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Simon Scarrow, author of 'Eagles of the Empire' - Bestselling Historical Fiction author discusses the rules of genre, thorough research, and why you need to get on with it  episode artwork

EPISODE · May 22, 2025 · 30 MIN

Simon Scarrow, author of 'Eagles of the Empire' - Bestselling Historical Fiction author discusses the rules of genre, thorough research, and why you need to get on with it

from Writer's Routine

This week's guest is the phenomenally bestselling author, Simon Scarrow. He mainly writes historical fiction, best known for his 'Eagles of the Empire' series, and has written about Ancient Rome and Nazi Germany too. He's also published futuristic sci-fi, and began writing dystopian fiction and comedy, before realising he should write what he wants to read, not what he thought might sell. Simon has sold more than 6 million books, and has been translated into 25 languages. His passion for storytelling was perfected at boarding school, learning how to engage class-mates, and keep them hooked with a daring cliff-hanger. He then expanded this passion as a teacher, before finally becoming the author he always wanted to be. His new novel is 'A Death in Berlin'. It's an Inspector Schenke book, with a tale about the exceptional investigator fighting to keep criminals off the streets of Nazi Berlin at a time of war. We discuss the inspiration for the novel, and what he does to pull together a threadbare skeleton to write with. You can hear why he's a stickler for the rules of historical fiction, also why he's inspired to write new series, and why the great illusion of writing is something you can fall prey to... instead, get on with it! Get a copy of the book at uk.bookshop.org/writersroutine Support the show at - patreon.com/writersroutine ko-fi.com/writersroutine @writerspod writersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Simon Scarrow, author of 'Eagles of the Empire' - Bestselling Historical Fiction author discusses the rules of genre, thorough research, and why you need to get on with it

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