Talking Aussie Books

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, wide-ranging chat.

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. 

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-stopping end.

Published by Allen & Unwin, this is a novel that truly showed Petronella’s penchant for story-telling with its rich, multi-layered narrative along with its cracking pace. 

A book that takes a deep dive into some of Australia’s tragic secrets…as well as the experience of being a teenager in today’s society and whether things ever really change from one generation to the next.

I was thrilled to welcome Petronella back to the podcast earlier this year. 

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.

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 with Ty. 

A gripping psychological thriller/court-room drama that had me utterly hooked from start to finish. 

Lucy and I enjoyed a wide-ranging, fascinating chat about this novel earlier this year.  

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 novel.

‘The Carnival Is Over’ picks up some years after the events in 'The Night Whistler'. And in a hair-raising, gripping rollercoaster ride, we are once more plunged into the rural town of Moorabool with Senior Constable Mick Goodenough, along with the now grown-up Hal and Allie, trying to solve a murder mystery and in the process uncovering some of the town’s deepest and darkest secrets.

I absolutely loved this book and was delighted to welcome Greg back to the podcast a while back.

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. 

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 a similar heritage.  

A clever and entertaining book about going back to your cultural roots. 

I was thrilled to speak with Alex about her debut on the podcast a little while back. 

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 gorgeous children’s picture book - illustrated by the talented Alexandra Colombo - that celebrates mothers in all their different and unique forms.

The perfect book to share with kids and to remind everyone that mums are indeed extraordinary.

I was delighted to have the chance to chat with Dani on the podcast a while back. 

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”.

Released by Pan Macmillan earlier this year, “A Remarkable Woman” is the story of Avril Montdidier - a young French woman who migrated to Australia following the end of WW2 determined to follow her dream of opening her own fashion business.

A truly delightful story that spans from postwar Paris to Australia - giving us a glimpse into what life was like for women in 1950s Australia and the barriers they faced forging their paths to a financial independence.

I was fortunate to have the chance to speak with Jules about this book a little while ago.