"Lovebirds" (Penguin) is the latest release from Sydney-based novelist, Amanda Hampson. A heart-warming story about the power of love and family that sensitively deals with a number of heavy themes.

It was the first of Amanda's novels that I've had the good fortune to read. Now I'm itching to go through her backlist. Titles that include "The Olive Sisters", "Two For the Road", 'The French Perfumer", "The Yellow Villa" and "Sixty Summers."

Back in May, I had the pleasure of chatting with Amanda about the warm, witty, uplifting story.

Kelly Rimmer is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of ten novels. Her titles include, "Before I let you Go", "The Things We cannot Say" and "Truths I Never Told You."

Her brand new novel, "The Warsaw Orphan" was released by Hachette Australia at the end of April this year. And what an incredible story of courage, resilience and survival it is.

Meticulously researched and utterly compelling. . .this has to be one of Kelly's best novels to date.

I was thrilled to welcome Kelly to the podcast earlier this year.

Lawrence McMahon is a Melbourne-based author whose writing career began as a medical student some thirty years ago. He has won multiple national and regional short story awards and somewhere in and around his medical career and position as Professor of Nephrology at Monash University, Lawrence has written an astonishing debut novel - drawing on his experiences as a doctor both in Australia and abroad.

The book is called "As Swallows Fly" (Ventura Press) and I was lucky to have the opportunity to speak with Lawrence about it on the podcast earlier this year.

Nicola Moriarty is a Sydney-based novelist and copywriter whose works include bestselling novels, "The Fifth Letter", "Those Other Women" and "The Ex".

Her brand new novel, "You Need to Know" was released by HarperCollins in early April this year and I have to tell you listeners, this is one you will not want to miss.

A thrilling, compulsive page-turner, this book had me breathless til the last page.

I was super excited to welcome Nicola to the podcast to chat about the book, her inspiration, what it's like coming from a family of writers, research, writerly tips and so much more.

Cassandra Austin is the author of three novels and describes herself as a homesick Australian who lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children.

Before deciding to pursue a career in writing, she worked as a criminologist and a documentary film-maker.

Cassandra's new novel "Like Mother" (Penguin), is a captivating and compelling addition to a growing body of work known as "domestic noir".

"Like Mother" takes a deep dive into motherhood through the eyes of a mother and daughter during the events of one terrible day in 1969 small town Australia.

I was delighted to welcome Cassandra to the podcast earlier this year.

Best-selling author of "The Hating Game" and "99 Per Cent Mine" Sally Thorne has recently released her third novel - "Second First Impressions" (Hachette Australia). A deliciously charming, funny and oh-so-sexy book that I absolutely loved.

I was delighted to welcome Sally to the podcast earlier this year to chat about this funny love story, the upcoming movie adaptation of "The Hating Game", writing fan-fiction, tips for writers and so much more.

Josephine Taylor is a Perth-based writer and editor who worked as a psychotherapist and educator until a debilitating condition over took her life. In 2004, Josephine began writing about her experiences with this condition, later earning her PhD in writing from Edith Cowan University in 2011. She is now an Associate Editor at Westerly (the University of Western Australia), and an Adjunct Senior Lecturer in Writing at ECU.

This year, her debut novel, "Eye of a Rook" was published by Fremantle Press. It's a book that explores chronic illness in a heartbreaking, but insightful and intelligent manner.

I was delighted to have the opportunity to chat with Josephine about her book earlier this year.

'From Where I Fell' (Allen & Unwin) is Susan Johnson's eighth novel. A book that explores an unlikely friendship formed between two women on opposite sides of the world with different cultural backgrounds. Although I haven't read any of Susan's work before, this was one heck of an introduction. A book the explored grief, motherhood, the power of friendship as well as new beginnings. An incredibly powerful, witty and illuminating read that I absolutely loved.

I had the honour of speaking with Susan about her wonderful novel earlier this year.

Two years on from the release of her best-selling debut novel, "A Lifetime of Impossible Days", Tabitha Bird is back with another heart-wrenching, but no less captivating story about love, loss and grief. Called "The Emporium of Imagination", it's a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets Harry Potter type tale set in the tiny Queensland town of Boonah. A magnificent story that I absolutely loved.

Tabitha and I had a wonderful chat about her brilliant new book earlier this year.

Susan Midalia is an award-winning Perth-based novelists, freelance editor and former academic who has published three collections of short stories and two novels. Her first novel, "The Art of Persuasion" was published in 2018 and in March of this year, her new novel, "Everyday Madness" was published by Fremantle Press.

"Everyday Madness" was a poignant, hopeful story about marriage, family and new beginnings. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Bernard, Gloria, Meg and Ella and didn't want their story to end.

I was lucky to have the chance to chat with their creator Susan earlier this year.