Emma Grey is a novelist, feature writer, photographer, professional speaker and accountability coach. She wrote her first adult novel, The Last Love Note, in the wake of her husband’s death. It’s a fictional tribute to their love, an attempt to articulate the magnitude of her loss and a life-affirming commitment to hope, which has gone on to win hearts around the world. In the US, it was selected as a featured title for the Book of the Month and Target Book Clubs, a Washington Post noteworthy book and listed in the top 25 new releases by the American Bookseller’s Association. Emma lives near Canberra, where her world centres on her family, writing, photography and endlessly chasing the Aurora Australis.

Our interview begins at  33.00

We've got a Substack publication now! On the last day of the month, we share recommendations for two things we reckon you should read/watch/listen to. The beauty of Substack is you can revisit all our old editions and comment on our episode updates to share your thoughts. Come say hi!

Mini (film) club: Wicked

Of course, we had to hold space and discuss the movie of the moment. In short: we loved it.

In this interview, we chat about:

• How can we tell stories about complex issues like violence against women in fiction?
• Why Emma also wanted to explore amnesia through the story
• The experience of having an American bestseller
• The parenting email that launched Emma's writing career
• Exploring grief in her first adult novel and the interesting journey to publication via a YA novel inspired by Harry Styles
• How Emma dealt with the way the book was received in the UK given the difficult subject matter

Books and other things mentioned:

• Pulp Kitchen (podcast)
• Deadpool and Wolverine (film)
• It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
• National Women's Safety Organisation
• Tuesday Evenings at the Copeton Craft Resistance by Kate Solly
• Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books Podcast by Zibby Owens

Follow @emmagreyauthor on Instagram

Pictures of You is available now. The publisher provided us with copies of the book in preparation for the interview. 

Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod

Pip Drysdale writes ‘sexy-cool’ thrillers with a dash of witty humour. She grew up in Africa, Canada, and Australia, became an adult in New York and London, and lives on a steady diet of coffee, dreams, and literature. Her books — The Sunday Girl, The Strangers We Know, The Paris Affair and The Next Girl — have been bestsellers. She currently lives in Sydney and we're chatting about The Close Up.

Our interview begins at  15.00

We've got a Substack publication now! On the last day of the month, we share recommendations for two things we reckon you should read/watch/listen to. The beauty of Substack is you can revisit all our old editions and comment on our episode updates to share your thoughts. Come say hi!

Caitlin recommends: Lovestruck by Laura Jane Williams

A very enjoyable Sliding Doors-style concept romance, where a woman manifests her dream life. But which life is the right one?

Michelle recommends: Rare Singles by Benjamin Myers*

A gem of a novel about an ageing American singer whose trip to a fading English seaside town reveals more than he expected. A heartwarming character-driven novel.

In this interview, we chat about:

• The inspiration for Pip's new novel, The Close Up
• Why she wanted to set it in LA and the importance of research trips
• How Pip visualise while writing (and how we read)
• How Pip uses scent to help her writing
• Pip's process for plotting and writing

Books and other things mentioned:

• Listen to our previous interview with Laura Jane Williams
• How to Build a Life with Laura Jane Williams on Substack
• The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
• A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston
• Nobody Wants This (TV show)
• Melrose Place (TV show)

Follow @pipdrysdale on Instagram

The Close Up is available in Australia and the US now. Thank you to the publisher for providing us with copies of the book to prepare for the interview.

Please note that we choose podcast guests independently of Caitlin's job at HarperCollins Publishers. Although her job does help put us in touch with authors, we choose our guests based on what we've enjoyed reading and think you'd find interesting.

Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod

Melanie Cheng is a writer and general practitioner. She was born in Adelaide, grew up in Hong Kong and now lives in Melbourne. Her debut collection of short stories, Australia Day, won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript in 2016 and the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Fiction in 2018. Room for a Stranger, her highly acclaimed first novel, was published in 2019. Today we're discussing her new novel, The Burrow.

Our interview begins at  31.00

We've got a Substack publication now! On the last day of the month, we share recommendations for two things we reckon you should read/watch/listen to. The beauty of Substack is you can revisit all our old editions and comment on our episode updates to share your thoughts. Come say hi!

Mini book club: Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

One of the most talked about books of 2024 and not one Michelle even finished. However, Caitlin explains why she enjoyed Intermezzo and who she'd recommend it to.

