Carmel Shute
Christine Gregory became attracted to New-Age ideas in her late teens. This largely involved visits to Bryon Bay to stay at the Arts Factory, late nights of drinking, and a full-throttle immersion into the alternative music scene of the noughties. Twenty-five years later, in an evening writing class the tutor asked students to create a scene incorporating all the five senses. She put pen to paper and like magic, the words flowed.
For the October Author Spotlight, New Zealand author Barbara Sumner spoke to Georgina Baron-Ross, about her debut novel, The Gallows Bird (Pantera Press). This novel whisks readers away to 19th-century London. Meet ‘Birdie,’ a young woman of lowly station with grand ambitions. Despite her humble beginnings, Birdie believes she is destined for finer things, driven by the legacy of her aristocratic mother. But then she becomes a convict bound for Botany Bay.
For the October Crime Stack, Echo Publishing has kindly offered 20 copies of Opal, the thrilling third installment in the bestselling DS Lucas Walker series by Patricia Wolf, the Berlin-based author who hails from Mt Isa. A small mining community. A murderer at large. And a flood that has trapped them all . . . …
For the September Murder Monday, Sisters in Crime’s Jacq Ellem spoke to Jane Sullivan, crime author, and the literary columnist for Nine Newspapers. She has been a judge for Sisters in Crime’s Davitt Awards several times. Jane is the author of three novels, Little People, The White Star, and Murder in Punch Lane, her first crime novel, plus a memoir, Storytime. Murder in Punch Lane is set in Melbourne in 1868, and inspired by real events and people.
To mark the 30th anniversary of the Scarlet Stiletto Awards for best short stories in 2023, Sisters in Crime, Susanna Lobez, actor-turned-barrister-turned-broadcaster-turned-true-crime-author, has been progressively narrating the winning stories in a podcast – Scarlet Stiletto Bites: Scintillating stories by Australian women. Find out how to listen here.
Debut books triumphed at Sisters in Crime’s 24th Davitt Awards for best women’s crime and mystery books on Saturday night (31 August). Four of the six winning crime and mystery books were first-time forays into the genre: Monica Vuu (Sandfly, Tas) for Best Adult Novel for When One of Us Hurts (Pan Macmillan Australia); Amy …
For the September Author Spotlight, Narrelle M. Harris spoke to Netherlands-based author, Brooke Hardwick, about her debut novel, The Fog (Simon & Schuster). Brooke hails from North Queensland but it was her time in her twenties on Rathlin , a tiny island between Northern Ireland and Scotland, that inspired her novel. It’s often engulfed in fog!
Why self-publish? Despite some literary success, Bronwyn Rodden has self-published her work, including her three Blue Mountains mysteries, inspired by many visits and her time living in Katoomba.
She outlines the various experiences (including knockbacks) that led her down this path.
For the September Crime Stack, Affirm Press has kindly offered 20 copies of The Crag, by Claire Sutherland, award-winning journalist, former Herald Sun Book editor, and keen climber. It’s literally a cliff-hanger. While walking on an isolated track in the windswept Wimmera, rock-climber and ambo Skye discovers the body of a young woman. The body has injuries that suggest a rock-climbing accident, but it’s been found more than 5km from the nearest cliffs at Mount Arapiles. Police ask Skye to help them navigate the perilous world of rock climbing as they try to unravel what happened.
For the August Murder Monday, Sisters in Crime’s Jacq Ellem spoke to Liz Evans, British journalist, author, former psychotherapist, and academic with a PhD in Creative Writing. Luckily, for us, she has moved to Australia. She has been awarded two Varuna Residential Fellowships and the Katharine Susannah Prichard Fellowship, as well as an Arts Tasmania grant for an Education Residency. Her debut novel is the wonderfully titled Catherine Wheel (Ultimo Press).