Talking Aussie Books

From the author of 'The Funny Thing About Norman Foreman' comes another warm and humorous story populated with a cast of delightful characters.   Julietta Henderson's 'Sincerely, Me' (Penguin) is a brilliant, hopeful read that shines a light on families of all shapes and sizes along with the debilitating effects of grief. Another must-read from a supremely talented writer. I was simply deligh...

Petronella McGovern is a Sydney based author of three novels - all born of her fascination with people - what makes us tick, how we view the world and the lies we tell each other and ourselves. She exploded onto the literary scene with her brilliant debut, Six Minutes in 2019 and quickly followed it up with The Good Teacher in 2020. This year she’s back with another fabulous novel. A gripping, edg...

Victoria Purman is an Adelaide-based author whose books tend to be on the automatic-buy list for many readers - and with good reason.  'The Nurses' War' is Victoria's latest novel - released earlier this year by HarperCollins Australia.  A stunning examination of the battle fought by Australian nurses against despair and death amid the carnage and bloodshed of World War 1.   Such a...

In 2013, British-Australian writer Lucy Christoper published her debut novel 'Stolen'. An award-winning YA novel, 'Stolen' is the story of 16 year-old Gemma Toombs who is kidnapped from Bangkok Airport and held captive in the Australian outback by her capture Tyler McFarlane.  This year, the long-awaited companion to this incredible story was published by Text Publishing.   'Release' exp...

Early last year I chatted with debut novelist Greg Woodland about his thrilling crime novel, 'The Night Whistler' (Text Publishing). I’d met Greg at a crime fiction festival the year before and heard about his book and how it was inspired by events from his own childhood. Clearly I wasn't the only person who though this novel was terrific - since 'The Night Whistler' went on to be shortlisted for...

7 of the Talking Aussie Books/Writes4Women Collaboration arising out of the Romance Writers of Australia Conference in Fremantle earlier this year, I am joined by four fabulous authors:  Ally Blake, Leanne Lovegrove, Kaneana May and Tanya Nellestein.  We chat about their recent releases, what they love about the RWA, favourite author crushes, how they continue to hone their craft and muc...

Not only do books help us escape our everyday lives, but enable us to see ourselves reflected in them.  Stories represent human experiences and showcase situations we are familiar with.  So when we read about characters we're familiar with or who may look and act the same way, it helps us understand how we fit in. Reading Alex Sarkis's debut novel, "Something Blue" (Ultimo Press) did thi...

Many of you will know or have heard of Dani Vee through her prolific and energetic podcast, Words and Nerds. Through this podcast, Dani has championed hundreds of authors and their work, interviewed other podcasters like me, supported festivals and garnered much respect and admiration from all who have had the very great fortune to find themselves in her orbit. Earlier this month, Dani’s debut fic...

Jules Van Mil is a Sydney-based author with a long and varied career that, in 2020 finally culminated in her realising her dream to be a published author. Her first book, a middle-grade story for 8-12 year olds was called “Gemma Riley and the Fashion Fiasco” - a delightful story that most certainly was spawned from Jules’s own experiences as a teacher and fashion designer. Fast forward two years a...

**Trigger warning: this episode contains discussion of domestic abuse, family violence and coercive control and may be distressing to some listeners.** After listening to Melbourne-based Lyn Yeowart read an extract from the Prologue of her debut novel. "The Silent Listener" (Penguin) at the BAD Sydney Crime Festival last year, I knew I just had to find out more about her inspiration for writing it...

"Crime Writer" by Brisbane author Dime Sheppard is unlike any other book I have read.   A gripping novel about an author suffering severe writer's block when faced with the task of writing her 16th novel. She doesn't quite know how to overcome this, but when the characters that usually live in her head start appearing in her apartment and voicing their own opinions about what she should do......

Talking Aussie Books and Writes4Women have joined forces in a podcast collaboration. Recorded at the recent Romance Writers of Australia Conference in Fremantle, the lovely Pamela Cook and I chatted to a bunch of fabulous Aussie authors about all things Romance writing. Over 8 weeks this collaboration will uncover what various Australian authors think about writing Romance, their most memorable or...

Australian women crime writers are some of the biggest names on the Australian literary scene at the moment.  And Sulari Gentill is one of them. Former lawyer turned writer, Sulari is the author of 10 novels in the Rowland Sinclair Mysteries (a series of historical crime novels set in the 1930s) along with a fantasy series and a few stand-alone novels.  Sulari's work has been shortlisted...

