There seems to be a theme emerging on The Hobcast Book Show. Iet's amazing how many guests begin their literary careers in comics and graphic novels. That's certainly the case for our guest this week, D.V. Bishop. David was the youngest editor ever of the celebrated 2000 AD comic. As he explains, many of the lessons he learned from that experience …

There can't be many authors who haven't dipped into the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook at least once in their career. First published in 1906, the 2025 edition came out last week. It's the go to reference guide for the UK publishing industry, with comprehensive listings of all the agents, publishers, periodicals, newspapers, awards and festivals th…

On this week's Hobcast Book Show, we talk to our latest Hobeck Books author, David Jarvis about his new thriller - The Violin and Candlestick, and about how a career as an internationally-renowned strategic planner has fueled this latest novel in the Mike Kingdom series. Michaela 'Mike' Kingdom is a former desk-bound CIA analyst who becomes a reluc…

Who knew that the innocent looking Foxglove at the bottom of the garden could kill you? Or could your Peace Lily be trying to poison you? Our guest this week, author Jill Johnson, has drawn on her knowledge from her degree in Ornamental Horticulture and wider passion for plants to create her Eustacia Rose mystery series. Eustacia is the putative pr…

Welcome to this special edition of The Hobcast Book Show, bringing you highlights from Europe's biggest independent publishing show, SPS Live! 2024. Hundreds of authors descended on the South Bank Centre in London for this fourth edition, for two days of talks by bestselling authors and industry figures - all offering insights into the potential fu…

Whatever happened to the Artful Dodger? That's a question that our guest James Benmore has explored with The Dodger Papers trilogy of novels, exploring how one of Charles Dickens' most-beloved characters might react on his return to London after five years hard labour in Australia which was his fate at the end of Oliver Twist. Some might say that i…

You'll forgive us for talking shop this week on The Hobcast Book Show, as we speak to fellow indie-publisher, Phil Rowlands of Diamond Books. Set up by three friends during the Covid crisis, Diamond Books specialises in crime fiction. Phil, and his fellow founders Jeff Dowson and Steve Timmins all had experience as authors, directors and script wri…

One of the joys of interviewing authors for The Hobcast Book Show is delving into the myriad ways they conduct research for their novels. Our guest this week, Liz Webb, is a great believer in immersing herself in a setting and finding inspiration from those experiences. So it was quite natural for Liz to take the plunge into the freezing waters on …

Crime fiction is the most enduring genre in UK publishing, as well as the most popular. For over two hundred years, readers have had a love affair with whodunnits and murder mysteries, police procedurals and amateur sleuths. So what lies behind crime fictions eternal appeal? Who better to ask than our guest this week, Martin Edwards, who is recogni…

"Relax. The inspiration will come." That's the message for writers from our guest this week, novelist Orla Owen. The author of the critically acclaimed Christ on a Bike, Orla has learnt to trust in the writing process to solve problems she faces, whether it be a plot point or character development, or any other of the myriad puzzles that need solvi…

So much of publishing of the publishing process has been sped up by waves of digital technology over the past three or four decades, so it's rare to meet an author who believes in the creative power of putting pen to paper rather than slaving in front of the computer screen. For our guest, Jennifer Lee Thomson, the magic of writing longhand unlocks…

It's only in the past few years that neurodiversity has entered the wider consciousness. For instance here at The Hobcast Book Show, we are both touched by Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), but we've only become aware of it recently. It helps explain our lifelong experience of feeling on the outside of society - never quite fitting i…

We're always keen to explore where an author's inspiration comes from. What inspires that kernel of an idea that leads to a novel? In this week's episode we speak to Alison Stockham, who explains how the seeds for her recently published third novel, The New Girl, were sown some years ago after a conversation with a friend. As Alison explains, she's…

We're delighted to be joined again by our guest, Julie Anderson this week, as we celebrate the launch of her new novel for Hobeck Books, The Midnight Man. Set in post-war Clapham, the book introduces us to two very different women, Elly and Fay, who become an unlikely sleuthing duo following a chance meeting in the cafeteria of the South London Hos…

We had the pleasure back in February 2024 to appear on The Secret Circle podcast discussing the challenges of running a small publishing house in the current marketplace. This week, we have the pleasure of returning the invitation to the show's host, Dr Luke Deckard. Luke is an author with a deep passion for noir, both written and film, and is a cr…

There are so many challenges that publishers face as it is, so is it possible to also tackle the environmental impact of creating books too? Our guest this week, Stuart Debar of UK independent press, SRL Publishing, believes it is. In fact, he argues that publishers have a duty to publish in as sustainably as they can, from choice of paper stock fo…

Why become an independent publisher? It can't be the hours? Or the pay. So what motivates people to enter the industry? That's a question we put to our guest this week, Joe Chadwick, author and creator of Essex-based micro-publisher Crescent Swan Publishing. Joe set up the company in order to publish his first novel, The Briarmen in 2021, and with …

