Published...Or Not

'The Secret Chord' is a contemporary imagining of the life of the biblical King David. Geraldine Brooks recounts his life through the eyes of Nathan the prophet who is tantalizingly mentioned in the Bible as not just the one who confronted David but who wrote an account of David's life. The scrolls, if such there are, have yet to be found.

Tony Park has set a fast and furious adventure in Namibia with rhinoceros horn being at the centre of the drama in 'An Empty Coast'.Steve Tolz takes us on a writer's journey in 'Quicksand'.

Leah van Poppel talks knowledgably about where, why and who are the characters in literature and what do they represent. Honey Brown is the author of many books where there isn't a character with a disablility although she has one. She speaks about why. Write-ability are writing courses run for people with disabilites at Writers Victoria.

If you loved somebody, why would you want a 12 month separation and a divorce? 'Unmarry me' is an amusing novel by Nicki Reed. What virtue lies in assassination? Read Roland Perry's, 'The Honourable Assassin' to find out.

Sonja Dechian's, 'An Astronauts's Life' is a short story collection exploring social issues and different realities. Cooktown has had an interesting history and is the setting of Di Morrissey's 'Rain Music', telling about a musician who will not find his music until he deals with his past.

Robert Power's 'Tidetown' is an allegorical tale containing multiple characters encounting the travails of life. Drugs, laundered money and the mining boom, how are they connected? Debut crime novelist J.M. Green connects them and has Stella Hardy solve them in 'Good Money'.

Jane's memoir is part social history, part social commentary and part personal insight. In reflecting on her life, she initially takes us back to a more innocent time, challenges taboos like sexuality, addresses educational needs and provides an insight into her own battle with anxiety.

Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff take us on a narrative and graphic journey into the future in 'Illuminae'.In 'The Natural Way Of Things', Charlotte Wood has 10 women imprisoned, why and how they cope with each other, their captives and the outdoors would make this a definite book group recommendation.

Fiona Wood's book 'Cloudwish' is told through a Vietnamese school girl as she learns about herself: scholarship winner, dutiful daughter, artist with beautiful Caucasian boyfriend.  Is it really true or just a wish? Tony Birch takes us down a primal water force in 'Ghost River'.Fiona Wood and Tony Birch also talk about their association with the Stella Prize.

Paul Dalgarno faces the challenges of relocation, employment, marriage and children in his memoir, 'And You May Find Yourself'.Shirley Barrett gives the true story of whales and whalers from Twofold Bay a fictional bent in 'Rush Oh!'

Charles Bean carried a pen and not a rifle in the World war One trenches. He became an active and respected historian documenting Australia's role in that great conflict. Peter Rees delves into the life, experience and achievements of this remarkable man in his book, 'Bearing Witness'.

When is a boy not a boy? Read David Astle's 'Riddledom' to find out.'Hope Farm' should be a self sufficient happy hippy commune. Peggy Frew writes about a 13 year old daughter and her realisation that she wants a  different life circumstance to her mother.             

Lesley and Tammy Williams tell about their lives with each achieving so much from the United Nations, Michael Jackson and the Queensland Parliament. Jenny Ackland's 'The Secret Son' links Ned Kelly and Turkey.  Read it to find out how!

Tania Chandler has written a pschological thriller, a domestic noir ripper with 'Please Don't Leave Me Here'Cassandra Atherton's prose poetry is a delightful diversion in 'Trace'.

William dies suddenly and secrets are revealed about him which effect all who love him, in Marion Halligan's 'Goodbye Sweetheart'.Annitta S.W. has written about her son and friends growing up with technology in 'My Five iFriends'.

'Boyhoodlum' is Anson Cameron's eulogy to his mis-spent childhood. Nikki has a good job in Hollywood but The Guy is elusive in Lisa N Edwards romance, 'Can't Fight Fate'.

Eka Kurniawan has written about Indonesia's political and cultural history in the epic, disguised as a family saga, 'Beauty is a Wound'. It is written very cleverly and is most readable even the ghosts are believable. Antonia Hayes combines physics and emotion in her novel, 'Relativity'.

Penny Hueston talks about the translating of 'The Little Jewel', a book written by Patrick Modiano.  A French writer and winner of 2014 Nobel Prize for Literature. Lisa Dempster talks about some of the authors and issues in this years Melbourne Writers Festival.

Honey Brown has six interconnecting short stories with six different couplings of sex in a most readable and enjoyable 'Six Degrees'.Joel Deane documents the power plays and personalitiies of the Brumby/Bracks Victorian Sate Government in 'Catch and Kill'.

Is writing a love story easier than living one? Author Claire Varley has her character Oliver, sharing insights in the very funny 'The Bit in Between'.Abigail Ulman's short story collection 'Hot Little Hands' explores women confronting contemporary life.

Sophie Laguna follows up from an earlier interview on Published or Not having won the Miles Franklin Award for her novel, 'The Eye of the Sheep'.The South Australian coastal area of Coorong, is the location of this family drama 'Salt Creek' set  over 100 years ago. Lucy Treloar has her characters, both European and Ngarrindjeri, question what it is to be civilised.

Tegan Bennett Daylight's 'Six Bedrooms' are short stories of adolesent happenings but allow reflection from a more mature reader.

Liam Pieper writes with humour about his eventful like in'Mistakes were made'.  It is one of the Pengun Specials, designed to be read in a single sitting. Lisa Joy knows in real life what it is like to work for a celebrity chef. 'Yes, Chef' is a fictional, fun story where it isn't just cooking going on in the kitchen.

Rebecca Lim has Sophie being challenged, not just by her own peers, but by a paranormal presence who requires her to find her killer in 'Afterlight'.Alex Hammond's crime novel 'The Unbroken Line' explores corruption violence and the ethical boundaries of the law.

Leonie Binge writes about her famly history and why her grandmother sent her mother and aunt to an orphanage in 'Nellie's Vow'.Jane Harrison raises issues and assumptions about being indigenous just as her teenage character does in 'Becoming Kirralli Lewis'