We like to have a subject to speak about on this podcast, even when we have a guest. Rach raised the idea of ‘do you read your own reviews?’ and said she had one guest in mind: Sally Hepworth. Sally not only reads reviews of her books but is especially fond of the one-star reviews, as she talks about in this episode. Indeed, she is very fond of one-star reviews. And she and Rach both very much do not like three-star reviews. You’ll have to listen to find out whether or not Soph pays attention to reviews.This was the first time Soph had met Sally, although of course she was very much aware of her as the author of international bestsellers such as THE SOULMATE and THE YOUNGER WIFE. Sally is delightful - so interesting and funny - so we loved having this chat with her. Sally’s latest book is THE DARLING GIRLS. ***Writers - do you have a challenge or conundrum, or a question about process, how to get started, or anything at all to do with writing? We’d love to be your writing agony aunts.Readers - we would love to hear from you too! You can ask us questions about our books … and we’d also be happy to be YOUR agony aunts. We may not have professional qualifications but we sort out problems for our characters all the time, so if you’d like to get something off your chest/ask for some input/just see what we think about something, let us know.If you have a question for us, please email [email protected] and put ‘Dear Rach & Soph’ in the subject line.And if you’d like to actually be in the podcast with us while we answer your question, please let us know in the email.For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is Outback Reunion (2024)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BookTok is now an entrenched part of bookselling and publishing - it is not a temporary glitch, as it may have appeared to be during the pandemic when readers were looking for escapism. The genres that are at the core of BookTok - romance and romantasy - remain popular, and may have been said to have increased in popularity. Certainly TikTok isn’t going away and nor is #booktok.Rach and Soph wanted to find out more about the phenomenon from someone who has been involved in it for a while: Sophie's colleague Claudia, who works in book marketing. Claudia was a BookToker before she started working in publishing and she is still a reader of books that are popular on BookTok, as well as making content for that audience. Therefore she is eminently qualified to talk to us about the phenomenon: what it is, what it means, who it’s for and more besides.For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is Outback Reunion (2024)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From Sophie:I met Rachael Treasure for the first time in the middle of this year on the Gold Coast, as we were both attending authors at Rachael Johns's Readers Retreat. I've read Rachael T's books, including her now-classic Jillaroo, which can be said to be the first ever rural romance (even though she wouldn't necessarily classify it as that). To say that Rachael T is a delightful human being is to seriously undersell her. She is whimsical, hilarious, astute, generous and hugely warm hearted, as well as being a (r)evolutionary in agriculture. We have some things in common - she practises yoga (indeed, she came to the yoga class I taught during the retreat) and she loves country music, and has even written some songs with fellow Tasmanians The Wolfe Brothers - but I don't like her because she's like me. I like her because she's a terrific person and a brilliant writer. Rachael J is also very fond of her, so it seemed like a very logical thing to have Rachael T on the podcast.About Rachael TreasureRachael Treasure is a best-selling author, regenerative agriculturalist, and mother who grew up and still lives in Tasmania. A graduate of universities in Orange and Bathurst, Rachael uses story to empower women and change mindsets towards healthier food systems. Drawing on her experience working on a Queensland cattle station, Rachael published her first novel Jillaroo, in 2002. In the two decades since its release, Jillaroo has cemented itself as an iconic work of contemporary fiction, changing the face of Australian publishing and opening the floodgates to a plethora of novels in the ‘rural lit’ genre. She is co-founder of Ripple Farm Landscape Healing Hub, a 100-acre regenerative farm in Southern Tasmania that showcases Natural Sequence Farming, soil health principles, ecological restoration, and holistic farming. The farm sells meat, eggs and other produce directly to conscious consumers via Open Food Networks – an online system offering an alternative to major supermarkets. Rachael has travelled widely, writing wherever she goes. She has worked a number of jobs as a jillaroo, professional wool classer, veterinary nurse, rural journalist, stock camp cook, high country cattle drover, truffle sniffer dog handler and family farm manager. Her eighth novel Milking Time was published this year. She is also the author of the memoir Down the Dirt Roads and some short story collections.