Listeners, if you tune in regularly, I’m sure you appreciate that I read eclectically and I’m fascinated by how books come into being - whatever path that happens to take. Indie or trad, I’m interested in it all. So when my fellow writer and friend, Sal Gallaher took the plunge and decided to self-publish her debut, I was keen to have a chat about it. Sal is a writer and photographer. A Dane by birth but has long called Australia home. Her debut novel ‘Secrets in the Lakes’ was published in late 2024. Exploring trauma, mystery and rekindling of long-ago friendships, ‘Secrets in the Lakes’ is a pacy, entertaining read from this emerging writer. And I was delighted to chat with Sal recently about her book and journey to publication.
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36:01
Talking Aussie Books with Maryrose Cuskelly
Listeners I last spoke to my next guest, Maryrose Cuskelly, when her debut novel ‘The Cane’ was published by Allen & Unwin back in 2022. "The Cane" was an atmospheric crime novel set in a fictional sugarcane town in North Queensland in the 1970s. A terrific story reminiscent of 'The Dry' and other Australian rural and outback noir, that became an Australian bestseller and was later shortlisted for a Davitt Award in 2023. Recently, Maryrose’s second novel ‘The Campers’ was released. And listeners, this novel is just as good - if not better - than 'The Cane' in my humble opinion. Nail-bitingly tense and atmospheric, 'The Campers' takes us into some uncomfortable territory. A social commentary novel that forces us to examine a society in crisis at a micro level and leaves us questioning what we would do in the same situation. Told through the eyes of a middle-class woman - a wife and mother - facing her own personal crises, we witness a community whose fabric is severely challenged by the arrival of the itinerant campers.Another stunning read from Maryrose that left me unsettled and yet inspired at the same time. I was thrilled to welcome Maryrose back to the podcast recently.
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35:47
Talking Aussie Books with Fiona Hardy
Listeners today I’m so excited to introduce you to another Aussie author whose book has simply floored me. Fiona Hardy - a writer, bookseller and reviewer from Melbourne - is the author of a new book published by Affirm Press earlier this year called ‘Unbury the Dead’. A contemporary crime fiction novel about two best friends who are hired to undertake some morally questionable activities and who then find themselves caught up in a deadly high-stakes drama. Fast-paced, gritty and compulsive, Fiona Hardy is a talented, fresh new voice in Australian crime literature. I was thrilled to have the chance to chat with her on the podcast recently.
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30:21
Talking Aussie Books with Marion Taffe
Marion Taffe is a Melbourne-based writer who after a 20 year career as a journalist, decided to turn her hand to novel-writing. A graduate of the RMIT degree in Professional Writing and Editing, Marion was named Creative Industries Student of the Year in her graduating year of 2023. She was also runner-up in the Grace Marion Wilson Emerging Writers Prize (non-fiction) in 2022 and a recipient of a Varuna Residential Fellowship in 2023.Marion’s novel ‘By Her Hand’ was released in early March by HarperCollins’s Fourth Estate and what an impressive, wondrous and exploration of an historical era along with some of its major players that I knew next to nothing about. ‘By Her Hand’ is a book that examines the plight of women in the Kingdom of Mercia - a place now known as the English Midlands - in the 10th century and follows the story of a young farm’s girl’s fight to ensure she writes her own destiny.I was thrilled to welcome Marion to the podcast recently to chat about her publishing journey, inspiration, research and more in this wide-ranging, fascinating chat.
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50:29
Talking Aussie Books with Chrissie Bellbrae
When a friend that you've been toiling alongside in the writing space for years can finally call themselves a published author, there's many reasons to celebrate. Chrissie Bellbrae is a talented Australian writer who took control of her writing career by self-publishing her debut novel 'The Florentine Quilt' early in 2025. I'd had the pleasure of reading an early draft of this novel some five years ago and knew then this story was special.To now see it out in the world in all its stunning glory, is immensely satisfying. A novel set across three timelines and written from the point of view of three exceptional women, with history, mystery and magic effortlessly weaved in, this book will appeal to readers of Kate Forsyth and Kell Woods. It was a joy to welcome Chrissie on the podcast recently to talk about her gorgeous book and journey to publication. Well worth a listen.
Australia