellas and short stories in the context of the format) 28:01 Why did Chinese people (first) emigrate to America? 30:49 When did things improve for the first Chinese women in America? 31:51 How widespread was chinoiserie and did people ever turn to real Chinese decorations? 36:51 Can you give us a brief overview of Anna May Wong's journey in the film industry? 42:31 Is Vincent Chin's story well known in America? 45:32 (Peter talks about John's character - fact and fiction - from the fourth story in The Fortunes) 49:22 Is there any significance to Zhen and Jia, names mentioned together in three of the stories? 54:28 Tell us about your next book Purchase Links The Welsh Girl: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound The Fortunes: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters A Lie Someone Told You About Yourself: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.  Likewise IndieBound. Photograph used with permission from the author.

Charlie and Tracy Rees (Amy Snow; Florence Grace; The Hourglass; Darling Blue; The House At Silvermoor) discuss Richard, Judy, Dickens, Austen, and Bronte - not all at once - coffee houses in Victorian times, landslides and hourglasses, changes to the Yorkshire mines in the late 1800s to early 1900s, and the inclusion of the average person in historical fiction. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/the-worm-hole-podcast/podcast-episode-20-tracy-rees You can contact the show at books@carnelianvalley.com Question Index 00:58 Tell us about Richard and Judy 02:48 You had a background in non-fiction publishing… 04:32 Dickens’ influence, or Austen, Brontë? 05:51 Who are your favourite non-classical authors? 12:03 Who came first, Aurelia or Amy? 12:36 Was including the ‘average person’ in your books always part of the plan? 13:55 Did you ever get to researching how coffee culture was in the Victorian period? 14:44 So your library has expanded vastly since you became a writer? 15:01 Do we have any idea how many children were abandoned or how many women had trouble in that period? 17:32 What was behind the idea to use Florence’s name as the title (of Florence Grace)? 18:49 What was the inspiration for the Grace family? 19:46 Houses are important in this book – where did Heron’s Watch come from? 20:47 When did you conceive the idea of a landslide as like an hourglass? 22:13 What had you deciding to look at mother-daughter relationships? 24:37 Why did you choose to tell Darling Blue over the course of a year? 25:52 The Camberwells taking in working class Delphine – were there many families in the 1920s that would have done similar? 26:54 Was the concept of the letters based on anything you’d heard before? 27:47 Did you find out anything interesting in regards to women in the 1920s becoming reporters? 31:09 Did the mining strike coverage in Darling Blue inspire The House at Silvermoor? 32:26 The House at Silvermoor contains your first male narrative – was that interesting to do? 38:20 Were there good mine owners as there are in the book? 40:09 Does the thread of owners changing the mines for the better align with the reality? 41:17 What happened to the horses – were they ever able to leave the mines? 42:15 Will you go back to any of the periods you’ve already covered? 43:06 So was your agent meaning you when she was saying someone should write about mining? 43:23 What is your favourite period to write about? 44:11 Do you ever see yourself going back further in history? 45:10 What’s next? Purchase Links Amy Snow: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters Florence Grace: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters The Hourglass: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Darling Blue: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble The House At Silvermoor: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.  Likewise IndieBound. Photograph used with permission from the author. Credit: Ludwig Esser.

Charlie and Sofie Laguna (One Foot Wrong; The Eye of the Sheep; The Choke; the forthcoming Infinite Splendours) discuss beginning with acting, writing from a child’s perspective and not labelling those who are different, bad fictional parents, not liking John Wayne… and we have the inaugural reading of Sofie’s October release. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/the-worm-hole-podcast/podcast-episode-19-sofie-laguna Wikipedia's article on the Murray River Dean Martin: My Rifle, My Pony, and Me Question Index 01:03 You studied law, then became an actor and a playwright; tell us more about your background 04:59 Were you in pantos? 09:40 You started with children's literature - when did you decide to add adult fiction into the mix? 17:01 What is behind your decision to rarely reveal any names of conditions the characters might have? 20:47 Did you ever want to switch the main characters' parents for nice ones? 28:01 What draws you to the type of endings you write? 30:10 Tell us about the Murray River that features in The Choke 33:06 Is there a particular reason you set your books in decades past? 34:51 Tell us more about Infinite Splendours 40:47Do you like John Wayne films? Purchase Links One Foot Wrong: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Amazon Australia Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters The Eye of the Sheep: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Amazon Australia Waterstones Hive The Choke: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Amazon Australia Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.  Likewise IndieBound. Photograph used with permission from the author.

