Talking Aussie Books

Shannon Kelly-White is a former nurse who made her claim to fame as an irreverent, hilarious, often potty-mouthed blogger, then cookbook, parenting and lifestyle writer. 

She wrote four non-fiction books -books that included the bestselling, award-winning breakout ‘Shannon’s Kitchen’, as well as Shannon Does Dinner, Parenting for Legends and the hilariously titled account of outrageous medical stories - 'The Bum Hole Diaries'!!

But somewhere along the way, Shannon’s attention turned to fiction writing and the result has been nothing less than spectacular.

Shannon's debut novel 'Billie King ' (HarperCollins Australia) is a story of three courageous women: a bushranger, a woman on the edge and a young girl desperate to find her missing mother. 

An incredibly entertaining heartfelt tale that had me absolutely gripped from its opening pages and didn’t let go until its thrilling end. 

And I was delighted to welcome this legend author to the podcast recently. 

Lillian Telford's debut novel 'Lovesick' was published by HQ Fiction recently and is, in every sense of the word, a labour of love.

More than ten years in the making, 'Lovesick' is the culmination of not only Lillian's hard work and determination, but an array of experiences that she has been able to funnel into this intense story about a couple falling in and out of love and the impact of this on their other significant relationships.

I thoroughly enjoyed this in-depth discussion of the book between guest host Cassie Hamer and Lillian Telford about its characters and themes along with the issues Lillian is concerned to explore in her writing.

Hope you enjoy it too!

Kayte Nunn is the internationally bestselling author of 8 novels - novels that include 'The Botanist's Daughter', 'The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant' , 'The Silk House' and 'The Palazzo' just to name a few. 

This year Kayte is back with a twisty, locked room style thriller that had me totally hooked from start to finish.  A book which lovers of the reality show ‘Below Deck’ will absolutely eat up. 

It’s called ‘The Yacht’ (published by HarperCollins a short time ago) it highlights Kayte’s skill as a writer - her deft handling of multiple characters in a fluid setting along with a killer plot line.

I absolutely devoured this novel and I know many crime fiction fan listeners will too.

Hope you enjoy this chat as much I did.

Ayesha Inoon was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka and worked as a journalist in Sri Lanka before migrating to Australia in 2013.  

Her debut novel, Untethered, which draws partly on her own journey as a migrant muslim woman won the 2022 ASA/HQ Commercial Fiction Prize and was awarded a Highly Commended in both the 2024 ACT Book of the Year and the ACT Literary Awards for Fiction. 

This year listeners, Ayesha has a new book out and I’m in love with this story. 

Called ‘The Sisters of Serendib’ it is the story of three sisters separated by tragic circumstances and the fractured lives they lead in search of the missing pieces of their identity. 

Beautifully written, this book is both tender and shocking in its portrayal of the kind of suffering these young women endured. A quiet novel that will have you reaching for the tissue box more than once. 

I loved chatting with Ayesha for the podcast recently.

Many avid readers and authors both here and abroad are familiar with Australia’s largest online reading community - Better Reading.

Launched by Cheryl Akle back in 2014, Better Reading has become a staple feature of the Australian literary landscape - reaching over 1 million readers each month. 

A testament to Cheryl’s passion and dedication to reading and her standing in   the Australian book industry. 

This year, Cheryl has capitalised on that passion and dedication by launching an Australian reading app. 

Described as ‘if Goodreads and Storygraph had a baby, but the baby was raised in Australia’ . 

An app that is focussed on Australian titles for Australian readers with a whole lot of brilliant features to help readers find their next book, connect with other readers and learn more about the authors they’re interested in.  

And it’s called ‘What Are You Reading’ the App.  

I was amongst some of the first in Australia to get a look at the app at an exclusive launch party earlier this year and in this episode I welcome Cheryl to the podcast to talk about the app and how this fantastic development all came about. 

Happy listening!

In part 2 of this special collaboration episode, Nick Wasiliev and I chat about challenges for the Australian publishing industry and what challenges in particular writers themselves are facing and what the future holds. We also discuss some of the trends we're seeing (and loving) especially relation to debut novels

We wrap up the conversation with a quick fire round of questions for each of us - the answers to which you may find surprising!

Such a joy to work with Nick on these episodes .

If you want to learn more about Nick and the podcast, check out the Date with a Debut website at:

https://datewithadebutpodcast.podbean.com

Or find Nick on Instagram at:

https://www.instagram.com/nickwasiliev/

Happy listening!

Tune into this special episode with Talking Aussie Books friend Nick Wasiliev and host of the wonderful podcast Date with a Debut.

Like me, Nick is a seasoned podcaster as well as an author and facilitator. 

Date with a Debut is currently in it’s fourth season of production and in it, you may know, Nick interviews debut authors, shining a light on their books and journey to publication. 

And in Part 1 of this special episode, I get the lowdown on Nick's decision to start up a new book podcast and his own writing before we discuss some of the brilliant debuts we've been reading recently.

So whether you’re an avid reader or just want to get the lowdown on what’s new and hot in publishing, then this is the episode for you. 

Lawyer-turned author Sarah Clutton was last on the podcast back in 2020 when we were discussing her second novel ‘The Daughter’s Promise’ - a thrilling drama dealing with a deep family secret set in the rugged wilds of Tasmania. 

Since that episode was recorded, Sarah’s star has blazed even brighter with the publication of two further novels with Allen & Unwin.

The first, published in early 2025 was called ‘The Remarkable Truths of Alfie Bains’ and the second published a mere year later and currently gracing bookshelves around the country is called ‘The Bookshop of Buried Pasts’. 

A beautiful, quiet novel about a woman and her antiquarian bookshop in the southern highlands of NSW and the secret past she has kept hidden for over 50 years. 

**Discussion of mature/explicit themes.**

The idea that we should grow old gracefully - particularly that women should grow old gracefully - is a theme that often appears in contemporary fiction. A theme which -  now that I’m in my mid-fifties - I’m more and more intrigued by. 

It's also something Rachel Fox McLeod has explored to great effect with her brilliant, insightful and highly entertaining debut novel ‘Disgraceful’.

Published by Simon & Schuster, ‘Disgraceful’ is the story of devoted wife and mother 49 year-old Grace Miller whose marriage unexpectedly implodes and the unorthodox manner in which she chooses to reclaim herself in the days, weeks and months that follow. 

It’s messy, funny, complicated, raw, unflinching and a bloody good read. 

And I was thrilled to have the opportunity to chat with Rachel about it on the podcast recently. 

The last time Dianne Yarwood was on the podcast, we chatted about her then debut - the tender-hearted, funny, life-affirming novel 'The Wakes' - published in 2023.

This year Dianne has released a second novel, 'Margaret, Are You Leaving' (Hachette). Another warm and witty read that celebrates the messiness and beauty of life.

Dianne chatted with Cassie Hamer recently - giving us some remarkable insight into the real-life story that inspired her new novel and the important personal lessons she has learned from her own near-death experience and how these lessons found their way into her writing.

A wonderful interview well worth listening to.