Talking Aussie Books Claudine Tinellis

Sandie’s sixth novel, 'The Lyrebird Lake Ladies Choir' (Penguin) is a moving and empowering story about three women set between 1973 and the present day. 



It explores deeply emotional and confronting issues in a heartfelt, sensitive and hopeful way - in true Sandie Docker style. 



Sandie’s debut novel 'The Kookaburra Creek Cafe' was published back in 2018, closely followed by 'The Cottage at Rosella Cove', 'The Banksia Bay Beach Shack', 'The Wattle Island Book Club' and then 'The Red Gum River Retreat' last year. 



Spotlighting the joys and challenges of living in small communities as well as little known or overlooked historical events, Sandie’s novels weave past and present timelines to create charming, compelling stories that leave their emotional imprint long after you’ve finished reading - making her one of Australia’s bestselling and much-loved authors. 



Someone, I’m lucky enough to call friend. 



And on that note, I was more than delighted to welcome Sandie back to the podcast today to chat about ‘The Lyrebird Lake Ladies Choir’.

Nicola Moriarty’s brand new novel ‘Every Last Suspect’ has just been released by HarperCollins Australia. And what an absolute cracker it is!!



For those who are not familiar with Nicola or her writing, she is a Sydney-based novelist and copywriter whose previous works include: 'Those Other Women', 'The Fifth Letter', 'The Ex' and 'You Need to Know'. 



'Every Last Suspect' is as intriguing and dark as it is compulsive. A book with compelling everyday characters - who may or may not...have a motive to kill. 

A rollercoaster ride of tension and menace, I would say this is Nicola’s best book yet. 

And was delighted to welcome Nicola back to the podcast recently to chat about this thrilling new book. 

It's been a long five years since I last chatted with BM Caroll. In the time since, she has written another four novels - one of which is her newest release 'One of Us is Missing' published by Affirm Press.

A thoroughly gripping novel that follows the O'Sullivan family after the unimaginable happens: one of them goes missing during a a Cold Play Concert in Sydney.

Thrilling and terrifying in equal measures, I couldn't put this one down.

I was delighted to have the chance to welcome Ber back to the podcast recently to chat about her terrific new novel.

Barbara Sumner is a writer and filmmaker from New Zeleand who’s debut novel, The Gallows Bird has just been published by Pantera Press.

Whilst The Gallows Bird is Barbara’s debut foray into fiction, she  is no stranger to storytelling. 

Barbara’s career has covered production of three highly acclaimed feature documentaries, stints in journalism and television as well as the publication of her memoir, Tree of Strangers back in 2020.  

Barbara started writing The Gallows Bird on a trip to Australia almost 20 years ago, feeling a compulsion to look into stories of convicts and their heroic survival - only to realise most of these were men’s stories. 

It is in the pages of this remarkable novel that Barbara sets out to write Australia’s convict women back into the history of this violent and oppressive time and what it took to survive - not only the journey, but to overcome their pasts and make a new life for themselves far from everything they knew. 

Set between London and Sydney in the early nineteenth century, this is a remarkable story of the best and worst of humanity; of tenacity and survival against all odds. 

I was delighted to have the chance to speak with Barbara on the podcast recently.

‘To Sing of War’ is a novel by Catherine McKinnon - the Miles Franklin Award shortlisted author of Storyland- set in the final months of WW2.  

An epic story that examines the events in the lead-up to the United States’ decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki - ending the war in the Pacific and leading to Japan’s surrender. 

Taking us from the Allied campaign in New Guinea, to Los Alamos in New Mexico (where Oppenheimer and a team of scientists were involved in a project to build a weapon to stop all war) and then far away to the sacred island of Miyajima in Japan, we are privy to the lives of those caught in that period of time. 

Alive with breathtaking and heart-wrenching detail, this is a book about conflict, death, sacrifice, friendship, love and forgiveness. 

An unforgettable story from a remarkable story-teller. 

Pip Fioretti is a Sydney-based author who has been writing fiction since 2006 alongside a career in visual arts. 

In the 2021 Sydney lockdown and inspired by walks she’d taken though the arid rangelands of western NSW, Pip wrote the first draft for a novel that would become her first crime novel - 'Bone Lands'.

Released by Affirm Press at the end of March, 'Bone Lands' is a highly evocative, compelling and somewhat confronting novel which delves into Australia’s dark past and prosperity built on the back of the pastoral industry. 

A thoroughly engrossing, sobering novel that heralds a bright future for one of Australia’s newest outback noir writers. 

I enjoyed a wide-ranging, fascinating chat with Pip for the podcast recently.