92: Charlotte Robinson on Mars One: Space Thrillers, Reality TV & Writing an Ambitious Debut

In this episode of In My Good Books, I’m joined by debut author Charlotte Robinson to talk about her brilliantly ambitious sci-fi thriller Mars One.Blending high-stakes space exploration with the dark side of reality TV, Mars One imagines a one-way mission to Mars funded by a televised spectacle - where the line between entertainment and ethics becomes dangerously blurred. Charlotte shares the inspiration behind the novel, including the real-life Mars One project, and how that initial idea grew into a multi-stranded, globe-spanning story.Charlotte also talks about her background working on major TV dramas and how that experience shaped her storytelling, from visual scene-setting to structuring complex plots. We chat about the differences between writing for screen and page, the challenges of writing solo versus in a writers’ room, and why her walls were covered in colour-coded Post-it notes while plotting this novel.Plus, we get into the research behind the book (including some brilliant space facts), her journey to publication, and what readers can expect from her next project.Find Charlotte here: https://www.instagram.com/bycharlotterobinson/Buy Mars One: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/mars-one-charlotte-robinson/7961777?ean=9780857507341&next=tBooks Recommended in this episode:Carrying the Fire: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/carrying-the-fire-an-astronaut-s-journeys-michael-collins/839160?ean=9781509896578&next=tOutlaw Ocean: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-outlaw-ocean-crime-and-survival-in-the-last-untamed-frontier-ian-urbina/1236722?ean=9781529111392&next=tThe Book of Strange New Things: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-book-of-strange-new-things-michel-faber/768960?ean=9781782114086&next=tKatabasis: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/katabasis-r-f-kuang/14b1f7ed1933fafe?ean=9780008501860&next=t