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“This drug feels incredibly likely. There are all sorts of mad men doing trials on themselves.  And they have not put any thought into the societal implications of it” ~Hanna Thomas Uose AI is enabling rapid advancements in technology and drug discovery - unlike anything we’ve seen before. And with humankind’s obsession with longevity only deepening, some believe it’s only a matter of time before we have access to “live forever” drugs.  But would eternal human life really be a good thing? This is the central premise of Hanna Thomas Uose’s debut novel, Who Wants to Live Forever. Throughout the book she explores the lives of soulmates Yuki and Sam, who both choose different paths when a miracle drug is released. In an imagined world which could very well become reality, Hanna takes us on a journey through the morality of eternal life and questions of what it means to die. In this episode, you will learn: How writing can help you grapple with problems you can’t seem to solve To consider world-building first, before thinking about creating your characters Why it pays to think outside of a Western perspective of the world Find out more about Hanna here. Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood. Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here. Follow inkjockey on Substack here. You can buy copies of our anthology series here.  You can view the full transcript here. Connect with the show: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BehindTheSpine Twitter: https://twitter.com/BehindTheSpine Website: www.behindthespine.co.uk

“He went down for a drink, did not come back. Nobody was found, but no one even started looking for him” ~Stephen May The story of the UK Labour politician Victor Grayson is a mysterious and thrilling one. Full of holes and unknowns that have never been solved. He went missing in the 1920s following a major political scandal - so what happened? In ‘Green Ink’, the author Stephen May imagines what might have happened to Grayson, taking this gap in our historical knowledge, to craft a compelling story that skirts between historical fact and fiction. Though it’s a story about a politician of the past, Green Ink raises prescient questions about the modern world, the behaviour of today’s politicians, and what people will do for just a hint of power and prestige.  In this episode, you will learn: How there’s no richer starting point for a work of fiction than reality Why it pays to be a bit pedantic when writing in the history genre Why writers that don’t write will always be miserable Find out more about Stephen here. Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood. Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here. Follow inkjockey on Substack here. You can buy copies of our anthology series here.  You can view the full transcript here. Connect with the show: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BehindTheSpine Twitter: https://twitter.com/BehindTheSpine Website: www.behindthespine.co.uk

“ I’ve received death threats from people just for posting about women’s football, which is wild” ~Beatrice Rogers Public support for women’s football has skyrocketed in recent years - and yet many of the female athletes still struggle to gain the recognition of their male counterparts. So just how much of the success of the pro game has trickled down to the lower tiers and grassroots leagues? Beatrice Rogers started playing football at the age of 6. She’s now a semi-pro footballer and Under Armour athlete, playing for AFC Sudbury. She’s also a content creator, sharing her experiences on social media, in the hopes of inspiring and empowering others to join the women’s game. From being kicked off of school teams to receiving death threats online, Beatrice has faced many challenges in her journey. That’s why she’s determined to raise awareness, so young girls don’t go through the same confusion and frustration she has experienced. In this episode, you will learn: That the dominant narrative of the day doesn’t always paint the full picture How to deal with haters and negativity Why representation is the #1 goal when reaching for equality Find out more about Beatrice here. Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood. Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here. Follow inkjockey on Substack here. You can buy copies of our anthology series here.  You can view the full transcript here. Connect with the show: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BehindTheSpine Twitter: https://twitter.com/BehindTheSpine Website: www.behindthespine.co.uk

“ Fiction writing is trying to unearth the mystery of who we are.  And it boils down to a question of who and what you care about most” ~Alice Austen An apartment block in Belgium, full of close neighbours, suddenly torn apart by the news of war. This is the story of 33 Place Brugmann - whose residents’ lives are upended by fear, uncertainty and occupation. Today we’re revisiting the Second World War once again, to share yet another untold tale of the past. 33 Place Brugmann is the debut novel from the award-winning screenwriter, producer, and playwright, Alice Austen. Taking a break from her usual areas of expertise, Alice’s captivating foray into the world of fiction has already been hugely successful - with the book fast becoming an international bestseller. Alice explores the inspiration for the book - the stories she was told by neighbours who she lived with at the real 33 Place Brugmann. She discusses her shift from writing plays to writing a novel - and how she navigated it. And she muses on the strange reality of how prescient this novel feels in today’s world. In this episode, you will learn: How to harness your own moral battles to bring your narrative to life Why it pays to be brave when deciding the narrative structure of your novel Why a personal group of trusted readers is a treasure to have Find out more about Alice here. Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood. Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here. Follow inkjockey on Substack here. You can buy copies of our anthology series here.  You can view the full transcript here. Connect with the show: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BehindTheSpine Twitter: https://twitter.com/BehindTheSpine Website: www.behindthespine.co.uk

