Stephen Spotswood, author of 'Dead in the Frame' - New York Times award winner reveals what he learned from writing plays, solving mysteries like a reader, and physical fitness helping mental creativity

Writer's Routine

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This week, we're chatting to Stephen Spotswood. Stephen is an acclaimed author and playwright celebrated for his mastery of mystery and suspense. Best known for his 'Pentecost and Parker' series, Spotswood reimagines the noir genre with sharp wit, dynamic characters, and intricate storytelling. He's a Nero Award Winner, a New Blood Dagger Award finalist, an Edgar Award Nominee, wrote the NYT Book Review Best Crime and Mystery of the Year.

His new novel is 'Dead in the Frame', it's the 5th in the 'Pentecost and Parker' series. It sees the sleuthing duo Willowjean Park and Lillian Pentecost make a name for themselves as the premier detective outfit in 1940s New York City. However, when an old enemy is killed... Lillian is the prime suspect. She finds herself locked away in the notorious Women's House of Detention, and the race is on to get free and find the real killer.

We discuss the first seed of the duo, and how he pays attention to the little details of period writing. We discuss how physical fitness helps mention output, why he writes almost exclusively for female performers, and how much a location influences creativity.

You can hear how he approaches writing mysteries quite loosely and is fine to discover the solution at the same time as the reader. We discuss what he's learned from writing players, and how he knows whether it'll be a good work day.

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