In this interview, we chat about:

• The inspiration for The Burrow and choosing to explore grief several years on from a traumatic event
• How to strike the right balance between realism and hope
• Why Melanie is so fascinated by mothers and daughters in her writing
• Melanie's work as a GP and how she started writing

Books and other things mentioned:

• Yellowface by Rebecca Kuang
• Rare Singles by Benjamin Myers
• The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
• Any Ordinary Day by Leigh Sales
• Gary Lonesborough interview
• Lucy By the Sea by Elizabeth Strout
• The Sitter by Angela O'Keefe

Follow @cheng_melanie on Instagram

The Burrow is available in Australia and the US now. Thank you to the publisher for providing us copies of the book in preparation for the interview.

Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod

Steph Tisdell is a rising star of the comedy scene in Australia. Her acting credits include Class of ’07, Total Control, Bump and Netflix Original Love is in the Air, while her writing credits include Fisk, Bump and Rosehaven. Steph lives in Meanjin with her pet parrots, Parky and Eddie. Today we're delighted to discuss her first novel, The Skin I'm In.

*There is a lot of swearing in this ep*

Our interview begins at  27.00

We've got a Substack publication now! On the last day of the month, we share recommendations for two things we reckon you should read/watch/listen to. The beauty of Substack is you can revisit all our old editions and comment on our episode updates to share your thoughts. Come say hi!

Caitlin recommends: Taylor Swift Style by Sarah Chapelle

Recommended by a Swiftie! This book is a beautiful journey through the eras of Taylor's style, analysing how they work in with her songs. The perfect treat for Swifties.

Michelle recommends: The Crow Road by Iain Banks

An all-time favourite book. This is the story of a family, focusing on 20-year-old Prentice, his dad and uncle. It's beautiful, darkly comic and the kind of character-driven story you'll get something new out of every time.

In this interview, we chat about:

• Why Steph wanted to tell this story in novel format
• Confronting the dark parts of Australian history in schools and everyday racism
• Steph's writing process for the book and how it differed from other projects, plus where she struggled versus where she thrived
• The best advice about taking risks in life and creativity (and how this has paid off for Steph)
• How Steph connected with Layla's voice

Books and other things mentioned:

• Brooklyn by Colm Toíbín

Follow @stephtisdellcomedy on Instagram

The Skin I'm In is available now. Thank you to the publishers for providing us copies of the book to prepare for the interview.

Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod

Kate Young is a writer and cook. Her award-winning Little Library Cookbooks feature food inspired by beloved works of literature. After a sunny Australian childhood, spent indoors reading books, she moved to London, which suited her much better. She now lives in a converted mill in a Gloucestershire town. Today we're discussing her debut novel, a queer rom-com called Experienced.

Our interview begins at  30.00

We've got a Substack publication now! On the last day of the month, we share recommendations for two things we reckon you should read/watch/listen to. The beauty of Substack is you can revisit all our old editions and comment on our episode updates to share your thoughts. Come say hi!

Mini book club: How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie

A book we both missed when it was published in 2021. This is a witty and wickedly funny crime novel about a young woman working through a plan to kill off the members of her extended family. Grace is such an anti-hero we couldn't help but fall in love with her. We give plenty of spoilers in this chat but we give lots of warnings if you want to skip them.

In this interview, we chat about:

• Why Kate lives in the UK even though she grew up in Australia
• Kate's amazing New Year's tradition
• Queer adolescence and working out what you need in relationships
• Kate's scientific study of rom-com (and what it reveals about writing them)
• Writing cookbooks and Kate's journey into writing fiction

Books and other things mentioned:

• What a Way to Go by Bella Mackie
• The window display with Spare and How to Kill Your Family
• Unleashed and Unhinged display
• Laura Kay (listen to our most recent interview with her here)
• Emily Henry
• Casey McQuiston
• Harriet by Jilly Cooper

Follow Kate @kateyoungwrites

Experienced is now available in the UK and Australia. Michelle bought the book in preparation for the interview, but Caitlin accessed a copy through work as Kate is published by Harper Collins.

Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod

Gary Lonesborough is a Yuin man, who grew up on the Far South Coast of New South Wales as part of a large and proud Aboriginal family. Gary was always writing as a child, and continued his creative journey when he moved to Sydney to study at film school. Gary has experience working in youth work, Aboriginal health, child protection, the disability sector (including experience working in the youth justice system) and the film industry, including working on the feature film adaptation of Jasper Jones. His debut YA novel, The Boy from the Mish, won multiple awards. It was published in the US in 2022 as Ready When You Are. His second novel, We Didn’t Think It Through, was published in 2023. Today we're discussing his new novel, I'm Not Really Here.