***For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is Outback Reunion (2024)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanks to lovely reader Elaine in New Zealand, whom Rach and Soph both met at the RJ Book Club Readers Retreat on the Gold Coast this year, for this question that Rach and I answer in this week’s episode:‘Which has been the book you've written that you've most enjoyed writing, and did reader feedback reflect your own feelings?’There’s a bit in there about the one time Soph drew heavily on her own near-death experience to for a chapter in THE SHELLY BAY LADIES SWIMMING CIRCLE and then subsequently forgets details about a character in that novel (hey, it happens!) so please enjoy her correcting herself …At the start of the episode Rach talks about attending the recent Festival of Fiction in Perth, organised by @tesswoods. As the Perth Writers Festival is not taking place next year, perhaps this festival can return! Do let us know if you went to it and, if so, what you thought - and if you agree with the attendee who thought there should be ‘more memoir’ in a fiction festival …!Writers - do you have a challenge or conundrum, or a question about process, how to get started, or anything at all to do with writing? We’d love to be your writing agony aunts.Readers - we would love to hear from you too! You can ask us questions about our books … and we’d also be happy to be YOUR agony aunts. We may not have professional qualifications but we sort out problems for our characters all the time, so if you’d like to get something off your chest/ask for some input/just see what we think about something, let us know.If you have a question for us, please email [email protected] and put ‘Dear Rach & Soph’ in the subject line.And if you’d like to actually be in the podcast with us while we answer your question, please let us know in the email.For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is Outback Reunion (2024)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sometimes Rachael Johns and I wonder if we have any listeners/viewers (well, not really - I can see the stats so I know you're out there, and thank you for listening/watching!). Then a question or two comes in and, lo, we are reassured that there are, indeed, listeners/viewers. Such is the case with this week's episode, in which Rach answers a question from Nina Kenwood about community building and we both answer a question from a listener who wished to remain anonymous. That question is about lack of support from a spouse for writing, and we are blunt in our answers but hopeful that, with that, the writer who contacted us can find something helpful in it. Rach and I are probably both too long in the tooth to not be blunt these days, and I've personally found that addressing hard things head-on is better than trying to dance around them.***Writers - do you have a challenge or conundrum, or a question about process, how to get started, or anything at all to do with writing? We’d love to be your writing agony aunts.Readers - we would love to hear from you too! You can ask us questions about our books … and we’d also be happy to be YOUR agony aunts. We may not have professional qualifications but we sort out problems for our characters all the time, so if you’d like to get something off your chest/ask for some input/just see what we think about something, let us know.If you have a question for us, please email [email protected] and put ‘Dear Rach & Soph’ in the subject line.And if you’d like to actually be in the podcast with us while we answer your question, please let us know in the email.For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is The Other Bridget (2024)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we talk about writing craft books. Rach loves them - indeed, she collects them, and if you watch this episode on video you’ll see the collection. She’s also read a lot of them. Soph have not read too many but likes what she's read thus far. Possibly the most important information we could convey in this post is the list of books mentioned in the episode, and this is it in the order of mentioning:Save the Cat! by Blake SnyderSave the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica BrodyPride and Prejudice: The Story Grid Edition by Jane Austen, Shawn CoyneInto the Woods by John YorkeRomancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels by Gwen HayesThe Complete Writers Guide to Heroes and Heroines: 16 Master Archetypes by Tami D Cowden, Carolyn LaFever, Sue VidersBig Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert45 Master Characters by Victoria Lynn SchmidtTen Things About Writing by Joanne HarrisBestseller by Celia BradfieldStory Trumps Structure by Steven JamesThe Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca PuglisiWriting into the Dark by Dean Wesley SmithThe Pocket Guide to Pantsing by M.L. RonnThe Bestseller Code by Jodie Archer and Matthew L Jockers Should we start a ‘craft book’ club? Rach already has her online book club which is for reading fiction, mainly, but if you’re a writer and you’d be interested in a craft book club, let one of us know in the comments or by DM or whatever means works for you. ***Writers - do you have a challenge or conundrum, or a question about process, how to get started, or anything at all to do with writing? We’d love to be your writing agony aunts.Readers - we would love to hear from you too! You can ask us questions about our books … and we’d also be happy to be YOUR agony aunts. We may not have professional qualifications but we sort out problems for our characters all the time, so if you’d like to get something off your chest/ask for some input/just see what we think about something, let us know.If you have a question for us, please email [email protected] and put ‘Dear Rach & Soph’ in the subject line.And if you’d like to actually be in the podcast with us while we answer your question, please let us know in the email.For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is The Other BridgetHer next book is The Work Wife (to be published in January 2025)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (published