AustLit

'While many of her Instagram followers are eager for her fashion, art and insanely cute dog content, the heart of Olivia’s audience is there for her refreshingly honest voice on body positivity and mental health.

'In Find Your Light, Olivia reveals more of her story – from growing up as a shy child using food as comfort, to the pressures of modelling life, to finally finding the confidence, courage and self-belief to compete on the world stage. Olivia also shares the helpful mantras, tips and tools she’s used to heal, have a healthy relationship with food and embrace her body. 

'This is a book for anyone who wants to practise self-love, feel more confident inside and out, and overcome the challenges that can hold us all back from finding our light.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'With humour, honesty and self-deprecating charm, one of Australia's best known TV actresses lifts the lid on life - both on-screen and off.

'From a young age, I could lie like a chop in gravy. I loved the thrill of crafting a story. It wasn't until my twenties that I made the connection that lying is a lot like acting…

'For almost 30 years, Lynne McGranger has been entertaining TV viewers all around the world. As a veteran on the popular soap Home and Away, her much-loved character Irene Roberts has long been a font of wisdom, good humour and unforgettable lines.

'But Lynne's story goes far beyond Summer Bay. From an Aussie childhood full of fad diets (tuna, milk and oranges, anyone?) to the relationship heartaches, career disasters and difficult choices that would change her life forever. But then Lynne landed a 'guest role' on Home and Away that's lasted 29 years and counting …

'Acting Up: Me, Myself & Irene is a warm, hilarious and intimate look inside the life of one of Australia's living TV legends.' (Publication summary)

'Can she be saved … from herself?

'Back after suspension, Detective Sergeant Robert Cardilini just wants to get on with the job. But his bosses have other ideas and partner him with an eager, young detective named Lorraine Spencer. To make matters worse, the pair are tasked with solving domestic violence cases. Cardilini thinks it's a waste of time: without the support of the courts, the police are hamstrung. Spencer knows better.

'When they find a young woman bleeding and tied to a chair in a suburban kitchen, they chalk it up as another hopeless case. But as they start investigating, they realise the woman is a willing participant in a sinister game of exploitation run by the highest echelons of business and government.

'Desperate to unravel the mystery and shake up the system, Spencer goes out on a limb. But will her partner support her, or will she be thrown to the wolves?

'A dark and compulsive crime thriller for fans of Ian Rankin, Michael Robotham, Jane Harper and A.J. Finn.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'From stolen childhood to remarkable leader … a memoir of survival and triumph.

'From a victim of the 'stolen generations' comes a remarkable memoir of abuse, survival - and ultimately hope.

'Born in country NSW in the 1940s, baby Dianne is immediately taken from her Aboriginal mother. Raised in the era of the White Australia policy, Dianne grows up believing her adoptive Irish mother, Val, is her birth mother. Val promises Dianne that one day they will take a trip and she will 'tell her a secret'. But before they get the chance, Val tragically dies.

'Abandoned by her adoptive father, Dianne is raped at the age of 15, sentenced to Parramatta Girls' Home and later forced to marry her rapist in order to keep her baby. She goes on to endure horrific domestic violence at the hands of different partners, alcohol addiction and cruel betrayal by those closest to her. But amazingly her fighting spirit is not extinguished.

'At the age of 36, while raising six kids on her own, Dianne learns she is Aboriginal and that her great-grandfather was William Cooper, a famous Aboriginal activist. Miraculously she finds a way to forgive her traumatic past and becomes a leader in her own right, vowing to help other 'stolen people' just like her.' (Publication summary)

'He'll do anything to save her ... even work for the enemy.

'August, 1944. In German-occupied Paris, former schoolteacher Auguste Duchene has stumbled upon an unusual way to survive: he finds missing people. When he's approached by the French Resistance to locate a missing priest - and a cache of stolen weapons - Duchene initially refuses. But the Resistance offer him no choice. Within hours, he's also blackmailed by a powerful Nazi into searching for a German soldier who's suspected of deserting.

'To fail at either task will have deadly consequences for Duchene - and for his daughter Marienne.

'So begins a frantic race against time. As forces close in on Paris, Duchene has only 48 hours to locate the missing priest and soldier, or lose the only person he loves...'

Source : publisher's blurb

'A hilarious new novel from the popular authors of The Drop-off. Perfect for fans of Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty.

'Busy mum-of-four Lizzie, newly divorced Sam and single mum Megan are best mates. And after a couple of decent coffees, they reckon they can handle anything.

'So when Baytree Primary calls out for volunteers to help at an upcoming camp, these three jump at the chance. Because nothing ever goes wrong at school camp, right?'

Source : publisher's blurb

'A promise to stay together.
'An unbreakable bond.
'A fierce will to survive.

'From international bestselling author Heather Morris comes the breath-taking conclusion to The Tattooist of Auschwitz trilogy.

'When they are girls, Cibi, Magda and Livia make a promise to their father - that they will stay together, no matter what.

