On this new episode of WE’D LIKE A WORD we speak to award-winning comedy writer Joel Morris who (with writing partner Jason Hazeley) has given us such comedy delights as the Framley Examiner, Philomena Cunk, the Paddington movies, R4’s Agendum and Angstrom as well as being contributors to Viz, Mitchell and Webb and, perhaps most famously, the adult Ladybird books. He’s a very very funny man.
We talk about the joys, perils and frustrations of being a comedy writer, the dearth of comic novels, podcasting, parody adverts, finding a comedy voice and why two expensive tea trays are better than a giant plasma TV screen.
Now available on iTunes, Spotify, Anchor and anywhere else where good podcasts are found.
Paul Waters (L) and Stevyn Colgan (R) with the writing legend that is Peter May
On this week’s new episode of We’d Like A Word (recorded in the basement of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Blackfriars, London) we’ve been talking to Peter May, multi-award-winning author of the Lewis Trilogy, the China series and more than 20+ thrillers that have sold internationally by the millions.
His latest book, A Silent Death, is set in Spain and Gibraltar and we ask him about using a strong sense of place as a ‘character’ in his novels. We also get the lowdown on how he got where he is today, why he created the world’s first Scots Gaelic soap opera and why he was once approached by two geckos to investigate a virtual crime. Intrigued? Then listen in and find out more.
You can find us on iTunes, Spotify, Anchor FM, Google podcasts and wherever good podcasts are hosted. And we’re trying an experiment this episode! We’ve broken it into three 20 minute parts to make it easier for the commute. Do let us know what you think.
Peter May is a Scottish television screenwriter, novelist, and crime writer. He is the recipient of writing awards in Europe and America. The Blackhouse won the U.S. Barry Award for Crime Novel of the Year and the national literature award in France, the CEZAM Prix Litteraire. It was also chosen for the Richard & Judy Book Club autumn 2011 list. The Lewis Man won the French daily newspaper Le Télégramme‘s 10,000 euro Grand Prix des Lecteurs. In 2014, Entry Island won the Deanston’s Scottish Crime Novel of the Year, the Specsaver’s ITV Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read of the Year Award, and the French Trophée 813 for the Best Foreign Crime Novel of the year 2015. There have been many many more nominations. May’s books have sold more than two million copies in the UK and several million internationally. He has over a thousand TV credits and created the Scottish language TV series Machair, and the BBC war-time series Squadron. He also plays jazz and has just built himself a studio at his home in France.
Welcome to the first podcast episode of 2020 and we’re delighted to have the brilliant Cole Moreton in the studio to talk about his new book The Light Keeper.
Cole Moreton is an author and broadcaster exploring who we are and how we live. He writes for Event, the Mail on Sunday magazine, and was named Interviewer of the Year at the Press Awards in 2016. His Radio 4 series, The Boy Who Gave His Heart Away, won gold as the Radio Academy’s Audio Moment of the Year in 2016. His first book, Hungry for Home, was shortlisted for the prestigious John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. Cole lives by the coast near Beachy Head and spends as much time as possible staring out to sea.
The Light Keeper is something of a departure for him in that it’s a novel, whereas his previous books have been non-fiction although told in a narrative style. What makes it even more interesting is that he and his band, The Light Keepers, have recorded an album of songs inspired by the book. We play several of the songs during this episode.
Cole’s previous books include Hungry For Home, My Father Was A Hero, Is God Still An Englishman? and the deeply moving The Boy Who Gave His Heart Away, which tells the true story of two families brought together by a heart transplant.
In this episode we talk about the dramatic setting for The Light Keeper and about the fantastic work done by the Beachy Head Chaplaincy and The Samaritans. And, as usual, we range across a wide field of discussion topics that include the Chuckle Brothers, Scarlett Johansson, the extraordinary journey of Juliana Buhring, the untimely death of the Apostrophe Society, May Savidge moving her house – literally – and gatecrashing the funeral of the Kray Twins’ mum.
We also say thanks to all of the authors who guested on our podcast in 2019 and the photographers, web-designers, musicians and studio owners who helped us to get it off the ground.
