Episodes

  • Writing Podcast Episode 714: Tina Strachan and the latest book in her Wilder Zoo middle-grade series
    Apr 27 2026

    Some kids dream of being a zookeeper when they grow up. Others dream of becoming a writer. Well, author and animal conservationist Tina Strachan ended up doing both! In this episode, she shares her passion for wildlife and how she ended up scoring a book deal for her Wilder Zoo series – with book 3, Neeka and the Great Search out now. She also shares her writing routine and experience working with a professional illustrator.

    00:00 Welcome
    06:45 Writing tip: Carry a tiny book around
    11:26 WIN!: The Angry Wives Club by Gabbie Stroud
    12:57 Word of the week: ‘Spicate’
    13:22 Writer in residence: Tina Strachan
    15:09 Wilder Zoo series overview
    17:20 Tina’s favourite koala fun fact
    18:19 Wildlife career origins
    21:54 The role of zoos and conservation
    25:05 Turning point to getting into writing
    27:02 Building a daily habit
    27:37 Entering a CYA competition
    31:22 Connecting with a publisher
    33:03 From samples to a series
    35:12 Courses and gaining confidence
    36:55 Building her author website
    38:25 Writing routine and its evolution
    42:07 School visits and writing festivals
    42:57 Illustrator collaboration
    44:52 Next books
    47:08 Tina shares some writing advice
    49:11 Final thoughts

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    52 mins
  • Writing Podcast Episode 713: George Kemp dishes up his debut novel, 'Soft Serve'
    Apr 20 2026

    Would you like fries with that? Playwright and author George Kemp’s debut novel, Soft Serve, follows a particular day at a regional McDonalds restaurant and the various characters who work there. In this episode, George shares his influences and some of the curious choices he made in writing the book, as well as his writing routine and differences between novel and script writing.

    00:00 Welcome
    10:51 Writing tip: Focus on positive feedback
    15:00 WIN!: Click by Sarah Bailey
    17:29 Word of the week: ‘Mensal’
    18:06 Writer in residence: George Kemp
    18:44 What his book Soft Serve is all about
    19:47 Origins and influences
    21:54 Novel versus script
    23:27 The differences between the two
    27:21 Defining the age range
    30:48 Small town limitations
    34:41 Unconventional dialogue and POV choices
    37:01 Acting skills in writing
    39:43 George’s writing routine
    42:54 The publication process
    45:54 Editing collaboration
    48:25 A writing tip
    50:13 Next projects
    51:03 Final thoughts

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    50 mins
  • Writing Podcast Episode 712: Penny Tangey asks the cosy-crime question, 'What Rhymes with Murder?'
    Apr 13 2026

    Two questions: Where do new mothers meet new people? And ‘What Rhymes with Murder?’ – the latter being the title of author Penny Tangey’s cosy crime novel, inspired by her own experiences as a new mother at her local library’s story time! In this episode, Penny shares insights on making the switch from YA to adult stories, her writing routine and whether you need to know who did it before writing the end of the book!

    00:00 Welcome
    04:26 Writing tip: Listen to your characters
    08:00 WIN!: The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke
    10:37 Word of the week: ‘Weltschmerz’
    11:30 Writer in residence: Penny Tangey
    12:07 Penny describes the book What Rhymes with Murder?
    12:52 Real-life inspirations for the book
    14:39 The quirky title
    15:32 The decision to write her first adult book
    17:36 The writing process and plotting
    18:38 Librarian life in the novel
    20:31 Building a cosy cast
    21:07 The timeline of writing the book
    21:50 Penny’s writing routine
    22:30 The biggest challenge
    23:41 Having for researching the book
    24:16 Finding an agent and new publisher
    27:58 Editing and sprinkling clues
    29:39 The overall themes of the book
    31:29 Next projects ahead
    32:02 Genre switching advice
    33:33 Cosy crime specific advice
    34:28 Librarian book pick
    35:58 Final thoughts

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    39 mins
  • Writing Podcast Episode 711: Emma Styles dives into her new crime thriller, 'The Shark'
    Apr 6 2026

    Australian noir has become a huge sub-genre in the world of fiction and UK-based author Emma Styles brings it to the beaches of Western Australia in her latest novel, The Shark. In this episode, Emma shares her inspiration for writing the book, the pressure of completing her latest adult novel and the process of putting the dual (sometimes unreliable, sometimes unlikeable) narratives together. She also explores the publishing journey and shares a top tip for writers.

    00:00 Welcome
    05:33 Writing tip: Don’t put off your writing dream
    08:28 WIN!: The Writers Retreat by Victoria Brownlee
    11:15 Word of the week: ‘Shallop’
    13:04 Writer in residence: Emma Styles
    14:42 Inspiration for the book
    18:00 Crafting characters
    21:21 Writing unlikable women
    24:30 Complex crime characters
    25:19 Why two young women?
    28:02 Alternating POV method
    29:22 Planning vs pantsing
    32:22 Adult crime not YA
    34:18 Landing The Shark book deal
    36:11 The supportive publishing world
    37:39 Writing about Australia from UK
    40:38 The setting for her next book
    43:10 Trusting your instincts
    44:16 Final thoughts

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    47 mins
  • Writing Podcast Episode 710: Candice Fox and the cold case that inspired 'Redbelly Crossing'
    Mar 30 2026

    With 20 books now to her name and a slew of accolades and bestseller titles under her belt, crime author Candice Fox has gone with something a little different for her latest novel, Redbelly Crossing. Inspired by a real-life family reminiscence, she has reimagined elements of two actual Sydney cold-case murders – and in this episode, Candice discusses how she balanced the sensitivity of a real case (including speaking with the victim’s husbands) with her creative storytelling instincts and a genuine desire to solve the case.

