Behind the Bestseller: what makes a book a success? Bestselling author Sam Blake talks to authors, editors, publicists and agents to find out exactly what that magic ingredient is. Join crime author Sam Blake as she chats to bestsellers from every genre to find out what makes a book fly off the shelves. Discussing concepts and ideas, where stories come from and how authors develop them into what you see on the page, Sam also chats to agents, editors and publicists to understand their part in the process. Behind the Bestseller is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network (https://headstuff.org/headstuff-podcast-network) Sam started writing fiction in 1999 when her husband went sailing across the Atlantic for 8 weeks, she was convinced that first (terrible) book would be a bestseller – but it took her a bit longer than she expected to get published and it was her actually the fifth book she wrote that became her debut novel. Little Bones hit the number one slot on release and launched detective Cat Connolly into the world, as well as launching Sam's writing career. Little Bones kick starts the trilogy when Cat Connolly finds a baby’s bones hidden in the hem of a wedding dress, In Deep Water moves her story on and focuses on the disappearance of her best friend Sarah Jane Hansen, leading Cat deep into the Dublin underworld. The third in the trilogy No Turning Back delves into the Dark Web. Featuring locations in Dublin and London, Cat’s world is complicated by her relationship with her Detective Inspector, Dawson O’Rourke. Cat Connolly is a kick boxing champion, and is a fit and feisty protagonist often in trouble herself as often as she's investigating it. The Sunday Independent says of 'Little Bones': ‘Connolly, for whom the word “gutsy” might have been invented, is a terrific character . . . a compelling debut; the author keeps her complex storyline going all the way to its incredible ending’. Along the way to writing 'Little Bones', to improve her writing and to try and find out exactly what those magical ingredients are for success, Sam set up The Inkwell Group, first bringing bestselling authors to intensive one day fiction writing workshops and later developing a publishing consultancy. She is also the founder of Writing.ie, the multi award winning online writing magazine that is now one of the biggest in Europe. With all this experience she is well placed to quiz authors on exactly what made the difference for them, to get into the detail of how brilliant stories are born and how they grow. Described as Strangers on a Train meets Dial M For Murder, Sam’s first psychological thriller Keep Your Eyes on Me arrives on bookshelves in January 2020 - tune in to hear to hear her uncover the secrets of success.
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Behind the Bestseller: what makes a book a success? Bestselling author Sam Blake talks to authors, editors, publicists and agents to find out exactly what that magic ingredient is. Join crime author Sam Blake as she chats to bestsellers from every genre to find out what makes a book fly off the shelves. Discussing concepts and ideas, where stories come from and how authors develop them into what you see on the page, Sam also chats to agents, editors and publicists to understand their part in the process. Behind the Bestseller is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network (https://headstuff.org/headstuff-podcast-network) Sam started writing fiction in 1999 when her husband went sailing across the Atlantic for 8 weeks, she was convinced that first (terrible) book would be a bestseller – but it took her a bit longer than she expected to get published and it was her actually the fifth book she wrote that became her debut novel. Little Bones hit the number one slot on release and launched detective Cat Connolly into the world, as well as launching Sam's writing career. Little Bones kick starts the trilogy when Cat Connolly finds a baby’s bones hidden in the hem of a wedding dress, In Deep Water moves her story on and focuses on the disappearance of her best friend Sarah Jane Hansen, leading Cat deep into the Dublin underworld. The third in the trilogy No Turning Back delves into the Dark Web. Featuring locations in Dublin and London, Cat’s world is complicated by her relationship with her Detective Inspector, Dawson O’Rourke. Cat Connolly is a kick boxing champion, and is a fit and feisty protagonist often in trouble herself as often as she's investigating it. The Sunday Independent says of 'Little Bones': ‘Connolly, for whom the word “gutsy” might have been invented, is a terrific character . . . a compelling debut; the author keeps her complex storyline going all the way to its incredible ending’. Along the way to writing 'Little Bones', to improve her writing and to try and find out exactly what those magical ingredients are for success, Sam set up The Inkwell Group, first bringing bestselling authors to intensive one day fiction writing workshops and later developing a publishing consultancy. She is also the founder of Writing.ie, the multi award winning online writing magazine that is now one of the biggest in Europe. With all this experience she is well placed to quiz authors on exactly what made the difference for them, to get into the detail of how brilliant stories are born and how they grow. Described as Strangers on a Train meets Dial M For Murder, Sam’s first psychological thriller Keep Your Eyes on Me arrives on bookshelves in January 2020 - tune in to hear to hear her uncover the secrets of success.