We're heading Stateside again this week on The Hobcast Book Show to meet our guest, C McGee. By day, he's Professor Caleb Husmann, teaching political science at William Peace University in North Carolina, and by night he's C McGee, author of satirical mystery, Owen O'Shea - Stay-At-Home Dad, Wannabe Detective. As Caleb explains to us, once his drea…

Would you ever consider writing a chapter from the perspective of an octopus? Our guest this week, New York-based author Tim Maleeny certainly has, but as he explains in this episode of The Hobcast Book Show, he'll consider anything if it entertains his readers. Tim is the author of the Cape Weathers Mysteries series; the latest novel Hanging the D…

It's been something of a mad week for us at The Hobcast Book Show. We've been on the road with our annual visit to the London Book Fair at Olympia, and spent two days in Dorset discussing books with bestselling author Rachel Maclean. Somehow we've also found time to speak to Hobeck Books author Stacey Murray ahead of the release of her first novel …

We're thrilled to be joined again by one of the true stars of the UK independent crime fiction scene - JD Kirk. In the past few years he's developed a huge following for his work, especially the best-selling DCI Logan crime thriller series - with 19 books to date. His year to come looks busy, to say the least, with 5 novels scheduled and three scre…

It's perhaps not a thought widely shared, but we think that William Shakespeare is one of the English language's original crime authors. You don't have to look far into his canon for murder mysteries, whodunnits, revenge thrillers or even the odd domestic noir. The Bard has certainly proved an inspiration for our guest this week, author Guy Hale wh…

Our guest this week on The Hobcast Book Show rarely takes no for an answer. Author, journalist and podcaster Paul Waters sees a 'no entry' sign as a challenge to be overcome rather than a deterrent. Take, for instance, how he produced the first live foreign radio show in communist Cuba by somehow smuggling in a satellite dish through the airport. A…

The world seems ever more divided and fractured at present, with discordant voices drowning out appeals for reason and peace. Our guest this week, author Miriam Halahmy, is an ardent campaigner for peace, particularly in the Middle East. Miriam is a prolific author of middle-grade and young adult fiction tackling difficult subjects such as the Holo…

As authors, it's sometimes easy to lose track of how accessible our writing actually is. We often assume that whatever we write, as long as it makes sense and is grammatically correct, it will be easy to follow and enjoy. Our guest this week, author Tim Franks, begs to differ. As a former teacher working with the phonics system of teaching children…

Since we began The Hobcast Book Show just over three years ago, we've spoken to a number of former police officers turned authors. All of them have fascinating stories to share, and valuable insights into how to mix the reality of policing with the need to tell a good story. Our interview with thriller author Roger A. Price follows that tradition. …

We first met our guest on this week's Hobcast Book Show at the London Book Fair in 2022, and we're delighted to have the chance to speak at length to Daniella Blechner, author and founder of Conscious Dreams Publishing. Daniella has dedicated the past few years to enabling a huge range of authors to bring their stories and ideas to print. For insta…

The appeal of the works of Jane Austen never diminishes. As each new TV or film adaptation comes out, so a new generation discovers the enduring magic of Austen's world, even two centuries after her death. Austen wrote six novels, with Pride and Prejudice her most celebrated. Our guest this week, Linda O'Byrne, has written six novels that take Aust…

In a departure this week, Rebecca and Adrian discuss a recent article from Written Word Media predicting the 10 trends for publishing in 2024. It's set to be the year that generative AI takes a firm grip on the industry, creating fresh opportunities and challenges for everyone involved in the creative industries. Will reader tastes change as a resu…

It's tempting to approach every new year with refreshed focus and aspirations, and we're no different here at The Hobcast Book Show. But let's be realistic. 2023 was a year of major upheaval in the creative industries with the growing impact of generative AI, combined with a cost of living crisis, and rising production costs. So can we look forward…

Happy New Year from The Hobcast Book Show team. This week we pool the collective talents of three Hobeck Books authors to look in depth at police procedurals. Why do they remain enduringly popular? What are the challenges of remaining on top of the latest investigatory techniques and science? How do you ensure your writing remains credible but also…

To mark Christmas, we've brought together three wonderful Hobeck authors for a special festive edition of The Hobcast Book Show to discuss how humour and crime fiction can work together. Joining us are A B Morgan, Sue Shepherd, and Jennie Ensor, who've all wrestled with the conundrum of how to marry humour and murder together. What line do you have…

Among all the noise in the media and politics about the impact of mass migration, it's perhaps easy to lose sight of the human aspects of the situation. Our guest this week, Helen Matthews, writes psychological suspense novels which deal with the darker side of human nature. Her first novel, recently republished as Girl Out of Sight, explores the i…

