Sarah Vaughan, author of 'Based on a True Story' - Bestselling writer discusses streaming success, a chaotic writing room, and realising you're too busy

Sarah Vaughan worked as a reporter and correspondent for The Guardian for years, before finally starting a novel on her 40th birthday. She published 'The Art of Baking Blind' and 'The Farm at the Edge of the World', aimed at book-clubs, which in her words, 'didn't really trouble the bestsellers list'. Then, out of contract, she wrote, 'Anatomy of a Scandal', and everything changed. It was a smash-hit and inspired a Netflix series which was viewed hundreds of millions of times. She's since published, 'Little Disasters', which was made into a Paramount+ show, and released, 'Reputation'. Her new novel is, 'Based on a True Story'. It tells the tale of Dame Eleanor Kingman, the nation's most loved storyteller, with an entire generation growing up on her stories.... but now, someone wants to reveal the truth about who she really is. We discuss whether streaming success has changed how she thinks through a plot, and whether knowing what might land on screen has altered what ideas she takes on. Also you can hear about starting late and finally getting success, why she's switched to write scenes, and her journeys through genre and writing out of contract. Get a copy of the book - uk.bookshop.org/shop/writersroutine Read the newsletter - writersroutine.substack.com This week's episode of the podcast is sponsored by Philippa Hall's 'Quick Book Reviews Podcast'. Support the show - patreon.com/writersroutine ko-fi.com/writersroutine @writerspod writersroutine.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Sarah Vaughan, author of 'Based on a True Story' - Bestselling writer discusses streaming success, a chaotic writing room, and realising you're too busy is an episode from Writer's Routine by Dan Simpson.

This episode is 1:00:52 long.

This episode was published on Apr 23, 2026.

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