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David Goodman, author of 'A Reluctant Spy' - Thriller writer discusses juggling projects, soft word-counts, and day-notes episode artwork

EPISODE · Feb 13, 2026 · 56 MIN

David Goodman, author of 'A Reluctant Spy' - Thriller writer discusses juggling projects, soft word-counts, and day-notes

from Writer's Routine

David Goodman writes edge-of-your-seat spy thrillers. His debut, 'A Relucant Spy', was published in 2024. We follow Jamie Tulloch, a successful exec at a top tech company, who has a secret... he's part of the Legend Programme. It's a secret intelligence effort to help provide backstories for undercover agents. It's simple, real people, living real lives and are willing to hand over their identities for a few weeks to help a spy blend in. Yet, when Jamie gets a tap on the shoulder, and things go wrong... he needs to play himself well enough to save the world. It won the McDermid Debut Award at the Theakston Old Peculiar Harrogate Crime Writing Festival, also the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize, and was nominated for many more. He's publishing the second in the series, 'Solitary Agents', in June. David is at a really interesting time of his writing life. He's in between novels, had debut success, things are being optioned for TV, and whilst still busy with the day job, has been able to give up fridays for writing. We discuss how his writing life has changed now he's firmly in the publishing business. Also, why his 'day-notes' keeps the writing muscle going. You can hear about future writing plans, juggling projects, and waking up early. Get a copy of the book(s) - uk.bookshop.com/shop/writersroutine This week's episode is sponsored by Philippa Hall's 'Quick Book Reviews Podcast', take a listen wherever you get your shows. Support the show - patreon.com/writersroutine ko-fi.com/writersroutine Read the newsletter - writersroutine.substack.com @writerspod writersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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David Goodman, author of 'A Reluctant Spy' - Thriller writer discusses juggling projects, soft word-counts, and day-notes

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