On this week's show, we meet Natalie Chandler, the author of two bestselling psychological thrillers, Believe Me Not and What We Did for Headline Accent. Natalie shares with us her author journey, from re-writing Roald Dahl stories as a child through to using the opportunity of lockdown to finally finish and polish her first novel. Natalie credits …

Last week, Hobeck Books had the honour of publishing the fifth novel in the George Zammit series, The Last Bird of Paradise by A J Aberford. Set in Malta and the wider Mediterranean area, the books have built a strong following for the adventures of the humble Maltese police officer who finds himself at the centre of epic adventures and intrigue th…

It's fair to say that the COVID crisis and the attendant lock downs had one unexpected silver lining for many people - the space and opportunity to finally fulfil a life-long dream to write a book. That's certainly the case for our guest this week, Stephen Ronson, whose debut novel The Last Line was recently published by Hodder and Stoughton. Set i…

It's fair to say that as presenters of The Hobcast Book Show we often hark back to our childhood experiences of reading adventure fiction and being inspired by those books to seek adventures of our own. That's certainly the spirit that our guest this week, Jacqueline King, evokes in her children's book, Cake for the Gestapo. Set in occupied Jersey …

What is it about The Hobcast Book Show and Brighton? Or more accurately, what is it about Brighton that lends itself as a setting for murder mysteries? Our guest this week, Jamie West, transports his readers back to the Palace Pier Theatre in 1933 and introduces them to his hero, playwright-come-amateur-sleuth Bertie Caroll. Jamie's debut novel, De…

On this week's episode we ask - how healthy is British crime fiction? Who better to ask than prolific reviewer and crime festival organiser, Donna Morfett, who returns to The Hobcast Book Show for a second time. A week after hosting her event, The Dark Side of Brighton, which featured some of the biggest names in UK crime fiction, Donna explains th…

This week's show is a departure for The Hobcast Book Show, as we're joined by one of Adrian's old BBC colleagues, Sanjeev Shetty. Sanj was a BBC Sport producer and presenter for many years, before taking a job as a speech-writer for the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. He's also the author of five books - two fiction and three non-fiction, with his lat…

This week we have a first on The Hobcast Book Show. Our guest, Geoff Major, is our first to have trekked to the North Pole. Not only that, but he's walked in the Sahara too, and over the years has raised thousands of pounds for charity. But our focus in this interview is on a more recent challenge for Geoff - writing crime fiction. His first novel …

We love historical thrillers on The Hobcast Book Show. There's something beguiling about asking the question - "what if...?" - and applying it to a famous historical setting and story. That's certainly the approach taken by our guest this week, the brilliant J.G. Kelly, whose latest novel The White Lie asks if the fabled heroic failure of Captain S…

We're joined this week by British author Stephen J. Golds from his home in Nagoya, Japan. Regular listeners to the show will know that we are big fans of Japanese culture, so it was a real pleasure to speak to Stephen about his experiences of living and working in Japan for the past 17 years. Originally from London, Stephen is the author a series o…

Our guest this week, Kate Wiseman, had a late start to her author career. Attending university at 38 gave her the confidence to pursue writing, and she's now established herself as an accomplished author of Middle-Grade and Young Adult fiction. For her most recent series, Kate has drawn on her passion for mudlarking - exploring the foreshore of the…

This week, Rebecca attended the Independent Publisher's Guild Autumn conference in London, where the impact of AI was the number one topic of debate among delegates. It's also where she bumped into our guest this week, Elaine Bousfield MBE, who runs Zuntold, a small independent publisher based in Manchester. Zuntold publish fiction to support menta…

We admit, at The Hobcast Book Show, that we can be a little obsessed with the modern phenomenon of "cancel culture" - and how rumour, innuendo and group think has the potential to destroy lives. It has echoes of another period of English history, the Civil War, where witch-finding became an obsession for a society riven along political and religiou…

We're delighted to be publishing Chasing the Dragon by Mark Wightman this week at Hobeck Books. It's the second instalment of the Betancourt series set in Singapore in 1940. Mark's first novel, Waking the Tiger was hugely successful, securing shortlistings for four major prizes. It's been two years between the publication of the two books, and Mark…

We're all familiar with the concept of pen names. There are dozens of reasons why an author might adopt one, and some of our own Hobeck authors write under aliases. But what if you want to take that concept a stage further, and create a complete alter-ego to go with that name, and write from a completely different perspective to your own? That's th…

We don't make a habit of inviting guests back so soon on The Hobcast Book Show, but we've made an exception for Greg Mosse, who joined us on Episode 94. This week we discuss Greg's foray into cosy crime with recent release, Murder At Church Lodge. Drawing on his own experiences growing up in rural Sussex, Greg takes us into the world of his protago…

Imagine falling in love with the crime fiction genre, but facing a perpetual shortage of books to read. That was the situation our guest Tony Mott faced growing up in Romania under the Communist regime of Nicolae Ceausescu. Classic western European authors like Agatha Christie were widely available in translation as they were regarded as politicall…