Totally Lit!

Host Ky Garvey interviews children’s author Janeen Brian about her new picture book Somewhere You Can Dream, her early TV work (including Humphrey Bear), collaboration with illustrators, writing habits, and the importance of persistence, community, and hope for emerging writers. She also discusses upcoming projects like Water Baby and offers practical tips for writers starting out.

About the book:

From the smallest cubby to the highest hilltop, this heart-warming, read-aloud picture book is all about finding your own special place in the world. From award-winning creators Janeen Brian and Hilary Jean Tapper.

Janeen Brian is an internationally published, award-winning children’s author and poet with over 110 books published. She enjoys writing picture books, junior fiction, poetry, novels and non-fiction. More than 200 stories, poems, plays and articles have been published in children’s magazines or anthologies.

Janeen received a May Gibbs’ Children’s Literature Trust Fellowship in 2009, was the recipient of the 2012 Adelaide Festival of Literature Carclew Fellowship in 2012 and is an Ambassador for Raising Literacy Australia.

She lives in the seaside city of Glenelg in South Australia and loves reading, creating, Yoga, Aquarobics, theatre and seaside and country walks.

Janeen Brian

Somewhere You Can Dream - Janeen Brian, illustrated by Hilary Jean Tapper -- A&U Children's - 9781761181764 - Allen & Unwin - Australia

Buy the book: Books | Online Bookshop | QBD (This is an affiliate link)

Host: Ky Garvey

Theme Song: Claire Houghton

Logo: Tondo Creative - https://www.tondo.com.au/

Production: Aud Pitch - https://www.virtualcreatrix.com/

Totally Lit is an independent podcast. You can help support us to continue to chat with wonderful Australian creatives by leaving a review on Itunes or sharing our socials with your friends.  You can also make a contribution at:

www.buymeacoffee.com/Totallylit

For those of you who know me I am kind of a caffeine addict! So you can keep me fueled with caffeine and this will also help with equipment & podcasting platform fees etc. 

I love to interact with our listeners so feel free to say hello either by email or social media:

[email protected]

Host Ky Garvey talks with Lauren Williams about her debut novel Neighbourhood Watch — a darkly comic, Melbourne-set thriller inspired by a real scarecrow competition. The episode explores the book's plot (a judge's body arranged as a scarecrow), Detective Sergeant Priyanka Powell's investigation, and the sisters Emma and Margot grappling with the fallout and corruption close to home.

They also discuss Williams's journey from acting and diplomacy to publishing, her writing process and influences, the lead-up to launch day, and her forthcoming projects.

About the book: ‘Neighbourhood Watch is a sharp, stylish thriller with a killer opening hook, a generous dose of dark humour, and a truly distinctive voice.’ Christian White

The annual Curlew Street scarecrow competition is back, and the residents of Melbourne’s inner north have never seen an entry like it. Shirt bloody, head and arms slumped over a scarecrow crucifix: Victoria’s most conservative Supreme Court Judge, Harry ‘The Pope’ Somerton, is dead.

Buy the book: Books | Online Bookshop | QBD (This is an affiliate lin

About the author: Before turning to fiction, Lauren worked as a lawyer, diplomat, actor, arts journalist and museum communications manager (not all at once). This is her first novel.

Neighbourhood Watch | Book by Lauren Williams | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster AU

Host: Ky Garvey

Theme Song: Claire Houghton

Logo: Tondo Creative - https://www.tondo.com.au/

Production: Aud Pitch - https://www.virtualcreatrix.com/

Totally Lit is an independent podcast. You can help support us to continue to chat with wonderful Australian creatives by leaving a review on Itunes or sharing our socials with your friends.  You can also make a contribution at:

www.buymeacoffee.com/Totallylit

For those of you who know me I am kind of a caffeine addict! So you can keep me fueled with caffeine and this will also help with equipment & podcasting platform fees etc. 

I love to interact with our listeners so feel free to say hello either by email or social media:

[email protected]

Host Ky Garvey interviews thriller author Matt Rogers about his new book The Damned (the sequel to The Forsaken), his transition from years of successful self-publishing to traditional publishing with Simon & Schuster, his writing and editing process, thoughts on AI and the industry, and practical advice for aspiring writers.

About the Book: Retired assassin Logan Booth is ready to settle down – but Jacinta Murphy, the President of the United States, has other ideas. Paranoid he will expose her past mistakes, the President triggers a chain of events that drive Logan to Colombia and into the middle of a new war.

