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Simon Mayo's Books of the Year

Callie Hart

Simon Mayo's Books of the Year

Bauer Media

Arts, Books

4.9994 Ratings

🗓️ 29 October 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Simon and Matt welcome international bestselling author Callie Hart to the pod, to learn more about the genre of Romantasy. Never ones to stay in their lane - Simon and Matt have taken themselves out of their reading comfort zone, and explored this very popular genre! They chat to Callie about her craft, worldbuilding, the Netflix adaptation which she can't talk about - and why this genre is having such a big moment!

Transcript

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0:00.0

Hello and welcome. It's another Books of the Year podcast from your good friends, your chums at Books of the Year the podcast. You're very welcome. An email, first of all, from Suzanne.

0:40.4

Simon and Matt, thanks to your brilliant pod, I am now a fan of essay Cosby, which is a wonderful thing. Very good. See previous pods for details. I have read all of his books now, so I'm hungry for more gritty crime. Any other authors you might recommend, keep up the stellar work, Suzanne in Taunton. So I so crime is one thing gritty crime Yes

0:41.0

Uh Any other authors you might recommend? Keep up the stellar works, Suzanne in Taunton.

0:40.4

So crime is one thing, gritty crime.

0:42.8

Yes. It's difficult this one, isn't it?

0:50.1

There is a writer, I don't know how much he's done recently, but it was a good 10, 10, 15 years ago.

0:55.5

It was a guy called Kevin Sampson, who wrote a book called Away Days, which was made into a movie.

1:01.8

But there's also written other books, The Killing Pool, which I really liked.

1:05.2

That is very gritty, Suzanne.

1:10.9

So it comes with a warning from me of how gritty do you want it because that is V-gritty.

1:12.1

What about you? What do you think?

1:13.9

Yes.

1:16.8

I mean, Mark Billingham has been on the show a few times.

1:20.2

His is pretty gritty.

1:22.5

I mean, my favourite is always Michael Connolly.

1:23.1

Yeah.

1:44.8

And you have to say, I mean, some of his books are lighter. The Lincoln lawyer stuff is lighter, but the Harry Bosch stuff is pretty gritty, I have to say. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So I would, I mean, I don't know if we'd be very useful, really, Suzanne. Thank you for the confidence that you place in us, but there's a couple of ideas at least. Yeah, this from Becca, hello you two.

1:47.3

Please can you help me get out of a reading slump?

1:54.2

I am a big fan of epic dramas and family sagas, but recently nothing I start to read is really doing it for me.

1:55.4

So, I'm thinking of switching up genre, maybe a thriller or historical fiction, or even trying nonfiction.

2:02.5

I'm going on holiday in a couple of weeks, so could really use a couple of recommendations,

2:06.9

thanks a mill, Becker. So, I'm going to take your question, Becker, as being, suggest to me

...

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