Talking Aussie Books

Danielle Binks is a Melbourne-based writer, reviewer, agent, book blogger and youth literature advocate. In 2017, she edited and contributed to an anthology of Australian young adult stories inspired by the LoveOZYA movement for which she is a passionate advocate. And now, she has written a YA novel entitled 'The Year The Maps Changed' (Hachette). A compelling and beautifully written middle-grade...

Katherine Scholes in an Australian best-selling author based in Hobart. She has sold over two million novels globally which have been translated into a number of languages. Many of her novels have been set in Tanzania, Africa. The place of her birth. Her new novel, set in Tanzania, is called "The Beautiful Mother". It's an exquisitely told tale of one woman's experience of motherhood, what it mean...

Jennifer McKenzie Dunbar is an Adelaide based author whose debut novel "Vivaldi's Lost Concerto" is a surprising and fascinating exploration of love, music, of what it means to be marginalised as well as the power of friendship. With dual timelines spotlighting 21st century Australia alongside 18th century Scotland and Italy, it's an epic story inspired by true historical events. I loved reading t...

Sarah Clutton is a lawyer turned author who writes novels best described as a mixture of mystery, family secrets and drama. Her first novel "Good Little Liars" released last year was a runaway success. Emotionally gripping and filled with a cast of nuanced characters, the success of this debut was unsurprising. This year, Sarah is back with a brand new novel. "The Daughter's Promise" is another dr...

Cassie Hamer is a best-selling Australian author who has recently released her second book into the world. "The End of Cuthbert Close" is a fabulous, fun and insightful novel about friendships and romance with a dash of intrigue thrown in for good measure. If you like Liane Moriarty's books, you will love "The End of Cuthbert Close" as well as Cassie's debut title "After the Party". Join Cassie an...

Vanessa McCausland's debut novel "The Lost Summers of Driftwood" is another shining example of the quality of Australian fiction on offer at the moment. A novel redolent of long, lazy summers and days gone-by, this novel made me nostalgic for my own childhood. Of days before smart phones and the internet. . .when being bored meant heading outside to play instead of being glued to a device. Tune in...

Candice Fox is the international best-selling crime writer with a swag of title and awards to her name. Her new book, "Gathering Dark" (Penguin) is a gritty, clever and compulsive tale about an unlikely group of women who band together to find a missing girl. The result is a thrilling read which made me wonder anew at the inner machinations of a crime writer and what inspires them to write such ta...

Sandie Docker is the best-selling author of "The Kookaburra Creek Café" and "The Cottage at Rosella Cove". A novelist whose star is definitely on a stratospheric rise. Her new novel, "The Banksia Bay Beach Shack" has just been released. And she returns to the podcast today to chat to me about first loves, last chances and secrets that rocked a small Australian seaside town in the 1960s. Tune in to...

Anna Romer is the author of four books published by Simon & Schuster and writes stories that evoke our unique Australian landscape. Stories that uncover dark family secrets, old rambling houses and characters who are haunted by their past. Her latest book, 'Under the Midnight Sky' (2019) had a generous dash of all these elements. A beautiful tale that explores the underbelly of trauma and grief in...

Kerri Turner is a Sydney-based author of two historical fiction titles. Her latest, "The Daughter of Victory Lights" (HQ Fiction) is a meticulously researched exploration of the difficulties faced by women after the end of the second World War, about wartime sacrifice and of its lasting impacts on those who survived and those who came after them. An illuminating, compelling read to say the least....

In the very first episode of Talking Aussie Books for 2020, I chat to Kelly Rimmer - a USA Today best-selling author of seven contemporary fiction titles. Kelly has sold over a million books which have been translated into more than 20 language, her titles include "Me Without You", "Before I Let You Go" and "The Things We Cannot Say". Kelly's books explore themes and dilemmas that test the strengt...

Episode 44: In 2018, former journalist Chris Hammer shot up the literary charts with his debut international best-selling, award-winning crime novel, 'Scrublands' (Allen & Unwin). An instant hit in a genre that has now been dubbed "Antipodean Noir'. In 'Scrublands' we meet traumatised journalist Martin Scarsden when he's sent to an isolated Riverina country town to write a story about a young prie...

