Episodes
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Sunday Times Best Seller, million copy and twice long-listed for the McIllvanney Scottish Crime Book of the Year and an author whose books have been translated across the globe, Helen Fields consistently produces high impact, compelling novels that readers love.
A former criminal and family law barrister, Helen has the expertise and experience to make the characters and plots scorch with authenticity.
With a background as both a prosecutor and defence counsel, Helen Fields has a depth of knowledge about crime that lends a fierceness to her writing. From Courts Martials to care proceedings, the Coroner Courts to the Crown Court, Fields draws on her professional years for the extraordinary colour and texture that makes her writing jump off the page.
The 'Perfect' series, set in Edinburgh, introduced the world to DI Luc Callanach. This year saw the release of Degrees of Guilt, her first psychological thriller in the name HS Chandler, a book as shockingly realistic as it is darkly entertaining.
Helens' latest character creation is Dr Connie Woolwine, an American forensic psychologist and profiler, based on a real FBI Agent who consulted on the first book. You can find Connie in The Shadow Man, One For Sorrow and The Institution.
And look out for her latest propulsive thriller Profile K.
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57 year-old author Helen Fitzgerald has written more than a dozen best selling novels. She has worked as a criminal justice social worker for over ten years. Helen grew up in Victoria, Australia and now lives in Glasgow with her screenwriter husband and family.
We discuss her own books including Dead Lovely, The Cry and its BAFTA winning screen adaptation plus the inspiration for her latest novel Halfway House.
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Episodes manquant?
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Reece Donnelly is the brilliant, 27 year-old founder of Theatre School of Scotland. He was also a competitor on The Apprentice.
Reading is a big part of the work he does with children and it fuels his professional ambitions. He shares insights into The Apprentice and what he's learned about himself as a result of that experience.
We discuss great stories and the titles he loves which include:
The Secret by Rhonda ByrneUnlimited Power by Anthony RobbinsThe Third Door by Alex BanayanLaura Whitmore's No One Can Change Your Life Except For YouBecoming Mollie MaeLord Sugar's What You See is What You Get
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Sarah Frame is a grandmother and the award winning founder of The Book Nook, a community bookshop in Stewarton, Ayrshire in Scotland.
The Book Nook scooped Scotland's independent bookshop of the year in 2024.
We discuss books and authors she loves including John Boyne's Water, Earth, Fire and Air ( to be released ), Douglas Skelton, John Niven, Caro Ramsay, Denzyl Meyrick, Donna Ashworth, Len Penny, The Force by Paul Hardisty, Valerie Perrin's Fresh Water for Flowers and more.
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Dr Lesley McDowell is a novelist and writer of non-fiction, she was a lecturer in English Literature at St Andrews University, then became a full-time freelance literary critic, writing for publications like The Herald, The Scotsman, The Guardian, The Times Literary Supplement and others.
Her first novel, The Picnic, was published in 2007, and her second –Unfashioned Creatures - about Mary Shelley’s Scottish childhood friend, was published in 2013. We discuss the books she loves and her latest novel, Clairmont.
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Seb McKay is probably Oscar Wilde's biggest fan, he loves reading and words are his life. Seb is a self confessed nerd; he loves Japanese culture, shares the bookshops he loves and how a year of reading dangerously changed the way he reads.
We discuss the books and authors which have great meaning for him:
Blurb Your Enthusiasm by Louise WilderClaire Keegan's So Late in the DayWhite Teeth by Zadie SmithGirl, Woman, Other by Bernardine EvaristoThe Travelling Cat Chronicles Hiro ArikawaOther People's Beds by Anna Punsoda Paradise Rot by Jenny HvalEarthlings by Sayaka MurataConvenience Store Woman by Sayaka MurataPriestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood The Portrait of Dorian Gray Weird Fucks by Lynne Tillman
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Donna Ashworth is a Sunday Times bestselling author, poet and lover of words who found fame with her work in her 40s. She originally self-published her work.
Celebrity fans include Fearne Cotton, Tess Daly, Elizabeth Day, Mark Owen, Davina McCall, Susannah Constantine and many more.
Donna's current book Wild Hope is a #1 bestseller since its release in 2023. We discuss her journey and finding hope and comfort during life's most challenging times.
We discuss Louise Hay, Bryony Gordon and The Goddess Path by Kirsty Gallacher.
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Mike Kernan is an avid reader and has written a few books himself. We discuss his journey to becoming a self-published author of The Fenian and Stopping to Rain, plus the books he loves including the works of John Boyne, and William McIlvanney and we discover who the best editor in his life is.
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Dr Rhona Morrison is a retired, Scottish forensic psychiatrist, artist, and author of her memoir, ‘I don’t talk to dead bodies: the curious encounters of a forensic psychiatrist’.
We discuss big life changes, finding your groove in your 50s. Plus the books snd authors she loves including:
Adam Kay and This is Going to HurtVal McDermid's booksGraeme Armstrong's The Young TeamGuy Grieve's Call of the WildPlease rate, review and subscribe, it all helps.
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Shari Low has written 40 rom com novels and sold millions of books. She started writing in her 30s and has also written a trilogy with Ross King MBE.
We discuss her writing journey, overcoming self doubt, her love of libraries. Plus her favourite authors and books which include:
Jackie CollinsTai Pan by James Clavell Autobiography Of a Geisha by Sayo Masuda The Rise, The Fall and The CatchJilly Cooper, Sydney Sheldon, Judith Krantz Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur GoldenEnjoy!
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Author BC Harris talks about being re-born in your late 40s, her love of Africa, writing two novels and the books which she's loved of late.
