Mary-Anne O'Connor
Mary-Anne O'Connor nee Best grew up in Wahroonga in the Bushland Shire of Hornsby-Kuringai, northern Sydney. The youngest of six children, her childhood was spent exploring the local bush and playing music with her siblings and close neighbours. An avid reader, she devoured her mother Dorn's extensive library and was often found trying to finish a chapter by torchlight late at night. She also began to fill every blank piece of paper in the house with stories and drawings of her own and dreamt of becoming a writer one day.
When she was twelve her father Kevin Best left his established career in the stock-market to become one of Australia's best-loved artists. The perseverance and ultimate triumph she witnessed during those years left her insp
If you like author Mary-Anne O'Connor here is the list of authors you may also like
Buy books on AmazonTotal similar authors (18)
-
Sonya Heaney
Sonya Heaney began her professional life aged eight, as the Changeling in Queensland Ballet’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. After many more years of hard work, even more blisters, and plenty of pretty tutus, one too many injuries forced her out of her pointe shoes.
Buy books on Amazon
Between then and now she has worked in a posh Dublin hotel (that didn’t last long), pulled pints in London pubs (that lasted years), taught English in Korea (her apartment was broken into and her computer was stolen – along with many half-finished manuscripts), and worked on costumes backstage in various theatres (it was always chaos).
Sonya holds a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing, and spent years putting it to use in nonfiction fields before turning her hand to romance.
After -
Tania Blanchard
Tania lives in Sydney with her husband and three children. Coming from a family with rich cultural heritage with a German mother and Italian father, stories have always been in her blood. Following a career in physiotherapy, it was only when she had her family that she decided to return to her passion of writing.
Buy books on Amazon
Her debut novel is The Girl from Munich, the story she has always wanted to write, inspired by the fascinating stories told by her German grandmother, and she is currently working on the sequel, set in Australia in the 1950s.
Tania is excited to have found her light bulb moment, her love for writing historical fiction. She looks forward to delving further into her interests of history and family stories to enrich and bring to life -
Tess Woods
Visit www.tesswoods.com.au
Buy books on Amazon
Facebook and Instagram - look for Tess Woods Author
Email Tess at tess@tesswoods.com.au -
Meredith Appleyard
Meredith Appleyard lives in the Clare Valley wine-growing region of South Australia, two hours north of Adelaide. As a registered nurse and midwife, she has worked in a wide range of country health practice settings, including the Royal Flying Doctor Service. She has done agency nursing in London and volunteer work in Vietnam. After her first manuscript was rejected, she joined a writers' group, attended workshops and successfully completed an Advanced Diploma of Arts in Professional Writing with the Adelaide College of the Arts. And she kept working. When she isn't writing, Meredith is reading, helping organise the annual Clare Writers' Festival, or at home with her husband and her border collie, Daisy. The Country Practice is her first no
Buy books on Amazon -
Victoria Purman
Victoria Purman is an Australian bestselling author.
Buy books on Amazon
If you want to know more about her and her books, visit www.victoriapurman.com or follow her on facebook at Victoria Purman Author or on twitter @VictoriaPurman. -
Mary-Lou Stephens
Mary-Lou Stephens was born in Tasmania, studied acting at The Victorian College of the Arts and played in bands in Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney. Eventually she got a proper job - in radio, where she was a presenter and music director, first with commercial radio and then with the ABC.
Buy books on Amazon
She received rave reviews for her memoir Sex, Drugs and Meditation (2013), the true story of how meditation changed her life, saved her job and helped her find a husband.
Mary-Lou has worked and played all over Australia and now travels the world slowly and writes, mostly.
Her debut novel The Last of the Apple Blossom was published by HarperCollins (HQ) in 2021.
The Chocolate Factory (HarperCollins HQ) 2024.
The Jam Maker (HarperCollins HQ) 2025
Praise for The Choco -
Tricia Stringer
Tricia Stringer is a bestselling and award-winning author. Among others, her books include commercial fiction titles Table For Eight, The Model Wife and The Family Inheritance, the rural romances A Chance of Stormy Weather and Come Rain or Shine and historical sagas Heart of the Country, Dust on the Horizon and Jewel in the North, set in the 19th Century Flinders Ranges. Tricia lives in the beautiful Copper Coast region of South Australia, often exploring Australia's diverse communities and landscapes, and shares this passion for the country and its people through her authentic stories and their vivid characters.
Buy books on Amazon
For behind the scenes info and special giveaways, sign up to Tricia's newsletter at http://www.triciastringer.com
Facebook https:// -
Tea Cooper
Tea Cooper writes Australian contemporary and historical fiction. In a past life she was a teacher, a journalist and a farmer. These days she haunts museums and indulges her passion for storytelling.
Buy books on Amazon -
-
Amanda Hampson
Melbourne-based author, Amanda Hampson has been writing professionally for more than 30 years and is the award-winning author of nine novels: The Olive Sisters, Two for the Road, The French Perfumer, The Yellow Villa, Sixty Summers, Lovebirds, The Tea Ladies, The Cryptic Clue and The Deadly Dispute.