Carly Nugent is the author of two novels and numerous pieces of short fiction.  Her first novel, "The Peacock Detectives" (2018) won the Readings Children's Book Prize and was shortlisted for the Text Prize, the Australian Book Design Awards along with the Sisters in Crime Davitt Awards. Earlier this year, Carly's second book - her first YA title - was published by Text Publishing.  "Sug...

Zoë Coyle's debut novel "Where the Light Gets In" is a novel inspired by Zoe's advocacy for euthanasia law and the right to die with dignity, an issue that affected Zoë personally when her terminally ill mother decided to euthanise herself.  Published by Ultimo Press earlier this year, Zoë's novel is a moving tribute to the inadequacies of a system which refuses to make room for a person's de...

Talking Aussie Books and Writes4Women have joined forces in a podcast collaboration.  Recorded at the recent Romance Writers of Australia Conference in Fremantle, the lovely Pamela Cook and I chatted to a bunch of fabulous Aussie authors about all things Romance writing.  Over 8 weeks this collaboration will uncover what various Australian authors think about writing Romance, their most...

Mixing things up a little with a podcast recorded from the Sydney Distribution Centre of Australia's largest online book retailer and distributor - Booktopia.   I'm speaking with author Nick Wasiliev who works as a senior content producer for Booktopia and also hosts popular Booktopia podcast "Tell Me What to Read". We are delving into the world of books.  The trend Booktopia has seen in...

With the inaugural Northern Beaches Readers Festival now only weeks away, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to chat with the Team for a behind the scenes glimpse into what it takes to start a literary festival from scratch. We chat about how it all got started, why we wanted to be part of it, what we're looking forward to and so much more.  I'm so lucky to be working with such a...

In 2020 Rae Cairns self-published her debut novel entitled 'The Good Mother'.  A book which received a great deal of attention, got an audio book deal with Bolinda Audio,  was short-listed for one of Australia's most prestigious crime writing awards - the Ned Kelly Awards (Best Debut Crime Fiction category) and later scored Rae a two-book publishing deal with HarperCollins Australia.&nbs...

Originally from Ireland, Bernadette Jiwa migrated to Melbourne and started her writing career as a blogger and non-fiction writer - later becoming a storytelling adviser and the author of ten Amazon bestselling non-fiction titles.  In 2019, Bernadette began writing what would become her debut novel.  Called 'The Making of Her' (published by Penguin), Bernadette has written a mesmerising...

Nicole Alexander is the bestselling author of 11 historical fiction novels.  Titles that include 'The Bar Cutter', 'Sunset Ridge' and 'The Cedar Tree'.  As a freelance writer, Nicole's articles have appeared widely in publications like The Sydney Morning Herald , ABC Online , The Sunday Telegraph and Elle Magazine Australia .  'The Last Station' is Nicole's new novel. Released by Pe...

Karly Lane is the author of 19 rural fiction novels.  Titles like 'Once Burnt, Twice Shy' and 'Return to Stringybark Creek' are just a couple of the books that have made Karly a bestselling author and household name.   Her newest novel, 'A Stone's Throw Away' was released by Allen & Unwin earlier this year and listeners...I absolutely loved it! Small-town secrets, a writer with write...

Lyn McFarlane is a Canadian-Australian writer and lawyer whose debut novel. 'The Scarlet Cross' was recently released by Pantera Press.   A complex and intriguing crime thriller that takes a thought-provoking look at the healthcare system along with the justice system in North America.  So very topical in light of recent events in the United States.   Clever and twisty, this book he...

Listeners will know that I have eclectic reading tastes - with a particular interest in domestic thrillers.  So when I picked up Kylie Kaden's new book, "One of Us" (Pantera), I knew I was in for a treat.  A book that takes us well beyond the picket fence. "One of Us" exposes the imperfect lives of two seemingly perfect families.  Covering some big issues, this book was pacey and co...

Meg Bignell is a Tasmanian-based author of three novels: 'The Sparkle Pages', 'Welcome to Nowhere River' and now 'The Angry Women's Choir' (Penguin).  Released earlier this year, 'The Angry Women's Choir' is a triumphant novel; a tribute to female anger and the power we can harness when we band together and raise our voices.  Hysterically funny and at times heartbreaking, I both laughed...