This is not on her list of things to do. A darkly funny debut that proves even the most imperfect of lives is worth celebrating.Now that I've got cancer, I know I should be letting go and just being in the moment with my child but, seriously, what mother has got time to spend with their kids?Vivian Walker's life is exceptionally ordinary. Average husband, check. Darling son, check. Refrigerator in a state of permanent disarray, check. Everything is thoroughly and frustratingly routine, even being terminally ill.After receiving her diagnosis, Viv's family won't let her lift a finger . . . for at least a week. But once the novelty wears off, she's lucky to get a cup of tea for her trouble. In preparation for D-day, self-professed control freak Viv has made a list of essential things to do, such as decluttering the playroom and preparing her taxes. She doesn't expect to become spiritually enlightened or have any outlandish last-minute successes. All she wants is to finish her unfinished business.As her final days unfold, Viv realises her life has become a love letter to the mundane but she still manages to keep her wicked sense of humour and cynical take on life unapologetically intact. The Very Last List of Vivian Walker will make you ugly cry, snort tea out your nose with laughter and want to embrace humanity in all its selfishness, beauty and awkwardness.

    Now eight years later, fate has brought Violet and her daughter, Holly, back to the house Violet grew up in.As soon as Violet runs into James 'Mac' MacKellan, she wonders if she should run all the way back to the city. But something about the look in his eyes makes her want to linger. Can she trust him, can she trust herself or will she be burned again?James MacKellan has had a soft spot for Violet Beckett for longer than he can remember. It almost killed him to watch his brother woo her, use her and finally lose her. From their very first encounter he's hooked. But how can he convince her that not all MacKellans are the same?McKellan's Run is an entertaining love story that takes us into the hearts of two very special people who deserve a second chance.

    Australian thriller writer T.M. Clark returns with a vivid, action-packed adventure in the tradition of Wilbur Smith. South African--born Doctor Lily Winters, a consultant with the World Health Organization, has been in the thick of some of the worst humanitarian disasters across the globe. But when she's posted back to South Africa following the suspicious death of an ex-colleague, she faces the biggest medical mystery she's ever seen.The resettled San community of Platfontein is exhibiting a higher-than-average HIV infection rate, and their people are dying. The cases Lily takes over are baffling and despite her best efforts the medicine doesn't seem to be helping.To save this unique community, Lily and a policeman from the Kalahari, Piet Kleinman, join forces to trace the origins of the epidemic and uncover the truth. Their search drags them into the dangerous world of a corrupt industry driven by profit while the authorities meant to protect their community turn a blind eye. In a race against time Lily and Piet will put not only their careers but their lives on the line...

    It’s November 1948, and the widowed Hanora Sparrow and her teenage daughters, Aria and Rosy, have fallen on tough times; when they move into a housing commission camp on the outskirts of Sydney, their spirits are low and their prospects few. While Hanora copes via various pharmaceutical offerings and Rosy with nothing other than indignity, the spirited Aria rises immediately to the challenge of keeping the family together in such trying circumstances. With her endless curiosity and lively sense of humor, Aria draws the Sparrow women into close friendships with other camp residents and supports her family through her work as a photographic model in the city. Despite the setbacks, Aria strives toward their eventual salvation.

    with lasting consequences.To Taylor Whitworth, knowing that she’ll never meet her deceased biological father is devastating. All she knows is he was a stockman, so she yearns to be like her father and to become a jillaroo. She packs her bags and hits the road, destination unknown, until she happens upon the country township of Driftwood. Life-burdened Jay Donnellson is a cowboy through and through, with his passion for the outback and bad boy image inherited from his forefathers. The whole town whispers about him but Jay doesn’t care. Except that his rough and tumble lifestyle is stopped dead in its tracks when he happens across Taylor on a deserted country road. And soon, their mutual love of horses begins a wonderful friendship that develops when Jay offers Taylor a job as a jillaroo on his cattle station.

    Nell is an Australian journo, and quite the fashionable lady, and Johnny is a captain with the American Press Corps who has a bit of a shady romantic past.Johnny's ex-lover, Lena Mitrovic, has been convicted of the murder of caddish artist Rick Henzell. Convinced of Lena's innocence, Johnny ropes Nell in to help him find the truth. During their investigation, they uncover a seedy and unsavoury side to wartime Perth. British, Australian and American servicemen are in the city looking to have a good time and many of the local girls are seeking excitement and romance. What they find is less wholesome. Some of these young girls fall into prostitution and become "Lost Girls".Nell hopes to improve conditions for these Lost Girls and for the women in Fremantle Gaol. Johnny hopes to find the true killer of Rick Henzell. The chemistry between the two main characters is immediate. They are both attractive, witty, sassy and willing to throw themselves into the fray. But Nell is "engaged" to an Australian lawyer and suspicious of Johnny's reputation. As well she might be...

    He lives with his mother and sister Katie, all dutifully cared for by Aunt Dettie, their father's sister, who believes herself sympathetic to his pain. Their father abandoned the family some time ago, but when their mother begins to date again, Aunt Dettie reacts very badly. After an unexpected phone call, Aunt Dettie packs Sam and Katie into the backseat of her car and tells them that she's taking them to Perth to be reunited with their father. As Dettie drives the children across Australia in the middle of a sweltering and dangerous bushfire season, her behaviour becomes increasingly erratic, and the children begin to realise that there is something very wrong. Voiceless, Sam can only watch helplessly as the family trip becomes a smoke-filled nightmare.

