🎧 Or listen to the episode HERE

Pull up a chair. Let’s talk writing.

I’m incredibly excited to finally welcome you to The Writers Chair, a brand-new podcast hosted here at Devil’s Rock Books.

This first episode is a little different. It’s not an interview. It’s not a deep dive into craft. It’s me, introducing myself properly, explaining why this podcast exists, who it’s for and what you can expect from it going forward.

If this is your first time encountering me, hello. I’m Daniel Willcocks. I’ve been writing since around 2013, published my first book in 2015 and somehow, ten years later, I’m still here. Along the way I’ve written or ghostwritten more than seventy books, co-founded a horror fiction podcast that’s now passed thirteen million downloads and spent several years coaching authors through the messy, psychological reality of writing and publishing.

This podcast comes from that place.

Why The Writers Chair Exists

Writing is glorious. It’s creative, fulfilling and deeply personal.

It’s also hard. Lonely. Confusing. Full of self-doubt and false expectations about what being a “writer” is supposed to look like.

Over the last decade, the thing I’ve learned most clearly is this: writing gets easier when you stop doing it alone.

The Writers Chair exists to open up conversations. Real ones. About the work, the mindset, the mistakes, the lessons and the projects that don’t always make it into polished social posts.

Some episodes will be just me, talking through what I’m working on, what I’ve learned and what I wish I’d known earlier. Others will be conversations with writers I admire – primarily horror, dark fantasy and thriller authors, but not exclusively. If someone has something valuable to say about storytelling, creativity or survival in this industry, I’m interested.

What This Podcast Is (and Isn’t)

This is not a “how to get rich quick” podcast.

It’s not a numbers-first, algorithm-chasing content machine.

And it’s not locked into a rigid weekly schedule.

This podcast is about enjoyment, connection and curiosity.

I want it to be a space where:

• Writers can hear honest conversations about the realities of the craft
• Readers can step inside the minds of the authors they love
• New writers can realise they’re not broken for struggling
• Established writers can reflect, recalibrate and keep growing

There will be interviews that focus deeply on a single book and the decisions behind it. There will be episodes unpacking ten years of lessons learned the hard way. There will be behind-the-scenes discussions about launches, collaborations and creative partnerships, including my current horror series work with R.P. Howley.

Most importantly, there will be space for honesty.

A Long Way Here (and Back Again)

This isn’t my first podcast. Over the years I’ve hosted or co-hosted several, including The Story Studio, Great Writers Share, Next Level Authors and Activated Authors. Each one taught me something new about hosting, about writers and about myself.

The common thread through all of them was this: I love talking to writers.

I keep coming back to podcasting because conversation is where the real insight lives. Not in polished advice, but in shared experience.

The Writers Chair is my most distilled version of that idea.

Community Matters

Writing doesn’t have to be lonely. So alongside this podcast, I’m building something bigger.

I’m inviting listeners from episode one to join a free community for writers who love the darker side of fiction. Horror. Dark fantasy. Psychological thrillers. Horror comedy. Anything with teeth.

The Devil’s Rock community is open now, free to join and designed to be a place where writers can connect, talk shop, share progress and remind each other that none of us are doing this in isolation.

You can find everything you need at:

devilsrockbooks.com/podcast

What’s Coming Next

Over the next few weeks you’ll hear:

• Interviews with writers whose work has stuck with me
• Deep dives into specific books and creative decisions
• A solo episode on the biggest lessons I’ve learned after ten years of publishing
• Honest conversations about creativity, fear, confidence and persistence

Some episodes will be polished. Some will be rough around the edges. All of them will be real.

I sat on this idea for months waiting for the “perfect” first episode. Eventually I realised perfection was just another delay tactic. So here we are.

The chair is pulled out.

The conversation has started.

If you’re a writer, a reader, or someone who simply loves stories, you’re welcome here.

Pull up a chair.

Let’s talk writing.

Write bravely. Dream dark.

— Daniel Willcocks