in August 2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dear Rach & Soph - podcastHosted by bestselling Australian novelists Rachael Johns and Sophie GreenRach is currently writing a book about twins who are adopted. As can happen for an author, she needed to do some research. Which is where Soph comes in … she's adopted. It’s not something you’ll find in her author bio because for her it’s a mundane fact. She's always known. But it is out of the ordinary, and it is complex, and there is often heartbreak on at least one side of it, and there can be confusion and problems on the other. So here’s almost an hour of Rach asking Soph questions about adoption, and what makes this an episode that is still about writing is that you’re watching Rach at work, essentially. This is her work as a writer doing research. This is Soph not being a writer but, rather, an adoptee. She doesn't get the chance to talk about it often because the people who know she's adopted are past the point of asking me questions about it! And in this episode we refer to the fact that we are both the products of affairs - something we covered in our second episode of season 1, in case you’re inclined to go back and listen.For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is The Other BridgetHer next book is The Work Wife (to be published in January 2025)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (published in August 2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the podcast Rachael Johns and Sophie Green talk about points of view in novels: first, third - and the little-seen second (and Sophie cites Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney as an example of this point of view). We also discuss use of past and present tense within these points of view, and whether the point of view (and tense) choose us or we choose them. So this is a 'craft' episode, and we do get feedback from listeners that you like us talking about craft, so here you go! If there's anything related to writing craft that you'd like us to cover on the pod, please drop us a line at [email protected] books/writers mentioned:Here One Moment by Liane MoriartyElin HildebrandPachinko by Min Jin LeeNora RobertsFor more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is Outback Reunion (2024)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Rachael Johns and Sophie Green talk to author Christine Wells, and the theme is 'staying published' - that is, what it has taken for Christine to stay published over the course of her career. She's published 16 books with four different publishers in the United States and Australia, so she has quite a lot of experience to draw on! There's more about Christine and her latest novel, THE PARIS GOWN, below. *** Christine Wells writes historical fiction featuring strong, fascinating women.  After graduating from university with a law degree, Christine worked in a large city firm, specialising in corporate mergers and acquisitions. She might still be a lawyer if she hadn’t accepted a challenge from her friend to try her hand at a novel. Christine has gone on to publish sixteen novels set in periods ranging from Georgian England to post World War II France. Her next novel is The Paris Gown and it will be published in August this year. Passionate about helping other writers learn the craft and business of writing fiction, Christine enjoys mentoring and teaching workshops whenever her schedule permits.https://christine-wells.com About THE PARIS GOWN Paris, 1956Three friends—Claire, Gina, and Margot—who parted as very young women with their whole lives ahead of them, reunite in Paris years later, determined to start life anew.Parisian Claire has been working hard to become a Michelin-starred chef one day, but ever since the heady time she spent in the company of socialites Gina and Margot, her dream has been to own a Dior gown. This seemed like a far-off fantasy, until the eccentric and wealthy Madame Vaughn, who lives above Claire’s family brasserie, abruptly leaves Paris, asking Claire to mind her apartment. More bafflingly, Madame Vaughn also makes Claire a very special gift: a stunning Dior gown.Meanwhile Gina, a cool American blue blood, lands on Claire’s doorstep nursing a broken heart and a broken engagement after her father lost all of the family money in a risky business venture. A journalist aspiring to be a novelist, Gina has returned to Paris in the hopes of pursuing her dream. But when her father begs her to attend the United States Embassy ball in the hopes of persuading Hal Sanders, her former fiancé, to invest in her father’s new business venture, she is torn. She wants to help her father, but seeing Hal again will be exquisitely painful. And what on earth is she going to wear?Warm-hearted Claire insists Gina wear the Dior gown to the ball, and after some hesitation, Gina accepts. At Dior for Gina’s fitting, who should assist them but Margot, the friend they thought had gone back to Australia to be married. But Margot is living in Paris and working at Dior under an assumed name, and clearly, she is not happy to have been found.Is their close friendship at an end? Or will the wonder and delight of the Dior gown bring these young women back together?Gorgeous, perfectly fitted, lustrous and luxurious, the Dior gown has the power to change lives—as these three remarkable women are about to discover… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Even if you don’t read spicy books, as they’ve come to be known, you’ve no doubt read spicy scenes in other books (and we're using the term ‘spicy’ instead of the