The Hobcast Book Show

Episode 90: Tips from Hobeck’s own king of TV drama - with Rob Gittins

Eastenders, Emmerdale, Eldorado, Pobol Y Cwm, The Bill, Vera and Casualty. If you check out our guest Rob Gittins' credit list on IMDB you will be dazzled by the scale and variety of it. A winner of multiple awards for his work both on TV and radio, Rob is also the author of seven novels. His latest, I'm Not There is published by us at Hobeck Books this week. It's a brilliant novel that deals with the impact of childhood trauma and loss, and how that can impact lives many years later. As Rob tells us, through his career in serial television he's understood the importance of laying the foundations for stories that pay off sometimes years later. This is an interview you will not want to miss, as Rob reveals some of the secrets behind some of the biggest shows in UK television, and the thinking that goes into the storylines. Also this week, we discuss a major concession from Amazon towards the independent publishing community, and we lament the passing of a true great, Hillary Mantel. Rob Gittins https://www.amazon.co.uk/Im-Not-There-Rob-Gittins-ebook/dp/B0BD2J8ZYQ

Episode 89: Acting and the author - with Catherine Yardley

The events of the past week overshadow this episode of The Hobcast Book Show. We conducted our interview with our guest, Catherine Yardley, the day before the passing of Her Majesty the Queen on Thursday 8th September, but recorded the rest of the podcast on Saturday 10th, not long after our new king, Charles III, was officially proclaimed our new monarch. For this reason, the show has a different feel to previous episodes. There's no intro or outro music, or publishing news. Instead, we reflect on the events of the past few days and our own brief encounters with Her Majesty and the wider Royal family. As mentioned earlier, we speak to Catherine Yardley who recently published her first novel, Embers. She's currently writing a crime/thriller, and draws extensively on her experience as an actor and director to breathe life into her characters. Her advice to all authors is - book yourself on an acting course!  https://www.amazon.co.uk/Catherine-Yardley/e/B09VMY2HBB https://t.co/9XJM2iJ32N  

Episode 88: Bringing new voices to print - with Amy Le

Our guest this week on The Hobcast Book Show has an amazing story to tell. Several, in fact. Amy Le escaped from Vietnam as the war ended with the collapse of the South. She was just a few months old. Taken in by the United States, they fought hard to establish a new life, with Amy's mother pushing her daughter hard to achieve a better life through education and hard work. When her mother passed away a few years ago, Amy embarked on an emotional journey to research and tell her mother's remarkable story of love, strength and perseverance in a trilogy of books. Amy has turned that new passion for writing into a business: Quill Hawk Publishing - and over the next few years she aims to assist dozens of writers from diverse backgrounds to find their voice and an audience for their work. It's a great interview. Also this week, we ask is it really true that half the books released in the U.S sell only 12 copies? And we reflect on a fascinating BBC report revealing the hidden practices used by big publishers to influence the sales charts. https://www.amy-m-le.com Quill Hawk Publishing | Facebook

Episode 87: Bikes, boats and brilliant fiction - with Zoe Sharp

How's this for an introduction: "If I were a woman, I'd be Zoe Sharp. If Jack Reacher were a woman, he'd be Zoe Sharp's main character, Charlie Fox." No small compliment for our guest this week, paid to her by Lee Child himself. In our fascinating interview with Zoe Sharp, we learn about her unconventional start in life, her rise through journalism into full-time writer, and the development of her three main crime and thriller fiction series. We also discover that there's no better way to master fight scenes than learning the martial arts techniques for yourself. This is a high-octane interview with one of Britain's most accomplished authors.  And if that's not enough, we meet Eliza Chambers, a young actress and stage performer who has been working with us to bring Jennie Ensor's Silenced to audio. What's it like to work with the 'Ho' of Hobeck in the studio? Not as frightening as you may think... zoesharp.com Eliza Chambers - The Urdang Academy - London Area, United Kingdom | LinkedIn https://www.amazon.co.uk/Silenced-gripping-urban-psychological-thriller-ebook/dp/B09KJPQY4P

Episode 86: Murder in an English country garden - with Rae Sargeant

We have a busy week ahead of us at Hobeck Books with the launch of two new titles. Alongside the release of A J Aberford's second George Zammit thriller, Bullets in the Sand, we're delighted to be publishing Her Deadly Friend by bestselling author Rae Sargeant. Rachel has been hugely successful with her psychological thrillers for Harper Collins, but her first novel for Hobeck is a departure - a mix of suspense and police procedural set in the fictional city of Gleveham, based loosely on Rachel's home city of Gloucester. Rachel joined us in one of the key settings for the book, the beautiful Painswick Rococo Gardens near Stroud to discuss her new series. Also this week, is the publication industry exploiting young recruits? And will the fall in Amazon Prime subscribers impact on publishing?

