Dan Houser, author of 'A Better Paradise - Volume 1: An Aftermath' - Rockstar Games co-founder discusses writing for 'Grand Theft Auto', different places for different stories, and the weight of expectation

Dan Houser was the lead writer, creative director and co-founder of Rockstar Games. Rockstar are the studio behind the 'Grand Theft Auto' and 'Red Dead Redemption' series. They're responsible for over half a billion video game sales. 'GTA V' and 'Red Dead Redemption 2' are both in the top 5 bestselling video games ever... and Dan wrote them.Since leaving Rockstar, he's set up Absurd Ventures, a studio he says will create new universes in video games, podcasts, animation, and now it's spawned his debut novel. 'A Better Paradise - Volume 1: An Aftermath' is the start of a world of stories across different forms of media.Here's the blurb - Mark Tyburn dreams of building the perfect video game. Kurt Fischer dreams of being a rich and successful executive. Daisy Tyburn dreams of having the ideal father. John Tyburn Smith dreams of fitting in. NigelDave just dreams of becoming human. Set in the near future, A BETTER PARADISE tells the story of the ill-fated development of an ambitious but addictive video game project that goes very wrong. As the software they developed starts to produce unexpected and disturbing results, the project is shut down and abandoned. Until now. We discuss what he's learned from writing his first novel and how that'll influence future stories. Also you can hear how he dealt with the weight of expectation while working on the biggest video games around, how he's trying to build boundaries, and how he knows where a story idea will live. There's also a good amount of chat about GTA's fantastic radio stations.Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineThis episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to https://ulys.app/writeabook to download Ulysses, and use the code ROUTINE at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription.Also, this episode is supported by Faber Academy. Make the most of their fantastic writing courses in 2026 at https://faberacademy.com/writing-a-novel/You can support the show at -patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zoe Apostolides is a journalist and columnist, writing for The Guardian, The Telegraph and the Financial Times. Her new novel is 'The Homecoming', born out of conversations with her Grandmother. When she transcribed these, she thought... could I spin a sinister story out of this?It follows Ellen, a young ghost-writer, who is sent from London all the way to a rural manor house in Northumberland. When she finally arrives at the crumbling Elver Hall, urgently knocking on the door in the midst of a biblical storm, Ellen's never felt more alone. Her phone has no signal and the local taxi-driver refuses to take her further than the bottom of the lane. When Miss Carey suddenly appears on the stairwell in her white dressing gown, it’s enough to make Ellen want to run back to London as fast as she can.We talk about how her career taught her wide and be interested in everything, which is great grounding for novel writing. Also, hear why as a city girl, much of the story came from her fetishing the countryside. You can hear how she delicately plays with the traditional tropes of horror, how to get the atmosphere right, and how she makes someone scared in writing.This episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to https://ulys.app/writeabook to download Ulysses, and use the code ROUTINE at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription.Also, this episode is supported by Faber Academy. Make the most of their fantastic writing courses in 2026 at https://faberacademy.com/writing-a-novel/Support the show - patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutineGet a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.com/shop/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam Skolnick earned his writing chops as a travel and adventure sports journalist for the New York Times, ESPN, the BBC and Lonely Planet. It taught him the vital skills of getting the words out immediately, and writing fast. He was the ghostwriter for David Goggins' memoirs 'Can't Hurt Me' and 'Never Finished'. Also published 'One Breath', about the world of free-diving, which was turned into a Netflix documentary, and 'Forever Swim', about open-water swimming legend Antonio Arguelles. Adam also appears in Rich Roll's fantastic podcast, discussing health and wellbeing. His new novel is 'American Tiger', about Bell Tern who, when on the school bus, sports a tiger roaming around the streets of suburban Los Angeles. It's rooted in the stunning southern Californian landscape and stacked with vivid characters. We discusses his attempts to 'de-sacredise' his space and day, also the different passes he does for each individual character, and what an idea needs to be to get him excited. You can hear about his new cue-card process, how the idea came during a free-diving competition, and how he deals with the fine line between creative burnout and being productive.This episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to https://ulys.app/writeabook to download Ulysses, and use the code ROUTINE