AustLit

'Twenty women share their incredible stories of surviving and thriving in the remote Australian 'Gulf Country', near the Gulf of Carpentaria.

'Gulf women are self-sufficient, generous, and can cope with almost anything that life and the environment throws at them: floods, drought, sickness, emergencies. Whether they are graziers, fisherwomen, ringers, women in tourism, aviation and education, Indigenous women or descendants from early women settlers, this powerful book gives these women a voice to tell their own stories.

'There are stories of new mothers on properties isolated and inaccessible for months in the wet season; women giving birth at home with only neighbours to assist; reminiscences from last century and World War II, and accounts of fishing in the Gulf in sometimes unimaginable conditions.

'From the kids wanting a baby croc for a pet to the terror of a snake bite with a flooded airstrip and impassable roads, these women treat the extraordinary events in their lives as just part of their remote way of life.

'Set in a world of vast landscapes, distance and merciless climate, Beyond the Outback contains riveting tales of the lives of the women who live, work and raise families in one of Australia's most isolated regions. It will be loved by readers of Sara Henderson, Toni Tapp Coutts and Terry Underwood.'  (Publication summary)

''Out of the Blue' is an adventure novel for 12 to 15 year-olds.
It is the third book in the Australian, Gippsland Trilogy about the Lawson and Martin families, cattle farmers in the Baw Baw Mountains of Victoria. 
'It follows 'Find me a River' and 'Rock Dancer', [both Children’s Book Council of Australia Notable Books].
'It is a year since bushfire and drought devastated their Baw Baw Mountains cattle property and the farm is in danger of foreclosure. 
The story begins with the six teenagers in the cave system of their property, which they discovered the previous year following the fires. 
'Kes Martin, passionate about birds, has been observing nesting peregrine falcons, but the nest is disturbed by intruders and the fledglings left to starve... a discovery which shortly will have unexpected repercussions.
'Kes, Finn Lawson and Brian Conroy, [a close friend who has returned to live with the Lawsons] find an unexplored series of passages and caves, but only have time to explore part of the new section before going to the coast to assist Finn’s aunt at a youth camp. 
'While there, Kes saves an injured falcon and takes it to a raptor rescue center owned by the very wealthy Henshaw family. This apparently everyday visit to the veterinary clinic turns into a horrific episode for Kes when she is suspected of a serious crime of which she is totally innocent.
'Through a chance meeting between Kes and an intellectually disabled young man, the crisis which she faces now become deeper and even more twisted.
'Shortly after Kes, Finn and Brian return home from camp, Kes’s nightmarish time becomes even worse when her irrepressible twin brothers Jon and Jack find a way into the locked cave system and become lost kilometers underground. Each of the cousin’s resilience and resourcefulness is called upon to deal with this terrible potential tragedy.
'Sarah’s brilliant skills are again needed, but not even she, or any of the others, can foresee the amazing end.'  (Publication summary)

'A log rolled on the fire and the whole clearing lit up. Lying in the bracken was something that looked very much like a body! They'd only gone out sailing, but when the wind died and they had to drag the dingy home along the lake edge, they ended up with more than just a dead wind. Joshua has never met his American cousin, Zoe, before these holidays and he doesn't like her much. But at least she's a good sailor. When the two of them discover a body on the lake shore, Zoe proves that she can handle more than rough weather... Especially when neither their parents nor the police believe the 'tall story'... And even more so when they find a very dangerous character talking to Joshua's little brother. But they know what they've seen and go looking for some answers... or is it just looking for trouble?' (Publication summary)

'The Gippsland Trilogy. Book 2 Rock Dancer is an Australian Children’s Book Council, Notable Book. Leah is fourteen and one of the top gymnasts in the country. At least she was. Until she failed to catch her best friend, Morgan, on the uneven bars and her life changed forever. Now Morgan’s back is broken and Leah’s climbing rock faces with Sarah and Angie, far from the world of competitive gymnastics. But Leah’s past comes looking for her. Bronwyn Blake lives close to Bass Strait, Wilsons Prom National Park, and within a few hours of the Gippsland Lakes and the High Country... the ‘home country’ for the Gippsland Trilogy: ‘Find me a River’, ‘Rock Dancer’ and ‘Out of the Blue’.'  (Publication summary)

(Publication summary)