Buy books on Amazon
A runaway bestseller, The Tea Ladies won the 2024 Danger Awards for Best Crime Fiction and was Shortlisted for 2024 Davitt Awards Best Adult Crime & 2024 Ned Kelly Awards Best Fiction.
-
Judy Nunn
Judy Nunn (born 13 April 1945) is an Australian actress and author.
Buy books on Amazon
Judy Nunn's career has been long, illustrious and multifaceted. After combining her internationally successful acting career with scriptwriting for television and radio, Judy decided in the 80s to turn her hand to prose. The result was two adventure novels for children, EYE IN THE STORM and EYE IN THE CITY, which remain extremely popular, not only in Australia but in Europe. Embarking on adult fiction in the early 90s, Judy's three novels, THE GLITTER GAME, CENTRE STAGE and ARALUEN, set respectively in the worlds of television, theatre and film, became instant bestsellers. Her subsequent bestsellers, KAL, BENEATH THE SOUTHERN CROSS, TERRITORY, PACIFIC, HERITAGE and FLOODTIDE -
Jackie French
Jackie is an award-winning writer, wombat negotiator and the Australian Children’s Laureate for 2014-2015. She is regarded as one of Australia’s most popular children’s authors, and writes across all genres - from picture books, history, fantasy, ecology and sci-fi to her much loved historical fiction. In her capacity as Australian Children’s Laureate, ‘Share a Story’ will be the primary philosophy behind Jackie’s two-year term.
Buy books on Amazon -
Belinda Alexandra
Belinda Alexandra has been published to wide acclaim in Australia and internationally. She is the daughter of a Russian mother and an Australian father and has been an intrepid traveller since her youth. Her love of other cultures is matched by her passion for her home country, Australia, where she is a volunteer carer for the NSW Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service (WIRES).
Buy books on Amazon
Belinda is also an ambassador for the World League for the Protection of Animals (Australia) and lives in Sydney with a menagerie of adored pets.
Join Belinda's community of readers at facebook.com/BelindaAlexandraAuthor -
Fiona McIntosh
Fiona writes best selling historical adventure-romance alongside the heroic-romantic, often brutal, fantasy she built her career upon. She lives in Australia but frequently roams the world meticulously researching the locations and gathering material for her historical novels that have international settings. Her books are published worldwide and in various languages.
Buy books on Amazon
Her most recent historical fiction has gathered such a following that she is now hosting a tour in 2014 to Paris and Provence so eager readers can walk in the footsteps of her characters.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. -
Kathy Reichs
Kathy Reichs is a forensic anthropologist for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of North Carolina, and for the Laboratoire des Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Quebec. She is one of only fifty forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology and is on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. A professor of anthropology at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Dr. Reichs is a native of Chicago, where she received her Ph.D. at Northwestern. She now divides her time between Charlotte and Montreal and is a frequent expert witness in criminal trials.
Buy books on Amazon
Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best First Novel (1998): Deja Dead -
Michelle Montebello
MICHELLE MONTEBELLO is a writer from Sydney, Australia where she lives with her family.
Buy books on Amazon
She is the internationally bestselling author of The Quarantine Station, The Lost Letters of Playfair Street and The Forever Place.
Her books have won numerous accolades. The Quarantine Station won the 2023 International Book Excellence Award while The Lost Letters of Playfair Street won the 2020 ARRA Award for Favourite Historical Romance. The Forever Place was a 2022 ARRA and RWA RuBY Award finalist.
Michelle has been shortlisted three times for ARRA Australian Author of the Year.
For all Michelle’s book news, subscribe to her newsletter at www.michellemontebello.com.au.
Reach out to Michelle on social media:
Facebook: https://bit.ly/2JA6EsB
Instagram: https -
Sonya Heaney
Sonya Heaney began her professional life aged eight, as the Changeling in Queensland Ballet’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. After many more years of hard work, even more blisters, and plenty of pretty tutus, one too many injuries forced her out of her pointe shoes.
Buy books on Amazon
Between then and now she has worked in a posh Dublin hotel (that didn’t last long), pulled pints in London pubs (that lasted years), taught English in Korea (her apartment was broken into and her computer was stolen – along with many half-finished manuscripts), and worked on costumes backstage in various theatres (it was always chaos).
Sonya holds a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing, and spent years putting it to use in nonfiction fields before turning her hand to romance.
After -
Toni Tapp Coutts
Born and raised in the Northern Territory, Toni Tapp Coutts has had a varied career, from living on cattle stations, riding in campdrafts and barrel racing, to owning a variety store in outback Borroloola and a dress boutique in Katherine. She was shortlisted in the 2002 NT Literary Awards for her story 'Daisy & Dora'. She spent time at Varuna the Writers' House in Katoomba NSW in 2009 to work on A Sunburnt Childhood. One of the chapters from the memoir, 'Walking the Wet', was published in Meanjin Quarterly Review in March 2010.
Buy books on Amazon
Toni is a leader in her community in Katherine, working for the Victoria Daly Regional Council and organising leadership groups for women within the vast council area. She has been an elected member of the Katherine