Episode 43: Nadia Worland is the co-author of the POWman book series. The first instalment, POWman: Unleash the Hero Within (Harbour Publishing House) released in 2018 was a runaway success. Created by Nadia and Dave "Powman" Tabain, the book was written to help start difficult conversations around the insidious issue of bullying and to help kids turn negative experiences into positive ones. A yea...

Episode 41: Sara Foster is the best-selling author of six psychological suspense thrillers. Her latest "You Don't Know Me" (Simon & Schuster) is a stunning example of why Sara is fast becoming an international sensation. A darkly compelling tale that is part murder mystery and part family drama, set in Sydney and Thailand, "You Don't Know Me" will keep you on the edge of your seat until its mind-b...

Episode 40: Rachael Johns is one of Australia's best-loved authors. Her novels are international best sellers that include the 2016 ABIA award-winning "Patterson Girls" a host of rural romances and more recently books that she terms "life lit". In her words, the stories she writes are "about normal people creating pretty amazing happy every afters." They are about characters you can relate to and...

Jenn J McLeod writes stories about small towns with big hearts, loveable characters and embracing second chances. A former city girl and corporate high-flyer, Jenn is now a nomadic novelists who travels across this wide country of ours in a fifth wheeler caravan she calls Myrtle the Turtle. Jenn's 6th novel, 'House of Wishes' is about to be released into the world. It's the third of her books set...

In addition to being an internationally-exhibited painter, Melbourne-based author Kate Murdoch has written two historical fiction titles and a host of short stories. Her latest novel, 'The Orange Grove' (Regal House Publishing), set in 18th century France is a remarkable study of domestic politics within the French aristocracy. Full of intrigue and heart-stopping tension, this beautifully written...

'Maternal Instinct' by Rebecca Bowyers is a book that reconstructs our world, reimagines it as a place in which the welfare of children in a paramount consideration. Set in 2040, the world within the pages of Rebecca's novel is one where child-bearing and child-rearing is a state-sanctioned event. Where women give birth to babies and then hand them over to professional carers - the Maters and Pate...

Luke Devenish is an internationally acclaimed Australian author with a long list of stage and screen credits to his name. He wrote scripts for long-running Australian TV dramas Neighbours and Home and Away before making the leap to novel writing. His latest book, 'The Heart of the Ritz' released by Simon & Schuster earlier this year is a beautifully evocative, witty exploration of Nazi-occupied Pa...

Fiona Palmer is a best-selling rural fiction author, farmer and speedway racer who's brand new novel 'Matters of the Heart' (published by Hachette) reimagines Jane Austen's classic novel, 'Pride and Prejudice' - transporting us from rural 19th century England to a remote farming property in 21st century Australia. 'Matters of the Heart' is a rich, heart-warming tale about family, finding love and...

Pamela Cook is the author of 4 rural fiction titles published by Hachette Australia between 2012 and 2016. Titles which Pamela herself describes as fiction about 'feisty women, tangled family relationships and a healthy dose of romance'. Three years after her last book, Pamela is releasing her fifth novel. Only this time, she's going it alone, plunging headfirst into the world of self-publishing....

Barbara Hannay is the multi-award winning author of more than 50 novels. Barbara had always enjoyed writing and discovered romance novels whilst teaching high school English deciding then to pursue her dream of becoming a published writer. Her brand new novel, "Meet Me in Venice" (Penguin) a beautifully written, compelling Australian drama that shows why Barbara is one of Australia's most popular...

Kate Forsyth is one of Australia's most loved and prolific authors. Hailing from a long line of literary ancestry, Kate has published more than forty novels and sold over a million books world wide. Her new novel, 'The Blue Rose' was released by Penguin Random House in July 2019 and was inspired by the parallel events of revolutionary France and Imperial China in the 18th century. A fascinating in...

Sophie Green is a Sydney-based author with a number of fiction and non-fiction titles to her credit. Her second novel, 'The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle' was released by Hachette Australia in July and is a gorgeous, uplifting tale of friendship, love and belonging that I fell in love with. Sophie is inspired to write by places and this novel is an ode to Australian coastal living. Tune in as...

Fiona McArthur is one of Australia's best-selling novelists, drawing on her lifetime experiences as a nurse and midwife in rural and remote communities to bring her readers heartfelt stories of love and family in authentically Australian settings. Her latest novel, "The Desert Midwife" is set in Australia's red centre and is a testament to the courage and stoicism of the people that live and work...