The books and authors we discuss include:
The Bad Seed by William MarchThe Fair Botanists by Sara SheridanAmerican Dirt by Jeanine CumminsConspiracy of Cats by BC HarrisMaking Sacrifices by BC HarrisRivers of London by Ben AaronovitchIf you've enjoyed this episode, please rate, review and subscribe and to contact me, please email [email protected]
The Fair Botanist
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Madeline Black is a psychotherapist and is also known as the Courage Cultivator. An activist, author and TEDx speaker, Madeleine has an unusual personal story and has experienced more trauma in her life than most ever will.
In her memoir, Unbroken, Madeleine tells her deeply moving and empowering story, as she discovers that life is about how a person chooses to recover from adversity.
We discuss her love of books and audiobooks, including:
The Power of Now by Eckhart TolleSuper Survivors by Feldman and KravetzBonnie Garmus's novel Lessons in ChemistryRacing in the Rain: My Life as a Dog by Garth SteinThe Seven Sisters by Lucina Riley
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Bestselling author of The Fair Botanists and The Secrets of Blythswood Square, Sara Sheridan talks about the books which have shaped her life, libraries she loves and more.
Truth or Dare, her first novel received a Scottish Library Award and was shortlisted for the Saltire. In 2022, her novel The Fair Botanists was chosen as Waterstones’ Scottish Book of the Year.
Sara is also an activist, interested particularly in female history. She's written more than 20 books and we discuss a wide range of books including:
Agatha Christie's Death on the NileHer latest novel, The Secrets of Blythswood SquareWater Music by TC BoyleThe Collected by Lorna MoonDamon Runyon's short storiesThe Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael ChabonValerie Perrin's Fresh Water for Flowers
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One Love One Life is Billy Sloan's memoir. We discuss Scottish bands, his passion for music memorabilia, anecdotes about The Beatles, Phil Spector, David Bowie, Wet Wet Wet, Prince and his love of Muhammed Ali.
The books and authors we discuss include:
Taschen booksThe Longest Cocktail Party by Richard DiLelloKen McNab's The Beatles in ScotlandShake it up Baby by Ken McNabDavid Bowie, A Life by Dylan JonesTearing Down the Walls of Sound by Mick BrownThe Black Lights: Inside the World of Professional Boxing by Thomas HauserMcIlvanney on Boxing Hugh McIlvanneyIf you enjoy this episode, please rate, review and subscribe, every little helps!
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Psychotherapist and author Angela Trainer is the guest on this episode of The Book Alchemist.
Angela has self-published two books, Love Never Dies and The Beauty of Broken. Both raise money for charities.
She talks about the therapeutic power of writing and reading, soul friends, grief and living with illness.
Angela Trainer is one inspiring woman.
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Anna Campbell Jones is an interior designer who found fame in her 50's as one of the hosts of BBC Scotland's Home of the Year.
We discuss the joy of a charity shop rumble, the work of Norman Wilkinson, organising bookshelves and her new brand.
Plus Anna shares the authors and books which have shaped her life. This includes:
Friendaholic by Elizabeth DayMax Porter's LannyThe Comfort of Things by Daniel Miller
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Colin McCredie is an acclaimed actor, big music lover and recent wearer of spectacles.
We discuss growing up in Perth, landing dream film roles, his work on the iconic TV show Taggart and the books he loves. This includes:
Mayflies by Andrew O'HagenSunset Song by Lewis Grassic GibbonThe Crow Road by Iain BanksForensics by Val McDermidBilly Sloan's One Love One LifeMemoirs by Thomas Dolby, Brett Anderson, Johnny MarrO'Brother by John NivenThe Secret History by Donna TarttA Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
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Gregor Hollerin is the cofounder of Story Shop an award winning PR and marketing agency.
Dad to two young children, he does a lot of bedtime stories. We discuss Alan Partridge, supporting Doddie Aid, his love of memoirs and more.
The books and authors we discuss include:
Nick Hornby's High FidelityStillness and Speed by Dennis BergkampNorm Macdonald's Based on a True StoryDave Chang's Eat a PeachF*ck it I'll Start Tomorrow, A True Story by Action BronsonSurprisingly Down to Earth, and Very Funny by LimmyThe Ride of a Lifetime by Robert IgerDavid C Baker and Seth GodinWin Without Pitching by Blair EnnsA Little Life by Hanya YanagiharaDeep Work by Cal NewportPachinko by Min Jin Lee
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Alan Parks is an award-winning author from Glasgow.
We discuss his favourite library, great coffee shops, life before becoming an author, his connection to John Niven and his forthcoming novel and more.
Parks has been compared to the great Scottish author McIlvanney given the many similarities in their novels. Bloody January was his debut novel, a crime thriller set in Glasgow in the 1970s.
We speak to him whilst he's in the midst of writing his seventh novel (working title) The July Graves, the other book he mentions is Promise Me You’ll Shoot Yourself by Florian Huber.
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Elissa Soave is both an avid reader and an author. Her brilliant debut novel Ginger and Me is a coming-of-age mystery that is also a love-letter to her hometown of Uddingston.
The novel was shortlisted for the Saltire Society's Scottish First Book of the Year Award 2023, and film rights of the book have been sold to Mother Pictures.
We discuss her journey to landing her first agent and publishing deal, books which she loves and the ones which have shaped her life.
The authors and books we mention include:
The Change by Kirsten MillerThe Magic Faraway Tree by Enid BlytonOctavia Bright's memoir This Ragged GraceBriony Gordon's Glorious Rock BottomSusannah Constantine's Ready for Absolutely NothingColin Walsh's KalaComplicit by Winnie LeeYellowface by R.F. Kuang
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