“One day I heard the news that the head of the Deportees Association had died. I knew I needed to tell the story before the stories disappeared for good.” ~Ollie Guillou In 1942, on Hitler’s orders, more than a thousand islanders from Guernsey were deported to Germany, and sent to the internment camp known as Biberach. Theirs is a little-known story of fortitude and resilience - and the subject of a new award-winning podcast series. Ollie Guillou is the creator of The Guernsey Deportees podcast, a 6 part series sharing the story of his Grandma, Jill Chubb, who was just 3 years old when she was sent to Biberach. It’s the most detailed look at her story yet, and features the voices of three other deportees and two historians. Ollie has made many, many podcasts - and is in fact the editor for Behind The Spine. But this is the first time he’s got so personal, bearing the weight of responsibility of sharing an important family story. In this episode, you will learn: Why it’s crucial you ask your grandparents about their lives and stories The fulfilment that comes from telling a story that carries a personal weight Why you shouldn’t sit on an idea for too long - act now! Find out more about Ollie here. Here the Guernsey Deportees podcast here. Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood. Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here. Follow inkjockey on Substack here. You can buy copies of our anthology series here.  You can view the full transcript here. Connect with the show: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BehindTheSpine Twitter: https://twitter.com/BehindTheSpine Website: www.behindthespine.co.uk

“The German guy tells this joke in the factory. It's reported by the foreman. This guy's then hauled away and executed. That's kind of the kind of regime you are living under with the Nazis.” ~Simon Scarrow What was it like to live in Berlin in 1940? We very often picture the war years from the perspective of the Allies, but for the Germans living under the oppressive rule of the Nazis, life very quickly turned hostile. Simon Scarrow is a historian and author of A Death in Berlin, the third installment in his World War 2 series following the life and work of German Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke. As gangs run amuck through Berlin and Nazi manipulation has people second guessing themselves, Schenke fights to keep criminals off his patch and protect his own dirty secrets. This isn’t Simon’s first historical series - he’s also well known for his Roman era series “Eagles of the Empire”, which follows the military careers of Cato and Macro. But here he’s tracing a part of history that is much closer to living memory. In this episode, you will learn: How to best get into the mind of your characters when telling a historical story The power of words and narratives - and how they can reshape culture and politics Why you should write from the heart and choose a story that touches you Find out more about Simon here. Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood. Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here. Follow inkjockey on Substack here. You can buy copies of our anthology series here.  You can view the full transcript here. Connect with the show: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BehindTheSpine Twitter: https://twitter.com/BehindTheSpine Website: www.behindthespine.co.uk

“ I put that memoir out  and my mum in particular was really upset and she came to me and was like, that's not how I remember that happening.” ~Kate Fagan Writing a memoir is a tricky business - you may think writing about your own life is a straightforward process of telling fact after fact. The trouble is, very rarely do the people in your life recall events the same way you do. There are discrepancies in memory and emotion that are often impossible to unravel. That’s the challenge Kate Fagan ran into when she released her memoir, The Reappearing Act. And it’s a real-life conversation with her parents that served as the inspiration for her first foray into fiction writing. Kate has been a non-fiction writer for a long time, so this is a big pivot for her. The Three Lives of Cate Kay is the fictional memoir of a mysterious author, who’s lived under three different names in her life. There are several layers to the narrative, as the memoir is interwoven with chapters narrated by people who knew her in her different “lives”. During this conversation, Kate explains why she chose this complex - and highly effective - narrative strategy. In this episode, you will learn: How to play to your strengths when making a big pivot in your writing career How to get comfortable ditching old projects and starting from scratch Why liminal space is so important - and how audiences love working stuff out for themselves! Find out more about Kate here. Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood. Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here. Follow inkjockey on Substack here. You can buy copies of our anthology series here.  You can view the full transcript here. Connect with the show: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BehindTheSpine Twitter: https://twitter.com/BehindTheSpine

“ If you write about real situations, real names and real people, there's always somebody else's blood on the floor at the end of it.  Well this is me and my family's blood on the floor in this book.” ~Eoin McNamee Taking place in the shadow of The Troubles, The Bureau is a story of corruption, death, love and violence. Based on the real events of a murder-suicide between two lovers - the book also takes inspiration from its authors own life. Eoin McNamee has been tackling The Troubles in various ways since the release of his 1994 book Resurrection Man. Many years and many books later, he’s still exploring its aftershocks. His back catalogue typically explores Ireland’s violent history - from murders, to hangings to miscarriages of justice. And this is no different. During this conversation, Eoin explains why he’s still telling grisly stories about the past - and what draws him to them. And he explores his family connection to this story - and the horror of what really happened to his father and brother. In this episode, you will learn: Why you shouldn’t fear retelling stories more than once. Why you should focus on your characters above all else when writing about the past. How we all have an exceptional story to tell Find out more about Eoin here. Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood. Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here. Follow inkjockey on Substack here. You can buy copies of our anthology series here.  You can view the full transcript here. Connect with the show: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BehindTheSpine Twitter: https://twitter.com/BehindTheSpine Website: www.behindthespine.co.uk

“All my publishers, my agents, my film agents, they have all rejected me multiple times in the past - and now I work with them!” ~Alex Aster Summer in the City is the new romance novel from internationally acclaimed author Alex Aster - known for her Lightlark series and massive social media following. Alex began writing at the age of 12, when she penned a 400-page novel and tenaciously approached every publisher imaginable. After a decade of rejections, she took matters into her own hands and amassed a 2M+ following across TikTok and Instagram. She then shot to fame with her 4-part fantasy series Lightlark. Now, with her romance book Summer in the City, she’s making a huge pivot in genre. During this conversation, Alex explains why she’s made the swap from fantasy to romance, how she was able to find success after so many years of trying, and how she used social media to kick-start her writing career. In this episode, you will learn: Why you shouldn’t be afraid to swap genres or change your niche. That no rejection is ever final - great authors are years in the making. Why traditional publishing isn’t the only route to success. Find out more about Alex here. Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood. Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here. Follow inkjockey on Substack here. You can buy copies of our anthology series here.  You can view the full transcript here. Connect with the show: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BehindTheSpine Twitter: https://twitter.com/BehindTheSpine Website: www.behindthespine.co.uk

“ That's why I write books. I want to see those characters tear their way out of the page and just come to life.” ~Tess Gerritsen The town of ‘Purity’ may be fiction, but its secrets are very much based on real life. It may be hard to believe, but in the American state of Maine, there’s a town where former spies go to retire. It’s this strange reality that sets the stage for Tess Gerritsen’s Martini Club book series. Following on from her incredibly popular ‘The Spy Coast’, Tess has released another tantalising entry in the series titled ‘The Summer Guests’. The new novel focuses on an uneasy partnership formed between young police chief Jo Thibodeau and a group of former CIA spies, as they attempt to solve a deadly mystery. During this conversation, Tess explains what it was like first discovering the town she had moved to was full of retired spies. She offers sage advice from a lifetime of writing - taking us back to her early days. And she discusses the exciting news that the series could be coming to your TV soon. In this episode, you will learn: Why writing advice is not all created equal The importance of championing older people in your writing Why you should consider telling the story of your life through fiction Find out more about Tess here. Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood. Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here. Follow inkjockey on Substack here. You can buy copies of our anthology series here.  You can view the full transcript here. Connect with the show: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BehindTheSpine Twitter: https://twitter.com/BehindTheSpine Website: www.behindthespine.co.uk

“ In my head, it's not a departure from the writer that I think I am.” ~James Rebanks You probably know him for his wildly successful books exploring his long family history farming in the Lake District - but James Rebanks has decided to turn his hand to something different this time. The Place of Tides is a departure from the work that has made him famous, namely bestsellers The Shepherd’s Life and English Pastoral. But to James, this is just an evolution of the writer he knows himself to be. This new book charts James’ journey to a remote Norwegian island, where he takes part in a centuries old trade that’s being kept alive by a single woman. During this conversation, James explains what first brought him to the island - and why he decided to make a return visit to write the book. He explores his unorthodox - but incredibly effective - writing style. And he explains his obsession with finding “the perfect metaphor”. In this episode, you will learn: Why you should immerse yourself in the location that you’re writing about The passage readers most love from James’ work What it means to fully committing to your craft Find out more about James here. Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood. Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here. Follow inkjockey on Substack here. You can buy copies of our anthology series here.  You can view the full transcript here. Connect with the show: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BehindTheSpine Twitter: https://twitter.com/BehindTheSpine Website: www.behindthespine.co.uk