at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription.Also, this episode is supported by Faber Academy. Make the most of their fantastic writing courses in 2026 at https://faberacademy.com/writing-a-novel/Support the show - patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutineGet a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.com/shop/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Catherine Mayer is a busy do-er. One of those prolific writers, political party founders, and music producers that fills every moment of the day with something. She's inspirational with it.Catherine was the Europe Editor for Time Magazine, which has taught her to work at all hours of the day on various time-zones. She's written memoirs, journalism, royal biographies. She runs the estate of her late husband, Andy Gill from the band 'Gang of Four', and even finished and executive-produced his posthumous album, 'The Problem of Leisure'. She co-founded the Women's Equality Party and the Primadonna Festival. In 2020, Catherine was named in GQ Magazine's '50 Most Influential People in Britain'.Her new novel is 'Time/ Life', a feminist retelling of H.G. Wells' 'The Time Machine', as a story of love and grief. We cover everything about the writing side of her life, how she juggles the abundance of things that are going on, and how much her view of creativity has changed since her partner passed away.This episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to https://ulys.app/writeabook to download Ulysses, and use the code ROUTINE at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription.Also, this episode is supported by Faber Academy. Make the most of their fantastic writing courses in 2026 at https://faberacademy.com/writing-a-novel/Support the show - patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutineGet a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.com/shop/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucinda Berry is a USA Today bestselling author, who has published 9 incredibly successful novels, which have been optioned for films, and translated into several languages. She worked as a psychologist and leading researcher in childhood trauma - much of that has inspired her thrillers.Readers are huge fans of 'The Perfect Child', also the heart-pounding 'The Best of Friends', and the unsettling truths in 'The Secrets of Us'. Her new release is an audio thriller. 'This is a Safe Space', tells the story of the therapist Jenna who, after discovering a strange text exchange on her husband's phone, comes to wonder if he might be connected to one of her clients... who has disappeared.We discuss the gestation of an audio-only idea, how the approach was different, and whether it changed the planning, plotting and style. You can hear how she deals with the trickier writing days, also her tight working schedule, the hefty word counts, and how she handled the switch to full time.Get a copy of her books at uk.bookshop.com/shop/writersroutineThis episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to https://ulys.app/writeabook to download Ulysses, and use the code ROUTINE at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription.Support the show at -patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Caroline Corcoran is a thriller author who burst to success with her debut, 'Through the Wall' in 2019. She's been a Sunday Times bestseller ever since, translated into many languages across the world, and compared to Adele Parks and Liane Moriarty.Caroline followed it up with 'The Baby Group', 'Five Days Missing', 'What Happened on Floor 34', and this year published, 'Tiny Daggers'. It's all about the expat Holly Jones, who is loving her new life in Miami. That is, until another Holly, from her old life in London, reconnects with her and brings up memories that have been buried for decades.Following a career in journalism where Caroline wrote and edited for The Guardian, The Telegraph, Marie Claire, The Mirror, and many more, she's now a huge name in the world of psychological and crime thrillers.You can get a copy of the show at uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineThis episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to https://ulys.app/writeabook to download Ulysses, and use the code ROUTINE at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription.Also, this week we're supported by the 'Quick Book Reviews' podcast. Search for brilliant bite-sized book chatter, wherever you get your shows.Support the show -patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Patrick Syms started work trying to be a screenwriter, and he got ever so close, before life got in the way. He took a job in advertising, which became a 25 year long career in communications. In 2020, he gave it up to write again. This time, he took it seriously. Being accepted in to the Curtis Brown 'Writing Your Novel' course, he's just finished 'Am I The Asshole?', which is out to query as I type.It's all about entrepreneur Richard Whitecross, who invents what he thinks is a piece of world-changing technology. But when it malfunctions and he becomes the target of a social media pile-on, he must learn to face all the facts of his situation, not just the convenient ones, before he loses