For the latest SWH! podcast Ali was joined by musician and writer Ruarri Joseph to talk about his novel William the Conqueror, as well as his band of the same name.
The two talk about the links between the novel and Ruarri's songs, how the band came about after his solo career, how carefully he considers the thoughts of his younger self, the semi-autobiographical nature of the novel, and how it came to be published.
Ruarri also explains the importance of music in how the story unfolds, trying to do something different with the form of the novel, and intriguingly hints at what is coming next.
It's a very different conversation with a very different novelist, and we hope it'll prompt you to not only check out William the Conqueror the novel, but also the band.
William the Conqueror is out now, published by Blue Raincoat Books.
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If you want to hear more of William the Conqueror's music, here's the perfect introductory playlist:
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And, as Ali always says, we'll be back soon with someone completely different...