Ep. 6, Hanna Delaney

Welcome to the Dark & Stormy podcast, in which I speak – writer to writer – with authors of crime fiction, thrillers, and sci-fi. My guest is Hanna Delaney, author of THE SPIDER, first in a budding series of spooky supernatural mysteries set in Liverpool, 1892, featuring her uncanny detective, Muldoon. Hanna is a Scouse whose love and fascination with her home city and its often dramatic history infuses her ghostly tales. She speaks with Jamie Dibs about her work, inspiration, her new book (second in the Muldoon series), the writer’s life, and how she is growing an audience built around her Substack presence.Timecodes:0:00 – Hanna Delaney2:30 – Why set THE SPIDER in the year 1892?3:35 – Why “No. Five Percy Street”? Some Liverpool history, and visiting the city8:40 – Why write this mystery as a ghost story, and Hanna’s take on the haunted house12:13 – How to use the horror genre13:13 – Inventing Inspector Muldoon; and exploring his Irish identity18:41 – Other aspects of Liverpool history to explore in this series21:05 – Addressing Liverpool’s role in the slave trade, and its multicultural nature25:00 – How Hanna took on book 2 in the series; thinking about making a series28:07 – Forging a writing career while juggling family life30:36 – How she became a writer and how she’s using Substack and other venues to market her books35:44 – What’s next for Hanna DelaneyLinks:Hanna Delaney’s Substack, “A Work of Fiction” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jamiedibs.substack.com