Our interview begins at  19.00

We've got a Substack publication now! On the last day of the month, we share recommendations for two things we reckon you should read/watch/listen to. The beauty of Substack is you can revisit all our old editions and comment on our episode updates to share your thoughts. Come say hi!

Caitlin recommends: Gilmore Girls and The Pumpkin Spice Cafe*

This autumnal sensation was inspired by Gilmore Girls and although the seasons are different, this is a delightful romantic read.

Michelle talks about the books she bought in Edinburgh.

• Glasgow Boys by Margaret McDonald
• A Little Trickerie by Rosanna Pike
• The Peepshow: The Murders at 10 Rillington Place by Kate Summerscale
• Cult Classic by Sloane Crosley
• Mary: The Birth of Frankenstein by Anne Eekhout
• Affinity by Sarah Waters
• His Bloody Project by Graeme MacRae Burnett

In this interview, we chat about:

• The very personal experience that inspired Jonah's story
• How the story developed from a dark horror into a contemporary story
• Writing authentic teen boys
• Why it was so important for Gary to explore the youth justice system through his second book, We Didn't Think It Through
• Gary's journey to publication and what it's like to hear from teenage readers

Books and other things mentioned:

• Nobody Wants This (TV show)
• Veronica Mars (TV show)
• Only Murders In the Building (TV show)
• Gilmore Girls (TV show)
• Sophie Green (listen to our interview here)
• Happy Head by Josh Silver (listen to our interview)
• The Rest is Entertainment podcast episode: Showmance or Romance? Inside Celebrity Relationship Contracts
• A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
• Panther by David Owen
• Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel by Sophie Green (listen to our interview)
• Banged Up: Stars Behind Bars (TV show)

Follow @garylonesborough on Instagram

I'm Not Really Here is available now. Thank you to the publishers for providing us with copies of the book in preparation for the interview.

Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod

Anna Zoe Quirke is a queer and autistic author and librarian from the North of England. She currently lives in Manchester with her partner, Rachael, and their very angry tortoise, Sheldon. They’re at their happiest writing stories about queer and neurodivergent people finding and claiming their place in the world, exploring the literary wonders of the UK, or making a big ol’ mess in the kitchen baking things for their loved ones. Something to be Proud of is their debut novel.

Our interview begins at  15.00

We've got a Substack publication now! On the last day of the month, we share recommendations for two things we reckon you should read/watch/listen to. The beauty of Substack is you can revisit all our old editions and comment on our episode updates to share your thoughts. Come say hi!

Book club: Prima Facie (NTL re-release)

Earlier this year we read and discussed Prima Facie and we finally got the chance to see the National Theatre Live recording of Jodie Comer performing in the West End. We were absolutely blown away by her incredible performance.

In this interview, we chat about:

• The characters of Ollie and Imogen
• Why Anna wanted to explore divorce and parental relationships through Ollie
• The importance of having Imogen's autism part of the story
• Ollie and Imogen's beautiful friendship love story
• New Writing North and Anna's journey to publication

Books and other things mentioned:

• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
• RBG (play by Susie Miller)
• Julia (play)

Follow @annazoequirke on Instagram

Something to Be Proud Of is available now! Thank you to the publishers for sending us copies of the book to prepare for the interview.

Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod

Welcome to a bonus episode where we catch up on things we've recently bought, read and watched.

We've shared bits of this over on Substack, where we post monthly wraps of things we've loved.

Books and other things mentioned:

• Caitlin's trip to PEI
• Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery
• I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue* (listen to Caitlin chat about it here)
• The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson
• This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune
• The American Roomate Experiment by Elena Armas
• The Movement by Petra Hůlová
• If You Change Your Mind by Robby Weber
• A Five Letter Word for Love by Amy James*
• Guilty By Definition by Susie Dent*
• We Solve Murders by Richard Osman*
• The Examiner by Janice Hallett (listen to our previous chat with Janice here)
• The Great Gatsby musical
• Water for Elephants musical
• The Notebook musical
• Suffs musical
• Once Upon a Mattress musical
• Mrs Doubtfire musical (listen to Michelle talking about John O'Farrell's novel Family Politics here)
• The makeover montage from Mrs Doubtfire
• Back to the Future the musical
• ABBA Voyage
• Eras: ABBA interview with Vogage producers

Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod

Sophie Green is an author and publisher who lives in Sydney. In her spare time she writes about country music on her website, Sunburnt Country Music. Sophie's debut novel, The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club, was a Top Ten bestseller and was shortlisted for the Australian Book Industry Awards for General Fiction Book of the Year 2018, longlisted for both the Matt Richell Award for New Writer of the Year 2018 and the Indie Book Award for Debut Fiction 2018. Her following novels were also published internationally. Today, we're talking about her new book, Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel.

