Talking Aussie Books

"The Understudy" (Simon & Schuster) by Sydney-based author Julie Bennett is a brilliant new debut novel inspired by the Sydney Opera House and Julie's own childhood. A fascinating, page-turning glimpse into the underbelly of the theatre world, along with the rivalries, politics and machinations behind a history-making opera performance in 1973 Sydney. I am in complete awe of Julie's achievement wi...

'Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter' (Penguin) is a brilliant debut novel from Lizzie Pook, an award-winning travel writer and journalist. Spending time in north-western Australia researching the south-sea pearling industry was Lizzie's inspiration for this novel - which not only explores the origin of this treacherous industry, but deals with themes of family, loss, redemption and the lengths a...

Aoife Clifford is an award-winning, bestselling Australian crime writer of three novels including "All These Perfect Strangers", "Second Sight" and now her brand new novel "When We Fall". Published by Ultimo Press, "When We Fall" is a tense, gripping and propulsive novel with a racing plot that will leave you breathless til the very end. If you're a fan of crime fiction, you will love Aoife's work...

Ali Lowe is a Sydney-based author who works as a journalist. I had the great pleasure of meeting Ali at a book launch back in December 2020 and was delighted to learn of her then upcoming debut novel. The book is now out in the world. Called "The Trivia Night" (published by Hodder & Stoughton) it's a page-turning, rip snorting read that will shock, delight and have you turning pages til the wee ho...

Jill Staunton is a North Queensland-based author of two novels, "Reiver's Moon" and "All That He Is". Both published by Boolarong Press. "All That He Is" was released late last year and boy oh boy, what a terrific read! This novel grabbed me from its opening pages and didn't let go until the very end. It had everything you want in a book: a cast of wonderfully depicted, strong and relatable charac...

When an author tells you she was married to a career criminal and that this inspired her debut novel, it cannot fail to pique your interest. Listening to Loraine Peck talk about her inspiration for her novel, "The Second Son" (Text Publishing) at a writers festival late last year, I knew I had to speak with her on the podcast to learn more. What followed was a fascinating chat about her life and h...

Dinuka McKenzie is a crime writer who debuted onto the Australian literary scene with an almighty bang. Winning the Banjo Prize in 2020, Dinuka secured her place in literary history and scored herself a book deal with publishing giant, HarperCollins Australia. More than a year down the track and her debut novel, "The Torrent" has finally hit the shelves. And what a cracker of a story it is. I was...

Dinuka McKenzie is a crime writer who debuted on the Australian literary scene with an almighty bang. Wining the Banjo Prize in 2020, Dinuka secured her spot in literary history and scored a book deal with publishing giant, HarperCollins Australia. More than a year on from that win, Dinuka's debut novel "The Torrent" hit shelves. I was thrilled to welcome Dinuka as my first guest for 2022.

Nore Hoogstad is a Sydney-based author and former diplomat to Australia and the UN who held a diplomatic posting to Jakarta and Dili in a time of great political upheaval for Indonesia and East Timor. Now a writer as well as a nutritional therapist, Nore has just published her first book. Called "Gunfire Lullabies", Nore plunges us into a gut-wrenching, dangerous world where two women must navigat...

Discussion around consent and sexual violence experienced by girls and women in educational institutions and the toxic culture engendered by these institutions has been a topic that has dominated headlines in recent years. It's a discussion that is slowly filtering its way into high school curriculums and hopefully leading to a change in what young women and men think of as healthy, respectful sex...

Karen Herbert is a Perth-based author whose debut crime novel was recently released by Fremantle Press. Called "The River Mouth", it's a haunting, evocative novel which centres on the shooting death of 15 year-old Darren Davies and his mother's struggle to come to terms with his death. This book has everything book lovers enjoy in a crime novel. A stunning debut that had me guessing til the very e...

Maria Papas is a West Australian author who won the 2020 City of Fremantle Hungerford award for her unpublished manuscript which went onto become her debut novel "Skimming Stones". Published by Fremantle Press, "Skimming Stones" is a beautiful novel which explores the trauma inflicted on families (and siblings in particular) when children suffer life-threatening illnesses. A heartbreaking portraya...

Sara Foster is a West Australian author of six international bestselling psychological suspense novels. Titles that include 'Come Back to Me', 'Beneath the Shadows', 'Shallow Breath', 'All That is Lost Between Us' and the 'Hidden Hours'. Two years ago now, her last book 'You Don't Know Me' was released and I had the privilege of chatting with Sara on the podcast back then. This year Sara is back w...

