We'd Like A Word We'd Like A Word

Romance (part 1): Movie star Michael Douglas, authors Georgina Moore & Becky Hunter tell We'd Like A Word hosts Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan about writing romance, authors supporting other authors, & reading to counter depression.

Hollywood star & double-Oscar-winning Michael Douglas has had a string of hit films including Basic Instinct, Fatal Attraction, Wall Street, Romancing the Stone, Behind the Candelabra, & Falling Down – plus producing One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. His latest is the Marvel superhero movie, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. He gives us his book recommendations.

Georgina Moore & Becky Hunter have worked together in book publicity & also wrote their romance books together – on Georgina’s house boat off the Isle of Wight. So they both know about publicising books and supporting each other.

Georgina is the author of The Garnett Girls, published by HQ, Harper Collins. It’s set on the Isle of Wight & in Venice. & is on loads of Best Books of 2023 lists.

Becky’s new book is One Moment, published by Corvus – Atlantic Books. It’s described as a moving novel about the life-affirming power of friendship.

We also talk about how to get the most out of publicists; mistakes authors make; the dreaded second book syndrome; the blissful ignorance of debut authors; the risks of chasing trends; the struggle to justify devoting time to writing; writing to the market for a deadline; choosing a book title; how to bounce back from rejection; why you should big up other writers & people with whom you work; authors Shari Lapena, Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella & Eva Rice; writing what you love; how to stay resilient & upbeat; the contemplative Japanese activity known as boketto: plus the newly invented booketto – with may be accompanied by a cornetto; the novel Less by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Andrew Sean Greer; American revolutionary hero, inventor, scientist & US declaration of independence signatory, Benjamin Franklin; and the history books, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson, & A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France and the Birth of America, by Stacy Schiff.

We'd Like A Word is a podcast & radio show from authors Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, & audiobook creators about books - fiction & non-fiction. We go out on various radio & podcast platforms. Our website is http://www.wedlikeaword.com for information on Paul, Steve & our guests. We're on Twitter @wedlikeaword & Facebook @wedlikeaword & our email is wedlikeaword@gmail.com Yes, we're embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word to chat, review or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown, the thriller by Paul Waters or Cockerings, the new comic classic by Stevyn Colgan.

Romance (part 2): Movie star Michael Douglas, authors Georgina Moore & Becky Hunter tell We'd Like A Word hosts Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan about writing romance, authors supporting other authors, & reading to counter depression.

Hollywood star & double-Oscar-winning Michael Douglas has had a string of hit films including Basic Instinct, Fatal Attraction, Wall Street, Romancing the Stone, Behind the Candelabra, & Falling Down – plus producing One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. His latest is the Marvel superhero movie, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. He gives us his book recommendations.

Georgina Moore & Becky Hunter have worked together in book publicity & also wrote their romance books together – on Georgina’s house boat off the Isle of Wight. So they both know about publicising books and supporting each other.

Georgina is the author of The Garnett Girls, published by HQ, Harper Collins. It’s set on the Isle of Wight & in Venice. & is on loads of Best Books of 2023 lists.

Becky’s new book is One Moment, published by Corvus – Atlantic Books. It’s described as a moving novel about the life-affirming power of friendship.

We also talk about how to get the most out of publicists; mistakes authors make; the dreaded second book syndrome; the blissful ignorance of debut authors; the risks of chasing trends; the struggle to justify devoting time to writing; writing to the market for a deadline; choosing a book title; how to bounce back from rejection; why you should big up other writers & people with whom you work; authors Shari Lapena, Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella & Eva Rice; writing what you love; how to stay resilient & upbeat; the contemplative Japanese activity known as boketto: plus the newly invented booketto – with may be accompanied by a cornetto; the novel Less by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Andrew Sean Greer; American revolutionary hero, inventor, scientist & US declaration of independence signatory, Benjamin Franklin; and the history books, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson, & A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France and the Birth of America, by Stacy Schiff.

We'd Like A Word is a podcast & radio show from authors Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, & audiobook creators about books - fiction & non-fiction. We go out on various radio & podcast platforms. Our website is http://www.wedlikeaword.com for information on Paul, Steve & our guests. We're on Twitter @wedlikeaword & Facebook @wedlikeaword & our email is wedlikeaword@gmail.com Yes, we're embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word to chat, review or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown, the thriller by Paul Waters or Cockerings, the new comic classic by Stevyn Colgan.

Romance (part 3): Movie star Michael Douglas, authors Georgina Moore & Becky Hunter tell We'd Like A Word hosts Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan about writing romance, authors supporting other authors, & reading to counter depression.

Hollywood star & double-Oscar-winning Michael Douglas has had a string of hit films including Basic Instinct, Fatal Attraction, Wall Street, Romancing the Stone, Behind the Candelabra, & Falling Down – plus producing One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. His latest is the Marvel superhero movie, Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania. He gives us his book recommendations.