    In a society obsessed with natural history and the discovery of new species, the birdman’s wife was at its glittering epicentre. Her artistry breathed life into hundreds of exotic finds, from her husband’s celebrated collections to Charles Darwin’s famous Galapagos finches.Fired by Darwin’s discoveries, in 1838 Elizabeth defied convention by joining John on a trailblazing expedition to the untamed wilderness of Van Diemen’s Land and New South Wales to collect and illustrate Australia’s ‘curious’ birdlife.From a naïve and uncertain young girl to a bold adventurer determined to find her own voice and place in the world, The Birdman’s Wife paints an indelible portrait of an extraordinary woman overlooked by history, until now.

    An ongoing feud has existed between the Kinkaids and the Thorntons for generations, unknown to Cassandra until a few weeks ago. Now someone isn't happy and wants her out.Cassandra’s mother Beth holds a welcoming home party for Jake Thornton, hoping to end the feud for good. How can they end a feud when the air sizzles like the Capulets and Montagues, although Beth states there was never a Romeo and Juliet involved? Little does she realise Romeo and Juliet did exist, but they are far from star-crossed lovers.How can Cassandra forgive Jake for breaking her heart, and how can she give up on her Grandfather’s wishes? He’d turn over in his grave if he ever knew she was and still is in love with a Thornton. Besides, her grandfather left the property to her for a good reason and she isn’t about to give in for love, or is she?

    The Wallace-Jones are old-money rural aristocracy and Felicity Townsend is from a very different side of the tracks.But Em is determined not to treat Felicity with the same teenage snobbery that tore apart her relationship with her first love, Josh Sinclair. A man who has now sauntered sexily back into Em's life and given her a chance for redemption.As Felicity settles in, suspicions are raised about her intentions toward Em's beloved Rocking Horse Hill, the historic family property that Digby owns but has promised will be Em's home for as long as she wishes. Though worried for her future, Em sides with her brother and Felicity, until a near tragedy sets in motion a chain of events that will change the family forever.An emotional story of family turmoil and second-chance love played out against the dramatic landscape of rural South Australia.

    Lucky's is a story of family.It is also about a man called Lucky.His restaurant chain.A fire that changed everything.A New Yorker article which might save a career.The mystery of a missing father.An impostor who got the girl.An unthinkable tragedy.A roll of the dice.And a story of love, lost, sought and won again, (at last).

    Bella Tucker has come a long way. Born illegitimate and banished to the London slums by her vindictive stepmother, at six Bella is rescued by her grandfather and brought up as a member of the aristocratic Richmond family. Her future seems assured when shefalls passionately in love with Charles Hardy, heir to the wealthy Hardy estate — until her grandfather’s death changes everything…Heartbroken and headstrong, Bella flees to Australia, where she is offered a job by the charismatic Garth Tucker, owner - of Miranda Downs, a vast cattle station in the stunning and remote Pilbara region. After several near disasters, she finds herself falling in love with Garth amidst the dust, heat and the endless expanse of bush.Together, Bella and Garth become major players in the new mining industry, allowing Bella to build her dream home, the sprawling homestead, ‘Desire’. But after Garth’s unfortunate death, Bella is forced to deal with circumstances that bring the family close to ruin… and the business Bella and Garth have built to the brink of collapse.Can Bella untangle the lies and save the business and her family home? And will she ever lay eyes again on the man she never ceased to love, Charles Hardy?

    He lives rough on the streets of Sydney until his father is pardoned. Together, they begin a new life and open a butcher shop. Richard’s job is to bring in beasts for slaughter. At 15 he is framed for stealing cattle and sentenced to hang. He escapes into the vast and dangerous Australian wilderness and has to survive or die with only his indomitable will to help him. How he eventually triumphs and succeeds in life is a “ripping good yarn”.

    Near destitute. But brave and determined. Can Maddy beat the odds to create a new home in the Hunter Valley? An exciting Australian historical debut, perfect for readers of Darry Fraser.1831, New South WalesReeling from her mother's death, Madeleine Barker-Trent arrives in the newly colonised Hunter River to find her father's promises are nothing more than a halcyon dream. A day later, after a dubious accident, she becomes the sole owner of a thousand acres of bushland, with only three convicts and handsome overseer Daniel Coulter for company.Determined to fulfil her family's aspirations, Maddy refuses to return to England and braves everything the beautiful but wild Australian country can throw at her - violence, danger, the forces of nature and loneliness. But when a scandalous secret and a new arrival threaten to destroy all she's worked for, her future looks bleak ... Can Maddy persevere or should she simply admit defeat?A captivating historical tale of one young woman's grit and determination to carve out her place on the riverbank.

    It’s a place populated by those who are beholden to it, those who were born to it and those who took a wrong turn while trying to go somewhere else.City-born Carra married into Nowhere River, Lucie was brought to it by tragedy, Josie is root-bound and Florence knows nowhere else. All of them, though familiar with every inch of their tiny hometown, are as lost as the place itself.The town’s social cornerstone — St Margery’s Ladies’ Club — launches a rescue plan that turns everything around and upside down, then shakes it until all sorts of things come floating to the surface. And none of its inhabitants will ever be the same again.This is the highly original and heartfelt story of a place where everybody knows everything, but no one really knows anyone at all. Brimming with heart and humour, this is a delightful novel that celebrates the country people and towns of Australia.