“ Telling a story like this, about a real event that impacted so many people, does come with a special responsibility” ~Jonathan Lee The Lockerbie bombing is the UK’s deadliest terrorist attack, killing 270 people in the air and on the ground. Despite taking place 37 years ago, what happened that day is still mired in speculation and conspiracy theories. Now, author and screenwriter Jonathan Lee is exploring the controversy surrounding the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, in a brand new BBC drama - blending historical fact with fiction. As the author of High Dive, which explores the 1984 bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton, Jonathan is adept at uncovering the truth of recent historical events. In this episode, you will learn: Why our recent history is so often the most unknown to us and the least explored. Top tips on making the switch from books to screen How art plays a massive role in shifting geopolitical narratives and uncovering injustices. Find out more about Jonathan here. Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood. Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here. Follow inkjockey on Substack here. You can buy copies of our anthology series here.  You can view the full transcript here. Connect with the show: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BehindTheSpine Twitter: https://twitter.com/BehindTheSpine Website: www.behindthespine.co.uk 2f3505837ab5fff6039f2a299cae19ba2cd1ed1e

💬 “When I’ve been really unwell, I lose the ability to understand spoken language. But what happens is I hear music with crystal clarity in my mind.” Did you know that bipolar disorder can fuel intense creativity? We often fear complex mental health issues - words like psychotic and mental are regularly used to describe villains across TV and film. But this stigma and prejudice is not just inaccurate, it also fails to account for the wide range of lived experiences of people with these conditions. Capturing what it’s like to live with bipolar disorder, Matt Ottley has done the seemingly impossible. His multimodal work The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness explores his own experiences with the condition through a book, poem, orchestral arrangement and film. And it’s stunning. In this episode, you will learn: ➡︎ The link between mental health disorders and creativity - and why we shouldn’t romanticise this connection. ➡︎ Why exactly Hollywood and media portrayals of mental health can be so damaging. ➡︎ How Matt came to create his stunning masterpiece following a series of severe psychotic episodes. ➡︎ How Matt hopes his journey will inspire and help others like him. Find out more about Matt and his project here.  Copies of Matt’s book, The Tree of Ecstasy and Unbearable Sadness, are available at all good bookstores in the UK.   Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood. Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up for the newsletter here. You can buy copies of our anthology series here.  You can view the full transcript here. Connect with the show: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BehindTheSpine Twitter: https://twitter.com/BehindTheSpine Website: www.behindthespine.co.uk

“How many weddings have you gone to where you don't really know very many other people at the wedding? And it's trying to make those connections of who is who. It was something I wanted to recreate for the reader.” Between deciding the guest-list and actually getting everyone together under one roof, wedding days can be… chaotic, to say the least. Beneath the jubilance often lies a web of unresolved family dramas and conflict. The question is, will it bubble up to the surface? Kate Sawyer’s new novel ‘This Family’ is set over a single summer’s day, at the wedding of Mary, whose fractured family has been brought together. The book regularly takes us back in time, revealing information about the cast of characters that have gathered for the big day. In this episode, you will learn: Why you shouldn’t place too many restrictions on yourself before you head into writing a novel. Why the most interesting parts of a story are often what lie beneath what you can see. Why you should surround yourself with fellow writers. Find out more about Kate here. Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood. Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here. You can buy copies of our anthology series here.  You can view the full transcript here. Connect with the show: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BehindTheSpine Twitter: https://twitter.com/BehindTheSpine Website: www.behindthespine.co.uk

“Faced with a more precarious claim on power, the film industry is depicting men in more stereotypically powerful ways. The big question is ‘what do we do about it’?” The global feminist movement has the same budget as one F35 fighter plane. That alone shows you how much of a chasm there is between the funding for peace and the funding for war. In this International Women’s Day special, we speak to Dean Peacock, director of the Mobilising Men for Feminist Peace programme for the Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom. In this episode he explores the origins of WILPF, one of the oldest women’s peacebuilding organisations in the world. He discusses the concept of the “war economy”. And he explains the impact of gaming and entertainment on ideals of masculinity. In this episode, you will learn: Why a new type of war story should be told - the stories of the pacifists and war resisters. Why we need to redefine our vision of masculinity. How to better use violence in your writing. Find out more about Dean here. Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood. Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here. You can buy copies of our anthology series here.  You can view the full transcript here. Connect with the show: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behindthespinepodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BehindTheSpine Twitter: https://twitter.com/BehindTheSpine Website: www.behindthespine.co.uk