AustLit

'A novel about a community radio station and the mayhem behind the scenes. As with a stage show, much activity behind the scenes, but when the curtain goes up, all appears calm and the play must go on. With radio, the curtain goes up when the studio light announces ON AIR.' (Publication Summary)

'Writing is my way to embed my memories and give them meaning and value. Where to start is the challenge. I see my life as a spider's web. Its radiating strands and concentric circles protected me during my early years but the protection was fleeting. Over time holes and rips appear in a spider's web as it does in the web of life. Nature takes its toll on the web and the human spirit is battered by pain, sorrow and disappointment. But there is a strength and resilience residing within that allows both the web and the soul to survive. At times I have been caught in the web but, like the butterfly with detachable scales on its wings, I survive.' (Publication Summary)

'Documents and celebrates the achievements of one remarkable person and many of those in her circle. Henrietta ‘Madame’ Mallalieu née Percival, later Mrs Willmore is one of those figures who casts a long shadow, both during their lifetime and afterwards. In very recent times the only known photographic image of Henrietta seated at a musical instrument has been found. Even this does not do justice or fully represent this woman who gave countless performances of complex, brilliant and expressive repertoire over a public career lasting more than 60 years. The concept of heritage preservation is not new, but the ways in which the achievements of a person or organisation can be preserved and honoured are ever changing. It is hoped this volume will serve to extend the appreciation of Henrietta and the ways her influence and legacy have touched so many people. Her contribution to the formation of Brisbane’s cultural identity as a modern city has also been documented as completely as possible. In the absence of recordings, the best insights one can gain about a musician’s persona and skills are to be found in the scores of the works they performed, and to a certain extent within the commentary documented by well-informed peers. In the case of Henrietta, there exists a huge amount of press coverage of her performances, all of which is uniformly laudatory. She did not shy away from the most technically demanding repertoire as an organist and pianist. She also appeared to delight in the challenges provided both by virtuoso showpieces and the more profound masterworks. As she demonstrated repeatedly through her careful programming and preparation of printed background notes on the repertoire performed, Henrietta was also greatly concerned with audience development.' (Publication summary)

'James, Emily and the Stormbird is another Nonno adventure story about an Italian grandfather who takes his grandchildren on a fishing trip. They encounter a fierce storm and are rescued by two stormbirds. The grandchildren are taken to a magic land by a stormbird and Nonno is flown to shore by another. But will they reunite in time to make it back home to Grandma before nightfall? And more importantly did they catch any fish?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Eight short stories and a magical number of seventy three poems feature in this second volume, organized into thematic sections, with illustrations.'  (Source: Publisher's blurb)

'Companion book to Castle to Colony by the same author. Adventures and achievements of an Irish Engineer who traveled the world in the second half of the 1800s, during which time he played a significant role in the Japanese Meiji Restoration. Bridges, buildings, tea processing and sugar mill machinery, mining engineering - all were part of the amazingly productive life of Thomas Waters. ' (Publication summary)

'The Hon. Warwick Parer AM has lived an extraordinary life of service. Born in New Guinea to pioneering parents, he has a long history of contributing to the community. Tragedy struck early ...' (Publication summary)

'Zachery and Nonno go to the Races is an adventure story about an Italian grandfather who takes his grandson to the races for an exciting day out. They happen to meet Giddyup an extremely inspirational and friendly horse who breaks out in spots and is whisked away to the vet. Giddyup makes it back to the race but will it be enough to win the cup?'

Source: Publication blurb.

'A collection of columns recording the life of Mike O'Connor, a journalist who pulls no punches when it comes to relating the mishaps and adventures he has encountered over many years of observing and writing while never losing a keen sense of humour. A tonic for anyone who needs a lift. ' (Publication summary)

'Vietnam was Australia’s longest and most controversial war. This book by Tony White AM, vividly recalls his twelve month tour of duty as a frontline doctor in difficult territory. Starlight was the radio call sign for army doctors and medics. For those who were there, this book will refresh memories, good and bad, of those days of conflict. For those who weren’t there, Tony has painted the scenes skilfully with his letters home from the warfront, and connecting stories.' (Source: Australian War Memorial website)

'For many centuries, Smyrna was a prosperous trading city in the Mediterranean. In the aftermath of World War I, Smyrna was one of the greatest post-war casualties. Decisions made by the victors sitting in remote London when they divided the spoils of the war, had huge unintended consequences. This book is a powerful reconstruction of the resultant wave of violence that destroyed a hitherto peaceful and prosperous city and destroyed or dispersed its multicultural inhabitants. Many Australians are here today because their forebears survived this tragedy.' (Publisher's blurb)

'This historic novel is told by a geologist with a unique forensic talent for exploring the past, and an even more unique flair for placing the reader in the centre of the action. The story is woven around first-hand accounts of the tragedy which enveloped the peaceful country of Holland when it was over-run by the armies of Hitler. The Author married into a Dutch family and listened intently to their stories, enabling him to paint this vivid picture of the war-torn Holland from which they fled. This gripping narrative is dedicated to all who suffered there during WW II. When the Tulips Bled is now in its second edition which includes maps. It is the first of a series of novels scratching beneath the surface of our immigrant past, to thread together what it is to be Australian.' (Publication summary)

'This is the second historic novel by Lance Grimstone. As with his first book, When the Tulips Bled, the Author has brought World War II history to life through real, down-to-earth characters on both sides of the conflict in North Africa. Courage and compassion is expressed in so many ways - under fire, in retreat, in endurance, in stubbornness, in suffering, in fearing the worst, in struggling on regardless, in treating the enemy wounded as their own. Again, the Author's extensive research provides an authentic background to this engrossing narrative. And as with his first novel, he has uncovered more tantalising insights into our immigrant past and what it is to be Australian. Second revised edition includes maps.' (Publication summary)

'Both of Yoshiko Innoue’s brothers had already joined their ancestors in the service of their Emperor when America’s vengeful atomic fist slammed the rest of her family into oblivion. Cast adrift to wander alone through a life of abject poverty, she was easy prey for unscrupulous men like General Masaru Abachi, who ensured that the politics of peace would prove just as grubby as the politics of war. Yet in an Australian, she saw hope.

'Thirty months earlier, Major Ted Samuels had limped home to Brisbane from the war in North Africa, and straight into the nerve centre for the fight against a very different foe, and alongside a very different ally.

'At war’s end, he found himself thrust headlong into a dismembered nation of starving citizens, stripped of any honour, serfs of a foreign Shõgun, and suffocating in an atmosphere of bitter revenge, corruption and greed. At home, his brother, Jack, still bore the mental scars of the ferocity of jungle battles which had broken the bodies and spirit of the most seasoned warriors, torn at their souls and tortured their minds.

'Nothing could have prepared Ted for the confronting, censored aftermath of Truman’s ‘rain of ruin’. In a moment of weakness he found solace in the arms of a former enemy, which threatened to tear his family apart, creating wounds that took a decade to heal.

'Amidst the naivety of post-war Australia, the wives of all three Samuels brothers silently wrestled with their husbands’ demons, until they were drawn together at the baptism of Tom’s first born.

'It was a time of great political upheaval, when allegiance to the Mother Country had been brought into question in lieu of America. Then again, born out of the raw, turbulent wasteland of Hiroshima was Australia’s future alliance …' (Publisher's blurb)

'Following in the style of her first novel, The Easement, Laraine Dillon again presents a tale that the reader is compelled to absorb. Another great little page turner, The Pitts in Paradise captures the interest from the first page and concludes with a belt.' (Publication summary)