Mara Timon, author of 'City of Spies' - Espionage thriller writer talks about putting the reader in your characters shoes, finding free time to write, and wartime secrets.

Mara Timon's new novel is 'City of Spies', it's set in Lisbon during World War Two. It's a part and place of the war that warrants a story being told, as it's endlessly fascinating, but not many people know of it. We follow agent Elizabeth, whose cover is blown while discovering a huge wartime secret, and she must evade capture by the Gestapo while discovering more of the truth.


Raised in New York, Mara moved to the UK almost 20 years ago; and fell in love with London and the way it melds the old and the new. Growing up with one parent fascinated with literature and the other with history, she started writing from an early age, although it wasn't until a programme on the BBC caught her interest, and one 'what if' led to another, that her first book began to take shape.


We discuss finding the time to write when you have a day job, how she reveals things to her character along the way, and places the reader in the characters shoes to bring wartime Lisbon alive.


If you'd like to buy the book, please think about using this link so we get a little kickback too - https://amzn.to/3c4ZM5s


This episode is sponsored by 'The House of Paris Le Grand' by Nicholas Robinson, a tale of love, life, drag queens and bucket lists. Find out more and get a copy here - https://amzn.to/3c4ZM5s


You can sponsor the show too by supporting us on Patreon.com/writersroutine!


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