Zoe Apostolides, author of 'The Homecoming' - Horror writer disscusses getting the atmosphere right, traditional tropes, and chats with her Grandmother

Writer's Routine

Dan Simpson

Arts, Hobbies, Books, Leisure

4.9 • 599 Ratings

🗓️ 2 January 2026

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Zoe Apostolides is a journalist and columnist, writing for The Guardian, The Telegraph and the Financial Times. Her new novel is 'The Homecoming', born out of conversations with her Grandmother. When she transcribed these, she thought... could I spin a sinister story out of this?

It follows Ellen, a young ghost-writer, who is sent from London all the way to a rural manor house in Northumberland. When she finally arrives at the crumbling Elver Hall, urgently knocking on the door in the midst of a biblical storm, Ellen's never felt more alone. Her phone has no signal and the local taxi-driver refuses to take her further than the bottom of the lane. When Miss Carey suddenly appears on the stairwell in her white dressing gown, it’s enough to make Ellen want to run back to London as fast as she can.

We talk about how her career taught her wide and be interested in everything, which is great grounding for novel writing. Also, hear why as a city girl, much of the story came from her fetishing the countryside.

You can hear how she delicately plays with the traditional tropes of horror, how to get the atmosphere right, and how she makes someone scared in writing.

This episode is sponsored by Ulysses. Go to https://ulys.app/writeabook to download Ulysses, and use the code ROUTINE at checkout to get 25% off the first year of your yearly subscription.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This week's episode of writer's routine is sponsored by Faber Academy, whose flagship course
0:05.8	is back. It's the writing a novel course that you can get onto in person if you're in the UK
0:11.7	and even online if you're further afield. It's not just a course, it's a commitment to your craft.
0:17.9	Faber Academy is a place where you can learn the essentials of novel writing like no other.
0:23.1	Now this podcast lets you hear from the best authors around. This course can help you become one
0:28.1	yourself. It covers everything that you need to bring your novel to life. Character, story,
0:33.7	structure, plotting, voice, dialogue, conflict and so much more. Through the course, you'll hear from
0:39.6	guest speakers, some of the biggest names in publishing, authors, editors, and it's designed to help
0:45.8	you hone your craft and find direction. We've had so many authors on the show who cannot speak
0:51.6	highly enough about the Faber Academy, and now is your chance to be one of
0:56.0	them. At the end of the course, part of your work is sent out to agents across the UK and you'll
1:01.1	have the opportunity to pitch your novel to some of the biggest literary names around.
1:06.3	There's daytime and evening courses in London and an online course too that you can take part in wherever you are.
1:12.2	Now you need to be quick to sign up. Deadlines start in early January. So to take part online,
1:18.2	your application deadline is the 4th of January. That starts on the 19th. And then for the London
1:23.6	courses, both evening and daytime, your deadline is Sunday the 11th of January.
1:29.2	So make the most of this chance.
1:31.2	It's not just a course, it's a commitment to your craft.
1:34.1	Faberacademy.com forward slash writing dash a dash novel.
1:38.1	The link is in the episode notes wherever you're listening.
1:40.6	Faberacademy.com forward slash writing dash a-novel.
1:53.4	Hello, welcome along to a brand new episode of writer's routine this week.
	...

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