Happy Boxing Day here in the UK. We all hope you had a lovely Christmas and Yule. Traditionally The Enchanted Emporium is closed from Christmas Eve …
Christmas Merry Meet: Mark Stay
Christmas Merry Meet: Mark Stay
Month: December 2023
My Last Ever Episode of the Bestseller Experiment Podcast
Merry Christmas! That’s if you celebrate, if not then Happy Monday! Mondays have been ‘New Podcast Day’ for the last seven and a bit years, and today marks the release of my last ever episode of The Bestseller Experiment as co-presenter. Why am I leaving? I explain myself in full here. And rest assured that this isn’t the end of the podcast: Mr D will continue and it’s going to be amazing.
What will I be up to in the meantime? Well, stand by for an update in the New Year. Until then, here’s our special Christmas episode where I share some of my favourite moments, outtakes, and we get a visit from a very special elf…
Book Review: The Holly King by Mark Stay
Merry Solstice blessings! Yule is here, so it’s time to review one of the best Christmas books this year and beyond. While most novels focus on the …
Book Review: The Holly King by Mark Stay
The Very Entertaining Mike Gayle
Can’t think of a better author to wrap up 2023 on the Bestseller Experiment with than Mike Gayle. He’s celebrating 25 years of his amazing debut novel My Legendary Girlfriend and he’s got a new one out, A Song of Me and You. We chat about keeping warm in the winter (we’re middle aged writers, so this is relevant!), how to make unlikeable characters engaging, and the really important lesson he learned from being the agony uncle for the teen magazine Bliss in the 90s…
A Festive Q&A at Mai’s Musings…
I was delighted to take part in a festive Q&A with Mai’s Musings. Find out what I’m hoping to find in my Christmas stocking this year here…
LM Chilton Swipes Right for a Chat
It’s always great to have a guest on the podcast who was a listener who got a book deal, and Luke Chilton described himself as a “hardcore fan” when he dropped us a line pitching to come on the show. How can we turn down a request like that? Also, I had the pleasure of giving Luke feedback of an early draft of his debut novel ‘Don’t Swipe Right’ when it was called ‘Ex’. It’s a cracking read, a thriller with heart and humour and the rights have been sold in over ten countries and Luke has had the most amazing reviews.
Here’s the episode with our chat, and also enjoy the moment where I make a very inappropriate joke about the Joy of Sex with Mr D…
I’m Leaving the Bestseller Experiment Podcast
Yup. After seven years, 480+ episodes, 500+ authors and countless hours of award-winning waffle I’ve decided to hang up my podcasting headphones. Why would I do such a thing? Well, I need to spend more time focusing on my writing. The podcast can take up to half of my working week, and I’ve currently got four big writing projects on the go with more on the horizon and I need every spare minute I can get.
I’ve tried to pre-empt what questions listeners might have and answered them below, but if you have any other questions then do please pop them in the comments section below…
When am I leaving? The last episode I’m recording is the Christmas Day special. I have recorded a few author interviews that will go live in January, so you’ll hear those, but I won’t be recording the usual before and after chat with Mr D.
Will the podcast continue? You betcha! Mr D has some very exciting plans for the Bestseller Experiment. I have no doubt that it’ll be bigger and better than ever.
Are you leaving the Bestseller Academy? Yes. But again, there are hours and hours of my pearls of wisdom (aka writerly waffle) in the academy archive and my courses are still there. And, like the podcast, Mr D has some great plans for the academy going forward. I’ll leave it to him to reveal them in his own time, but it’s still a great place to find a wonderful writing community.
Will you start your own podcast? I don’t have any immediate plans to do so, but I love speaking with authors and who knows what the future holds. I won’t rule it out, but it won’t be happening soon. I might even take a wee step back from social media for a bit. But I’ll always be here on the blog.
Have you and Mr D had a falling out? Is this like the break up of the Beatles!? Definitely not! I love that man and wish him only happiness. Chatting with him every week has been a delight. Though I should make it clear that we don’t live together like Morecambe and Wise or Bert and Ernie…
What if I want advice on writing? Can you still look at my novel and script? Definitely! Just drop me a line here and we can get the ball rolling.
The podcast has been a huge part of my life these last seven years and I’ve loved every minute of it. It’s been a privilege speaking to so many amazing authors and publishing folk, and there’s no question that it’s made me a better writer. There’s a wonderful cliche in storytelling that the real prize is the friends we made along the way, and that’s never been truer than with the podcast: Mr D, and all the members of the BXP Group and the Academy, I now have the honour of calling my friends. It’s been a joy getting to know them all and see their writing blossom in so many different ways. And I will always look back on the podcast with a huge sense of pride and joy. It’s goodbye from Mark Two…
Mark Stay Writes 