We welcome back author and theatre-automation expert Jamie West to The Hobcast Book Show again this week. Jamie has just published his second novel, Murder at the Matinee, which reacquaints us with playwright and amateur sleuth Bertie Carroll, and glories in the setting of London's West End Theatreland in the 1930s. Bertie is intrigued when a newspaper advert predicts a death in Act 3 of a play in which there are no deaths expected. When a body is duly discovered, Bertie himself is not above suspicion. In this wide-ranging interview, Jamie explains how he's taken inspiration from promoting theatre shows to his book marketing, and how he now believes that authors would help themselves by taking time to build interest in their work long before publication date.

Also this week, with distribution outlets for independent publishers becoming more challenging to find in the UK, how are they coping? And Adrian and Rebecca discuss the importance of fact-checking everything before a book goes to print.

Jamie West Author

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Murder-Matinee-golden-age-theatrical-Thorogood-ebook/dp/B0CYT7WQC5

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It's always lovely to catch up with our guests on The Hobcast Book Show. We first spoke to author J.M. Simpson on episode #103, and eighty-seven episodes later she's back to discuss how Jo has developed her existing Castleby series, but how she's also poised to launch a new crime series based in the Highlands of Scotland and a mountain rescue team that operates there. We discuss how Jo's established audience has influenced the direction of her work, and we look at the challenges of balancing a busy day-to-day life with the demands of being an indie author.

Also this week, Adrian and Rebecca run through the newly published Top 10 list of Kindle authors in the UK. Six on the list are crime authors, and three have been guests on this podcast!

J.M. Simpson | Author of drama and suspense novels (jmsimpsonauthor.co.uk)

Buy the Castleby series by J.M. Simpson here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sea-State-Castleby-Book-1-ebook/dp/B09L6W5XJL

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We're heading back to Belfast for the second time in three episodes of The Hobcast Book Show to meet author James Murphy. James is the author of the Terror Trilogy crime series which follow the adventures of Mark Shaw, who inherits Farset Investigations based in the Falls Road. As James tells us, he draws heavily on his memories of growing up in the West Belfast area. His new series will be published by Spellbound next year. James is also a creative writing tutor, both in Belfast and at Liverpool's Edge Hill University. Remarkably, he became a head teacher at the age of just 28, and as he tells us, that challenging role has given him plenty of insights that feed his fiction. James has also presented his own crime podcast, as well as a weekly radio show, Crime Scene. This is a fascinating conversation.

Also this week, we answer a question posed by listener Hannah Bainbridge - should authors aid AI narration systems by offering clearer emotional prompts in their fiction? You perhaps won't be surprised by Adrian and Rebecca's reaction...

https://www.jamesmurphywriter.org/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/James-Murphy/author/B07W5JBWGK

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