Published...Or Not

The vibrant life and history of Acland Street is revealed in Judith Buckrich's 'Ackland Steet - The Grand Lady of St Kilda'.Tess Evans has written with humour about the community of a small Australian town, where a new business and new people will test friendships, in 'The Ballad of Banjo Crossing'.

A bird teaching about building design! 'Robin Boid: Architect' is a delightfully creative picture story book by Maree Cootes. The criminal and ethical implications of Australia's soverign border policy is starkly illustrated in Jock Serong's 'On the Java Ridge'.

Sandi Wallace writes about the highs and lows of cops on the job, in short stories 'On The Job' and rural crime in 'Dead Again'.'Insights and Reflections' is a selection of articles from Phillip Adams on the issues, people and ideas that have caught his attention since 2003.

'The Tides Between' is an historical novel of early migration to the Port Phillip settlement of Melbourne by Elizabeth Jane Corbett and published by Odyssey Books. Konrad Marshall delves into the stories associated with the Richmond Football Club; its players, leadership and support network. Serendipity saw the club win the 2017 premiership which makes 'Yellow and Black' a journal about success.

Life is a voyage on a deep, dark ocean in A.S. Patric's, 'Atlantic Black'.Alex Miller has written a novel which is also based on his own life in 'The Passage of Love'.

Would you write letters of regret or revenge as your 'Parting Words'?  Cass Moriarty has a family learning about their father through letters he has left. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson travelled to Australia.  It's true! 'The Australian Casebook' proves it and Lucy Sussex, one of the contributors to the anthology, explains how it is so.

Fiona Wood joins with Cath Crowley and Simmone Howell for 'Take Three Girls, a story of school age friendships surviving toxic websitesClaire Aman's short story collection, 'Bird Country' beguiles, entertains and amuses.

Both redemption and romance can be found on Spain's Camino in 'Two Steps Forward' by Anne Buist and Graeme Simsion. There are five self contained stories introducing a variety of characters and lives, all with a connection to Pippa in Michelle de Kretser's 'The Life to Come'.

'The Rain Never Came' is a post-apocalyptic novel written by Lachlan Walter, published by Odyssey Books. Lois Murphy provides a cautionary tale of just how easily we can be overcome by an allegorical mist in her novel, 'Soon' - a Transit Lounge release.

Bram Presser's 'The Book of Dirt' delves into Jewish tradition and the struggle of assimilating the past.'The Blood within the Stone' is the first book in the Wraith Cycle of mind control and power at play by T R Thompson.

'We That Are Left' tells how some wives deal with their hopes, dreams and outcomes from a war, by Lisa Bigelow. Set in the near future, 'Widler Country' has the themes of asylum and violence in a continuation of the issues Mark Smith introduced in his first novel 'The Road to Winter'.

We see the challenging life around Justine through her young eyes in Sofie Laguna's 'The Choke'.'The Library: A calalogue of Wonders' is authored by Stuart Kells and is published by Text Publishing.

Featured this week are two contrasting novels of speculative fiction: The Art of Navigation by Rose Michael, published by UWAP; Year of the Orphan by Daniel Findlay, published by Penguin Random House.

Superstition, faith and witchcraft all feature in Chris Womersley's 'City of Crows' set in 1673 Paris. Emma Viskic has Caleb Zelik, deaf investigator,   m       doing his best to find out who is committing the crimes in 'And Fire Came Down'.

Rachel Leary's, 'Bridget Crack', is a convict struggling for survival in the township and wilderness of Van Dieman's Land. Jessica Alice provides an overview of the authors and events in the 2017 Melbourne Writers Festival.

Charlie was missing for three months, will the abuse warp her for the rest of her life? Family complexities are at the forefront in 'The Way Back' by Kylie Ladd. Dangerous challenges and unexplained events lie within Vikki Wakefield's 'Ballad for a Mad Girl'.

'Tell it to the Dog' is Robert Power's memoir that provides an unusaul take on memory and reflection and how these elements shape a life. Jennifer Down has death as a connection in the 14 short stories that make up 'Pulse Points'.

There is a pathos in Rachel Matthews' novel, 'Siren' which explores the circumstances in society contributing to sexual violence. Anna George centers the challenges and pressures of motherhood across society in 'The Lone Child', a page turning novel.

Alan Brough's, 'Charlie and the Karaoke Cockroaches', continues the delightfully entertaining series and includes an insect orchestra. Mark Baker's memoir, 'Thirty Days', utilizes the Jewish tradition of shloshim or thirty days of mourning as a foundation for a memoir that recounts the life he shared with his wife who passed at fifty-five years of age.

Dennis Glover has fictionalized the life of George Orwell and recounted how the classic dystopian novel, '1984', came to be written.'How to Dress a Dummy' is a frank and funny book by former international model, Cassie Lane, published by Affirm Press.

Melanie Cheng's award-winning collection of short fiction, Australia Day, is published by Text Publishing. Iain Ryan's noir journey, The Student, explores the criminal potential in every university student.

Teenager Josie is in self destrutive behaviour with underage sex and drugs in Moira Burke's 'Losing It'.Innocence meets the dark underbelly of society in Mark Brandi's 'Wimmera'.

False memories can play havoc with a murder investigation making Megan Goldin's 'The Girl in Keller's Way', an intriguing psychological thriller. Can you blame King Arthur or the Hawthorn Football Club for a family falling apart, in Vivienne Kelly's 'The Starlings'.

The digital world is fraught with challenges especially if your adolescent comments go viral.  Gabrielle Williams explores the fallout from such an event in her novel, 'My Life as a Hashtag'.Katherine Boland writes about different cultures, communities an d family expecations in 'Hippy Days, Arabian Nights'.

Jenevieve Chang's, "The Good Girl of Chinatown" is a memoir that takes us on Jenevieve's journey to the land of her ancestors, China, with its growing demand for all things European including the world of burlesque. A Penguin release.