other because we’d have to use an asterisk in that to avoid internet-consequences, plus we're sure you understand what we mean when we say ‘spicy’). If you are a writer of spicy books, you’ve definitely written them, and even if you don’t write spicy books you may have written spicy scenes anyway.Soph reads spicy books. Both Rach and Soph have both written spicy books - although Soph's are no longer available and were under a completely different name - and Rach writes spicy scenes in other books. So when Rach suggested we talk about writing spicy scenes, of course Soph agreed.What follows in this podcast episode is Soph doing a lot of laughing and Rach essentially giving a masterclass in how to write spicy scenes. [Note from Soph: writers, I thoroughly suggest you take notes because she has so many good tips!]Writers - do you have a challenge or conundrum, or a question about process, how to get started, or anything at all to do with writing? We’d love to be your writing agony aunts.Readers - we would love to hear from you too! You can ask us questions about our books … and we’d also be happy to be YOUR agony aunts. We may not have professional qualifications but we sort out problems for our characters all the time, so if you’d like to get something off your chest/ask for some input/just see what we think about something, let us know.If you have a question for us, please email [email protected] and put ‘Dear Rach & Soph’ in the subject line.And if you’d like to actually be in the podcast with us while we answer your question, please let us know in the email.For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is The Other BridgetHer next book is The Work Wife (to be published in January 2025)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (published in August 2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we talk to Lainie Anderson, author of the new novel The Death of Dora Black: A Petticoat Police Mystery. We had a lovely time, as Lainie was warm and engaging and very, very interesting. If you'd like to see Sophie's review of the book, it's here. If you'd like to read more about the book and Lainie, you're in luck! That information appears below. ABOUT THE DEATH OF DORA BLACK A charming, uplifting cosy murder mystery inspired by the true story of Australia's pioneering policewoman Kate Cocks Summer, Adelaide, 1917. The impeccably dressed Miss Kate Cocks might look more like a schoolmistress than a policewoman, but don't let that fool you. She's a household name, wrangling wayward husbands into repentance, seeing through deceptive clairvoyants, and rescuing young women (whether they like it or not) with the help of a five-foot cane and her sassy junior constable, Ethel Bromley. When shop assistant Dora Black is found dead on a city beach, Miss Cocks and Ethel are ordered to stay out of the investigation and leave it to the men. But when Dora's workmate goes missing soon after, the women suspect something sinister, and determine to take matters into their own hands. After all, who knows Adelaide better than the indomitable Miss Cocks? *In 1915, Fanny Kate Boadicea Cocks became the first policewoman in the British Empire employed on the same salary as men. This novel is a rich exploration of that little-known chapter of Australian history.* ABOUT LAINIE ANDERSON Lainie Anderson is a writer whose 35-year career in journalism and public relations includes 17 years as a columnist with Adelaide's Sunday Mail, as well as stints at Melbourne's Herald Sun, London's The Times and the South Australian Tourism Commission. After being awarded a Churchill Fellowship, Lainie published her debut novel Long Flight Home in 2019. In 2024, Lainie completed a PhD with the University of South Australia, researching the life of Kate Cocks, the inspiration behind The Death of Dora Black. In 2023 she was announced as the Emerging Historian of the Year by the History Council of South Australia. The Death of Dora Black is her second book. For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is The Other BridgetHer next book is The Work Wife (to be published in January 2025)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (published in August 2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ambition is a tricky subject for Australians - our Tall Poppy Syndrome is alive and well, and when you combine that with lingering Cultural Cringe, for an Australian writer to say they have ambitions/that they are ambitious can be seen as cringey in and of itself.Well, we decided that it’s too bad if anyone sees us as cringey - or, rather, we don’t care, because we do have ambition and we wanted to talk about it. Partly because we hope that by naming it, by talking about it, other writers (especially female writers, since girls and women tend to be socialised to not have or own up to ambition) may feel that they can claim their own ambition. And also consider what they’re ambitious for.So in this, the first episode of the second season of Dear Rach & Soph - a podcast that exists partly because we have ambitions: to make interesting stuff, to communicate with other writers, to be useful - we discuss our ambitions, what forms ambition can take and how it can affect writing.As with last season, this season’s episodes are released out of recording order, so don’t attach too much to the timing of what’s in the intro for each …We hope you enjoy this episode, and this season, and while we’ve already had some listener questions to cover, we welcome more. Either send one of us a DM or email [email protected] in advance for listening! And for another take on 'grand ambition', go