Farah Naz Rishi is a busy do-er with fingers in many creative pies. She's worked as a lawyer, a video-game journalist, a voice actor and is a bestselling author. Farah has written memoir, 'Sorry for the Inconvenience', which details her experience as a Pakistan-American Muslim Woman, also has published many Young Adult books, including 'If You're Not The One', and 'It All Comes Back to You'.

Now, Farah has published, 'The Flightless Birds of New Hope'. Here's the blurb...

We follow Aden Shah—who has made a career of running away when things get hard— as he reunites with his estranged siblings in the wake of their parents’ death. Tensions flare. And in a single moment of resentment, Aden sets free their parents’ favorite “child”: their prize-winning Major Mitchell’s cockatoo, Coco Chanel. What follows is a reluctant, chaotic road trip in a beat-up RV as the three Shah siblings chase Coco across the country. Along the way, they crash headlong into the eccentric world of birders, and into the unfamiliar people they’ve become.

We discuss exploring connections, nature and sibling relationships. Also, you can hear how her work as a voice-actor influences her ability to get into character, and why she's ditched word-counts.

You can hear how Farah shuts off her anxiety with wallpaper, how she tricks herself into writing, and about the first idea she had for her story.

Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutine

This week's episode is sponsored by 'Minding Toby', the new novel by M.M. Rodeheaver. Find out more - https://margaretrodeheaver.com/

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Fergus Craig is a stand-up comic and actor who has appeared across shows on the BBC and Disney Plus. In 2009, he was named 'Hackney Empire's New Act of the Year'. Through lockdown, he found internet fame with his videos parodying bad crime writers. He starred in both series of the BBC show 'Hoff the Record', and won a Chortle Comedy Award. He would read 'Detective Roger le Carre' stories, filled with pomp and cliche. They drew in an audience, and spawned a novel-writing career.

He published 'One Upon a Crime' and 'Murder at Crime Manor', bringing Detective Roger le Carre to life. We discuss the challenges of writing parody, where readers come for the funny, and need to stay for the plot.

His new novel is 'I'm Not The Only Murderer In My Retirement Home'.It tells the story of serial killer Carol Quinn, who is out of prison and looking to relax in her retirement home. However, when a dead body is found, she needs to find the culprit before all eyes turn on her.

We discuss why plotting is like playing snooker, also how much he knows before he starts, and why he's enjoying not having to be relentlessly funny in the novel.

You can get a copy of the book at uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutine

This week's episode is sponsored by M.M. Rodeheaver's new novel, 'Minding Toby'. If you know a child who needs an inspiring new story to read, find out more at https://margaretrodeheaver.com/

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Shen Tao has always wanted to be a writer. For as long as she can remember, she's had ideas, developed characters, and written stories. It took her 9 attempts, 9 manuscripts, to finally get it done.

Her debut is 'The Poet Empress'. It's a Chinese historical fantasy, blended with a love story and a murder mystery. It tells the story of a young woman, who enters the Imperial Court as a concubine, and learns poetry-magic to try and kill the heir to the tale. We talk about how she pushed on, through the failed manuscripts, and had an idea she knew would be a winner. A winner it was, eventually being bought in a 6-way auction.

You can hear why she's prepared to chuck words away, why she writes a '0th draft', and how her routine has changed since going full-time.

We chat about the pressure of getting it right, her unique inspiration blending both Chinese and Western myths and stories, and Shen shares her strong font opinions.

Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutine

Read the newsletter - writersroutine.substack.com

Support the show -

patreon.com/writersroutine

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@writerspod

writersroutine.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.