Talking Aussie Books

Back in 2021 I was privileged to interview the 2018 winner of the prestigious Richell Prize - Ruth McIver - about her thrilling novel ‘I Shot the Devil’ and today I have the honour of talking to the 2023 winner , Alex Sawyer.
Alex is a psychologist, a volunteer firefighter, father, short story writer and now published novelist.
Alex’s award-winning novel ‘Rat Daniels’ was published at the end of June and I have to tell you listeners, the book is unforgettable.  
A beautifully written, thoughtful and heartfelt coming of age story about friendship and loyalty that will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading.

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.