Better Words

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

Emma Steele was born and raised on the west coast of Scotland before studying law at The University of Aberdeen. Working as a solicitor in Edinburgh, she continued to dabble in her childhood passions of art and creative writing for several years. Emma now writes big love stories with a twist, and with a particular focus on phenomena. The stunning city of Edinburgh is generally her setting of choice, but she likes to weave in elements of the wider world too. The Echos of Us is her first novel.

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!

It's a bit of a different intro this week as Caitlin shares the details of her bookish Anne of Green Gables-inspired trip to Canada, including the books she's read in preparation. While Michelle chats about 2.22: A Ghost Story and meeting one of her favourite actors.

In this interview, we chat about:

• Shared death experiences and how the phenomena inspired the story of Robbie and Jenn
• Robbie's flawed character and why we enjoy seeing this in male main characters
• The process of writing a book with so many shifts in timelines and perspective
• Emma's incredibly unique publishing experience – being published as a debut author in German before the UK

Books and other things mentioned:

• Anne of Green Gables (1980s adaptation)
• Into the Uncanny by Danny Robbins
• Prima Facie by Suzie Miller (novel and script - we talk about the book here)
• Shake & Stir productions in Australia
• Big (film)
• Good Material by Dolly Alderton

Follow @emmasteeleauthor on Instagram

The Echoes of Us is available in the UK now. Thank you so much to the publishers for sending us copies in preparation for the interview.

Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod

Avi Duckor-Jones trained as a lawyer before gaining his MA in creative writing from Victoria University's International Institute of Modern Letters in 2013. His travel writing has been published with BBC Travel, The NZ Listener and Lonely Planet, among others. Avi has worked as a writing instructor and trip leader for National Geographic, directed a school in Ghana, and is the winner of the reality television competition Survivor New Zealand. His first book, Swim, won the 2018 Viva la Novella award. He currently lives on Waiheke Island with his wife and two children, where he enjoys open-water distance swimming and works as an English Teacher

Our interview begins at  25.00

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: I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue*

An incredibly funny and relatable workplace comedy where a woman gets access to the emails of everyone in her company.

Michelle recommends: Family Politics by John O'Farrell

A left-wing campaigning couple's son comes home from uni and tells them he's... a conservative. If you've read a comment thread that's been controversial online in the past few years, you'll relate to many of the conversations.

In this interview, we chat about:

• The duality of identity, and exploring this through the character of Max
• Choosing the time period to set the book and how changing this affected the story
• Masculinity and the influence of the 'Southern Man' advertising campaign in New Zealand
• Exploring bisexuality and the feeling of needing to 'choose'
• Max's journey to finding and connecting with his birth parents
• The character of Busby and the found family that supports Max
• Avi's long and winding road to becoming a writer

Books and other things mentioned:

• Making It by Laura Kay (a friend of the pod, listen to our previous episode here)
• Experienced by Kate Young
• We Are History (podcast)
• The VB advertising campaign
• I Kissed A Boy and I Kissed A Girl (TV series)
• The Primal Wound by Nancy Verrier

Follow @aviduckorjones on Instagram

Max is available in Australia and New Zealand. Thank you to the publisher for providing us copies of the books in preparation for the interview.

Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod

Born in Sweden, to a family of writers and readers, Josie Ferguson moved to Scotland when she was two. She returned to Sweden in her twenties, where she completed a vocational degree in Clinical Psychology (MSc). Upon graduating, she moved to London to pursue a career in publishing, something she had dreamed about since delving into fictional worlds as a child, hidden under the duvet with a torch.

She later moved to Asia in search of an adventure and a bit more sun. She currently works as a freelance book editor in Singapore, where she lives with her husband and two young children. While training to become a clinical psychologist, Josie learned about the complexity of human nature, something she explores as a writer. She believes books about the past can change the future and she aspires to write as many as possible. The Silence in Between is her debut.

Our interview begins at  29:00

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: Wrong Answers Only by Tobias Madden

We love Tobias' novels and Wrong Answers Only is just as delightful. Marco is overwhelmed by what life looks like after school and escapes to a gap-year cruise with his best friend. Brilliantly fun and heartfelt, as always.

Listen to our previous chat with Tobias here.

Michelle recommends: Water by John Boyne

Water is a heartfelt novella following a woman who moves to an isolated Irish island to escape tragic events in her past. Stunning writing, a beautiful short story. It's the first in a quartet of novellas related to the elements.

In this interview, we chat about:

• The incredible true story that gave Josie the spark of inspiration for Lisette's story
• How Josie approached the dual timeline and the research involved for both
• Why is life in East Berlin still so fascinating?
• How Josie once went on holiday in North Korea
• The 20-year journey to publication for Josie

*Since we did this interview, The Silence in Between has been shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction prize. Congratulations, Josie!*

Books and other things mentioned:

• Anne of Green Gables
• You Belong With Me by Mhairi McFarlane
• Jacqueline Wilson (author)
• Michelle working at the Buxton International Festival. Take a look at the pop-up shop.
• Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
• Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
• Nudism in East Germany by We Are History Podcast
• Michelle's Berlin recommendations
• Stasiland by Anna Funder
• The War on Women by Sue Lloyd-Roberts
• Tunnel 29 by Helena Merriman (and associated podcast)

Follow @josie_ferguson_author on Instagram

The Silence in Between is available now. Thank you to Doubleday Books for providing copies of the book in preparation for the interview.

Connect with us on Instagram: @betterwordspod