About the Book: Shortlisted for both The Richell Prize for Emerging Writers and the Victorian Premier's Award for an Unpublished Manuscript. The night Eva shared a smile with Pat, something started. Two weeks later, lying together in her bed, Pat said, 'You can't live your life saying you'll get around to doing something you know … Continue reading Book Review: Small Joys of Real Life by Allee Richards
Motherhood
Book Recommendation: The Making of Her by Bernadette Jiwa
About the Book: Dublin 1966. When Joan Quinn, a factory girl from the Cranmore Estate, marries Martin Egan, it looks like her dreams have come true. But all is not as it seems. Joan lives in the shadow of a secret – the couple’s decision to give up their first daughter for adoption only months … Continue reading Book Recommendation: The Making of Her by Bernadette Jiwa
Book Review: Fault Lines by Emily Itami
About the Book: Mizuki is a Japanese housewife. She has a hardworking husband, two adorable children and a beautiful Tokyo apartment. It's everything a woman could want, yet sometimes she wonders whether it would be more fun to throw herself off the high-rise balcony than spend another evening not talking to her husband or hanging … Continue reading Book Review: Fault Lines by Emily Itami
Book Review: The Jam Queens by Josephine Moon
The Jam Queens... About the Book: Award-winning jam maker Aggie is determined to take her Barossa Valley cafe to new heights. She has put the pain of unsuccessful IVF treatments and a broken relationship behind her, and is focused on the many wonderful possibilities life still holds in store. When an invitation to travel across … Continue reading Book Review: The Jam Queens by Josephine Moon
Author Talks: Leah Swann on Inventive explorations of motherhood in fiction
The eagle-featured mother in Angela Carter’s Bluebeard story “The Bloody Chamber” was an electrifying discovery as a student and lives on in me to this day. Back then, I’d read about oppressive mothers, unreliable mothers, fearsome mothers and loving mothers but never a fierce, swashbuckling mother like this one. Early in the story we learn … Continue reading Author Talks: Leah Swann on Inventive explorations of motherhood in fiction
New Release Book Review: We Must Be Brave by Frances Liardet
We Must Be Brave… About the Book: A novel about courage and kindness, hardship and friendship – and the astonishing power of love. December, 1940. As German bombs fall on Southampton, the city's residents flee to the surrounding villages. In Upton village, amid the chaos, newly-married Ellen Parr finds a girl sleeping, unclaimed at the … Continue reading New Release Book Review: We Must Be Brave by Frances Liardet
New Release Book Review: The Last Train by Sue Lawrence
The Last Train... About the Book: Sue Lawrence serves up a brilliant historical mystery, meticulously researched and densely plotted, with plenty of twists and a gripping climax. At 7 p.m. on 28 December 1879, a violent storm batters the newly built rail bridge across the River Tay, close to the city of Dundee. Ann Craig … Continue reading New Release Book Review: The Last Train by Sue Lawrence
Book Review: Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah – Bingo!
Winter Garden... About: Can a woman ever really know herself if she doesn’t know her mother? From the author of the smash-hit bestseller Firefly Lane and True Colours comes a powerful, heartbreaking novel that illuminates the intricate mother-daughter bond and explores the enduring links between the present and the past. Meredith and Nina Whitson are … Continue reading Book Review: Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah – Bingo!
New Release Book Review: Stella and Margie by Glenna Thomson
Stella and Margie... About: A beautiful novel about two women - a generation apart - thrown together by circumstance, who slowly come to love and understand one another. Stella and her mother-in-law Margie are two very different women. Stella is kind, compassionate and just a little chaotic. Margie is prickly, demanding and a stickler for … Continue reading New Release Book Review: Stella and Margie by Glenna Thomson
Behind the Pen with Louise Allan
Today I am absolutely delighted to welcome a favourite of mine to Behind the Pen, Louise Allan, whose name you may recognise from yesterday's book review of The Sisters' Song. Over to you Louise... What is your favourite…and why… Character from one of your books? In The Sisters’ Song, my favourite character is … Continue reading Behind the Pen with Louise Allan
Theresa Smith Writes 