here.For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is The Other BridgetHer next book is The Work Wife (to be published in January 2025)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (published in August 2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When we recorded our first episode of our podcast, Dear Rach & Soph, earlier this year, we talked about her then-new novel The Other Bridget. So even though we've wrapped the first season, Rachael suggested we do an episode devoted to Sophie's new novel, Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel. So this is a bonus episode of the podcast - or a bridging episode, if you will, since we have already started recording season two! We have so appreciated the feedback from listeners, including telling us that you miss the pod, so we hope you enjoy this episode and we'll be back soon. For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is The Other BridgetHer next book is The Work Wife (to be published in January 2025)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (published in August 2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When we started this podcast we don’t think either of us had a single thought about how long it might go for - probably not this long! It's hard to believe we’ve released an episode a week for the past 17 Sundays, but we haven’t run out of things to talk about and we still have a long list of subjects we’d like to discuss. However, we’re going to take a little break as we both have books to write.In this, our final episode of season 1 (as we do plan to do a season 2), we discuss Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, a book that Rach has held dear for a while and which Soph read for this podcast but wishes she’d read earlier. She listened to the audiobook, narrated by Gilbert, and loved that experience, but then went and bought the print book as I wanted to have it to refer to. It’s a special book, partly because of how cleanly and clearly Gilbert expresses herself. In this episode Rach and Soph discuss some elements of the book - definitely not all - in light of our own experience as writers. Happily listening, and we’ll be back!For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is The Other BridgetHer next book is The Work Wife (to be published in January 2025)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Weekends with the Sunshine Gardening SocietyHer next book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (to be published in August 2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the penultimate episode of the first season of Dear Rach & Soph - Rachael and Sophie both have books to write, so we need to focus on those - but we have a long list of subjects we’d like to cover in future episodes so we will be back! In this episode we were very happy to chat to Susannah Begbie, author of The Deed, which won the Richell Prize in 2022. The Richell is a joint project of @hachetteaus and @emergingwriters; entries for the 2024 prize are open now and closing on 7 July. Details at https://emergingwritersfestival.org.au/the-richell-prize-for-emerging-writers/If you’ve ever thought about entering a literary competition, it’s worth listening to Susannah talk about how and why she did and what it’s meant to her. She’s also all-round interesting!Susannah Begbie grew up in rural New South Wales on a sheep farm and is now a GP who has worked all over Australia. In 2006, Susannah started a Graduate Diploma in Professional Writing at Canberra University and was awarded the Editor's Pick for her short story 'Fly to Meet You' in the University's First Anthology. She was also awarded the best-written text for her children's book Don't You Dare! in The Get Real Project. The Deed is her first novel.This episode was recorded as the Sydney Writers Festival was starting so we have a bit of a chat about festival programming, as Sophie anticipates going to see Michael Connelly at his event at Sydney Town Hall.Speaking of events … Rach will be in Sydney to do an event with Lizzy Dent on Wednesday 3 July at 6 p.m. and Soph will be there too, in the audience. If you’d like to join us go to: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1209662 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

**NB This episode was recorded in April so our intro chat will be out of sync with recent episodes.**This week we have a wonderful guest: children’s author Ashleigh Barton, who has written several CBCA Notable and Shortlist titles including What Do You Call Your Grandpa? and What Do You Call Your Grandma? (more information below). Ashleigh’s latest book is the picture book Dinosaur in My Pocket and on 26 June she’ll release two Freddie Spector, Fact Collector titles: Go for Gold and Space Cadet. Ashleigh writes for a range of ages of children and is endlessly creative. We talk to her about where she gets her ideas, how she manages writing while running a household and family, and her path to publication. ABOUT ASHLEIGH BARTONAshleigh Barton is a children's author and copywriter. Before writing full time, she pursued her love of books (children's books especially) by working in some of Australia's biggest publishing houses, running marketing and publicity campaigns for globally renowned authors and illustrators. Ashleigh has previously published five successful and highly acclaimed picture books and a junior fiction series. She lives in Sydney with her husband, three children and their dog.For more about Ashleigh: https://www.ashleighbarton.com/For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is The Other BridgetHer