Episode 85: Historical crime fiction - it’s all in the details - with Mark Ellis

The sales figures bear this out: historical crime fiction is on the rise. This week we speak to one of the modern masters of the art, Mark Ellis, author of the superb Frank Merlin series set in World War Two. Originally from Swansea, Mark studied at Cambridge, became a barrister, then moved into banking before becoming a computing entrepreneur. The sale of his company has allowed him to follow his passion for writing, with his first Frank Merlin novel Princes Gate published in 2011. His latest Merlin novel, Dead in the Water was released in May this year. As Mark explains to The Hobcast Book Show, he takes several months to research each novel to ensure that his books reflect accurately actual wartime events; one mistake can easily destroy a reader's trust in the author's credibility. Also this week, Adrian and Rebecca react to the shocking attack on Sir Salman Rushdie, and also examine some surprising data about the state of British publishing as a whole.

Episode 84: Writing Noir with a welsh twist - with Malcolm Pryce

The Hobcast Book Show team have been on their travels over the past week, first to Wales and then to Devon for a family holiday. Inspired by their experiences, they were determined to feature an author connected with one of those areas, so this week's guest is the brilliant Malcolm Pryce, author Louie Knight Mystery series of novels set in the coastal town of Aberystwyth in Mid-Wales. As Malcolm explains to Adrian and Rebecca, his childhood experiences of growing up in the town provided ample inspiration for his satirical take on American hard-boiled detective fiction. We also discuss how a career as an advertising copywriter has influenced his work, and how he's using his experience to create a new writing course for authors. Also this week we discuss the legal case which is dominating publishing in the United States, and we reflect on comments by Anthony Horowitz in a recent interview about the issues facing authors tackling sensitive subjects.

Episode 83: Celebrating the craft - with April Doyle

'It's more than speculation, it's a prediction.' That, famously, was the tagline for The Swarm - the 1978 disaster movie starring Michael Caine that depicted the impact that a swarm of 'African Killer Bees' would have on the United States. It's a sad reflection that the opposite is now true, and bees and other pollinators are under threat. That's the starting point for Hive - the award-nominated novel by our guest this week, April Doyle. In a fascinating interview, we discuss how she was drawn to the subject, and we also explore her work as a creative writing teacher in her home county of Kent.  Also this week, Adrian and Rebecca discuss the impact of issues created by a new computer system at the UK's leading bookshop chain, and look forward to a busy month ahead for Hobeck Books with three books being released in August.

Episode 82: Harrogate Crime Festival ’22 Special - with Mick Herron, Will Dean and Denise Mina

It's the big one! This week The Hobcast Book Show comes from the world's biggest crime writing festival, the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Festival set in the grounds of the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate. Back to full capacity for 2022, the event was a huge success, attracting some of the biggest names in global crime fiction. As you'll hear in this special show, Adrian and Rebecca caught up with some star guests, including this year's winner of the Crime Novel of the Year award, Mick Herron. We also speak to Will Dean, who draws inspiration for his Tuva Moodyson novels from his own life deep in the Swedish forests. And we also catch up with Dame Denise Mina who was the festival's programme director this year, and ask her where she feels Harrogate needs to go next to maintain it's position as the world's most prestigious crime fiction festival. So settle back and enjoy the energy, the sounds, and the gossip from Harrogate 2022.

Episode 81: Harrogate preview special - with Vaseem Khan

It's that time of year again. The Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Festival begins this week in Harrogate, bringing together the great and good from the UK and international crime writing scene. It's like Glyndebourne for the morbid, or Henley for those whose rivers run with blood. One of the highlights of the four day event is the announcement of the Theakstons award for Crime Novel of the Year. In this special edition of The Hobcast Book Show, we speak to one of the six authors nominated for this hugely sought after prize, Vaseem Khan. Vaseem has established himself as one of the most popular and talented crime authors of his generation, with first his Baby Ganesh series set in present day India, and now the Malabar House series of novels set in 1950s India. In this fascinating interview, we learn about Vaseem's long road to publication, his views on improving and widening diversity within publishing, and his passion for cricket.