Buy the book: Books | Online Bookshop | QBD (This is an affiliate link)

About the Author: Matt Rogers is the internationally bestselling author of the Dante Jacoby series. Matt began self-publishing at the age of eighteen, and in the following eight years he single-handedly wrote and marketed more than thirty-five thriller novels. His books have collectively sold over one million copies. His stories weave stimulating philosophy with relentless, page-turning action, and he aims to educate and entertain in equal measure. As an ultramarathon runner and mountain trekker, Matt enjoys exploring the capabilities of the body and mind, lending experiential weight to his visceral writing. You can follow Matt on Facebook and Instagram @mattrogersauthor.

Home | mattrogersbooks

The Damned | Book by Matt Rogers | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster AU

Host: Ky Garvey

Theme Song: Claire Houghton

Logo: Tondo Creative - https://www.tondo.com.au/

Production: Aud Pitch - https://www.virtualcreatrix.com/

Totally Lit is an independent podcast. You can help support us to continue to chat with wonderful Australian creatives by leaving a review on Itunes or sharing our socials with your friends.  You can also make a contribution at:

www.buymeacoffee.com/Totallylit

For those of you who know me I am kind of a caffeine addict! So you can keep me fueled with caffeine and this will also help with equipment & podcasting platform fees etc. 

I love to interact with our listeners so feel free to say hello either by email or social media:

[email protected]

Martin Evans, known online as This_Chubby_Bois Life, shares his journey from an on-again/off-again reader to a thriving Bookstagram and BookTok creator who champions indie and traditional authors, builds meaningful friendships, and navigates the highs and lows of content creation.

The episode highlights Martin’s community-driven work with Chapters for Change, his passion for supporting literacy and authors, and how bookish events, interviews, and genuine connections have shaped his reading revival and online career.

Host: Ky Garvey

Theme Song: Claire Houghton

Logo: Tondo Creative - https://www.tondo.com.au/

Production: Aud Pitch - https://www.virtualcreatrix.com/

Totally Lit is an independent podcast. You can help support us to continue to chat with wonderful Australian creatives by leaving a review on Itunes or sharing our socials with your friends.  You can also make a contribution at:

www.buymeacoffee.com/Totallylit

For those of you who know me I am kind of a caffeine addict! So you can keep me fueled with caffeine and this will also help with equipment & podcasting platform fees etc. 

I love to interact with our listeners so feel free to say hello either by email or social media:

[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/totallylitpodcast

Lauren recounts her journey from viral Wattpad success to signing with Penguin, explaining how she moved from self-publishing to traditional publishing and now writes across multiple romance subgenres.

She also discusses balancing a day job, motherhood and social media, shares launch and marketing experiences, and offers practical advice to aspiring authors to keep writing and get the first draft down.

About the author: Lauren Jackson is an Australian author and an avid reader. Her hobby of writing stories developed into a passion when she discovered an online writing website at age fourteen. Since 2012, she has garnered thousands of followers and millions of views on her stories, which have helped grow and develop her love of writing. Lauren loves to write steamy romances (with a little mystery) and is always writing a new book.

Home | Lauren Jackson

Fight for Us by Lauren Jackson - Penguin Books Australia

Mine After Midnight by Lauren Jackson - Penguin Books Australia

Host: Ky Garvey

Theme Song: Claire Houghton

Logo: Tondo Creative - https://www.tondo.com.au/

Production: Aud Pitch - https://www.virtualcreatrix.com/

Totally Lit is an independent podcast. You can help support us to continue to chat with wonderful Australian creatives by leaving a review on Itunes or sharing our socials with your friends.  You can also make a contribution at:

www.buymeacoffee.com/Totallylit

For those of you who know me I am kind of a caffeine addict! So you can keep me fueled with caffeine and this will also help with equipment & podcasting platform fees etc. 

I love to interact with our listeners so feel free to say hello either by email or social media:

[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/totallylitpodcast

Host Ky Garvey interviews K D Aldyn about her new crime thriller You Girls Play Nice, exploring themes of female rage, revenge and loyalty as four friends’ hypothetical murders are replicated in real life. They discuss Katie’s writing process across genres, her publishing journey, and personal insights from life on the road and living with dyscalculia and mild synesthesia.

About the book: When their best friend is murdered, four women decide to take hypothetical revenge. But their imagined murders soon turn into total carnage when someone discovers their secret desires and is bent on taking them down in this dark thriller perfect for fans of Karin Slaughter and The Butcher Game.

Perfect for fans of Karin Slaughter and The Butcher Game, comes a chilling, "Good for Her" revenge thriller that paints a searing picture of friendship, justice, and vengeance, both imagined and actualized, that will leave you questioning how far would you go to avenge your friend?

When Helen Wyatt is brutally murdered, her four best friends anxiously wait in the courtroom to ensure justice is served. But when her attacker is acquitted of all charges, the women decide to get revenge.

