<description>&lt;p&gt;Fear. There's a lot of it about currently. That's the currency of thriller and suspense authors of course, and our guest this week, British journalist and author &lt;a href="https://www.jofurniss.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Jo Furniss&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; is brilliant at mining reader's inherent fears. Her most recent novel, &lt;a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Guilt-Trip-unputdownable-thriller-Belinda-ebook/dp/B0DTRQHG6D" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Guilt Trip&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;, &lt;/em&gt;poses a scenario all parents will dread: a minibus carrying the school swimming team never arrives back from a gala. The police don't know where it's gone and the school's 'no phones' policy means none of the kids has a device. They have vanished. Jo takes us through her craft, from original idea to finished novel, and shares the secrets of a great psychological suspense thriller.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Also this week, a Cambridge University survey suggests that over half of authors believe AI will replace them in future, and we discuss a new scheme to ensure the book you buy is written by a human, rather than a bot.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.jofurniss.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Jo Furniss&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Guilt-Trip-unputdownable-thriller-Belinda-ebook/dp/B0DTRQHG6D" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.amazon.co.uk/Guilt-Trip-unputdownable-thriller-Belinda-ebook/dp/B0DTRQHG6D&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

The craft of weaving psychological suspense into unforgettable stories

Fear. There's a lot of it about currently. That's the currency of thriller and suspense authors of course, and our guest this week, British journalist and author <a href="https://www.jofurniss.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jo Furniss</a> is brilliant at mining reader's inherent fears. Her most recent novel, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Guilt-Trip-unputdownable-thriller-Belinda-ebook/dp/B0DTRQHG6D" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Guilt Trip</a>, poses a scenario all parents will dread: a minibus carrying the school swimming team never arrives back from a gala. The police don't know where it's gone and the school's 'no phones' policy means none of the kids has a device. They have vanished. Jo takes us through her craft, from original idea to finished novel, and shares the secrets of a great psychological suspense thriller. Also this week, a Cambridge University survey suggests that over half of authors believe AI will replace them in future, and we discuss a new scheme to ensure the book you buy is written by a human, rather than a bot. <a href="https://www.jofurniss.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jo Furniss</a><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Guilt-Trip-unputdownable-thriller-Belinda-ebook/dp/B0DTRQHG6D" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Guilt-Trip-unputdownable-thriller-Belinda-ebook/dp/B0DTRQHG6D</a><hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

236: Secrets and suspense - with Jo Furniss

<description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Hobcast Book Show&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; brings you an unmissable one-hour interview with U.S. author and former CIA officer&lt;a href="https://isberry.net/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt; &lt;strong&gt;I.S. Berry&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. Ilana's multi award-winning debut novel &lt;a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Peacock-Sparrow-Winner-Edgar-Award-ebook/dp/B0CTB1BC38" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Peacock and the Sparrow&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; has been hailed as a modern spy classic, blending real-world intrigue with gripping fiction. Ilana's inspiration came from her intelligence work during the Arab Spring, and we explore her journey from intelligence to literature, uncovering the secrets behind her storytelling. If you love thrillers, espionage, and insider perspectives, this episode is your passport to the shadow world.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Also this week, Adrian and Rebecca share insights from the&lt;a href="https://indiepressnetwork.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Indie Press Network's&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; marketing day in London, and reveal Amazon's plans to offer authors AI translations for their books.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://isberry.net/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;I.S. Berry&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Peacock-Sparrow-Winner-Edgar-Award-ebook/dp/B0CTB1BC38" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.amazon.co.uk/Peacock-Sparrow-Winner-Edgar-Award-ebook/dp/B0CTB1BC38&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

From CIA secrets to spy fiction brilliance—I.S. Berry on The Hobcast

The Hobcast Book Show brings you an unmissable one-hour interview with U.S. author and former CIA officer<a href="https://isberry.net/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> I.S. Berry</a>. Ilana's multi award-winning debut novel <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Peacock-Sparrow-Winner-Edgar-Award-ebook/dp/B0CTB1BC38" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Peacock and the Sparrow</a> has been hailed as a modern spy classic, blending real-world intrigue with gripping fiction. Ilana's inspiration came from her intelligence work during the Arab Spring, and we explore her journey from intelligence to literature, uncovering the secrets behind her storytelling. If you love thrillers, espionage, and insider perspectives, this episode is your passport to the shadow world. Also this week, Adrian and Rebecca share insights from the<a href="https://indiepressnetwork.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Indie Press Network's</a> marketing day in London, and reveal Amazon's plans to offer authors AI translations for their books. <a href="https://isberry.net/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">I.S. Berry</a><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Peacock-Sparrow-Winner-Edgar-Award-ebook/dp/B0CTB1BC38" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Peacock-Sparrow-Winner-Edgar-Award-ebook/dp/B0CTB1BC38</a> <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

