MY SECOND PODCAST APPEARANCE

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be interviewed about making a podcast appearance and being interviewed about your writing life, or worried you’d fluff the answers, don’t worry. I’ve beaten you to it. 

I recently had the privilege of appearing on The Funky Writer Show. It was my first ever podcast appearance. Listening back, I felt I could have done better. This is through no fault of the host, the very charming Robert Batista! You can read about my experiences on that episode here. 

When I was given the chance to appear on the CC & JT Amateur Hour, I was determined to learn from my mistakes. Luckily, I’d discovered the excellent Novel Marketing Podcast. After I listened to their tips for making a successful podcast appearance, I felt more confident. 

Seven Questions

The CC & JT Amateur Hour is a fun and relaxed podcast run from Nevada by hosts Cassidy Carson and JT Hume. Their aim is to “let writers write.” In advance of the show, they sent me a list of the seven questions they ask all guests in the second half, which gave me plenty of time to prepare:

1. What was your “I am a real honest-to-goodness writer” moment?
2. Who is your writing role model and why?
3. What do you love about writing?
4. What do you absolutely dread about writing?
5. What single significant life experience affects your writing, good or bad?|
6. Would you recommend “the writing life” to a loved one? Why?|
7. What is something unexpected in your past that we won’t see in your bio?

Many of these questions are at the heart of themes I explore in Life in Shadows, my short story about two writers. That said, I still fluffed one or two answers, omitting things I wanted to say. Still, being able to prepare definitely helped for my secind podcast appearance. 

Hiccups

In the first half, the discussion ranged from travel to Covid to being a multi-genre author. We also discussed how my novel, Do Not Keep Silent, was inspired by my travels to Hong Kong. There were a some hiccups. In the research I did before the recording, JT and Cassisdy team-tag the questions. Unfortunately JT’s wifi connection meant he kept breaking up on my end. Apparently, this doesn’t show in the completed edit.

Anyway, Cassidy had to ask nearly all the questions. Even with these slight tech hiccups, the episode came out well. If you’re curious, you can watch or listen and hear me chat about the excitement, joy and backache problems of writing.

WHAT WORKED?

First and foremost, I made sure that my evil anti-muse, Bertie the cat, had no access to the room. Second, I invested in a miniature clip-on microphone, which improved my own sound quality. My daughter bought it, actually, so thanks to her. 

(Sidenote: recently,  my son, who has started his own tennis-based podcast, showed me his microphone. It’s proper, stand up BBC-style microphone, and I felt consumed with envy!)

I had water on standby, and as a precaution also had a plastic bottle to refill my glass. The interview was during the first few days of the summer holiday and I was still suffering from my teachers’ end of year sore throat. The podcast is recorded as a video using the Riverside online platform. Although many people hate the idea of appearing visually, I don’t mind, and during the recording, it felt natural, perhaps because of all the live online teaching I had to do during lockdown. 

Listening to episodes 16 and 17 of the Novel Marketing podcast helped my confidence, and reminded me to enjoy myself and try to be engaging and entertaining.

WHAT DIDN’T GO SO WELL?

To ensure the sound of my refill water bottle being opened wouldn’t interfere with the recording, I cracked the bottle’s seal with a minute to go before I had to go online. Water fountained out, all over my shirt, prompting a hasty run upstairs to find a new one. 

Then, when I tried to join the link JT and Cassidy had sent, I couldn’t get onto it – because my Chrome needed updating! Luckily, that only took two minutes, and I ended up being a couple of minutes late. JT and Cassidy were very understanding and patient, but as usual, there is a lesson to learn there: update your Chrome and close other programmes and tabs, because Riverside takes up a lot of processing power. Or something. I don’t really know what, to be honest. 

I made the mistake of mentioning that my current WIP is a sporting underdog duology set in the world of cricket. I’ll repeat that. Cricket…to two Americans. From their reaction, I suspect those two books (tentatively titled The Academy and The Draw) might be a tough sell in the States.

Nevertheless, Cassidy was able to find common themes in the stories – young hopefuls and then tired professionals coming to terms with the end of their careers.

FINAL IMPRESSION

Listening to myself on The Funky Writer Show was invaluable, and helped me pinpoint areas for improvement. Listening to the podcast episodes on Novel Marketing helped enormously. I enjoyed appearing on the JT & CC Amateur Hour because I allowed myself to feel more natural. 

In general, I’m starting to enjoy the promotional side of being an author—especially when it leads to warm, thoughtful conversations like this one. If you have thirty minutes and want to hear about writing, travel and cats, tune in to the episode on August 17th. And if you’re curious about the stories behind the stories, you can check out Do Not Keep Silent, a perfect novel if you like fast-paced thrillers with a real-world edge, and Life in Shadows, a short, sweet read about writers, love, and second chances.

You can see my appearance on The CC & JT Amateur Hour. Give it a listen and let me know what you think. If nothing else, you’ll discover the answer to Question 7!