AustLit

'Meet Glow!

'Glow is a squid,

'he is bioluminescent,

'and he knows how to TWIRL!

'And the faster he twirls,

'the brighter he GLOWS!

'Glow is a bioluminescent squid who loves to dance and twirl. He loves to show off his skills...and becomes quite a show-off with a bad attitude. He doesn't like sharing the spotlight. And when he ditches his friends in search of fans, he loses his glow! Can Glow find his way home-and if he does, will his friends take him back?

'Readers will follow Glow's journey and learn all about bioluminescence along the way.' (Publication summary) 

'A debauched duke and a lady with a secret band together in this fresh and sexy Regency romance series from award-winning author Amy Rose Bennett

'This bluestocking would do almost anything to save her reputation and her grandfather's legacy...even marry a scandalous duke.

'No-nonsense Jane Delaney divides her time between her grandfather's beloved bookstore and writing newspaper columns, determined to overcome a past that's left her with scars on her face and in her heart. But when the store ends up in unexpected financial jeopardy and Jane's secrets are threatened by a mysterious blackmailer, she finds herself in desperate need of money. All seems lost until a temptation like no other presents itself...

'Christopher Marsden is the new rakish Duke of Roxby...and someone wants him dead. The problem is, he has no idea who or why. Following a vicious attack, he's acquired a rare affliction where he can no longer recognize faces. But when he catches Miss Delaney attempting to steal a priceless book from his library, Christopher can tell her apart from the rest. Her scarred beauty stands out like a beacon, and he doesn't want to let her go. So he offers her an outrageous proposal- the money she needs in exchange for a marriage of convenience and her help in catching his would-be killer.

'As passion flares between the two unlikely newlyweds, dangerous truths are exposed and hidden enemies poise to strike. Can these two damaged souls survive long enough to find love?' (Publication summary)

'Are the disappearances the work of a human killer...or something far darker?

'From USA Today bestselling horror/thriller author Darcy Coates comes the chilling legend of a monster no one can escape.

'DON'T WALK ALONE, OR THE STITCHER WILL FIND YOU.

'Abby Ward lives in a town haunted by disappearances. People vanish, and when they're found, their bodies have been dismembered and sewn back together in unnatural ways. But is it the work of a human killer...or something far darker?

'DON'T STAY OUT LATE, OR THE STITCHER WILL TAKE YOU.

'She and her younger sister live by a strict set of rules designed to keep them safe-which is why it's such a shock when Hope is taken. Desperate to get her back, Abby tells the police everything she knows, but they claim their hands are tied.

'DON'T CLOSE YOUR EYES, OR THE STITCHER WILL REMAKE YOU.

'With every hour precious, Abby and her friends are caught in a desperate game of cat and mouse. They have to get Hope back. Quickly. Before too much of her is cut away. And before everything they care about is swallowed up by the darkness waiting in the tunnels beneath the home they thought they knew.' (Publication summary)

'USA Today bestseller and rising queen of atmospheric horror Darcy Coates returns with a ghost story that will haunt you long after the final page.

'Keira is ready for a normal life. Hunted and haunted, all she wants is to put her mysterious past behind her and move forward with her new friends as Blighty Graveyard's groundskeeper. But then she receives an invitation to dinner at the local recluse's crumbling ancestral estate. The mansion is steeped in history that is equal parts complicated and bloody--and at its center is the man who once tried to kill her, now begging for her help.

'Dane Crispin believes his home is haunted--and that the unquiet dead clawing through the ancient house are after him. Unnerved but intrigued, Keira opens her second sight and discovers he's right: resentful specters cling to Dane...and if she can't find a way to stop them, threaten to consume everything in their path.

'There's something dark happening in the world beyond most peoples' vision, and if Keira isn't able to sever the ties between the living and the dead, the chained spirits may not be the only things twisted beyond saving.' (Publication summary)

Collection of new and previously published short stories.

'The Hull family has owned the Gallows Hill Winery for generations. Their wine wins awards. Their business prospers. Their family thrives. People whisper that the curse has awakened once more.

'The sprawling old house has long been perched on top of a hill overlooking the nearby town, jealously guarding the estate's secrets.

'It's been more than a decade since Margot Hull last saw her childhood home. She was young enough when she was sent away that she barely remembers its dark passageways and secret corners. But now she's returned to bury her parents and reconnect with the winery that is her family's legacy--and the bloody truth of exactly what lies buried beneath the crumbling estate. Alone in the sprawling, dilapidated building, Margot is forced to come face to face with the horrors of the past--and realize that she may be the next victim of a house that never rests...

'Darcy Coates brings you a brand-new horror novel that'll take your breath away... Gallows Hill is perfect for fans of Jennifer McMahon, Simone St. James, lovers of ghost stories and anyone mesmerized by the twisted secrets of the past.'  (Publication summary)

'Keira, hired as Blighty Graveyard's new groundskeeper, lives surrounded by the dead. They watch her through the fog. They wordlessly cry out. They've been desperately waiting for help moving on—and only Keira can hear them. But not every restless spirit wants to be saved.

'Sometimes the dead hate the living too much to find peace.

'As Keira struggles to uncover the tangled histories of some of the graveyard's oldest denizens, danger seeps from the darkest edges of the forest. A vicious serial killer was interred among the trees decades before, his spirit twisted by his violent nature. He's furious. Ravenous. And when Keira unwittingly answers his call, she may just seal her fate as his final intended victim.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'"I can think of the perfect way to keep you occupied and your mind diverted," she murmured. "Come to my room. If you're not too tired..."

'Lust flashed in his gaze, and then, he caught her face between his hands and kissed her. "For you, my beautiful Artemis, I'd stay up all night."