next book is The Work Wife (to be published in January 2025)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Weekends with the Sunshine Gardening SocietyHer next book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (to be published in August 2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rejections are par for the course for all writers, whether they’ve been published or not. Even once you have a publisher they may reject your next idea - or readers may reject your book by not reading it! Both Rachael Johns and Sophie Green have been rejected - multiple times (and both of us by Mills & Boon, which we talk about in this episode).As a publisher, and when she was an agent, Sophie does some rejecting, and she also sees a lot of submissions, so she has some things to say about where writers go wrong in the submission process. (She made a ten-minute TikTok about how to write a submission letter and that is linked below.)Therefore, if you are a writer - or engaged in any creative pursuit - and want to here us chat about being rejected, how to deal with rejection, what leads to manuscripts being rejected, and who knows what else we have in there, this is the episode for you. How to write a query/submission letter (TikTok video)https://www.tiktok.com/@sophiegreenbooks/video/7360218814610443538?_t=8mdflLRbf5G&_r=1For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is The Other BridgetHer next book is The Work Wife (to be published in January 2025)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Weekends with the Sunshine Gardening SocietyHer next book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (to be published in August 2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A little while ago Rachael Johns suggested we do an episode on ‘retirement energy’ after one of her favourites, Elin Hildebrand, announced she was stepping back from her regular writing pace. Writers obviously don’t have the same working structures as those in other careers and the decision to step back or retire can happen for a variety of reasons. Rach also suggested that we chat to fellow Western Australian author Fiona Palmer about her decision not to write novels for the foreseeable future (her last published book is The Wrong Sister from 2022). Books mentioned: Regeneration by Pat BarkerThe Tea Ladies by Amanda HampsonJackie by Dawn TrippExpiration Dates by Rebecca SearleWe are releasing out of our recording sequence so please forgive us for little anomalies like saying Fiona is our third guest when we’ve had some other guests on!If you have a question for us, please email [email protected] and put ‘Dear Rach & Soph’ in the subject line.And if you’d like to actually be in the podcast with us while we answer your question, please let us know in the email.For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is The Other BridgetHer next book is The Work Wife (to be published in January 2025)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Weekends with the Sunshine Gardening SocietyHer next book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (to be published in August 2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Rachael Johns and Sophie Green talk about the parts of writing that we may or may not find tricky: no, not the existential stuff like 'I feel like I'm ripping my soul out of my body' (NB: we don't) but the technical stuff ... showing vs telling, action tags and dialogue tags, keeping track of timelines, whether or not we describe our characters' appearances, and other subjects of that ilk.We also catch up on our news, which includes Soph writing a Farmer Wants a Wife recap for Rach, and generally enjoy chatting to each other, as always.For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is The Other BridgetHer next book is The Work Wife (to be published in January 2025)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Weekends with the Sunshine Gardening SocietyHer next book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (to be published in August 2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Rach and Soph talk about their Farmer Wants a Wife viewing, Rach asks Soph if she'd ever write a country music novel and we have a special guest: rural fiction author Renae Black. Renae had some questions about literary agents and Sophie used to be one, so we talk about the reasons for having one or not and, if you want one, how you’d choose one.Rach also asks Soph if she has a tattoo - and she wants to know if any of you have a literary-themed tattoo …We recorded this one before last week’s episode, so you’ll hear Rach saying it’s her first time introducing the episode … even though she introduced last week’s. This is our prerogative, to change order! Visit Renae Black's website: https://renaeblack.com/Writers - do you have a challenge or conundrum, or a question about process, how to get started, or anything at all to do with writing? We’d love to be your writing agony aunts.Readers - we would love to hear from you too! You can ask us questions about our books … and we’d also be happy to be YOUR agony aunts. We may not have professional qualifications but we sort out problems for our characters all the time, so if you’d like to get something off your chest/ask for some input/just see what we think about something, let us know.If you have a question for us, please email [email protected] and put ‘Dear Rach & Soph’ in the subject line.And if you’d like to actually be in the podcast with us while we answer your question, please let us know in the email.For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is The Other