Sally Hepworth is a best-selling author of seven novels. Her 2020 novel, "The Good Sister" was an instant best-seller and her 2019 novel, "The Mother-in-Law" has been optioned for a TV series by Hollywood actress and producer, Amy Poehler. Sally's books are available all over the world and have been translated into 20 languages. "The Younger Wife" is Sally's most recent novel (published by Pan Mac...

Robyn Mundy is a Tasmanian-based author of three novels whose work forms an exploration of nature in its wildest forms. Her fiction draws inspiration from her own adventures through Svalbard (a territory of Norway), Greenway, Antartica, the Norwegian Coast and Scotland. Her latest novel, "Cold Coast" (published by Ultimo Press) is a completely immersive and enthralling exploration of the majesty a...

If you're listening to this podcast, I'm sure that like me, books are something that you'll definitely be popping under the tree. And one book you'll definitely want to gift this Christmas is Joanna Nell's brand new novel "The Tea Ladies of St Jude's Hospital" (Hachette). I've been fortunate to have the opportunity to chat with Joanna before on this podcast. First, when in 2018, her debut novel "T...

"Hitler's Assassins" is the second book in Steve Matthew's Nazi trilogy (released by Big Sky Publishing). A book that takes us behind the scenes of Hitler's megalomania and paranoia during his reign as Fuhrer through the eyes of his personal staff and his closest military advisers. Listeners, this book is unlike anything I've ever read before and offers another eye-opening, chilling insight into w...

I met Sydney-based author Vanessa McCausland in early 2020, just after the release of her debut novel, "The Lost Summers of Driftwood". A hauntingly beautiful story that has stayed with me ever since. . . Following that meeting, Vanessa has gone on to write another two novels: "The Valley of Lost Stories" and now a brand new novel called "The Beautiful Words." Just published, "The Beautiful Words"...

I first met Vanessa McCausland in early 2020 when her debut, "The Lost Summers of Driftwood" was released by Vanessa McCausland. A hauntingly beautiful story that has stayed with me ever since. . . Following that meeting, Vanessa has gone on to write another two novels: "The Valley of Lost Stories" and now a brand new novel called "The Beautiful Words." Only just released, "The Beautiful Words" is...

Fleur McDonald is a bestselling Australian rural fiction writer. She's lived and worked on farms for most of her life and currently co-owns an 8000 acre property in regional WA. With 18 novels under her belt now and over 650,000 books sold, Fleur is well-recognised as a leader in this genre - having well and truly earned her title as the "Voice of the Outback". Fleur's new book "Deception Creek"wa...

Having graced our television screens in popular series like Love My Way and The Slap along with roles in worldwide smash hit Game of Thrones and a host of movies, Brendan Cowell is an actor many Australians would be familiar with. He's well-known in writing circles as a novelist as well as an award-winning screenwriter and playwright. A multi-talented artist whose new novel "Plum" has just been pu...

Chris Hammer, former journalist and foreign correspondent, is a highly acclaimed, award-winning international bestselling author of the thrilling trilogy - 'Scrublands', 'Silver' and 'Trust'. This year, Chris has offered up a new stand alone novel. Called 'Treasure & Dirt' (Allen & Unwin), this novel is a sensational, suspense-filled, turbulent read that centres on a murder investigation in the fi...

In his new book, "If Not Us" (Text Publishing), Mark Smith has spotlighted an important issue - not only for the characters in the story, but for society at large. Through the eyes of a young man who has experienced heart-wrenching loss, Mark has crafted a beautiful and compelling coming-of-age, David versus Goliath story which will inspire and engage young and older readers alike. A novel which i...

Joshua Pomare, or JP Pomare as he is otherwise known, is a Melbourne-based author hailing from New Zealand who hit the literary scene in 2018 with a best-selling, award-winning debut in his psychological thriller "Call Me Evie". His success with this book was followed up with "In the Clearing" in 2019, and then "Tell Me Lies" in 2020. This year, Joshua is back with another edge-of-your-seat, spine...

Ruth McIver is a Melbourne-based crime writer who grew up in Perth and in the US. Her first novel, "Nothing Gold", was runner up in the inaugural Banjo Prize and was selected to be pitched at the Bloody Scotland Crime Festival in 2014. Her new novel, "I Shot the Devil", published by Hachette, won the 2018 Richell Prize. And listeners, I have to tell you, I can see why. Tense and terrifying, this b...