Shirley Patton
Dr Shirley Patton grew up in outback Western Australia and now lives with her partner and a miniature schnauzer, in wine-growing country overlooking the beautiful Tamar River, Northern Tasmania. She left an academic career as a published researcher of family violence and a lecturer to write fiction full time. Since then, she has published several short stories in a variety of literary publications. Prior to practising social work, Shirley worked in the media as a television newsreader and television chat show host. Like one of the characters in The Secrets We Keep, Shirley’s Irish great grandmother read tea leaves.
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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.
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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 -
James Patterson
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James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time and the creator of such unforgettable characters and series as Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride. He has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton, Dolly Parton, and Michael Crichton, as well as collaborated on #1 bestselling nonfiction, including The Idaho Four, Walk in My Combat Boots, and Filthy Rich. Patterson has told the story of his own life in the #1 bestselling autobiography James Patterson by James Patterson. He is the recipient of an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal. -
Jodi Picoult
Jodi Picoult is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-eight novels, including Wish You Were Here, Small Great Things, Leaving Time, and My Sister’s Keeper, and, with daughter Samantha van Leer, two young adult novels, Between the Lines and Off the Page. Picoult lives in New Hampshire.
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MAD HONEY, her new novel co-authored with Jennifer Finney Boylan, is available in hardcover, ebook, and audio on October 4, 2022.
Website: http://www.jodipicoult.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jodipicoult
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Sara Foster
Sara Foster is a critically acclaimed, bestselling fiction author with a passion for psychological suspense and a keen interest in exploring zeitgeist issues and strong female characters in her nail-biting novels. Her latest, When She Was Gone (2025), begins when an au pair and two small children vanish from a remote Australian beach, and is a race-against-time thriller, exploring themes around misogyny, wealth, power and control.
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Sara is also the author of dystopian thriller The Hush and seven more bestselling novels. Two of her books have been optioned for television, and You Don’t Know Me was adapted into a chart-topping podcast series by Listnr. Sara has a PhD in creative writing (studying maternal representations in fiction) and lives i -
Marion Lennox
Writing romance sounds fascinating. Huh?
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I'm a writer. I'm boring. Day after day I sit behind a word processor making up people in my head. Why do I do it? I love it. My husband, Dave, gets up in the morning, puts on a suit and heads out into the ice and cold of Ballarat's winter. (Sadly I live in one of the tiny parts of Australia that qualifies as cold.) I make myself another cup of coffee, head up to my study, choose what music I want and sit and daydream. And I get paid for doing it. Hooray!
My first attempt at writing romance, 'Dare To Love Again', a Medical Romance, was published by Harlequin Mills and Boon in 1990. It still stands today as a monument to my family's ability to survive on cheese sandwiches and spaghetti.
Since then I've w -
Trish Morey
Trish Morey always fancied herself a writer, but was sternly advised that she better better think about getting a real job instead. Which Trish figures must be why she spent her university years washing dishes in a Chinese restaurant by night and picking gherkins for an Adelaide Hills primary producer by day. (Enough to put you off "real jobs" for life).
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It was another twelve years, an accounting career and two babies on that Trish once again turned her mind to writing. it was a further eleven years (and two more babies:)) before Trish sold her first book to Harlequin Presents, and her dream of being a published author came true.
Some forty books later, Trish is now an award winning and USA Today Bestselling Author of some 40+ books. Trish -
Louise Candlish
Hello and welcome to my page... You may already know my domestic noir thrillers or perhaps you're curious and not sure which to try first - either way, you're in the right place!
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My latest is OUR HOLIDAY, a Sunday Times bestseller, WHSmith Richard & Judy Book Club pick and Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2025 nominee. It features my favourite ever love-to-hate characters Perry and Charlotte, second home owners in the idyllic English beach resort of Pine Ridge. It's now in development for the screen - I'll share news on that as soon as I can.
Next up is A NEIGHBOUR'S GUIDE TO MURDER, published in July 2025 (UK) and 2026 (US), available to pre-order now.
Last year I celebrated my 20th anniversary as an author with the news of two -
Liz Byrski
Liz Byrski is a writer and broadcaster with more than 40 years experience in the British and Australian media. She is the author of eleven non-fiction books and five novels, and her work has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines.
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In the nineties Liz was a broadcaster and executive producer with ABC Radio in Perth and later an advisor to a minister in the Western Australian State Government; she now lectures in Professional and Creative Writing at Curtin University of Technology in Perth, and has PhD in writing with a focus on feminist popular fiction.
Liz was born in London and spent most of her childhood in Sussex. As an only child she spent a lot of time alone, much of it buried in books. She began her workin -
Fiona Lowe
Multi published, Fiona is very excited about her 2023 release, The Money Club a novel about wealth, trust & betrayal. Previously published with Berkley and currently with Harper Collins Australia, (HQ Fiction) Fiona's been the recipient of a RITA and two RuBY awards. Families and communities intrigue her and she loves creating characters you could meet on the street and enjoys putting them in unique situations where morals and values can blur and she begs the reader to ask themselves, 'What would you do?'
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For a free novella, sign up to Fiona's newsletter at http://www.fionalowe.com
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Fleur McDonald
After growing up on a farm near Orroroo in South Australia, Fleur McDonald’s first job was jillarooing in the outback. She has been involved in agriculture all her life, including helping manage a 8000-acre station for twenty years. Today Fleur and her energetic kelpie, Jack, live in Esperance, Western Australia,
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Fleur is the author of 23 bestselling novels and two children's books.
Fleur chats about her daily writing life on her blog http://fleurmcdonald.com,
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Instagram @fleurmcdonald
Tiktok @fleurmcdonaldauthor -
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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.
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For behind the scenes info and special giveaways, sign up to Tricia's newsletter at http://www.triciastringer.com
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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.
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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 -
Victoria Purman
Victoria Purman is an Australian bestselling author.
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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. -
Alli Sinclair
Alli Sinclair is an Australian multi-award winning author published who has lived in Argentina, Peru, and Canada. She’s climbed some of the world’s highest mountains and worked as a tour guide in South and Central America. Australia has always been close to Alli’s heart as she loves the diverse landscapes and the rich multicultural heritage of this wonderful land.
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Alli’s books explore history, culture, love and grief, and relationships between family, friends and lovers. She captures the romance and thrill of discovering old and new worlds and loves taking readers on a journey of discovery. When not writing novels, Alli works as a producer and screenwriter for TV and cinema. -
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
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Tess Woods
Visit www.tesswoods.com.au
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Facebook and Instagram - look for Tess Woods Author
Email Tess at tess@tesswoods.com.au -
Emily Madden
I am a book nerd, coffee lover and love anything 80’s (except the fashion, okay, I admit – I like some of it).
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My love of books started at a young age when I would often go shopping with my mum just so I could score yet another novel. Nothing has changed – I rarely leave a bookstore without a book.
I read anything and everything, but stories that touch the heart and uplift the soul are what I love the most.
I have an unnatural obsession with needing to be close to the ocean, but am terrified of deep water. -
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.
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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 -
Kelli Hawkins
Kelli Hawkins writes reports for a private investigator, as well as working on novels for adults and children. She lives in Newcastle with her two teenagers. Over the years she’s travelled whenever possible and worked all kinds of jobs. Kelli’s been a political journalist, a graphic designer, a mystery shopper – even a staple remover. When she’s not writing she’s planning a holiday – or dreaming of one. Or reading, of course.
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She writes under the name Kelli Hawkins for her adult novels, and Kelli Anne Hawkins for her children’s books. -
Ella Ward
Ella Ward has worked in advertising for twenty years. This means she has a proclivity for profanity and doesn’t respect punctuation.
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In 2018 she was hit with the cancer stick, which apart from being rather frightening also encouraged a foray into oversharing on Instagram, and then – magically – writing.
Her words have been published in places like Frankie, Lunch Lady, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.
Ella lives in Melbourne, Australia, with her husband, child, dog, cat and many (many) neuroses.
She’s also writing this about herself in the third person, which she acknowledges is both pretentious and a bit weird. -
Angie Faye Martin
Angie Faye Martin is a writer and editor of Kooma, Kamilaroi and European heritage. With a Bachelor of Public Health from the Queensland University of Technology and a Masters of Anthropology from the Australian National University, Angie spent many years working in policy roles in state and federal government before launching Versed Writings in 2019. Her work has been published in Meanjin, Garland, The Saltbush Review and The Rocks Remain. She is a member of the First Nations Australia Writers Network and accredited with the Institute of Professional Editors. Melaleuca is her debut novel.
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