Charlie and Abubakar Adam Ibrahim (The Whispering Trees; Season of Crimson Blossoms) discuss Nigeria at this time, publishing a novel on a very controversial subject and reactions to it, effects of grief, and looking at cultural expectations of women as the generations change. Please note: this episode includes discussion of sexual content, and the second reading includes a sex scene. There is some noise in this episode: headphones are recommended. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/the-worm-hole-podcast/podcast-episode-18-abubakar-adam-ibrahim Dreams and Assorted Nightmares on the publisher's page The Daily Trust Question Index 01:31 How are you all doing in Nigeria at the moment? 03:27 Tell us about your background 07:30 Tell us about your work at The Daily Trust 13:00 Do you prefer the first or third person? 15:00 Was Season Of Crimson Blossoms difficult to publish? 22:10 Was is going through Binta’s mind as she makes her decision? 23:29 Tell us about Reza’s situation in life 24:53 Tell us about the theme of grief 33:08 Was the contrast between Fa’iza and Binta, a young woman and an older woman, something you were looking at? 36:35 Tell us about Dreams And Assorted Nightmares Purchase Links The Whispering Trees: Publisher's website Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters Roving Heights Season of Crimson Blossoms: Publisher's website Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters Roving Heights I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases.  Likewise IndieBound. Photograph used with permission from the author. Credit: Jill Jennings.

Charlie and Roselle Lim (Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune; Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop) discuss weaving culture, mental illness, and magic into your fiction, an aid for your eyes when chopping onions, and children you excitedly take to tourist attractions who wonder what you see in them. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/the-worm-hole-podcast/podcast-episode-17-roselle-lim Fresh Fiction's review of Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune, as quoted Question Index 02:03 Tell us about your writing background 03:45 Is Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune one big metaphor? 05:27 You have a particular love of words?... 06:09 Was Natalie always planned to be unsure of herself? 06:53 How did your relationship with your own mother influence the novel? 07:51 What's your favourite meal to make? 08:55 Have you had experience yourself of food solving, or helping to solve, a problem? 11:16 What was behind the decision to incorporate recipes into the narrative? 12:37 Does chewing mint gum help when chopping onions? 13:14 Was the thread about outsiders, trying to disrupt for their own gain, based on a particular event? 14:09 Introduce us to San Francisco's Chinatown 15:24 Do you love classical music? 16:12 Was the romance between Natalie and Daniel always in the book? 17:26 How much was filial piety in your mind when writing? 18:53 Is Vanessa Yu Miss Yu from Natalie Tan? 19:20 (We discuss Paris and London - Roselle went there to research Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop) 25:28 Did you ever wonder about using a different name to Natalie, given that that is your daughter's name? 32:25 Vanessa Yu - is it fair to say this is a very different book to Natalie Tan? 33:09 Are you writing your next book? 33:35 Natalie Tan has been optioned for a TV show... Purchase Links Natalie Tan's Book of Luck and Fortune: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters Vanessa Yu's Magical Paris Tea Shop: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Barnes & Noble IndieBound Indigo Chapters I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Photograph used with permission from the author. Credit: Shelley Smith.

Charlie and Isla Morley (Come Sunday; Above; The Last Blue) discuss growing up and travelling back to South Africa, creating a negative heroine, the 1800s medical phenomenon wherein people were literally blue, and what it's like owning five tortoises. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/the-worm-hole-podcast/podcast-episode-16-isla-morley Image of the Fugate family, as mentioned Cathy Trost's article 'The Blue People of Troublesome Creek' Question Index 01:03 Can you tell us more about your background in South Africa? 03:04 How did novel writing come about? 08:05 You've lived in several places - can you tell us about your journey? 11:12 Have you been back to South Africa? 13:48 Have you ever considered writing a memoir? 15:34 Come Sunday's Abbe isn't a nice person; why did you want to create her? 17:41 Why was grief important to explore? 18:19 When did you decide to incorporate Christianity? 20:19 Was narrative style always in your mind? 22:08 Why poetry? 23:38 Was African mythology, used in the book, something you experienced in childhood? 29:01 Was it daunting to have so much of Above set underground? 31:31 Would it be fair to assume that the book will continue to be an outlier as you move forward? 33:48 When did the idea of going along with Dobb's idea of what's going on come into your process of writing? 42:02 Tell us about the medical background to The Last Blue 46:48 Am I barking up the wrong tree thinking the concept of blue people as per your book has to do with commentary on racial discrimination in history? 51:31 How important is the narrative of women to you? 52:34 Is there any interesting fact you can share with us about photography in the 1930s? 55:15 What's next? 55:54 What's it like having five tortoises? Purchase Links Come Sunday: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound Above: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound The Last Blue: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble IndieBound I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Photograph used with permission from the author.