BridgetHer next book is The Work Wife (to be published in January 2025)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Weekends with the Sunshine Gardening SocietyHer next book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (to be published in August 2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week bestselling authors Rachael Johns and Sophie Green answer a couple of listener questions - one from a writer we’ll call Mindy, as she wishes to remain anonymous, and another from Ike Levick. In the course of answering their questions Rach and Soph talk about why they write, how they define success, and how they move past blocks in their writing and get out of their own way.If you have a question for Rach and Soph, you can email it to [email protected] more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is The Other BridgetHer next book is The Work Wife (to be published in January 2025)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Weekends with the Sunshine Gardening SocietyHer next book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (to be published in August 2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rachael Johns decided to scale back her presence on social media for a little while - not leaving it entirely but restricting how much time she spent on it. With two books to write this year, it's no surprise she needed the time. The surprise came when around the same time as she made that decision she discovered that fellow Western Australian and international bestselling author Natasha Lester made a similar decision, and so did so did Jack Heath, prolific author of books for children and adults.So Rach suggested that we invite Natasha and Jack come on the podcast to discuss this with us, and a lively and highly interesting discussion ensued. Whether you're an author wondering if you need to build a social media presence or scale back the one you have, or just generally wondering about it, we hope you'll find what we have to say thought-provoking. Books mentioned:Stolen Focus by Johann HariDoppelganger by Naomi KleinFor more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is The Other BridgetHer next book is The Work Wife (to be published in January 2025)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Weekends with the Sunshine Gardening SocietyHer next book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (to be published in August 2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The editorial process is something every published author goes through but which time and repetition tends not to ameliorate … alas! In this episode bestselling novelists Rachael Johns and Sophie Green talk about the different stages of the editorial process, both the ones we go through before turning in a manuscript and what happens as a manuscript is turned into a book. Hopefully it’s interesting for writers who haven’t experienced it yet and for published authors it may be cathartic to listen to! We certainly liked chatting to each other about it and hope you enjoy listening in.Writers - do you have a challenge or conundrum, or a question about process, how to get started, or anything at all to do with writing? We’d love to be your writing agony aunts.Readers - we would love to hear from you too! You can ask us questions about our books … and we’d also be happy to be YOUR agony aunts. We may not have professional qualifications but we sort out problems for our characters all the time, so if you’d like to get something off your chest/ask for some input/just see what we think about something, let us know.If you have a question for us, please email [email protected] and put ‘Dear Rach & Soph’ in the subject line.And if you’d like to actually be in the podcast with us while we answer your question, please let us know in the email.For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is The Other BridgetHer next book is The Work Wife (to be published in January 2025)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Weekends with the Sunshine Gardening SocietyHer next book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (to be published in August 2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Soph met author Amanda Knight at an event in Sydney for Rach's THE OTHER BRIDGET they chatted about the podcast that Rach and Soph had already started recording, and Soph mentioned that we would love to have questions from listeners. Amanda said that there was a subject she’d be interested in talking about: imposter syndrome. So the three of us did talk about it, at length, on episode 7 of the podcast and even if you don’t have imposter syndrome (although don’t we all at some stage?) we hope you find this episode interesting. Many thanks to Amanda for her honesty and vulnerability. Writers - do you have a challenge or conundrum, or a question about process, how to get started, or anything at all to do with writing? We’d love to be your writing agony aunts.Readers - we would love to hear from you too! You can ask us questions about our books … and we’d also be happy to be YOUR agony aunts. We may not have professional qualifications but we sort out problems for our characters all the time, so if you’d like to get something off your chest/ask for some input/just see what we think about something, let us know.If you have a question for us, please email [email protected] and put ‘Dear Rach & Soph’ in the subject line.And if you’d like to actually be in the podcast with us while we answer your question, please let us know in the email.For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is The Other BridgetHer next book