Our interview begins at  12.00

We've got a Substack publication now! On the last day of the month, we share recommendations for two things we reckon you should read/watch/listen to. The beauty of Substack is you can revisit all our old editions and comment on our episode updates to share your thoughts. Come say hi!

Caitlin recommends: A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston*

Romantic comedies with a dash of magic? Yes please. Elsie finds herself stuck in a small town that's suspiciously like that of her favourite book series and must work out how to conclude the story left in limbo by the death of the author. A very fun, delightful read.

Michelle recommends: Kala by Colin Walsh*

A literary page-turner set in a small Irish village. We meet Helen, Mush and Joe 20 years after the disappearance of their best friend Kala. The discovery of Kala's body forces them all to confront the truths they've been running from since they were teenagers. This is character-driven, picking up pace as the novel builds to a gripping conclusion.

In this interview, we chat about:

• The hotel stay that inspired Sophie and the long process from idea to book
• Sophie's view on creativity and ideas, plus her advice to aspiring writers
• How Sophie's characters make their voices heard
• How Sophie chooses when to set her books (and why 1999 was the setting this time)
• Sophie's journey to publication including working as a publisher and writing Home&Away fiction
• The writing lessons we can all learn from long-running soaps
• How Sophie juggles writing and working full-time as a publisher
• The career journey into publishing and then becoming an author

Books and other things mentioned:

• Just Like Heaven (film)
• Helly Acton (author)
• The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
• Brooklyn and Long Island by Colm Toibin
• Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
• Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
• Hunted (TV)
• Home & Away (TV)
• Heartbeat (TV)
• Blue Heelers (TV)
• All Saints (TV)

Follow @sophiegreenbooks on Instagram

Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel is available now in Australia. Thank you to the publishers for providing us with copies in preparation for the interview.

Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod

Amy Hutton writes contemporary romantic comedies from her home on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. An award-winning Television Producer by trade, she walked away from a successful career in network television, to follow her dream of becoming an author.

Amy is a Romance Writers of America and Romance Writers of NZ Award Winner and the 2023 runner-up in the Romance Writers of Australia Emerald Award. Amy's debut rom-com Sit, Stay, Love was released in August 2023. Love from Scratch was released in June, 2024.

Our interview begins at  17.00

We've got a Substack publication now! On the last day of the month, we share recommendations for two things we reckon you should read/watch/listen to. The beauty of Substack is you can revisit all our old editions and comment on our episode updates to share your thoughts. Come say hi!

Caitlin & Michelle recommend: Who's That Girl? and You Belong With Me by Mhairi McFarlane

In Who's That Girl? Edie's life explodes when a colleague kisses her on his wedding day. She's labelled a homewrecker and bullied by other colleagues so her boss sends her back home to Nottingham to ghostwrite the memoir of up-and-coming actor Elliot.

(Small spoiler alert!)

You Belong With Me picks up after a knock at Edie's door on Christmas Day where Elliot is waiting to confess his love. But how will the couple cope with Elliot's soaring fame and celeb gossip pages?

We had the pleasure of chatting with Mhairi a few years ago, you can listen to that here!

In this interview, we chat about:

• The connection between Amy's books (but why you can still read them as a standalone) and why she wanted to continue Ethan's story
• Why Amy chose to set the book on Queensland's Sunshine Coast
• How Amy feels about the way tropes have become a major discussion point among readers
• Quitting TV production to write full time and Amy's path to publication (including a brilliant way to look at pitching)

Books and other things mentioned:

• A Family Affair (film)
• Jodi McAlister's reality TV romance series (listen to our interview here)
• The Wake-Up Call by Beth O'Leary
• Pets in Rom Coms with That Rom Com Pod
• Puppy Love (film)

Follow @amyhuttonauthor on Instagram

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Australia for providing copies of the book in preparation for the interview.

Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod