S10E5 Sun Lounger Fiction: Wine expert Helen McGinn on the secrets of a prolific writer

“I saw someone with my book on holiday. I think we both ended up having a tear because it was just so lovely. That’s the goal, to see somebody out there reading your words!” ~Helen McGinn

Once an author releases her fourth book in as many years, she learns a thing or two about writing a good novel - reflections become lessons, confidence builds and goals become clearer.

Helen McGinn is an award-winning wine expert and author. The Knackered Mother’s Wine Guide is her first book, but her foray into fiction began during lockdown. In the early days of Behind The Spine we spoke to her about the launch of ‘This Changes Everything’, and since then she’s released another three books, with a fifth on the way.

So what can we take away from the experiences of someone who’s managed to release a book a year while maintaining a high quality in her work? Helen shares the secrets of her success and how she juggles a busy work and personal life with writing. She explores lessons learnt along the way - like how she digs herself out of a writing rut. And there’s plenty of chat about wine too, of course.

In this episode you will learn:

• Why taking time off to write might not be as effective as you’d think.
• To pay attention to your descriptions - without overdoing it.
• How to bring your passions to your writing.

Find out more about Helen here.

Your host is inkjockey founder Mark Heywood.

Behind The Spine is an inkjockey production, and the audio accompaniment to The Writing Salon. Sign up to the newsletter here.

You can buy copies of our anthology series here. 

You can view the full transcript here.

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