235: The real deal - with Ilana Berry

<description>&lt;p&gt;We're back! Our summer hiatus was a little longer than we planned, but we're delighted to bring you &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Hobcast Book Show&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;again. Our guest this week is &lt;a href="https://rhodabaxter.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Rhoda Baxter&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, queen of witty, heartfelt romcoms. She also writes as &lt;strong&gt;Jeevani Charika&lt;/strong&gt;, exploring multicultural women’s fiction with depth and warmth. We talk about smart heroines, nice‑guy heroes, and the craft of writing under two names. &amp;nbsp;A former microbiologist turned intellectual property specialist, Rhoda brings a unique perspective to her writing life—balancing science, creativity, and a love of cake. It's a truly inspiring interview.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Also this week, we hear how leading UK independent publishers have warned that they're facing an existential threat, and can you really publish a book that smells of mayonnaise? &lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://rhodabaxter.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Jeevani Charika and Rhoda Baxter – Comfort reads with a dash of fun&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Smart heroines, nice‑guy heroes, and the double life of romcom star Rhoda Baxter

We're back! Our summer hiatus was a little longer than we planned, but we're delighted to bring you The Hobcast Book Show again. Our guest this week is <a href="https://rhodabaxter.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rhoda Baxter</a>, queen of witty, heartfelt romcoms. She also writes as Jeevani Charika, exploring multicultural women’s fiction with depth and warmth. We talk about smart heroines, nice‑guy heroes, and the craft of writing under two names. &nbsp;A former microbiologist turned intellectual property specialist, Rhoda brings a unique perspective to her writing life—balancing science, creativity, and a love of cake. It's a truly inspiring interview. Also this week, we hear how leading UK independent publishers have warned that they're facing an existential threat, and can you really publish a book that smells of mayonnaise? <a href="https://rhodabaxter.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jeevani Charika and Rhoda Baxter – Comfort reads with a dash of fun</a> <hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

234: A love of modern romance - with Jeevani Charika 

<description>&lt;p&gt;This week we're joined from Italy by the brilliant &lt;a href="https://katherinemezzacappa.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Katherine Mezzacappa&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. Born in Ireland, Katherine is now based Tuscany, a country which has inspired her work as a historical and contemporary novelist. Her most recent novel, &lt;a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ballad-Mary-Kearney-Katherine-Mezzacappa-ebook/dp/B0CZQJFJD6" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Ballad of Mary Kearne&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;y &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;was published earlier this year, sees Katherine return to her Irish roots, telling the tragic tale of an 18th century nobleman who secretly marries his servant, in defiance of law, class, and religion. But Italy also features heavily in Katherine's work, including &lt;a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maiden-Florence-captivating-historical-retelling-ebook/dp/B0CWFBKHX7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Maiden of Florence&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;published in 2024, based on true events involving the powerful Medici family. Writing as Katie Hutton, Katherine has also published four novels with leading publisher Bonnier Zaffre. Katherine is also a passionate advocate of short fiction, and works with us as a judge on &lt;a href="https://www.henshawpress.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;The Henshaw Short Story competition.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;This interview is laced with brilliant advice for authors of all persuasions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Also this week, we hear about trouble for retail giant WH Smith, while rivals Waterstones go from strength to strength thanks to a growth in sales to a younger generation of readers.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://katherinemezzacappa.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Katherine Mezzacappa – Katherine Mezzacappa – Author&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ballad-Mary-Kearney-Katherine-Mezzacappa-ebook/dp/B0CZQJFJD6" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ballad-Mary-Kearney-Katherine-Mezzacappa-ebook/dp/B0CZQJFJD6&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maiden-Florence-captivating-historical-retelling-ebook/dp/B0CWFBKHX7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maiden-Florence-captivating-historical-retelling-ebook/dp/B0CWFBKHX7&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