'Years later, at just 15 years old, Livia is ordered to Auschwitz by the Nazis. Cibi, only 19 herself, remembers their promise and follows Livia, determined to protect her sister, or die with her.

'In their hometown in Slovakia, 17-year-old Magda hides, desperate to evade the barbaric Nazi forces. But it is not long before she is captured and condemned to Auschwitz.

'In the horror of the death camp, these three beautiful sisters are reunited. Though traumatised by their experiences, they are together.

'They make another promise: that they will live. Their fight for survival takes them from the hell of Auschwitz, to a death march across war-torn Europe and eventually home to Slovakia, now under iron Communist rule. Determined to begin again, they embark on a voyage of renewal, to the new Jewish homeland, Israel.

'Rich in vivid detail, and beautifully told, Three Sisters will break your heart, but leave you amazed and uplifted by the courage and fierce love of three sisters, whose promise to each other kept them alive. Two of the sisters are in Israel today, surrounded by family and friends. They have chosen Heather Morris to reimagine their story in her astonishing new novel, Three Sisters.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'An irresistible story of family, secrets and love.

'Will their mother's scandalous past decide their futures?

'The Sunday train which snaked into Noah Vale that verdant, midwinter afternoon brought with it fire, sending an inferno of small-town gossip roaring up the valley...

'Beautiful, irrepressible Esther Hamilton had a reputation in the small Queensland town of Noah Vale. That was until she ran away, twenty years ago, under a cloud of shame. It's now 1955 and following their mother's death, the Hamilton sisters - Sonnet, Fable and little Novella Plum - have returned to Noah Vale to live near their aunt and uncle.

'Sonnet, twenty years old and legal guardian to her siblings, has never stepped foot in Noah Vale, yet has been the talk of the town for decades. Fable, at twelve-years-old, is a talented artist and lovelier than even her heartbreaking mother had been. And three year old Plum is just a little girl who's lost her mother and been taken away from the only home she's ever known.

'As the years pass, the three sisters settle into their new life, working in the town, going to school and swimming in the perfect waterfalls nearby. But suspicion and judgment continue to follow the Hamilton sisters wherever they go. In a small town where everyone thinks they know everything about each other, it's hard to escape the past. And when Fable falls in love with Noah Vale's golden boy, is history destined to repeat itself?' (Publication summary)

'Can one decision change everything?

'I couldn't believe that Bec would, after all these years, bring the whole thing up so...casually.

'Bec and Kate are sisters, but they couldn't be less alike. Bec lives the domestic dream with her surgeon husband Stuart and three perfect children. So why is she so attracted to free-spirited Ryan? Kate's life is hardly a dream. But when she meets Adam - tall, kind, funny - things start looking up. Until she finds out he's been keeping secrets from her.

'Then there is the incident both sisters are desperate to ignore...

'Will they discover that some mistakes can't be put right?

'For fans of Liane Moriarty and Marian Keyes comes a tantalising, suspenseful read that will have you addictively turning the pages' (Publication summary)

'Erma Bridges' life is far from perfect, but entirely ordinary. After years of dedication to academic research, her career is falling apart, all because of a mysterious workplace complaint. So, when she is shot twice by Jenny – a vindictive colleague who has seemingly disappeared – her quiet existence is shattered in an instant.

'With her would-be murderer dead, no one can give Erma the answers she needs to move on from her trauma. Why her? Why now?

'Panicked, overworked and on the verge of a nervous breakdown, Erma begins her quest for the truth – and a dangerous, thrilling journey into the heart of darkness. As a web of brutality unfurls around her, Erma uncovers a dark series of crimes on campus and discovers a side of herself unimaginable within the polite world of academia.'

'The quest for a WW2 Japanese submarine in a bottomless Papuan cavern could be the opportunity Rob Nash needs to rebuild his once glittering career in cave diving exploration. Since losing his wife in a controversial diving accident he’s been dumped by sponsors, shunned by friends, and has developed a secret terror of confined spaces. Nash soon learns the price of redemption will consume every molecule of his self-belief. Not only must he battle his demons in the darkness below but vanquish fanatical terrorists hell-bent on unleashing a monstrous weapon lost in the depths for over seventy years.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'By day Pandora English is a lowly fashion assistant. By night, she is a supernatural scion.

'The Crow Moon is rising and Pandora has a date with Civil War soldier Lieutenant Luke, who will be flesh-and-blood for one night only. When Lieutenant Luke disappears, Pandora must unlock the mysteries of Number One Addams Avenue with her skeleton key and discover the secrets that lie in the forgotten laboratory of Dr Edmund Barrett.

'For Pandora has been warned: a powerful force is in the house.

'As Friday the Thirteenth looms, Pandora English and the citizens of Spektor are in grave danger. For the dead will rise and terror shall reign.' (From the publisher's website.)

