Welcome to the very first episode of Book Ends, the podcast for writers and book lovers. I am delighted to welcome acclaimed Australian writer Nikki Gemmell as my first guest.

Nikki has been one of my heroes for a very long time so I was beyond excited to speak to her about the writing life and her novels The Bride Stripped Bare and With My Body which explore, in her words, "the raw underbelly of the female psyche". There is such an audacity and honesty in her writing but also a wonderful sensuousness, tenderness and intimacy. She says that every book she writes is a violent reaction to the previous one - she is currently working on a children's book after two best-selling erotic novels! Overall I just really appreciated Nikki's message to all of us aspiring writers that discipline and tenacity is what matters - showing up, having a deadline, getting it done and, most importantly, never giving up :)

You can listen to the podcast here:

I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation and thank you again Nikki for being the very first Book Ends guest.

Guests

Nikki Gemmell

Australian writer

Publications mentioned

The Bride Stripped Bare by Nikki Gemmell (Fourth Estate)

With My Body by Nikki Gemmell (Fourth Estate)

Shiver by Nikki Gemmell (Vintage Books/Random House)

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf (Penguin)

Coming Through Slaughter by Michael Ondaatje (Bloomsbury)

Dancing on Coral by Glenda Adams (Harper Collins)

Credits

Presenter

Philippa Moore

Producer

Tom Schoon