his family, his livelihood and his sanity. It was inspired by an interview Patrick saw with a celebrity on TV, and being dumbfounded by the terrible way they were presenting themselves.As the manuscript goes out to agents, Patrick has taken some unique steps of his own... and is releasing a limited batch of books, in order to spread the word and make some noise. He's printed a select set of white label books, inspired by independent record companies. He runs through the process of making that work - what's gone well and what's been trickier than imagined.You can hear what he felt when he was trying too hard to make a point with his prose, also why he's always playing catch up, and the 5 questions that he asks in every scene.You can find out more at patricksyms.com, and find his instagram in the show notes.If you're getting a book for christmas, think about doing it on our Bookshop.org page - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineSupport the show -patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom Cox has had a long and varied writing career. Over the last 25 years he has been The Guardian's youngest ever music critic, a record dealer, a golf and nature memoirist, and a unique creative writer. He's said to have 'one of the most fabulous and anarchic imaginations in literature'.Tom finds finds magic in the everyday, from country ramblings and folklore to melancholic cats and oddball corners of the country. He's published the golf memoir, 'Bring Me The Head of Sergio Garcia', also nature books, '21st Century Yokel', and many books about cats. He's a Sunday Times Bestseller, won a Shirley Jackson Horror Writing Award, and was longlisted for the Wainwright Prize. He also banned himself from writing journalism again.He chose to post all his writings online, and then crowd-funded a book, which did very well, very quickly. It's been a sticky year or so, as 'Unbounded' went out of business, and it's forced Tom to go back to traditional publishing. Tom has just released the novel, 'Everything Will Swallow You', which tells the story of Eric and his confidante Carl. Their friendship is the only constant in an ever-changing world, but there's something about Carl that you'd never believe.We discuss how he tries to keep it fun, why so much of his inspiration comes from walking, and why parts of his career have brought out the worst in social media. You can hear why he's in a genre of one, what caused him to give up journalism, and the rule he keeps in mind when editing.Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineSupport the show -patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutinewritersroutine.com@writerspod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hazel Barkworth is creative consultant, who graduated from Oxford with an English Degree, and when she decided she'd try and write fiction... she went back to school. She enrolled in the Curtis Brown Creative Novel Writing Course, and published her debut, 'Heatstroke', to rave reviews in The Guardian and the Evening Standard.Hazel's newest novel is 'The Drownings'. It tells the story of Serena, who grew up dreaming of being an olympic swimmer. When a brutal training injury wrecks those chances, she heads to University. One dark night, she saves a students life, and the process leads her to learn about a dark, twisted history unseen through the campus. We discuss why Hazel was desperate to write a Campus novel, and how she managed to pull together so many ideas and themes into one book, with one ending.You can hear about the break Hazel took between novels, and what she learned in those 4 years, also about the balance of writing and working freelance, and why her plotting technique is based on vibes.This week's episode is supported by the 'Quick Book Reviews' podcast, and by Fleur MacDonald's brand new novel, 'The Missing'. Support the show - patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutineGet a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A.L. Brody is the author of the novel, 'Dating and Dismemberment'. It's monster rom-com inspired by Star Wars and The Sopranos. A.L. Brody is also Jason Pinter, a multi-award nominated, bestselling writer.Jason has published thrillers, crime novels, YA books and stuff for younger kids. He's been nominated for the Thriller Award, the Barry Away, the RT Reviewers Choice Award, and many more. His path to publication has been a winding one, going traditional, then independent, and now traditional again. We discuss how it's all worked, and what he's learn from the different forms along the way.You can hear about the singular idea for 'Dating and Dismemberment', why it gave him opportunities to be more creative than perhaps is normal, and how he got the tone right for the target audience.We discuss how he's improved his first drafts, how he works without the muse striking, and how he's cracked marketing himself.You can get a copy of the book at uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineThis week's episode is sponsored by the 'Quick Book Reviews Podcast', search wherever you get your shows. Also, by Fleur McDonald's new novel, 'The Missing'. Find out more at fleurmcdonald.comSupport the show at - patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.