Non-fiction is a different beast to fiction, and in this episode Sam Blake chats to Darach Ó Séaghdha, the Irish writer, podcaster and Irish language activist. The author of Motherfoclóir: Dispatches from a Not So Dead Language (Head of Zeus, 2017), and Craic Baby (Head of Zeus 2018) Darach won Ireland AM Popular Non-Fiction Book of the Year in the 2017 Irish Book Awards with Motherfoclóir. Revealing how his Twitter account @TheIrishFor grew into a book, driven by his personal journey and relationship with his father, a gifted linguist, Darach reveals the key issues with taking an online presence into print. Sam Blake delves into the writing process and deciding what exactly goes into a book.
Brought up in an Irish speaking household, Ó Séaghdha's father and mother used to speak Irish together but spoke English to their children. When Ó Séaghdha's father became very ill, Ó Séaghdha became interested in learning Irish and used Twitter to share interesting Irish phrases and words he came across.
Ó Séaghdha describes Irish as "the amazing buried treasure". In his writing he wants to show people how they, through Irish, can make sense of the world around them, through words and phrases that do not exist in the English language.
He runs the popular Irish-language-trivia Twitter account The Irish For. He is also the main host of the podcast Motherfoclóir, part of the Headstuff Podcast Network, a fascinating podcast focusing on elements of the language.
The follow-up to Motherfoclóir, published in 2018, Craic Baby: Dispatches from a Rising Language, explores the very new and very old parts of the Irish language from a personal perspective, covering the topics multilingualism, Brehon Law, Gaelscoils and especially lexicon.
Behind the Bestseller is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network
Music by Tim Nerney
Behind the Bestseller
Behind the Bestseller: what makes a book a success? Bestselling author Sam Blake talks to authors, editors, publicists and agents to find out exactly what that magic ingredient is. Join crime author Sam Blake as she chats to bestsellers from every genre to find out what makes a book fly off the shelves. Discussing concepts and ideas, where stories come from and how authors develop them into what you see on the page, Sam also chats to agents, editors and publicists to understand their part in the process. Behind the Bestseller is part of the HeadStuff Podcast Network (https://headstuff.org/headstuff-podcast-network) Sam started writing fiction in 1999 when her husband went sailing across the Atlantic for 8 weeks, she was convinced that first (terrible) book would be a bestseller – but it took her a bit longer than she expected to get published and it was her actually the fifth book she wrote that became her debut novel. Little Bones hit the number one slot on release and launched detective Cat Connolly into the world, as well as launching Sam's writing career. Little Bones kick starts the trilogy when Cat Connolly finds a baby’s bones hidden in the hem of a wedding dress, In Deep Water moves her story on and focuses on the disappearance of her best friend Sarah Jane Hansen, leading Cat deep into the Dublin underworld. The third in the trilogy No Turning Back delves into the Dark Web. Featuring locations in Dublin and London, Cat’s world is complicated by her relationship with her Detective Inspector, Dawson O’Rourke. Cat Connolly is a kick boxing champion, and is a fit and feisty protagonist often in trouble herself as often as she's investigating it. The Sunday Independent says of 'Little Bones': ‘Connolly, for whom the word “gutsy” might have been invented, is a terrific character . . . a compelling debut; the author keeps her complex storyline going all the way to its incredible ending’. Along the way to writing 'Little Bones', to improve her writing and to try and find out exactly what those magical ingredients are for success, Sam set up The Inkwell Group, first bringing bestselling authors to intensive one day fiction writing workshops and later developing a publishing consultancy. She is also the founder of Writing.ie, the multi award winning online writing magazine that is now one of the biggest in Europe. With all this experience she is well placed to quiz authors on exactly what made the difference for them, to get into the detail of how brilliant stories are born and how they grow. Described as Strangers on a Train meets Dial M For Murder, Sam’s first psychological thriller Keep Your Eyes on Me arrives on bookshelves in January 2020 - tune in to hear to hear her uncover the secrets of success.