Hypothetically, of course.

The friends host a girl's night, each presenting a different way they would kill the culprit to avenge Helen. It's a silly thing, a way to ease their grief. Until, a week later, a murder is discovered that mirrors one of their imagined killings. Then another. What started as a cathartic exercise soon ends in carnage, with suspicion quickly falling on the four friends.

Someone has discovered their secrets. And now, the women will have to hunt down who is framing them for murder. Or, even more chillingly, question who among them may be capable of being a killer themselves…

You can buy the book the book here: Books | Online Bookshop | QBD

(This is an affiliate link) 

About the author: KD Aldyn lives everywhere and nowhere (home is where the Wi-Fi is). She most often wears black (and sometimes red) and sometimes dances like Elaine from Seinfeld. Sister, Butcher, Sister is her debut.

https://kdaldyn.com/

You Girls Play Nice by KD Aldyn - Penguin Books Australia

Host: Ky Garvey

Theme Song: Claire Houghton

Logo: Tondo Creative - https://www.tondo.com.au/

Production: Aud Pitch - https://www.virtualcreatrix.com/

Totally Lit is an independent podcast. You can help support us to continue to chat with wonderful Australian creatives by leaving a review on Itunes or sharing our socials with your friends.  You can also make a contribution at:

www.buymeacoffee.com/Totallylit

For those of you who know me I am kind of a caffeine addict! So you can keep me fueled with caffeine and this will also help with equipment & podcasting platform fees etc. 

I love to interact with our listeners so feel free to say hello either by email or social media:

[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/totallylitpodcast

Author Dinuka McKenzie joins host Ky Garvey on Totally Lit to talk about her Kate Miles series, her upcoming standalone SHEER LIGHT FIRST, and her work as an ambassador for Chapters for Change.

They discuss the Chapters for Change readathon—how to register, how teams and social media boost participation, and how the fundraising supports community-led literacy projects in Cambodia.

You can register for the 2026 Chapters for Change Readathon here:Sign Up • Chapters for Change Readathon 2026

Host Ky Garvey interviews debut author Inessa Jackson about her award-winning crime novel Devil Mountain, a small-town police procedural with a creepy, witchy twist. They discuss the grisly murder that kicks off the story, the themes of misogyny and power, and how folklore and Wiccan practice inform the mystery.

Inessa shares her ten-year writing journey, the surprising moment she won the Verena mentorship, working with her publisher, research into police procedure and witchcraft, and practical advice for aspiring writers. The episode blends book chat, publishing insights, and the pleasures and challenges of life as an author.

About the book:

A wickedly dark police procedural with a hint of the supernatural, this crime novel is Dinuka McKenzie meets The Bluffs.

When Detective Sergeant Anastasia Brown is sent to investigate a grizzly murder in a small New South Wales town, she welcomes the chance to run from heartbreak and humiliation. But she quickly discovers that this is no ordinary murder. The body of a popular doctor has been found on the mountain, chained and burned, with arcane ­symbols carved into the soles of his feet – and the boy who found him swears he saw a ghost lingering in the trees.

Is this a clever killer with a flair for the macabre? Or the work of an elusive Wiccan coven that worships on the mountain? Or, even stranger, are the local murmurs of the mountain being haunted more than just folklore? 

As the investigation grows ever murkier, Ana realises that everyone in town has a secret … and some are deadly.

You can buy the book the book here: Books | Online Bookshop | QBD

(This is an affiliate link) 

About the author: Inessa Jackson is a Sydney crime writer living on the land of the Garigal people, within the Eora Nation. Her debut novel, Devil Mountain, won the Affirm/Varuna Mentorship Award. Her first murder mystery was runner-up for the 2023 Banjo Prize and short-listed for the 2022 ASA/HQ Commercial Fiction Award. Before she fell in love with crime writing, Inessa backpacked around the world, worked in corporate PR and then settled into life as a stay-at-home mum. When she’s not writing, Inessa is reading, swimming at Manly beach and walking her loyal assistant, Billy the Cavoodle. She has a passion for travelling to far-flung places … and is terrified of sheep.

Home | Inessa Jackson Author

Devil Mountain | Book by Inessa Jackson | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster AU

Host: Ky Garvey

Theme Song: Claire Houghton

Logo: Tondo Creative - https://www.tondo.com.au/

Production: Aud Pitch - https://www.virtualcreatrix.com/

Totally Lit is an independent podcast. You can help support us to continue to chat with wonderful Australian creatives by leaving a review on Itunes or sharing our socials with your friends.  You can also make a contribution at:

www.buymeacoffee.com/Totallylit

For those of you who know me I am kind of a caffeine addict! So you can keep me fueled with caffeine and this will also help with equipment & podcasting platform fees etc. 

