Sara Sheridan, author of 'The Jewel Keepers' - Book of the Year winner discusses treasure hunt thrillers, long lunches, and the role of a writer
Writer's RoutineShow Notes
Sara Sheridan's 2022 novel, 'The Botanists', was the Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year, and was a pick for 'The Queen's Reading Room'. Her debut, 'Truth or Rare', won the Scottish Library Award. 'On Starlit Seas', was shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Prize, and she's been shortlisted for the Saltire Prize and the CWA Dagger in the Library Award. Sara's published 20 novels, spanning crime, thrillers, TV tie-ins, ghostwriting and historical fiction.
Her new novel is 'The Jewel Keepers'. It tells the story of 25 year old Amarinta McKenzie-Moore, who in 1837 is summoned to her great-aunt's deathbed, and learns the family secret... that she is a Jewel Keeper to the Scottish Crown. She's thrust into a high-stakes treasure hunt that could change the lives of every woman alive.
We discuss comparisons to 'The Da Vinci Code', how public-speaking helps her writing, and how she gets into the mind of real people who lived so long ago. You can hear how she's realised exactly what he role as a writer is, what she needs to start, and about long-lunches that lead to exciting ideas.
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