In the best of 'The TRE Bookshow' 2021 (Part 2), TRE’s Hannah Murray catches up with top authors, to discuss their latest releases 27/12/21

Dec 29, 2021, 05:31 PM

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In the best of 'The TRE Bookshow' 2021, TRE’s Hannah Murray catches up with top authors, to discuss their latest releases 27/12/21

It was a joy to chat with Ken Follett again on the Book Show in November. I spoke to him a year ago about 'The Evening and the Morning' which was a prequel to his international bestseller 'The Pillars of the Earth' He has also written the bestselling Century trilogy , which comprises Fall of Giants, Winter of the World and Edge of Eternity. Worldwide sales of his books stand at over 170 million copies. His latest novel 'Never' is a departure from his historical novels, as he has returned to the world of thriller writing. The book tells the story of a global crisis that threatens to lead to the outbreak of a third world war...

John Boyne came back on the Book Show in August. He's published 12 novels for adults, a short story collection, and 6 novels for younger readers, including The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas', which was a New York Times number 1 bestseller, and adapted into a feature film, a play, a ballet, and an opera, selling around 11 million copies worldwide. As of 2021, it has spent 15 years in the New York Times Top 10 bestsellers chart! His latest book 'The Echo Chamber' is something very different. It's a brilliantly funny satire on the pains and pleasures of social media, and how just one little misstep can have devastating consequences. 

I found it fascinating chatting with Rahul Raina in May. He divides his time between Oxford and Delhi. He runs his own consultancy in England for part of the year, and works for charities for street children and teaches English in India with his grandmother in the down season. Hi debut novel 'How to Kidnap the Rich' was acquired in a fierce auction beating six other major publishers. Film rights have already been optioned by HBO, and it's Little Brown's lead title for 2021...

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I loved chatting with Lucinda Hawksley last month. She's an author, broadcaster and public speaker, specialising in literature, art, history, and social history from the 19th and early 20th centuries. 'Dickens and Christmas' is her third book about her great great great grandfather Charles Dickens. For the last decade she has been a Patron of the Charles Dickens Museum in London. 

Sheila O'Flanagan's always a joy to chat with. She came on the Book Show again in April. Sheila
is the author of nearly 30 bestselling chat toppers, including 'The Women Who Ran Away', 'Her Husband's Mistake', and 'All for You', which won the Irish Independent Popular Fiction Book of the Year Award. In her latest 'Three Weddings and a Proposal', the main character has to decide if love, family and a little compromise should come before career, security and independence...and is she prepared to make that choice?

What a fascinating woman Linda Calvey was, when I spoke to her in April. She has served 18 years behind bars, making her Britain's longest serving female prisoner. She even shared a prison with Rose West and Myra Hindley. Since her release, Linda has gone straight and leads a quiet life. Her 2019 memoir 'The Black Widow' was a highly acclaimed bestseller. Her debut novel 'The Locksmith' is an addictive family crime drama combining Linda's own experience - the glamour, the danger, and the high of running with gangsters, hitmen and villains. Part of the action is set in Marbella!