'Artemis Jones―"respectable" finishing-school teacher by day and Gothic romance writer by night―has never lost sight of her real dream: to open her own academic ladies' college. When Artemis is unexpectedly called upon by a dear friend, a fellow Byronic Book Club member, to navigate her first London Season, she comes at once. Who knows, perhaps she can court the interest of a wealthy patron for her school. As long as she can avoid her high-handed aunt's schemes to marry her off.

'Dominic Winters, the widowed Duke of Dartmoor, needs a wife―someone who will provide him with an heir and help him to manage his spitfire adolescent daughter. The problem is, Society has dubbed him "The Dastardly Duke." Rumors are rife that he murdered his mad wife, so his choices for a suitable bride are limited. But then, he meets the ravishing and passionate Artemis Jones, who might just be everything he needs.' (Publication summary)

'The famous storybook character has magically come to life and leapt from the pages during story time! 

'Follow along as the Gingerbread Man runs loose in a bookstore with the help of Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes, Peter Rabbit, nursery rhyme characters, and more! If you set the right traps, you might...just might be able to catch this wily cookie and finish the fairy tale.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Homeless, hunted, and desperate to escape a bitter storm, Keira takes refuge in an abandoned groundskeeper's cottage. Her new home is tucked away at the edge of a cemetery, surrounded on all sides by gravestones: some recent, some hundreds of years old, all suffering from neglect.

'And in the darkness, she can hear the unquiet dead whispering.

'The cemetery is alive with faint, spectral shapes, led by a woman who died before her time...and Keira, the only person who can see her, has become her new target. Determined to help put the ghost to rest, Keira digs into the spirit's past life with the help of unlikely new friends, and discovers a history of deception, ill-fated love, and murder.

'But the past is not as simple as it seems, and Keira's time is running out. Tangled in a dangerous web, she has to find a way to free the spirit...even if it means offering her own life in return.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Every year on St. Walpurga's Eve, Caldella’s Witch Queen lures a boy back to her palace. An innocent life to be sacrificed on the full moon to keep the island city from sinking.

'Convinced her handsome brother is going to be taken this year, Lina Kirk enlists the help of the mysterious Thomas Lin, her secret crush, and the only boy to ever escape from the palace after winning the love of a queen. Working together they protect her brother but draw the queen's attention.

'Queen Eva cast away her heart when her sister died to save the boy she loved. Now as queen, she won't make the same mistake. With the tide rising higher than ever before and the islanders whispering that Eva's magic is failing, she's willing to sacrifice anyone if it means saving herself and her city.

'When Thomas is chosen as sacrifice, Lina takes his place and the two girls are forced to spend time together as they wait for the full moon. But Lina is not at all what Eva expected, and the queen is nothing like Lina envisioned. Against their will, the two girls find themselves falling for each other. As water floods Caldella’s streets and the dark tide demands its sacrifice, they must choose who to save: themselves, each other, or the island city relying on them both.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The Girl on the Train meets Before I Go to Sleep with a dash of Bridget Jones in this chilling tale of love gone horribly wrong …

'Some love affairs change you forever. Someone comes into your orbit and swivels you on your axis, like the wind working on a rooftop weather vane. And when they leave, as the wind always does, you are different; you have a new direction. And it’s not always north.'

'Any woman who’s ever been involved with a bad, bad man and been dumped will understand what it feels like to be broken, broken-hearted and bent on revenge...' (Publication summary)

'Our heroes' entry for the snowman contest has magically come to life--and ran away! Can YOU help catch it? Get ready for snow much fun as you travel through a winter wonderland with running, skating, and bouncing through trap after trap to catch the snowman and claim the winning prize. Will the snowman teach our heroes a lesson they'll never forget? Who snows!

'I don't thumpity-thump or give warm hugs--
that's for my snowman friends to do.
Clever kids will try to trap me, 
but who will catch me...YOU?'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

'From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling team comes an new epic winter adventure in the How to Catch series

'When our brilliant Catch Club Kids hear about the legendary Yeti, they head to the mountains to catch a glimpse and prove it really exists Full of hilarious high jinks and clever traps, How to Catch a Yeti is a fun-filled ride you won't want to miss Will our Catch Club Kids catch the Yeti and prove he exists? Or will the Yeti remain a mystery to the world? Find out in How to Catch a Yeti

'Legend has it there lives a beast
we really want to meet.
He's extra huge with snow-white fur
and giant, fuzzy feet

'I know the Yeti does exist,
and I can prove it too
And with my friends, we'll find him fast
before the day is through' (Publication summary)

'Domestic abuse is a national emergency: one in four Australian women has experienced violence from a man she was intimate with. But too often we ask the wrong question: why didn’t she leave? We should be asking: why did he do it?

'Investigative journalist Jess Hill puts perpetrators – and the systems that enable them – in the spotlight. See What You Made Me Do is a deep dive into the abuse so many women and children experience – abuse that is often reinforced by the justice system they trust to protect them. Critically, it shows that we can drastically reduce domestic violence – not in generations to come, but today.

'Combining forensic research with riveting storytelling, See What You Made Me Do radically rethinks how to confront the national crisis of fear and abuse in our homes.' (Publication summary)

'Our STEM kids are at it again! This time, they’re trying to catch a dragon through the Chinese New Year celebrations!

'Set in China during the Spring Festival, the wily dragon will have to avoid trap after trap as the kids run through paper lanterns, fireworks, the Nian lion puppet, and more!'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Can you catch the unicorn?

You’ll have to use your brain,

So set your traps and prep your team

To pet that rainbow mane!'

Source: Publisher's blurb.