Charlie and Terri Fleming (Perception) discuss looking at the further lives of Mary and Kitty Bennet, working with Austen's original stories and prose, Mr and Mrs Bennet's relationship, and organising bookshelves. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/the-worm-hole-podcast/podcast-episode-15-terri-fleming The Romantic Novelists' Association website Question Index 00:37 Tell us about your background - writing and Australia 00:59 Have you been able to write articles regardless of the career switch? 03:12 Why Pride and Prejudice? 04:06 Who are you other favourite writers? 04:49 How long have you been a member of the RNA? 05:50 Were your initial thoughts for your book different to how it played out? 08:41 Did it take time to get the balance between your own Mary and Austen's just right, and were you worried about the reception? 15:09 How did you go about creating the gentlemen? 17:11 Was there anything difficult about using Pride and Prejudice as a base? 24:43 What was the best part of writing Kitty's story? 27:08 Did you find anything out about Pride and Prejudice that readers may not know? 29:10 What's your opinion on the dynamic between Mr and Mrs Bennet? 32:36 How do you organise your bookshelves? 34:15 What's next? Purchase Links Perception: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Photograph used with the permission of the author.

Charlie and Zoe Duncan (The Shifting Pools) discuss coping with and healing from war trauma in reality and fiction, the use and power of dreams, employing various styles and formats, and how fascinating reader interpretations can be. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/the-worm-hole-podcast/podcast-episode-14-zoe-duncan Interview with Danuta Kean for Mslexia magazine On Cornwall and Enanti Article in The Times about Zoe's life and work Question Index 00:46 How long have you been writing? 01:55 Favourite poet? 02:40 Tell us about your childhood (that relates to the book) 03:53 What was it like being in England? 08:32 Is there a reason for the lack of a name for the place Eve lives in? 09:41 How did you come to use Enanti as Eve's coping method? 11:08 How do you see the ending, do you have an answer for it for yourself? 12:53 Was water always to be the healing element? 14:32 The style and structure - what was the purpose of it? 19:23 Was Time something you were thinking about when writing? 21:04 What did you learn about dreams in the context of the subconscious? 24:00 Was the idea of womanhood, sisters, siblings, a theme? 31:04 There is so much hope in the book... 31:48 What did you want readers to take away? 33:47 What is the impact of long-term trauma and grief if not dealt with? 36:07 Was the book cathartic for you? 37:40 What's next? 39:56 (Given everything we've discussed) it must have been busy in your head whilst you were writing? Purchase Links The Shifting Pools: Publisher's website Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Photograph used with the permission of the author. Credit: Ashvin Mistry.

Charlie and Dan Richards (Holloway, The Beechwood Airship Interviews, Climbing Days, Outpost) discuss asking to join well-known people for lunch and producing fascinating interviews for your book, travelling the less beaten paths of your mountaineering great-great aunt, finding society in isolated places, and looking ahead to how we might continue to approach humanity's harming of nature after the benefits to scaling back have been shown by this current crisis. Some podcast apps do not show description links properly unless the listener subscribes to the podcast. If you can't click the links below and don't wish to subscribe, copy and paste the following address into your browser to access the episode's page on my blog: http://wormhole.carnelianvalley.com/the-worm-hole-podcast/podcast-episode-13-dan-richards Dan’s articles at Caught by the River 'Dream ticket – the night train from Cologne to Vienna’ ‘My search for the real Moominland’ BBC Radio 4: Start the Week – Life in the Wilderness Wikipedia’s entry for Dorothy Pilley (includes photographs) Second-hand copies of Dorothy’s memoir on AbeBooks (there are a couple of 1935 and 1965 editions on there) Question Index 00:46 How did you get into writing, specifically the type you do? 02:39 The first book to be written was the second published… 03:37 Tell us about the interviewing process for The Beechwood Airship Interviews 07:43 Has this book had a knock-on affect on your further work in ways we may not pick up on? 08:56 These books are a mixture of travel/adventure (and so on) and there’s a lot of your personality there… 10:11 Tell us about mountaineer Dorothy Pilley and how she inspired you 15:00 How did the women mountaineers of the time help future generations? 18:58 Is Dorothy’s 1935 memoir available to purchase? 19:51 What was the easiest part of your Climbing Days adventure? 22:26 What did you learn about yourself? 27:27 What draws you to the wilderness? 27:57 You talk about our human destruction of nature – what do you hope will happen following this time that we’re living in right now? 31:01 Tell us about the supernatural aspect of the first outpost; did you experience anything yourself? 34:27 In all the outposts you went to, what surprised you the most? 35:11 How did the social aspect of these otherwise isolated places impact your experience of it? 38:52 What’s next? Purchase Links Holloway: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive The Beechwood Airship Interviews: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Barnes & Noble Climbing Days: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Outpost: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Waterstones Hive Barnes & Noble I am an Amazon Associate and earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Photograph used with the permission of the author.