AustLit

'In 2022, Amy faced the most challenging decision of her life: stay in the job she knew and loved as a high school English teacher, making a difference in the lives of teens, but continue to risk her relationship with her friends, her family, her health - and her own children?

'Or leap into the unknown?

'Amy's choice resulted in these poems, as she processed her way through grief into joy on the other side.

'For everyone who knows what it takes to change the world, one baby step at a time - and a reminder to all creatives that changing the world starts first with changing you.' (Publication summary)

'A peed-on stuffed unicorn, children who refuse to go to sleep, and a husband absent for five more days: not Ashley's description of an ideal evening. 

'But maybe, with a little shift in perspective, she can still salvage the rest of her night... 

'A heart-warming slice-of-life story about treasuring the little moments of quiet in a chaotic world. ' (Publication summary)

'Due to a fortuitous combination of luck, caution and common sense, Lucy makes it to fourteen without seeing the Mist—carnivorous, ravenous, rolling in through the forest from the sea every few years.

'Then her mother sends her to the forest for potion ingredients. Determined to prove her maturity, Lucy goes eagerly.

'The Mist rolls in, and Lucy must choose: carnivorous Mist, or cursed bones?

'A rich, dark fantasy for everyone who believes in doing whatever it takes to keep your loved ones safe.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Nuns, possibly magical—Mary never could get the story from her mother straight—raised her mother. They provided her food, and care, and love—and left her with a legacy.

'Because when Mary reached maturity, it came with a surprise: plant magic.

'The city crumbles, concrete decaying, plastic corroding…

'They hunt one of the beasts causing the destruction to a petrol station, crumbling and leaking fuel throughout the parking lot.

'Parent-teacher interviews: a teacher's worse nightmare.

'Especially with a parent like Alison Young.

'Every year, the tower fills with the souls of the dead.

'Every year, the city throws someone living in to lead the dead to the afterlife.

'One single moment: everything changes.

'From solving the problem of a misfiring mechanical beast to escaping from enforced solitude, from human-fey wars for control of sentient dragon tattoos to assassins and giant, megalodon sharks, let these moments of change intrigue, delight, and entrance.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'On the moon, the sole survivors of a terrestrial plague keep each other company.

'But when you have the whole moon to fill, two is a very small number. 

'Can they persevere, for the sake of the human race, their lives—and their sanity?

'A very short story about the crushing loneliness of depression, and the need for human connection to survive.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Selkies and swan maidens… Everyone knows the European tales of these innocent changelings, captured by greedy humans. Now meet them Down Under. 
'Platypuses like Orkney: playful creatures, gentle water animals not known for their aggression. For a collector like Lia? The perfect target. 
'But once collected, platykies can’t remember their old identities. Orkney has a lingering sense of wrongness, of loss… and he can’t place it. 
'Let’s hope he can figure it out before Lia collects him for good. 
'If you believe in the power of love, don’t miss With This Ring.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'She waits on a frosty street corner in old Russia, armed with the gadgets her sponsor gave her. Ivanov draws near—to her, to his death. 

'But first, she needs to know: Vasiliy Ivanov, good man or bad? 

'Killing a good man risks her integrity—and her soul—so no matter what the bounty, she must make certain. 

'For everyone who ever wondered about doing bad things for good reasons—and anyone who ever doubted what they believe. '

Source : publisher's blurb

'Tired, war-weary and worn, he longs for peace—and home. But the smell of blood reaches him as he travels: a giant, half-dead dragon—and a gang of bandits guarding it. 

'He swore to never kill again. 

'But once again, he faces a choice. Because today, someone must die. 

'A wistful story about promises and peace, and the precarious nature of both.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Simon Baker, 86, aging rapidly in an aged care facility. Just an ordinary man, coming to the end of an ordinary life…

'Except something else tickles the edges of his mind—of his memory. If only he could remember his real identity. Before time runs out.  

'A quiet science fiction tale about the importance of memory, that resonates with anyone who’s ever watched a loved one fade away.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'In a world where only priests make art, she listens as strange noises range outside her cell. 

'She assumed the authorities wanted to question her about her little brother. 

'But the truth? Much more sinister than that. 

'The price for her transgressions? Everything she ever held dear. 

'A cautionary tale about crossing boundaries, and the power of art to affect reality.'

Source : publisher's blurb