Jenna Helwig, author of 'The Foreign Correspondent's Wife' - Cookbook writer discusses turning to mysteries, being focused with research, and the recipe for a perfect thriller

Jenna Helwig is a food editor, a cookbook evangelist, and now novel writer. She's a culinary school graduate, and in 2025 launched, the Cookbookery Collective, a very successful Substack for cookbook lovers. Jenna has published 5 cookbooks herself focusing on everything from feeding a baby, to cooking on a budget.Her debut novel, 'The Foreign Correspondent's Wife' tells the story of reporter Kat Kelly, and her husband, a foreign correspondent. She lives in Paris in 1949, just a few years after the end of the war, at a time when the city is starting to find its joy again. When Kat finds the body of an old American classmate, she must race to solve the case, and save her marriage, before it's too late.We talk about what inspired her switch to novel writing, and how difficult she found diving into the story after so long focusing on food. You can hear about her incredibly focused research, and how she got into the mind of a half-French, half-American journalist living in Paris 70 years ago.Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineSupport the show - patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutineThis week is sponsored by Philippa Hall's 'Quick Book Reviews Podcast', take a listen wherever you've found [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Benjamin Abravenel practiced medicine for 35 years, whilst in snatches of spare time, started work on a novel with a message he was passionate to get heard in the world. When he retired with something like a first draft, he hired a Professor to help him edit into something publishable - she said there was very little chance it would ever be traditionally published. Benjamin went the hybrid-route, and has spent the last few years putting the finishing touches on 'The Past, Again'.It asks the question, what if the horrors of Jewish history could happen again in 21st Century America?'. The story tells the tale of Judah Cohen, who whilst living in sun-drenched California, stumbles upon the truth of the Holocaust, he then spends the rest of his life running from his Jewish identity.We talk about learning from history and having a message you're so passionate about, you'd do anything to get it heard. Also, his unique road to publication, and how hard it was to act on feedback you've paid for.You can hear about the name change that helped him tell his story, where he goes from here, and how he researched by finding real life experience.Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineSupport the show - patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutineThis week is sponsored by the 'Quick Books Reviews' podcast with Phillipa Hall. Take a listen wherever you're listening to [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we're chatting to the million-copy bestseller, Claire McGowan. She's an Amazon bestselling crime and thriller author, with almost 30 novels. Best known for the 'Paula Maguire series', she's also known for non-fiction true crime, and has published women's fiction under the name Eva Woods. Claire was director of the Crime Writers' Association, and launched the UK's first MA program in Crime Writing, and now writes regularly for TV and radio.Her newest novel, 'The Other Couple', tells the story of Beth and Vince, who escape to a luxurious Spanish resort for a break from the brewing tensions in their marriage. They befriend a a glamorous couple who seem perfect, but when a body is found in the water, Beth begins to wonder if everything she knows about her husband is the truth. We discuss why Claire floats across genre, regularly writing out of contract if there's a subject she's interested in. Also, Claire joined us on the show 5 years ago, and is one of our rare returning guests, so we chat about how her life and routine has changed in that time. Plus, what she's learned about the publishing industry, and how that affects what she works on, and how much she thinks about the future.Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineThis week's episode is sponsored by Faber Academy, their flagship 'Writing a Novel' course is back. Find out more - https://faberacademy.com/creative-writing-courses/fiction-writing-courses/Support the show -patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutineGet the newsletter - [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're chatting to one of the UK's best-selling thriller writers. Scott Mariani has published 30 novels in the 'Ben Hope series', a few more in his 'Will Bowman historical thriller adventures', and some chilling books about vampires. He writes in his sprawl of land hidden in the Welsh countryside, almost secluded with his stories. Ben Hope is an ex-SAS soldier turned reluctant hero, who finds himself in thrilling chases across the world, all centred around an historic mystery waiting to be solved. His debut, 'The Alchemist's Secret', was a number 1 bestseller for 6 weeks, although it took quite a strange route to success. Following it up with 29 more Hope novels, Scott finally retired the character... only to be drawn back to his hero a few years later. He has announced a new one, 'The Jericho Road', due to be released in 2027.We discuss why his routine is built around strict discipline, putting the words together much like a builder will make a house with bricks. Also you can hear about how he's learned what a reader wants, whether he's figured out any plotting tricks, and how he researches his globe-trotting adventures without the internet.Get a copy of the debut novel here - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineThis week's episode is sponsored by Faber Academy's 'Writing a Novel' course, which is back. Find out more - https://faberacademy.com/Also, we're supported by Philippa Hall's 'Quick Book Reviews' podcast. Take a listen wherever you've got this show.Read the newsletter - writersroutine.substack.comSupport the show - patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Simon Wroe started work as a chef and still works in a kitchen. Only this time, he writes novels in them. He's worked as a journalist for The Guardian, The Economist, The Times and more, and his debut, 'Chop Chop', was nominated for the Costa First Novel Award. He also penned the screenplay for 'Sweet Dreams', a mixed-media film starring Munya Chawawa and Morgana Robinson.His new novel is 'Ghost Month'. It tells the story of how strange a month September has become. Every year, the spirits of the dead return for 4 weeks only. The novel focuses on 4 characters and their experiences of this time, and how society has learn to live with, and profit from, the haunting month.We talk about how it was inspired by personal, and societal, grief, also how he got into the headspace of multiple characters, and how much pressure he felt to make things chilling.You can hear about his wide-ranging research and influences, the seeds for the idea, and why he wanted to write a novel for London.Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineThis week's episode is sponsored by Faber Academy's 'Writing a Novel' course. Find out more at faberacademy.comSupport the show -patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kevin Wade is a screenwriter and show-runner, behind some of the biggest films and series of recent times. After acting for a bit, he started off penning Off-Broadway plays. Kevin moved on to write on 'Working Girl', 'Meet Joe Black', 'Maid in Manhattan', before getting huge success as the exec producer and showrunner for most of the 'Blue Bloods' series. The show was a police procedural starring Tom Selleck. It ran for years, and meant Kevin and his team needed to write over 20 mysteries a season, that individually wrapped up and all contributed towards the overall was series arc.His debut novel, 'Johnny Careless', was nominated for an Edgar Award, and he's followed that up with 'One Good Eye'. It tells the story of Police Chief Jeep Mullane, who sets off on a lonely and dangerous path to find out who attacked one of his oldest, closest friends.We discuss the marathon of writing 20+ episodes of a show every year, and learning to hit the beats and fit the format of network television. Also you can hear why he ditched the initial idea for the novel, and why a fire isn't really exciting.Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineThis week's episode is sponsored by Faber Academy's 'Writing a Novel' course. Find out more - https://faberacademy.com/creative-writing-courses/fiction-writing-courses/Support the show -patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutineFind the newsletter - [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Matt Hill is a Philip K. Dick nominated author, having published 6 books over the last 13 years. 'Lamb', 'The Breach', 'Zero Bomb', 'Graft' and 'Folded Man', have all be acclaimed for their prose, innovation and invention... he descibes them as 'getting a little weird'. He's also published novels as MT Hill. Matt's new novel is 'Wrecks'. It tells the story of mechanic Jim Sorrel, who is dismissed by his rally team for his part in a life-changing crash. When he is offered a second chance, he discovers his punishment has only just begun.It's inspired by Matt's childhood spent in a motor-racing loving family, and we discuss how he's used that for a speculative, noirish thriller. You can hear how he keeps the pace of a car-focused book going across the novel, why he's very open to learning things, and what he's done with a new dedicated writing space.We chat about the challenge of sticking the landing, his big editing change, and why his method and routine has changed over the last few years.Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineSign up to the newsletter - writersroutine.substack.comSupport the show - patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Vaseem Khan tried to be an author for a long time. He wrote widely, in all genres, even analytically studied the greats to learn from how they did it, but kept gettiing rejected. Finally, after many turned down pitches, he landed a deal for 'The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra'. It tells the story of a retiring police officer, who is given an elephant to adopt. It was selected by the Sunday Times as one of the 40 best crime novels between 2015-20. He still writes widely. Vaseem published the 'Malabar House' novels set in 1950s India, which focus on the country's first female police officer. His most recent novel, 'The Edge of Darkness' is in that series. He also won the CWA Crime Dagger award in 2021 for his book, 'Midnight at Malabar House'. He's given psychological thriller a go with 'The Girl in Cell A', set in the United States which sold very well, and has more recently turned his hand to something like cosy crime, with his novel, 'Quantum of Menace'. It tells the story of Q from the world of James Bond. Recently fired and pottering about at home, he must solve the mystery of a friends murder. You can hear about the process of being approached by the Ian Fleming estate, and the deal-breaker that he insisted on for the character.We talk about why everything needs to be spot on as he goes through the novel, also how he brought life to a caricature, and how he managed to keep going through the rejections. There's also a lot of editing and workplace tips to inspire your own day.You can get a copy of the book at uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineSupport us - patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/writersroutineThis week's episode is sponsored by Philippa Hall's 'Quick Book Reviews' podcast. Take a listen wherever you've got [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ajay Chowdhury was the first winner of the Harvill Secker Bloody Scotland Prize. His 'Kamil Rahman' crime stories are incredibly successful, works on various boards, ran a global deep-tech business, and co-founded Shazam! Also he runs a few groups, and is a theatre director. He's a busy man. He's back with 'Eden Falls', a thriller about Adam and Aisha, who are about to go on their honey. Only, Adam disappears at the airport along with Aisha's passport, simply leaving behind the message, 'I'm sorry'. What follows is a chase across the USA, diving into the shadowy world of weaponised AI.Ajay is very open about how he uses AI when writing - to bounce ideas off, for quick searching - and in a world in which many authors are scared of AI's place in creativity, Ajay thinks that it's here to stay, so he may aswell make the most of it.We discuss how he balances creativity with business, and has the energy to stick with ideas through to the finish. We also talk about changing his writing style, how he gets to know his characters, and the simple letters he remembers to get things done.Get a copy of the book at uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineSupport the show - patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cathy Bramley has published 18 novels, and sold over 2 million of them. Since her debut in 2015, it's taken a while to finalise she is actually an author. Cathy writes light-hearted romantic uplit, often focused on ordinary women doing extraordinary things.Her new novel is 'Somewhere Only We Know', telling the story of Magnolia Jones, who sets off on the gap year trip her daughter so wanted to do... and she finds a bit of herself along the way.We talk about her busy, busy location, and the software that stops her panicking. Also you can hear how she navigated life moving from being a self-published writer, to a more traditionally published author, and all the unexpected work that comes with it.Get a copy at uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutineThis week's episode is supported by Philippa Hall's 'Quick Book Reviews' podcast. Take a listen wherever you've found this.Support the show -patreon.com/writersroutineko-fi.com/[email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.