Ann Cleeves, author of 'The Long Call' - 'Vera' and 'Shetland' writer talks about the urge to tell stories, learning by living and never plotting

Ann Cleeves is a hugely prolific author - she once wrote a book a year for 30 years, and still publishes more or less every 12 months. We talk about that writing year - when she comes up with ideas, starts working on them and finally hands in the first draft.She has written 8 'Vera Stanhope' books, a character that went on to be played by Brenda Blethyn in a TV series. Also, she's published many 'Shetland' stories, a series which came to an end recently - and we discuss why. Her new book is 'The Long Call'. Set in Devon, it's the start of a brand new series introducing Matthew Venn - we talk about the initial idea for the book, why she set it in Devon and other points about how she told the story.Anne was born in Hertfordshire, raised in North Devon, lived in London, Merseyside, Scotland, and we chat about how her nomadic life has influenced the way she tells stories.To take advantage of our Libro.fm offer - if you're in the USA, you can get 3 months of audiobooks for the price of one, by joining Libro.fm, and using the code ROUTINE when you check out.ALSO - please support us on Patreon.com/writersroutine if you can, it's Christmas after all x@writerspodwritersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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How do the best writers get to work?In every episode, we'll chat to an author about what they do through a day. Where do they work? What time do they start? How do they plan their time and maximise their creativity, in order to plot and publish a bestseller? Some are frantic night-owls, others roll out of bed into their desks, and a few lock themselves away in the woods - but none have a regular 9 to 5, and we'll find out how they've managed it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.