I love to interact with our listeners so feel free to say hello either by email or social media:

[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/totallylitpodcast

Host Ky Garvey interviews Mary Colussi, the 2025 Penguin Literary Prize winner, about her debut novel Touch Grass — a near‑future speculative story in which a woman wakes up as a cactus and consciousness‑swapping becomes an endemic phenomenon. They discuss the book's themes of derealisation, digital life versus material reality, and the strange, humane humour behind the premise.

Mary describes her writing and editing process, the surprise of shortlisting and winning (including the Penguin publishing deal and $20,000 prize), early ARC reactions, influences like Octavia Butler and Ling Ma, and her background in scriptwriting. She also shares practical advice for emerging writers: finish a project, embrace rejection as part of the craft, and keep going.

The book is published June 2 with a launch at Gleebooks in Sydney; Mary will tour around Australia and can be followed on Instagram @marycolussi for dates and updates.

About the book:

When her consciousness starts spontaneously ejecting from her body, Charlie becomes the first known case of a bizarre new phenomenon – and the unwilling centre of a global crisis.

And an immortal sheep might be the key to everything.

As disembodiment spreads, corporations celebrate it, governments fear it, and Charlie can’t decide whether she’s losing herself or finally escaping. But the memories she worked so hard to delete won’t stay gone, and the only way to survive a world splitting at the seams may be to reclaim the self she tried to erase.

Astute and inventive, Touch Grass explores identity, consent and the hilariously messy business of being a friend, sister and person – especially when someone keeps editing the footnotes.

About the author: Mary Colussi is an Australian American writer currently based in Sydney. She’s a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and the National Institute of Dramatic Art.

Touch Grass | Mary Colussi

Host: Ky Garvey

Theme Song: Claire Houghton

Logo: Tondo Creative - https://www.tondo.com.au/

Production: Aud Pitch - https://www.virtualcreatrix.com/

Totally Lit is an independent podcast. You can help support us to continue to chat with wonderful Australian creatives by leaving a review on Itunes or sharing our socials with your friends.  You can also make a contribution at:

www.buymeacoffee.com/Totallylit

For those of you who know me I am kind of a caffeine addict! So you can keep me fueled with caffeine and this will also help with equipment & podcasting platform fees etc. 

I love to interact with our listeners so feel free to say hello either by email or social media:

[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/totallylitpodcast

Host Ky Garvey interviews Samantha Ross about her debut novel Impossible Springs—covering her journey to being published by Penguin, the practice of manifesting alongside scientific insight, and the novel’s magical-realism telepathy concept inspired by family and her grandmother’s mediumship.

They also discuss 90s music influences, Ross’s industry experiences, practical advice for emerging writers, book-launch plans, and personal stories of resilience, creativity and grief.

About the Book:

Welcome to Possible Springs, where secrets are a way of life.

Jimny Adams should have died on that hot summer day in 1987 in the remote town of Possible Springs. Only eleven at the time, she was saved from drowning by her school teacher Mr Cross.

Seven years on and she has grown into a watchful, quirky eighteen-year-old - her near-death experience having left her with an unnerving psychic ability.

It’s an unwelcome gift that she tries desperately to hide: from her parents, from her best friends, from everyone in town. In such a tight-knit community, being different means becoming a pariah.

However Possible Springs is actually a town teeming with dark secrets. And with her ability to read people’s thoughts, Jimny is closer than she would like to be to discovering its truth…

About the Author:

Samantha Ross is an author and scriptwriter, who left the cold climes of Melbourne for the more glamorous yet remote country town of Port Douglas. Samantha has travelled the globe working in the circus of nightclubs, and recording music with DJs and bands. Although her first love was for all things literary. Throw a medium grandmother in the mix and Possible Springs, her first novel, was born.

Possible Springs by Samantha Ross - Penguin Books Australia

Host: Ky Garvey

Theme Song: Claire Houghton

Logo: Tondo Creative - https://www.tondo.com.au/

Production: Aud Pitch - https://www.virtualcreatrix.com/

Totally Lit is an independent podcast. You can help support us to continue to chat with wonderful Australian creatives by leaving a review on Itunes or sharing our socials with your friends.  You can also make a contribution at:

www.buymeacoffee.com/Totallylit

For those of you who know me I am kind of a caffeine addict! So you can keep me fueled with caffeine and this will also help with equipment & podcasting platform fees etc. 

I love to interact with our listeners so feel free to say hello either by email or social media:

[email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/totallylitpodcast