A long chat about short stories
I appeared on the Writing Community Chat Show (WCCS) on 6 August 2025, where I talked with the hosts CJ Aggett and Christopher Hooley about my writing journey and inspiration, what my publishing goals are, what story ending I would change, and why I chose Radagast the Brown (from the Lord of the Rings) as the character from another series that I’d like to pinch and use in one of my stories (hypothetically, of course). I had a great time and was chuffed to be invited on.
The WCCS has had some SERIOUSLY big names on before, including our family’s favourite picture book writer, Julia Donaldson, crime fiction heavyweights, Karin Slaughter, Ian Rankin, and Mark Billingham, and in speculative fiction, a major name in UK science fiction, Gareth L. Powell, and Ben Aaronovitch, creator of the bestselling Rivers of London series. So, yeah, when I was invited on, to say I felt a bit of imposter syndrome kick in was an understatement.
HOWEVER, CJ and Chris are lovely, really friendly and genuinely interested in my writing career and where I want to go. The WCCS was created for writers, to build a supportive writing community and to provide a platform for not just a bit of self-promotion but to have guests on that can impart some advice to writers out there. It is a writing podcast for writers, basically, and it felt like a very safe space and I was instantly at ease. If you’re a writer, I urge you to go and check it out and subscribe to their YouTube and Substack channels, there’s over 350 episodes stuffed with writing tips and advice covering a range of topics and genres.
Now, I’m not saying any advice I gave was of the same magnitude or quality as previous guests, but CJ and Chris said I was the first short story writer that had appeared on their show, so I hope my insights as well as my recommendation to check out the Writers of the Future contest was of some use to anyone out there (and CJ and Chris gave me some great advice while I was on too!).
If you’re interested, you can check out the interview below.