Ilona Bannister, long time friend of Not Too Busy To Write is on the podcast talking about her new novel and her move from literary fiction to thriller. FIVE is set on a train platform, 5 minutes before a train will arrive and one of the five characters will die. The reader is asked who they think deserves to die.

Ilona talks with me about breaking the forth wall, unlikeabe characters and how readers are reacting to confronting their own prejudices, why law school is great training for a writer and the pleasures and humanity of the thriller genre.

FIVE is out May 5th

Links

FIVE - Ilona Bannister

Little Prisons - Ilona Bannister

When I Ran Away - Ilona Bannister

THE FOLD membership for writers - join the 21 Day Writing Challenge!

Penny on Instagram @pennywincer

Jane Harper is the Gold Dagger award winning, bestselling author who defined a new sub genre - Australian Noir - with her breakout debut The Dry in 2016. Today we're talking about her 6th novel Last One Out, a brilliantly dark and twisty novel about a missing son and a dying rural town. Jane talks with me about her extensive outlining process (which begins at the end), what motivated her through the writing of her first novel when she was a full time journalist and why isolated communities make such fantastic settings.

Links

Last One Out - Jane Harper

Aaron Falk Series

The Dry - Jane Harper

Forces of Nature - Jane Harper

Exiles - Jane Harper

Jane Harper's Ted Talk

Darling Girls - Sally Hepworth

Mad Mabel - Sally Hepworth

The Mother Fault - Kate Mildenhall

THE FOLD membership for writers - 21 Day Writing Challenge begins May 1st!

New York Times bestselling author Catherine Newman is back on the podcast talking about her hilarious new novel about midlife anxiety Wreck. Catherine talks with me about writing superstitions, hilariously terrible reviews, what success as a novelist has really meant to her and the joy she has found in owning her own publication on Substack after a lifetime writing for other people.

Links

Wreck by Catherine Newman

Sandwich by Catherine Newman

We All Want Impossibly Things by Catherine Newman

Crone Sandwich - Catherine's Substack

THE FOLD membership for writers

6 years ago comedian Helen Thorn's life was turned upside down when she discovered her then husband was having a years long affair. Within two years she had written a Sunday Times Best Seller about the experience and it's immediate aftermath - fags, dating and all - but especially about the women who hold us up when life gets us down. Now, she's written a new book reflecting on the strength gained from facing unexpected loss. Helen and I talk about just what there is to be gained from total honesty on the page, some of the women that inspired her to write this book and the calm that has descended after the chaos.

Links

How To Face Change and Come Back Stronger by Helen Thorn

Get Divorced, Be Happy by Helen Thorn

Helen Thorn on Instagram

Scummy Mummies

THE FOLD membership for writers

Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is an author and journalist, and today we talking about her new novel Female, Nude, a sexy sultry book about seeing and being seen, which weaves visual art into a story of womanhood, motherhood and disability.

We also talk about The Republic of Parenthood, a book made up of the collected columns Rhiannon wrote for the Guardian, weaving in the personal, the political and cultural as she became a mother herself.

Links

Female, Nude by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

The Republic of Parenthood by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

Year of the Cat by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett

James Hunt's debut memoir Love Needs No Words is the story of a unique fatherhood, caring for his two sons, both of whom are non-speaking and autistic. James talks with me about the decision to write the things he didn't feel he could say out loud to friends and family, and how those words began to reach families all over the world with a shared reality. He talks about needing that connection so much early in his journey, how he came to be able to speak about his own mental health so much more openly and how he hopes this book will reach the many Dads who struggle to be open about their experiences.

Links

Love Needs No Words by James Hunt

SAA Clothing

Stories about Autism on Instagram

Lauren Currie OBE is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker and founder of Upfront, an organisation on a mission to change the confidence of 1 million women. In her new book Be Upfront: 24 Rules of life changing confidence, Lauren picks apart the old rules of confidence that don't serve women and introduces the reader to new rules to live by.

We talk about how Lauren's confidence as a writer has grown, why she thinks self doubt is no bad thing (and some men could use a little more of it) and her different experiences of self publishing and traditional publishing.

We are giving away copies of Be Upfront on Instagram! To be grab one - follow @_laurencurrie_ and @pennywincer and comment on the competition post to enter.

Links

Be Upfront by Lauren Currie

Taylor Meets The Trick by Lauren Currie

Upfront

Lauren Currie's newsletter

Jodi Wilson is a health journalist and author of A Brain That Breathes: Essential habits for an overwhelming world. Jodi talks with me today about how after her third book was published and she was feeling depleted, she became curious about what our brains need to be creative and productive. This book is the result.

In the conversation we talk about the uncertainty, magic and hard work of writing books and how tiny pockets of breathing space can transform our creativity and lives.

It's lovely to be back for series 12!

Links

A Brain That Breathes by Jodi Wilson

Jodi Wilson on Substack - Practicing Simplicity

Jodi Wilson on Instagram

The Fold Membership for writers

Penny Wincer on Instagram