Georgina Moore & Becky Hunter have worked together in book publicity & also wrote their romance books together – on Georgina’s house boat off the Isle of Wight. So they both know about publicising books and supporting each other.

Georgina is the author of The Garnett Girls, published by HQ, Harper Collins. It’s set on the Isle of Wight & in Venice. & is on loads of Best Books of 2023 lists.

Becky’s new book is One Moment, published by Corvus – Atlantic Books. It’s described as a moving novel about the life-affirming power of friendship.

We also talk about how to get the most out of publicists; mistakes authors make; the dreaded second book syndrome; the blissful ignorance of debut authors; the risks of chasing trends; the struggle to justify devoting time to writing; writing to the market for a deadline; choosing a book title; how to bounce back from rejection; why you should big up other writers & people with whom you work; authors Shari Lapena, Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella; writing what you love; how to stay resilient & upbeat; the contemplative Japanese activity known as boketto: plus the newly invented booketto – with may be accompanied by a cornetto; the novel Less by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Andrew Sean Greer; American revolutionary hero, inventor, scientist & US declaration of independence signatory, Benjamin Franklin; and the history books, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson, & A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France and the Birth of America, by Stacy Schiff.

We'd Like A Word is a podcast & radio show from authors Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, & audiobook creators about books - fiction & non-fiction. We go out on various radio & podcast platforms. Our website is http://www.wedlikeaword.com for information on Paul, Steve & our guests. We're on Twitter @wedlikeaword & Facebook @wedlikeaword & our email is wedlikeaword@gmail.com Yes, we're embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word to chat, review or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown, the thriller by Paul Waters or Cockerings, the new comic classic by Stevyn Colgan.

Climate Change Fiction (part 1): Peter May & Paul Hardisty tell We'd Like A Word hosts Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan about bringing our climate emergency into mainstream popular fiction. Peter May's new crime thriller A Winter Grave (published by riverrun), & is set in Scotland in 2051. Paul Hardisty's adventure thriller The Forcing (published by Orenda Books), & is set in a future when younger voters turn on the older generation they blame for destroying our world.

Do we need the authors of popular genre fiction to include climate emergency themes in their fiction? Lots of us ignore the science of climate change, so are stories which appeal to our imagination the way to get the message across? Do authors have a duty to reflect climate change, or does the creative heart rebel against being told what to do? Why don't more authors do it already? Is our looming climate catastrophe just too bleak? Too difficult? Do readers need happier endings? Do agents & publishers? How should authors get the balance right between waking readers up and scaring them into despairing inaction? And how do you wrap it all up in exciting, enjoyable stories?

Peter May is the bestselling author of thrillers series set in Scotland, France & China - as well as prescient standalone thrillers, like Lockdown, which predicted the pandemic lockdown. We've delved into his past already on We'd Like A Word, but had to have him back (the first time we've done this with a guest) when he came out of retirement to lead the literary vanguard trying to communicate with big audiences about climate change in a new way. He's also released an anthem by the Peter May Band to accompany A Winter Grave. You'll hear it on the show - Don't Burn The World.  (Co-written by Dennis McCoy.) You can stream it on the usual music platforms & watch the YouTube video here: Don’t Burn the World - The Peter May Band - YouTube  You can also hear Peter's previous surreal episode involving being hired as a private detective by giant geckos here: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/9UHL9sCCPwb

Paul Hardisty lives by Australia's Great Barrier Reef. He got there from Canada via a bewildering series of steps through the world's trouble zones, including, in November, Ukraine. As a leading environmental scientist, engineer & lobbyist of politicians, he knows how urgent it is for people to wake up on climate change.

We also talk about Amitav Ghosh; resurrecting the book in your drawer that you thought would never get published; The Rig on Amazon Prime; Kate Raworth & Doughnut Economics; & Negeley Farson & The Way of a Transgressor.

We'd Like A Word is a podcast & radio show from authors Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction & non-fiction. We go out on various radio & podcast platforms. Our website is http://www.wedlikeaword.com for information on Paul & Steve & our guests. We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword & Facebook @wedlikeaword & our email is wedlikeaword@gmail.com Yes, we are embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word to chat, review or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown, the thriller by Paul Waters or Cockerings, the new comic classic by Stevyn Colgan.

Climate Change Fiction (part 2): Peter May & Paul Hardisty tell We'd Like A Word hosts Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan about bringing our climate emergency into mainstream popular fiction. Peter May's new crime thriller A Winter Grave (published by riverrun), & is set in Scotland in 2051. Paul Hardisty's adventure thriller The Forcing (published by Orenda Books), & is set in a future when younger voters turn on the older generation they blame for destroying our world.

Do we need the authors of popular genre fiction to include climate emergency themes in their fiction? Lots of us ignore the science of climate change, so are stories which appeal to our imagination the way to get the message across? Do authors have a duty to reflect climate change, or does the creative heart rebel against being told what to do? Why don't more authors do it already? Is our looming climate catastrophe just too bleak? Too difficult? Do readers need happier endings? Do agents & publishers? How should authors get the balance right between waking readers up and scaring them into despairing inaction? And how do you wrap it all up in exciting, enjoyable stories?