An award-winning Irish author explores how Italy has inspired her writing

This week we're joined from Italy by the brilliant <a href="https://katherinemezzacappa.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Katherine Mezzacappa</a>. Born in Ireland, Katherine is now based Tuscany, a country which has inspired her work as a historical and contemporary novelist. Her most recent novel, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ballad-Mary-Kearney-Katherine-Mezzacappa-ebook/dp/B0CZQJFJD6" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Ballad of Mary Kearne</a>y was published earlier this year, sees Katherine return to her Irish roots, telling the tragic tale of an 18th century nobleman who secretly marries his servant, in defiance of law, class, and religion. But Italy also features heavily in Katherine's work, including <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maiden-Florence-captivating-historical-retelling-ebook/dp/B0CWFBKHX7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Maiden of Florence</a> published in 2024, based on true events involving the powerful Medici family. Writing as Katie Hutton, Katherine has also published four novels with leading publisher Bonnier Zaffre. Katherine is also a passionate advocate of short fiction, and works with us as a judge on <a href="https://www.henshawpress.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Henshaw Short Story competition.</a> This interview is laced with brilliant advice for authors of all persuasions. Also this week, we hear about trouble for retail giant WH Smith, while rivals Waterstones go from strength to strength thanks to a growth in sales to a younger generation of readers. <a href="https://katherinemezzacappa.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Katherine Mezzacappa – Katherine Mezzacappa – Author</a><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ballad-Mary-Kearney-Katherine-Mezzacappa-ebook/dp/B0CZQJFJD6" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ballad-Mary-Kearney-Katherine-Mezzacappa-ebook/dp/B0CZQJFJD6</a><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maiden-Florence-captivating-historical-retelling-ebook/dp/B0CWFBKHX7" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Maiden-Florence-captivating-historical-retelling-ebook/dp/B0CWFBKHX7</a><hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

233: The Romance of Italy - with Katherine Mezzacappa

<description>&lt;p&gt;If you're beginning to think we're obsessed with Icelandic crime fiction here on &lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;The Hobcast Bookshow&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt; - you may be right. We're delighted to be joined this week by our third great Icelandic crime fiction writer in recent months, &lt;a href="https://corylusbooks.com/solveig-palsdottir/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Sólveig Pálsdóttir&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;strong&gt;, &lt;/strong&gt;the author of the popular &lt;a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08Y5NPMKV" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Ice and Crime &lt;/em&gt;series&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;. As we explore in this wide-ranging interview, Sólveig enjoyed a varied career prior to becoming an author, including several years as one of Iceland's leading actors, before family life encouraged a switch to teaching, with the occasional appearance in TV dramas. But now her principal focus is writing further cases for her detectives, Guðgeir and Elsa Guðrún, translated into English by the brilliant &lt;a href="https://open.acast.com/public/streams/646f7fb53c7f5e001173a62e/episodes/64c791ec8e16bd001152b6a9.mp3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Quentin Bates&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; and published by Corylus Books.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;Also this week, we discuss the threat posed by AI-written low quality books posing as established titles. Is it time for online retailers to tighten up their submission protocols?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://corylusbooks.com/solveig-palsdottir/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;Sólveig Pálsdóttir – Corylus Books&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08Y5NPMKV" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"&gt;https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08Y5NPMKV&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;hr&gt;&lt;p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'&gt; Hosted on Acast. See &lt;a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'&gt;acast.com/privacy&lt;/a&gt; for more information.&lt;/p&gt;</description>

Author, Actress, Teacher - the many lives of one of Iceland's greatest crime fiction writers

If you're beginning to think we're obsessed with Icelandic crime fiction here on The Hobcast Bookshow - you may be right. We're delighted to be joined this week by our third great Icelandic crime fiction writer in recent months, <a href="https://corylusbooks.com/solveig-palsdottir/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sólveig Pálsdóttir</a>, the author of the popular <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08Y5NPMKV" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ice and Crime series</a>. As we explore in this wide-ranging interview, Sólveig enjoyed a varied career prior to becoming an author, including several years as one of Iceland's leading actors, before family life encouraged a switch to teaching, with the occasional appearance in TV dramas. But now her principal focus is writing further cases for her detectives, Guðgeir and Elsa Guðrún, translated into English by the brilliant <a href="https://open.acast.com/public/streams/646f7fb53c7f5e001173a62e/episodes/64c791ec8e16bd001152b6a9.mp3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Quentin Bates</a> and published by Corylus Books. Also this week, we discuss the threat posed by AI-written low quality books posing as established titles. Is it time for online retailers to tighten up their submission protocols? <a href="https://corylusbooks.com/solveig-palsdottir/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sólveig Pálsdóttir – Corylus Books</a><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08Y5NPMKV" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08Y5NPMKV</a><hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

232: Ice and Crime - with Sólveig Pálsdóttir

How do you launch a publishing house from scratch? The Hobcast brings you insights, interviews and ideas for aspiring authors and creative entrepreneurs, as well as anyone who loves books.<hr> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

New publishers Adrian Hobart and Rebecca Collins discuss the issues of running a start-up creative business in this pandemic world. Meet the people who make Hobeck Books possible.

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