Writer's Routine

Catherine Mayer, author of 'Time/ Life' - Prolific writer discusses eclectic interests, inspirational poetry, and grief

Writer's Routine

Show Notes

Catherine Mayer is a busy do-er. One of those prolific writers, political party founders, and music producers that fills every moment of the day with something. She's inspirational with it.

Catherine was the Europe Editor for Time Magazine, which has taught her to work at all hours of the day on various time-zones. She's written memoirs, journalism, royal biographies. She runs the estate of her late husband, Andy Gill from the band 'Gang of Four', and even finished and executive-produced his posthumous album, 'The Problem of Leisure'. She co-founded the Women's Equality Party and the Primadonna Festival. In 2020, Catherine was named in GQ Magazine's '50 Most Influential People in Britain'.

Her new novel is 'Time/ Life', a feminist retelling of H.G. Wells' 'The Time Machine', as a story of love and grief.

We cover everything about the writing side of her life, how she juggles the abundance of things that are going on, and how much her view of creativity has changed since her partner passed away.

This episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to https://ulys.app/writeabook to download Ulysses, and use the code ROUTINE at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription.

Also, this episode is supported by Faber Academy. Make the most of their fantastic writing courses in 2026 at https://faberacademy.com/writing-a-novel/

Support the show - patreon.com/writersroutine ko-fi.com/writersroutine

Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.com/shop/writersroutine

@writerspod writersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

More from Writer's Routine

Oct 22, 2026

Daisy Stephens is a journalist who has written stories forever. When she was young she filled notebooks with them, now living in a house-share with 3 friends and a grumpy cat, she fills notebooks with ideas and plots. During lockdown, she tried to turn one into a novell. It didn't go well. After 100,000 words she fell out of love and put it away. Then, for her job, she interviewed an author who did what she hadn't. An author who carried on. That writer turned her lockdown project into a published novel... why couldn't Daisy?

Oct 15, 2026

Laurell K. Hamilton is a pioneer of romantasy and urban fantasy. One of the biggest names in the genre, Sarah J. Mass has cited Laurell as an enormous inspiration. She's published more than 40 novels and has sold over 20 million of them. She's a Number 1 New York Times bestseller known for her 'Anita Blake' series and the 'Merry Gentry' books - the first of which was published in 2000.

Oct 8, 2026

Elif Shafak is an incredibly successful and influential author. Born in France to Turkish parents, Elif was raised by her single mother and traditional grandmother. She spent her childhood moving across the world, living in Madrid, Cologne, Amman and Istanbul.

Oct 1, 2026

Jenna Helwig is a food editor, a cookbook evangelist, and now novel writer. She's a culinary school graduate, and in 2025 launched, the Cookbookery Collective, a very successful Substack for cookbook lovers. Jenna has published 5 cookbooks herself focusing on everything from feeding a baby, to cooking on a budget.

Sep 10, 2026

Benjamin Abravenel practiced medicine for 35 years, whilst in snatches of spare time, started work on a novel with a message he was passionate to get heard in the world. When he retired with something like a first draft, he hired a Professor to help him edit into something publishable - she said there was very little chance it would ever be traditionally published. Benjamin went the hybrid-route, and has spent the last few years putting the finishing touches on 'The Past, Again'.

See all episodes →