is The Work Wife (to be published in January 2025)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Weekends with the Sunshine Gardening SocietyHer next book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (to be published in August 2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're up to episode 6! How did that happen? In this episode Rach and Soph talk about their writing processes; whether they follow rules when they write; what happens in head hopping, Rach's panic about her new manuscript and how Soph has inadvertently become her writing therapist. During the episode Soph mentions Gretchen Rubin's Four Tendencies quiz and you can find that here.Writers - do you have a challenge or conundrum, or a question about process, how to get started, or anything at all to do with writing? We’d love to be your writing agony aunts.Readers - we would love to hear from you too! You can ask us questions about our books … and we’d also be happy to be YOUR agony aunts. We may not have professional qualifications but we sort out problems for our characters all the time, so if you’d like to get something off your chest/ask for some input/just see what we think about something, let us know.If you have a question for us, please email [email protected] and put ‘Dear Rach & Soph’ in the subject line.And if you’d like to actually be in the podcast with us while we answer your question, please let us know in the email.For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is The Other BridgetHer next book is The Work Wife (to be published in January 2025)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Weekends with the Sunshine Gardening SocietyHer next book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (to be published in August 2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this week's episode bestselling novelists Rachael Johns and Sophie Green answer another listener question, about whether they read other people's books while writing (spoiler alert: they do).They also catch up on what they've been working on since the last episode, talk about whether or not they show their works in progress to anyone, and the fact that they have listener reviews.For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is The Other BridgetFor more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's latest book is Weekends with the Sunshine Gardening Society Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the fourth episode of Dear Rach & Soph, Rachael Johns and Sophie Green answer some listener questions about motivation and getting unstuck. And in the course of doing so Sophie talks about the importance of dancing and there is mention of possibly-maybe posting a playlist. That playlist can be found on Spotify and YouTube.The track listing is:‘Nataraja’- The Dum Dum Project‘Im Ninalou’ - Cheb i Sabbah‘Into the Groove’ - Madonna‘Dig’ - Fanny Lumsden‘Abalele’ - Kabza De Small, DJ Maphorisa ft Ami FakuThe book mentioned in this podcast is DANCING IN THE STREETS by Barbara Ehrenreich.Writers - do you have a challenge or conundrum, or a question about process, how to get started, or anything at all to do with writing? We’d love to be your writing agony aunts.Readers - we would love to hear from you too! You can ask us questions about our books … and we’d also be happy to be YOUR agony aunts. We may not have professional qualifications but we sort out problems for our characters all the time, so if you’d like to get something off your chest/ask for some input/just see what we think about something, let us know.If you have a question for us, please email [email protected] and put ‘Dear Rach & Soph’ in the subject line.And if you’d like to actually be in the podcast with us while we answer your question, please let us know in the email.For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comFor more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the third episode of Dear Rach & Soph, Rachael Johns and I talk about her recent book tour for her latest novel, The Other Bridget; my copy edit for my next novel, Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel, and the big question for the episode: why we write. You can watch the YouTube version of the podcast below, or find us on your favourite podcast platforms (some links below).We recorded this episode on the day our first episode was released, so we didn't yet have listener questions - we have since had some, and upcoming episodes will cover those! And we'd love to have your questions.Writers - do you have a challenge or conundrum, or a question about process, how to get started, or anything at all to do with writing? We’d love to be your writing agony aunts.Readers - we would love to hear from you too! You can ask us questions about our books … and we’d also be happy to be YOUR agony aunts. We may not have professional qualifications but we sort out problems for our characters all the time, so if you’d like to get something off your chest/ask for some input/just see what we think about something, let us know.If you have a question for us, please email [email protected] and put ‘Dear Rach & Soph’ in the subject line.And if you’d like to actually be in the podcast with us while we answer your question, please let us know in the email.For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book, The Other Bridget: https://www.rachaeljohns.com/books/the-other-bridget/For more about Sophie Green: https://sophie-green-author.comSophie's next book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel: https://linktr.ee/arthourattheduchesshotel Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.