It’s three weeks since The Mother Fault came out and Kate is living the rollercoaster – the highs of reprint, the lows of Good Reads. Also lockdown. Still.
Katherine wants to exchange interesting things, they discuss:
- David Mitchell’s chapter in Light the Dark: Writers on Creativity, Inspiration, and the Artistic Process edited by Joe Fassler
- Jack Druce’s newsletter and working with an audience
- The idea of 1000 true fans from Kevin Kelly in Tools of Titans
- A review of Caitlan Moran’s new book More than a Woman and the statement that ‘women marry their glass ceilings’.
Our amazing Agony Aunt, Charlotte Wood, answers a question from ‘Puffy Blurb’ about the etiquette of endorsement requests.
Then Kate speaks with debut author, Sam Coley.
Sam Coley’s two favourite things in the world are taking photos and dancing. Most nights, however, he can be found at his desk with a pen and a legal pad and a bottle of wine. He has called New Zealand, Australia and the UK all home at some point, and probably still would. His debut novel, State Highway One, was the winner of the 2017 Richell Prize for Emerging Writers.
We recorded this interview via zoom just prior to State Highway One hitting shelves.
The conversation covers:
- Winning The Richell Prize
- Having breakfast with Melina Marchetta
- Getting an agent
- Research road trips
- Perfectionism
- The four colour pen colour-coded system
- Feeling adversarial in the editing process
- Googling ‘how to edit a book’
- Reading Invisible Monsters – Chuck Palahniuk
- Signing at home
Sam’s advice:
Your writing muscle also needs rest. Take a break sometimes.
Recommended:
Victoria Hannan’s Kokomo
Find Sam Coley on Twitter and make sure you have a copy of his fabulous debut State Highway One.
The First Time podcast 