Jackie Bailey is a writer who holds a PhD in creative writing from the University of NSW and whose work has appeared in a variety of publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, ScreenHub, ArtsHub and the Australian Journal of Human Rights. Jackie's debut novel 'The Eulogy' was published by Hardy Grant earlier this year. A work of auto-fiction (drawing heavily on Jackie's own life and experiences), 'The Eulogy' was a moving and memorable book about death, grief and the effects of intergener...
Dec 30, 2022•28 min•Season 4Ep. 196
Tori Haschka is a published cookbook author who has appeared on TV programs like The Today Show and Adam Liaw's The Cook Up and has written for a variety of publications including The Times, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Guardian. Her first novel 'Grace Under Pressure', published in 2021, heralded a new genre of food fiction - combining her love of the gastronomic with her experiences of motherhood. This year Tori published her second novel - exploring these two themes once again. Called 'A ...
Dec 28, 2022•34 min•Season 4Ep. 195
Vikki Petraitis is the author of the best-selling true crime books "The Frankston Murders" and "The Phillip Island Murder" as well as a podcaster - making two highly successful podcasts with Case File Presents: series which have topped charts around the world and enjoyed millions of downloads. More recently, Vikki won the inaugural Allen & Unwin Crime prize with her first work of fiction "The Unbelieved" (published earlier this year). Devouring it from cover to cover, I understood why this m...
Dec 21, 2022•45 min•Season 4Ep. 194
Denise Picton's debut novel "The Family String" (Ultimo Press) is a poignant, beautifully written novel about a difficult mother-daughter relationship which explores mental health issues in the context of a faith that could not understand such issues along with the way children cope with family dynamics. An uplifting, but at times heart-breaking novel capturing the unique, irrepressible voice of its 12 year-old protagonist Dorcas Wilson. I loved it and was delighted to welcome Denise to the podc...
Dec 16, 2022•27 min•Season 4Ep. 193
Mercedes Mercier is author of the electric debut novel "White Noise" published by HarperCollins Australia earlier this year. Drawn from Mercedes' real-life experiences working in the Australian corrections system for almost a decade, "White Noise" is a triumph of a novel. I was utterly mesmerised by the world Mercedes created - exploring the ongoing effects of trauma and addiction and offering a chilling insight into the mind of a psychopath. A brilliant read for lovers of crime and psychologica...
Dec 07, 2022•34 min•Season 4Ep. 192
Rachael Johns has been described as the 'undisputed queen of Australian women's fiction' and with a whopping 29 titles under her belt to date, I'm sure you'll agree it's an apt title. An award-winning author with her own online bookclub - membership of which has now reached some 5000 members - Rachael is a force to be reckoned with. I was more than a little delighted to have the chance to speak with Rachael ahead of the release of her new novel, 'The Work Wives' (HQ Fiction). A fun chat in which...
Dec 06, 2022•40 min•Season 4Ep. 192
Katharine Pollock's debut novel 'Her Fidelity' (published by Penguin) is a wonderfully insightful book that takes a humorous look at the record industry from the point of view of female retail worker. A sharply-drawn snapshot of contemporary Australian society and exploration of what it means to be a woman working in a male-dominated industry, 'Her Fidelity' was funny and sobering at the same time. Highly recommended! I welcomed Katharine to the podcast a little while back and had a fabulous, wi...
Dec 06, 2022•36 min•Season 4Ep. 191
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 delighted to have the chance to speak with Julietta on the podcast again.
Nov 28, 2022•36 min•Season 4Ep. 190
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, edge-of-your seat psychological suspense thriller that will have you flipping pages til the heart-stopp...
Nov 24, 2022•27 min•Season 4Ep. 189
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 compelling, insightful and poignant read, I simply had to chat with Victoria about it....
Nov 23, 2022•35 min•Season 4Ep. 188
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' explores Gemma's journey as an adult survivor and her quest to discover the truth about her complicated relationship...
Nov 11, 2022•26 min•Season 4Ep. 187
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 Best Debut Crime Fiction in the 2021 Ned Kelly Awards. This year Greg is back with a sequel to that ...
Nov 09, 2022•37 min•Season 4Ep. 186
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 much, much more. A fun, laugh-out-loud discussion with a cast of brilliant women writers....
Nov 07, 2022•38 min•Season 4Ep. 185
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 this for me. In it, I found characters who were familiar. People I'd grown up around and people with whom I shared ...
Nov 03, 2022•24 min•Season 4Ep. 185
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 fiction title made its way into the world. Published by Larrikin House, "My Extraordinary Mum" is a gor...
Nov 01, 2022•46 min•Season 4Ep. 184
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 and Jules has dipped her toe in the world of adult fiction with her stunning book “A Remarkable Woman...
Oct 30, 2022•32 min•Season 4Ep. 183
**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. Set in rural Victoria and moving back and forwards between the 1940s, 1960s and 1980s, "The Silent...
Oct 25, 2022•43 min•Season 4Ep. 182
"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...well, things don't quite go how she would expect them to. I was prepared for a "Castle" meets "Murder She W...
Oct 22, 2022•23 min•Season 4Ep. 181
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 embarrassing moments as an author, their secret (or not so secret) author crushes and their top wri...
Oct 21, 2022•21 min•Season 4Ep. 180
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 for a number of prestigious awards. Her novel 'A Decline in Prophets' (a Rowland Sinclair mystery) won the Davi...
Oct 18, 2022•40 min•Season 4Ep. 179
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. "Sugar" is a novel inspired by Carly's own experience with Type 1 diabetes. A dark but ultimately hopeful tale, "Sug...
Oct 04, 2022•31 min•Season 4Ep. 178
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 desire to die with dignity, the legacy of grief created by that injustice and a story which is testament to ...
Sep 30, 2022•29 min•Season 4Ep. 177
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 embarrassing moments as an author, their secret (or not so secret) author crushes and their top wri...
Sep 21, 2022•25 min•Season 4Ep. 176
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 the last couple of years, what upcoming titles we're excited about along with some discussion about Booktopia's ...
Sep 19, 2022•24 min•Season 4Ep. 176
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 fantastic group of passionate, clever, book-loving women. Enjoy!
Sep 06, 2022•24 min•Season 4Ep. 175
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. Such well-deserved success for this propulsive, gripping novel. I was delighted to have the chance to speak with Ra...
Sep 02, 2022•38 min•Season 4Ep. 174
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 human story. A page-turning, can't-look-away mother-daughter story about the devastating consequences of a singl...
Aug 28, 2022•29 min•Season 4Ep. 173
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 Penguin earlier this year, it's a sweeping saga depicting the harshness of life on the land in 19th century New South Wa...
Aug 24, 2022•45 min•Season 4Ep. 172
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 writer's block and a handsome detective make for a gripping and pulse-racing read. I had so much fun chatting with Kar...
Aug 18, 2022•33 min•Season 4Ep. 171
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 held me in its clutches as I raced to the last page, desperate to know how it would all end. I was delighted to speak with...
Aug 08, 2022•36 min•Season 4Ep. 170
