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Welcome back to Chapter 25! In this special bonus episode, we are sitting down with the wonderful Grace Alexander to chat all about her incredible debut novel, The Low Job. Described as a prestige family drama unraveling in real time, the story dives deep into celebrity scandals, sisterhood, and the performance of modern womanhood. Grace shares her fascinating journey of writing this buzzy, high-energy book during her maternity leave, the reality TV and media trials that inspired the Low family, and why she embraces messy, unapologetically ambitious female characters.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Writing in the pockets of time: Grace wrote the entirety of her debut novel whilst on maternity leave from her job in finance, learning to become incredibly efficient by powering through writing sessions whenever her daughter went to sleep.
Reality TV and royal inspirations: The core inspiration for the novel came from Grace's fascination with the dislocation of fame on reality television, as well as observing the intense, binary media scrutiny faced by women in the spotlight like Meghan Markle.
The power of non-linear writing: As a proud "pantser" who does not plot her books, Grace describes her first drafts as a beautiful shit show where she writes herself into massive holes, letting the characters guide the story organically.
Unapologetic female complexity: It was deeply important to Grace that her characters, especially the protagonist Lily and matriarch Lydia, were allowed to be messy, impulsive, and ambitious without being softened or forced into traditional "likability" for the reader.
The bond of sisterhood: Drawing loosely from her own relationship with her two sisters, Grace wanted to show that while sisters can pull each other down to the absolute lowest lows, they are ultimately the safe space and stable unit you return to when everything else collapses.
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Welcome back to the Chapter 25 Book Hub, your favourite cosy literary corner. In this episode, we are sitting down with the wonderful Florence Knapp to chat all about her incredible debut novel, The Names. We dive deep into her personal journey through literary rejection, the fascinating concepts of fate and happenstance that shape our lives, and the profound responsibility of writing complex, sensitive themes with true care for the reader. Grab a warm cuppa and join us for an inspiring, heartfelt conversation that will make you look at your own identity in a completely new light.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Florence shared that her road to publication took over twenty years, revealing that a year of reading commercial fiction and crime novels after a major rejection served as an unwitting education in narrative pacing and tension.
The concept of the novel was inspired by how much identity is tied to our names, which Florence describes as a collection of letters acting like an opening filing cabinet for everything people associate with us.
The specific seven-year time jumps between chapters were chosen because the human body naturally renews its cells in seven-year cycles, symbolizing a literal re-growing of the characters.
When tackling the heavy theme of domestic abuse, Florence intentionally chose to keep the perpetrator barely sketched in, focusing entirely on the emotional perspective, resilience, and levers of control experienced by Kora and her children.
To overcome the fear of the blank page, Florence recommends using scruffy, unintimidating notebooks and practicing Julia Cameron's Morning Pages to keep the pen moving without the weight of expectation.
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Welcome back to the Chapter 25 Book Hub, your favourite cosy corner for all things bookish! In this episode, we are sitting down for an incredibly authentic and deep conversation with the brilliant co-author duo, Katie and Becky, to celebrate the release of their phenomenal fantasy romance novel, Blood Bound. We chat about everything from the intense realities of co-authoring and why their dragons do not actually breathe fire, to the powerful real-world political themes and vital mental health representation woven into their characters. Grab a warm cup of tea and get ready for an exclusive look behind the scenes of a truly magical partnership.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Passion and Friendship as a Foundation: Katie and Becky reveal how their co-authoring journey began over shared late-night conversations and a deep love for the fantasy genre, navigating the massive sacrifice of writing while balanced against full-time jobs and busy family lives.
Collaborative Creative Process: The duo share their distinct writing methods, detailing how they divide character points of view (Katie writing Astrid and Becky writing Skyler) while maintaining a strict feedback loop and joint plotting sessions to ensure a seamless, non-jarring experience for the reader.
Subverting Classic Tropes: The authors intentionally avoided a copy-and-paste fantasy world, introducing elemental and celestial dragons that manipulate shadows and sunlight rather than breathing fire, alongside creating a slow-burn friendship that holds equal weight to the romance.
Empowering Real-World Representation: Katie speaks beautifully and candidly about writing her own experiences into Astrid's journey by providing authentic representation of panic attacks and a misunderstood mood disorder, showing readers that you do not have to be neurotypical to be strong.
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Grab a warm drink, get comfy, and join your bookish best friends for a wonderfully chaotic chat with the brilliant Brynne Weaver, author of the beloved Ruinous Love trilogy and Seasons of Carnage series. In this episode, Brynne takes us behind the scenes of Cape Carnage, explaining how her background in forensic anthropology and biology helps her blend laugh out loud comedy with deeply disturbing horror elements. We dive into her journey as a dedicated pantser who has written every single day for six years straight, exploring her love for intense emotional pain, the surprising things she has had to look up on Google, and why she absolutely loves torturing readers with massive cliffhangers.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Brynne shares her journey as a hardcore pantser who writes entirely by following the vivid movie playing in her head, having successfully written every single day for six years straight after abandoning rigid outlines.
We get a fascinating look into her forensic background, which allowed her to accurately build the body farm setting in Marrow and weave realistic medical details into her darkest scenes.
Brynne opens up about the unique experience of hearing her dark romcom dialogue come to life during a professional table read for the Butcher and Blackbird film adaptation, realising just how intense it sounds out loud.
She provides a hilarious look behind the curtain at her research process, including a frustrating battle with Google search results that forced her to use a tape measure on her own torso just to figure out the depth of a human coffee table.
For aspiring writers, Brynne shares incredible wisdom about turning off the noise of outside opinions to find your own voice, focusing on building strong networks, and prioritising the legacy and joy you want to give to readers.
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Grab a warm drink, get comfy, and join your bookish best friends for a wonderfully cosy chat with the brilliant Amna Qureshi, author of the beloved Baby Dragon series. In this episode, Amna takes us behind the scenes of Starshine Valley, explaining how she flipped traditional, scary dragon lore on its head to create adorable, chaotic little sidekicks inspired by real life toddlers. We dive into her journey from a young girl writing with glitter pens to becoming a published author of ten books, exploring her love for intense romantic tension, her transition into darker fantasy, and her essential advice on why authors should never read their own book reviews.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The inspiration for her mischievous baby dragons came from a mix of classic Disney animal sidekicks and the pure chaos of watching her young nephew throw himself off his mother's lap.
Amna shares a vital piece of advice for aspiring writers, urging them to focus on their own paper and write authentic stories that make them proud, rather than shifting their work to chase market trends.
To protect her mental health, Amna strictly avoids reading reviews of her own work, noting that human nature causes us to remember one negative comment over ten beautiful compliments.
We get an exciting sneak peek into her upcoming release, Rider of Dragons, which features illegal dragon races and explores a darker, faster paced, and sexier side of the Starshine Valley universe.
When facing writer's block, Amna fills her creative well by revisiting her absolute favourite comfort stories, including period dramas like BBC's North and South or the brilliant novels of Melina Marchetta.
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