Date With A Debut

Date With A Debut

BONUS: Second Date sneak peek with Lenny Robinson and Bryony McGuinness

Sep 8, 2026 · 59 min · 12 segments

Date with a Debut is a podcast hosted by writer Nick Wasiliev: shining a light on debut authors, their incredible books, and their journeys to publication. The main show will return next week for the…

Date with a Debut is a podcast hosted by writer Nick Wasiliev: shining a light on debut authors, their incredible books, and their journeys to publication. The main show will return next week for the final two episodes of the main series before we finish 2026 with three Debut Revisited specials, but to bridge the gap please enjoy a sneak peek of my newsletter show exclusive, Second Date, where authors return for a second round of rapid-fire questions. Check out a historical fiction/romance special as I go spoiler-heavy with Lenny Robinson and Bryony McGuinness, and if you like it, sign up below! *WARNING: this episode contains coarse language.* I have a special deal currently where if you sign up to the newsletter, you can have 50% off a monthly or yearly VIP subscription for the next twelve months. That's $3 a month, or $25 a year! Sign up to the newsletter here (you can also get a free version too!): https://nickwasiliev.substack.com/ Get 50% off a paid VIP subscription here: https://nickwasiliev.substack.com/subscribe?coupon=651cc6fe Enjoy the show? Drop us a review, it really helps the show out! Check out our brand new podcast website: https://dwad.podpixels.com/ Check out the 2026 sponsor of the podcast, Pod Pixels: https://bit.ly/4cbG1Zt Subscribe on Podbean to never miss an episode: https://www.podbean.com/site/podcatcher/index/blog/3mRME5IMoSJx Date with a Debut is featured as part of the Australian literary platform Words & Nerds. Check out all shows on the platform here:https://danivee.com.au/podcasts/https://danivee.com.au/podcasts/ MAIN EPISODES: Lenny Robinson: https://dwad.podpixels.com/ep/series-4-episode-13-and-in-the-morning-by-lenny-robinson/ Bryony McGuinness: https://dwad.podpixels.com/ep/series-4-episode-17-violet-town-by-bryony-mcguinness/ BOOKS: Debut Features: And in the Morning / Lenny Robinson: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/JkWKNE Violet Town / Bryony McGuinness: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/QYv6Ba Other Books Mentioned: Land / Maggie O’Farrell: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/m4J737 Middlemarch / George Eliot: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/L0yQqV Mansfield Park / Jane Austen: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/4axb51 The Scarlet Letter / Nathaniel Hawthorne: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/m4JARD The Handmaid’s Tale / Margaret Atwood: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/5kD6bn Villette / Charlotte Bronte: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/rEqZnB David Copperfield / Charles Dickens: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/VOvEyk Crown of Midnight / Sarah J. Maas: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/VOvEyk Crescent City / Sarah J. Maas: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/OYvgRG The One Remaining / Paula McLean: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/yZP02y Alchemised / SenLinYu: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/qWLJ4O The Book Thief / Markus Zusak: https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/gRej10 The Iliad and The Odyssey / Homer, Samuel Butler (Translator): https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/WOvnqn PRODUCTION NOTES: Host: Nick Wasiliev Guests: Lenny Robinson & Bryony McGuinness Editing & Production: Nick Wasiliev Podcast Theme: ‘Chill’ by Sakura Hz Production Code: 4:X2 Additional Credits: Dani Vee (Words & Nerds), Jean Smith, Siena Johnstone, Sarah Valle (UQP Press), Bakers Lane Books, Julia Ferracane (Righteous PR) FOLLOW NICK WASILIEV (+ DATE WITH A DEBUT): A LITTLE IDEA PODCAST: Feed SUBSTACK: nickwasiliev.substack.com WEBSITE: www.nicholaswasiliev.com YOUTUBE: @NickWasiliev\_Official INSTAGRAM: @nickwasiliev TWITTER/X: @Nick\_Wasiliev FACEBOOK: Nick Wasiliev TIKTOK: @nickwasiliev © 2026 Nick Wasiliev and Breathe Art Holdings *‘Date With A Debut’ is a Words and Nerds and Breathe Art Podcasts co-production recorded and edited on Awabakal Country, and we pay our respects to all elders past and present.*

Date with a Debut is a podcast hosted by writer Nick Wasiliev: shining a light on debut authors, their incredible books, and their journeys to publication. The main show will return next week for the…

History, Reading, Coffee, and Family Discoveries2:23 – 14:32

Nick WasilievHost

2:23

So first and foremost, you and I, as we've mentioned, history has kind of been like a recurring theme throughout our discussion so far.

Nick WasilievHost

2:31

So I want to kick you off by saying if you could meet any individual and pick their brains from the past or the present, who would it be and why?

Lenny RobinsonGuest

2:43

Do you know what? I can answer that one.

Lenny RobinsonGuest

2:45

After many years ago I wrote a short biography of Madam Brussels and so much of that because it was primary source material I had to do a lot of reading between the lines and I would love to meet her in person and see how close I got.

Lenny RobinsonGuest

3:02

I would just like to know how good my detective work was in the end.

Lenny RobinsonGuest

3:07

I'd love to meet her.

Nick WasilievHost

3:09

she would be so interesting to talk to.

Nick WasilievHost

3:11

Oh, she'd be incredibly interesting.

Nick WasilievHost

3:13

Yeah.

Nick WasilievHost

3:14

Also just because like when you're doing, when you're managing like that sort of business and you're kind of straddling the line of the authorities in Melbourne at the time, like she would have to have been so savvy and so smart.

Nick WasilievHost

3:28

And so on top of things, like she would be interesting to chat to.

Nick WasilievHost

3:33

That's a great answer to that question.

Nick WasilievHost

3:35

Yeah.

Nick WasilievHost

3:37

Off the back of that, another historical question.

Nick WasilievHost

3:39

Who is on your Mount Rushmore of historical figures?

Lenny RobinsonGuest

3:46

Oh, my goodness, that's such a hard question to answer.

Lenny RobinsonGuest

3:51

You mean, like, people in history? Who did I find? Like, people in history that

Nick WasilievHost

3:56

you, I don't know, you find significant or pretty damn rad or people that don't get celebrated enough.

Nick WasilievHost

4:02

Like, it can be whoever you choose.

Lenny RobinsonGuest

4:04

Well, you know, I'm a big... fan of uh listening to the rest is history i don't know if you listen to that podcast and um you know they just did well they didn't just do it they did this huge series about custer um and you know listening about to figures like you know crazy horse you know some of the indian commanders um were you know fascinating individuals um you know some of the great um you know, women in history, the great queens of history, I think, would be really interesting.

Lenny RobinsonGuest

4:36

Mary, Queen of Scots, although, you know, maybe she wouldn't have been as fabulous as she seems.

Lenny RobinsonGuest

4:44

But, you know, I mean, imagine being, you know, presented to court at five.

Lenny RobinsonGuest

4:49

Like, I think it'd be really interesting.

Lenny RobinsonGuest

4:51

But I think what I'd really actually just like to meet is just everyday people.

Lenny RobinsonGuest

4:55

I'd love to enter their lives and see what it would be like.