Frederick Forsyth and friends at the Chiltern Kills crime and thriller festival

Thriller writing icon Frederick Forsyth talks about his legacy and his first ever appearance at a literary festival in this one-part episode. It was recorded (mostly) live at the Chiltern Kills festival in Gerrards Cross in October 2023. All ticket sales went to the Centrepoint charity combating youth homelessness. If you want to attend the next Chiltern Kills – and you should! – tickets are via www.ChilternKills.com

There’s also a one-to-one option with a literary agent looking to expand their list. That costs a ridiculously small amount extra.

The Chiltern Kills festival is organised by We’d Like A Word co-host Paul Waters and fellow author Tony Kent – who also features in this episode. Tony’s latest thriller, The Shadow Network, is out now.

We also hear from crime authors Rachel Ward, Derek Farrell, SJ Bennett, JL Blackhurst, Laura Marshall, Leye Adenle (twice), Cate Quinn, Susi Holliday & BBC and Bestsellers Pod presenters Phil Williams & Natalie Jamieson. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Plus Sue Dorman, Marguerite Fletcher, Laurie Stone and others. And with thanks to Centrepoint, Sacla UK, Cipriani Bellinis, Chorleywood and Gerrards Cross Bookshops, the Milton’s Cottage Museum in Chalfont St Giles and Vision Care for Homeless People.

Writing advice from Anthony Horowitz

We try to ask our We’d Like A Word guests to share a writing tip for other authors and aspiring authors.

This one comes from Anthony Horowitz, who you can also hear at fascinating length on our podcast which is about Life After Death: Giving new life to classic characters after their original authors have died. Like Anthony Horowitz does with James Bond and Sherlock Holmes.

David Bramwell’s Odditorium, weird bum reading and Jacob Rees Mogg

Dr David Bramwell

‘A small Odditorium’ featuring Dr David Bramwell. In this episode author, musician, truth-seeker, Utopian and all round oddfellow Dr David Bramwell discusses bum readers, the world’s largest underground temple, a haunted moustache, Jacob Rees Mogg and singalonga Wicker Man. And we’ll be asking … is Milton Keynes the new Stonehenge?

Our competition question is: What is the official term for a bum reader? Listen to the podcast and email your answer to [email protected]


Anthony Horowitz on James Bond & giving life after death

Anthony Horowitz looking like he’s up in front of a firing squad. Picture taken at the wonderful Noireland international crime fiction festival in Belfast.

Anthony Horowitz admits he’s a killer. Dozens of times over. The thing is, we’re not just talking about the dozens and dozens he’s dispatched in the pages of his many books or TV shows like Midsommer Murders and Foyle’s War. But that’s all I’m saying here. You can hear his startling revelations from his own mouth on the latest episode of We’d Like A Word.

Our official topic is life after death – whether it’s right for new authors to give extended life to characters after their original authors have died. Anthony Horowitz does it – and does it well – with Sherlock Holmes and most recently with James Bond in Forever and A Day. (You can win a copy of that in the competition – details on the podcast.)

But we talk about a lot else and a lot of other authors, in particular Sophie Hannah, who has brought Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot back to life.

You’ll also hear Anthony Horowitz read from his James Bond book, let slip his views on Brexit, villains and where he writes.

Graham Norton – can celebs write good fiction?

Graham Norton and Stevyn Colgan on We’d Like A Word

It’s Graham Norton! Yes, that Graham Norton on We’d Like A Word. Talking about his own writing and whether celebrities can ever be good authors? It’s on the radio at 7pm UK time tonight (Wednesday 8th May 2019) Wycombe Sound 106.6 FM. And then via the podcast afterwards.

Graham Norton – comedian, TV star and Father Ted legend – tells us about his other life as an author. He’s written two novels – Holding and now A Keeper. But are they any good? Are they funny? Are they even supposed to be? Do celebrities famous for something entirely different make good writers? Graham Norton may be hilARious (he is), but can he write? You’ll have to listen to this episode of We’d Like A Word to find out. He reads from his second novel A Keeper, talks about how he writes, how he gathers material and about Ireland. There’s also a competition to win one of Graham’s books – but you’ll have to listen to find out.

On the radio (with Will Dean) …

The first episode of We’d Like A Word is broadcast at 7pm tonight (UK time) on Wycombe Sound 106.6 FM. If you’re one of the 50,000 #Wycso listeners in the south Buckinghamshire region of England, I hope you can join us. (If you’re not in that patch, don’t worry, the podcast will be released tomorrow.) We’re kicking off with Will Dean, the author of Dark Pines and Red Snow – two thrillers set in the Swedish forest featuring newspaper reporter Tuva Moodyson. The topic for tonight’s show is – Is Scandi Noir still Scandi Noir if it’s written by a Brit? Will lives in a Swedish forest himself – he built a cabin there – and writes surrounded by moose, trees, snow, more trees and more snow. If you want to know what his third book will be called – listen in. There’ll also be a competition. Again, you’ll have to listen. (That’s Will with Paul (eek! where’s his beard gone?- half of We’d Like A Word – below, at Will’s Red Snow book launch in the excellent Goldsboro Books. Goldsboro is well worth a visit if you’re near Leicester Square or Charing Cross Road in London.)

Paul Waters and Will Dean at Goldsboro Books

An introductory word…

Paul and Steve in the Cardora studio, with Celine holding a clapper board.
Paul & Steve in the Cardora studio, with Celine on the clapper board

We’d Like A Word is a podcast and radio show from Paul Waters and Stevyn Colgan about books and words: the words we write, the words we read, the words we say. We hear from writers, readers, editors, agents, poets, lyricists, publishers, speechwriters and everyone interested in words. And yes, we read a lot of books. And give some away in competitions too. Click on the play button to hear our podcast introduction.

Then email us at [email protected] or follow us/like us/get in touch via Twitter or Facebook @wedlikeaword It would be lovely to hear from you.