Peter May is the bestselling author of thrillers series set in Scotland, France & China - as well as prescient standalone thrillers, like Lockdown, which predicted the pandemic lockdown. We've delved into his past already on We'd Like A Word, but had to have him back (the first time we've done this with a guest) when he came out of retirement to lead the literary vanguard trying to communicate with big audiences about climate change in a new way. He's also released an anthem by the Peter May Band to accompany A Winter Grave. You'll hear it on the show - Don't Burn The World.  (Co-written by Dennis McCoy.) You can stream it on the usual music platforms & watch the YouTube video here: Don’t Burn the World - The Peter May Band - YouTube  You can also hear Peter's previous surreal episode involving being hired as a private detective by giant geckos here: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/9UHL9sCCPwb

Paul Hardisty lives by Australia's Great Barrier Reef. He got there from Canada via a bewildering series of steps through the world's trouble zones, including, in November, Ukraine. As a leading environmental scientist, engineer & lobbyist of politicians, he knows how urgent it is for people to wake up on climate change.

We also talk about Amitav Ghosh; resurrecting the book in your drawer that you thought would never get published; The Rig on Amazon Prime; Kate Raworth & Doughnut Economics; & Negeley Farson & The Way of a Transgressor.

We'd Like A Word is a podcast & radio show from authors Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction & non-fiction. We go out on various radio & podcast platforms. Our website is http://www.wedlikeaword.com for information on Paul & Steve & our guests. We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword & Facebook @wedlikeaword & our email is wedlikeaword@gmail.com Yes, we are embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word to chat, review or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown, the thriller by Paul Waters or Cockerings, the new comic classic by Stevyn Colgan.

Climate Change Fiction (part 3): Peter May & Paul Hardisty tell We'd Like A Word hosts Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan about bringing our climate emergency into mainstream popular fiction. Peter May's new crime thriller A Winter Grave (published by riverrun), & is set in Scotland in 2051. Paul Hardisty's adventure thriller The Forcing (published by Orenda Books), & is set in a future when younger voters turn on the older generation they blame for destroying our world.

Do we need the authors of popular genre fiction to include climate emergency themes in their fiction? Lots of us ignore the science of climate change, so are stories which appeal to our imagination the way to get the message across? Do authors have a duty to reflect climate change, or does the creative heart rebel against being told what to do? Why don't more authors do it already? Is our looming climate catastrophe just too bleak? Too difficult? Do readers need happier endings? Do agents & publishers? How should authors get the balance right between waking readers up and scaring them into despairing inaction? And how do you wrap it all up in exciting, enjoyable stories? 

Peter May is the bestselling author of thrillers series set in Scotland, France & China - as well as prescient standalone thrillers, like Lockdown, which predicted the pandemic lockdown. We've delved into his past already on We'd Like A Word, but had to have him back (the first time we've done this with a guest) when he came out of retirement to lead the literary vanguard trying to communicate with big audiences about climate change in a new way. He's also released an anthem by the Peter May Band to accompany A Winter Grave. You'll hear it on the show - Don't Burn The World.  (Co-written by Dennis McCoy.) You can stream it on the usual music platforms & watch the YouTube video here: Don’t Burn the World - The Peter May Band - YouTube  You can also hear Peter's previous surreal episode involving being hired as a private detective by giant geckos here: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/9UHL9sCCPwb 

Paul Hardisty lives by Australia's Great Barrier Reef. He got there from Canada via a bewildering series of steps through the world's trouble zones, including, in November, Ukraine. As a leading environmental scientist, engineer & lobbyist of politicians, he knows how urgent it is for people to wake up on climate change.

We also talk about Amitav Ghosh; resurrecting the book in your drawer that you thought would never get published; The Rig on Amazon Prime; Kate Raworth & Doughnut Economics; & Negeley Farson & The Way of a Transgressor.

We'd Like A Word is a podcast & radio show from authors Paul Waters & Stevyn Colgan. We talk with writers, readers, editors, agents, celebrities, talkers, poets, publishers, booksellers, audiobook creators about books - fiction & non-fiction. We go out on various radio & podcast platforms. Our website is http://www.wedlikeaword.com for information on Paul & Steve & our guests. We're also on Twitter @wedlikeaword & Facebook @wedlikeaword & our email is wedlikeaword@gmail.com Yes, we are embarrassed by the missing apostrophes. We like to hear from you - questions, thoughts, ideas, guest or book suggestions. Perhaps you'd like to come on We'd Like A Word to chat, review or read out passages from books. And if you're still stuck for something to read, may we recommend Blackwatertown, the thriller by Paul Waters or Cockerings, the new comic classic by Stevyn Colgan.