    00:00 Welcome
    06:56 Writing tip: Set an Intention
    09:51 WIN!: Astral Library by Kate Quinn
    11:49 Word of the week: ‘Ylem’
    13:52 Writer in residence: Candice Fox
    14:41 Crossing the line into a true-crime inspired novel
    16:25 Candice’s mum’s encounter with a possible killer
    20:30 Rabbit Holes and why she didn’t make a true-crime podcast
    26:07 Similarities in the cold cases: one killer or two?
    26:44 Writing real tragedy into fiction: meeting the husbands & making hard edits
    28:50 Pitching the project to her agent
    32:23 The novel’s elevator pitch
    34:22 Ending a fictional case when the real one is unsolved
    37:02 What readers should take away
    39:55 Career reflections – 20 books in 12 years
    42:19 Candice’s writing routine and finding ideas
    45:25 Top tips for crime writers
    47:39 Final thoughts

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    51 mins
  • Writing Podcast Episode 709: Derek Pedley shares his true crime story 'The Postcard Bandit'
    Mar 23 2026

    Derek Pedley was a young newspaper journalist in the 1990s when bank robber Brenden Abbott became well known throughout Australia as escaped prisoner ‘The Postcard Bandit’. One capture, break out and recapture later, Derek gained exclusive access to Abbott and wrote an account of his story. Now, 20 years later – with Abbott still in prison – a Warner Brothers documentary and six-part drama series have put the story back into the spotlight, and Derek has released an updated version of his book, The Postcard Bandit. In this episode, Derek shares the timeline and why it made sense to update the story now.

    00:00 Welcome
    06:03 Writing tip: Breaking down a novel into sessions
    08:28 WIN!: Iluka by Cassie Stroud
    10:08 Word of the week: ‘Stochastic’
    12:54 Writer in residence: Derek Pedley
    15:27 The story of Brenden Abbott – the ‘postcard bandit’
    18:30 Brenden’s bank robbing style
    19:51 How Derek became involved in Brenden’s story
    23:00 Frustrations writing the first account
    24:10 Gaining access to Abbott
    26:16 Frustrations publishing the second account
    28:59 20 years later – returning to the project
    30:30 A new angle to the story
    32:10 Turning it into a TV series and documentary
    36:45 Updates with the new book
    40:55 Finally meeting Brenden
    42:10 Why change the book’s name?
    43:23 Derek’s tip for writing crime stories
    46:30 Future book projects
    47:43 Final thoughts

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    53 mins
  • Writing Podcast Episode 708: Former ambassador Ian Kemish and his novel, 'Two Islands'
    Mar 16 2026

    The 1990s are often looked back at fondly as a largely peaceful time. But for former Australian ambassador to Germany Ian Kemish, the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland featured largely in his job at the time. Now retired, he has chosen to set his debut thriller novel, Two Islands, during this timeframe. In this episode he shares his inspiration for the book, the real life characters and how to capture the nuances of the story and the decade. What do you do after you retire from a celebrated 25-year diplomatic career? Play golf? Take up birdwatching? No, you write your first novel.

    00:00 Welcome
    07:26 Writing tip: Ask “why?” to being blocked
    10:31 WIN!: Aubrey Wants to Die by Pip Knight
    12:15 Word of the week: ‘Absquatulate’
    16:16 Writer in residence: Ian Kemish
    17:14 Ian describes what Two Islands is about
    19:34 What are the two islands in question?
    22:04 Remembering Yugoslavia and Northern Ireland
    23:30 Inspiration for the novel
    25:53 Why the Balkans?
    27:35 The inspiration for the Australian character, Anita
    30:01 Writing about the 1990s: distance before the internet
    31:22 How the story took shape
    34:07 Researching the book
    38:15 From bad poetry to diplomacy: finding his writing voice
    40:52 The challenges of writing fiction for the first time
    45:28 Landing the publishing deal
    47:54 What’s next?
    49:09 Ian’s tip for writers
    50:32 Final thoughts

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    52 mins
  • Writing Podcast Episode 707: Sheryle Bagwell on writing 'Letter from Provence'
    Mar 9 2026

    How would you like to spend summers in Australia and then travel to a small village in France to bask in the northern summer during the other half of the year? Well, that’s the current reality of journalist and author Sheryle Bagwell – and in her new memoir, Letter from Provence, she not only documents her French experiences, but also connects to her late mother and the writings of 17th century French writer Madame de Sévigné. In this episode, Sheryle talks about writing the book, resisting her journalistic instincts and her experience publishing it.

    00:00 Welcome
    03:21 Writing tip: Don’t limit your writing identity
    07:01 WIN!: Whispering Rooms by Genki Kawamura & Marie Kondo
    08:45 Word of the week: ‘Manel’
    10:12 Writer in residence: Sheryle Bagwell
    11:04 Sheryle explains her memoir, Letter from Provence
    12:30 A homage to her own mother and Madame de Sévigné
    15:59 Telling a new story about France and her mother
    18:14 Journalism vs memoir writing
    20:00 Telling a personal version of events
    22:27 The timeline of writing this book
    25:16 Editing and shaping the initial draft
    26:14 The publishing experience
    28:36 The process of writing the book
    34:44 The story of three women across time
    36:45 Living between two worlds
    37:28 The double life is possible
    40:40 Future plans for writing
    41:32 Final thoughts

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    45 mins