'It’s been two months since Pandora English left her small hometown to live with her mysterious great-aunt in a haunted mansion in Spektor, the fog-wreathed suburb of Manhattan that doesn’t appear on any map. With the help of her great-aunt and the beautiful, but dead, Lieutenant Luke, Pandora is beginning to understand the significance of the Lucasta family heritage her late mother kept secret from her. Pandora is heir to a great gift – a gift that comes with a frightening responsibility. And when a new designer arrives in town, Pandora soon discovers that this designer’s ambitions extend far beyond taking over the fashion world, one knit at a time…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Pandora English is no ordinary small town orphan. When she's invited to live with her mysterious Great-Aunt Celia in New York City, she seizes the opportunity to escape her stifling hometown, break from her tragic past and make it as a writer.

'Things, however, are not what she is expecting. For starters, her great-aunt's gothic mansion is in a mist-wreathed Manhattan suburb that doesn't appear on maps. And then there's Celia herself - a former designer to the stars of Hollywood's Golden Age - who is elegant, unnaturally young and always wearing a veil.

'Pandora lands a job at a fashion magazine and her first assignment is covering the A-list launch of the latest miracle cream, BloodofYouth. But something is not right about the product, nor Athanasia, the drop-dead beautiful face of the brand. It seems there may be a secret ingredient in BloodofYouth, a secret worth killing for...

'In The Blood Countess - the first novel in the new Pandora English series - bestselling author Tara Moss brings her trademark macabre and lifelong love of the paranormal to the fashion world with a twist.' (From the publisher's website.)

'If you're a couple of European white swans, it's hard work surviving in the wild - finding food, bringing up families, getting through freezing weather and everything else. It helps a lot though if you have managed to find a good safe stretch of water to live in, like the moat around the city of Ypres in Belgium.

'But when the humans suddenly start fighting a war with bombs and big guns right where your home is, life gets a lot more difficult.

'The two swans had to choose: leave their home, or stay and face the dangers of the guns that were destroying everything around them. They took the brave course and carried on with their natural lives under fire. Their courage and beauty became an inspiration to the soldiers fighting the war.

'But could something like that really happen? Perhaps it really did ...' (Publication summary)

'It’s easy to talk to these women, tell them my deepest secrets. Look where we are. What else do we have to hide?

'When nineteen-year-old Mia is fired from her job at an insurance company, she makes the choice to answer an ad in the newspaper. The ad says: ‘Erotic Massage. Good Money. No Sex.’

'Mia takes to her new job with recklessness, aplomb and good humour. Over the next few years, as she works her way through Sydney’s many parlours, she meets exquisite and complex women from every walk of life who choose sex work for myriad reasons. While juggling the demands of her new job, she battles her problematic drug use, and the mental illness that has shaped her life.

'But rather than needing saving from sex work, it is the work that sometimes helps to save Mia from herself. 

'This compelling memoir is not only told with raw honesty and grace, it also announces the arrival of a startlingly talented Australian writer.'

Source: publisher's blurb

'Heather Morris, author of the internationally bestselling novels The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka's Journey, grew up on a farm in rural New Zealand. On her way back across the paddocks from school, Heather would visit her great-grandfather and listen to his experiences of war - stories he told only Heather. From a young age Heather discovered that people would tell her their stories if she stopped and listened.

'In Stories of Hope, Heather Morris will explore the art of listening - a skill she employed when she met Lale Sokolov, the Tattooist of Auschwitz. It was her ability to listen that led him to entrust her with his story. Stories of Hope will examine Heather's extraordinary journey, in the form of a series of beautifully rendered tales of the people she has met, the remarkable stories they have shared with her, and the lessons they hold for us all.' (Publication summary)

'What would make a champion kickboxer and loving husband and father turn to ice? Simon Fenech, a successful sportsman and committed family man, tried crystal meth for the first time after a traumatic work accident. He was instantly hooked. Soon, he was dealing to support a $1000-a-day addiction.

'What followed was a story straight from the plot of Breaking Bad...Simon was shot by underworld hitmen. He came within an inch of losing his life after a horrific knife attack. He was hunted by drug lords and specialist police units - at the same time. And he reached the very depths of misery and despair. But Simon's story didn't end there. He managed to transform his life in a way that will inspire anyone who's either personally felt the devastating effects of ice or seen their loved one's battle with addiction.

'Breaking Good is a raw, brutally honest and harrowing story of survival. It is also proof that even the most appalling fall from grace can lead to redemption.' (Publication summary)

'Lizzie, Megan and Sam became accidental friends over good coffee, banter and wrong-world jokes at school drop off. Lizzie is a part-time midwife with four kids and a secret past. Sam is an ex-chef and stay-at-home dad with an absent, high-flying corporate wife. Megan is an ex-model single mum with a thriving online business and no time for loneliness. None of them have much interest in their school community, but when tragedy deals Baytree Primary’s reputation a potentially crippling blow, this unlikely trio have to step up. Forced out of their respective comfort zones, Lizzie, Megan and Sam learn more about each other, the school and themselves than they thought possible.

'And it all begins at The Drop-Off.' (Publication summary)