AustLit

'Flea, the iconic bassist and co-founder, alongside Anthony Kiedis, of the immortal Red Hot Chili Peppers finally tells his fascinating origin story, complete with all the dizzying highs and the gutter lows you'd expect from an LA street rat turned world-famous rock star.

'Michael Peter Balzary was born in Melbourne, Australia, on October 16, 1962. His more famous stage name, Flea, and his wild ride as the renowned bass player for the Red Hot Chili Peppers was in a far and distant future. Little Michael from Oz moved with his very conservative, very normal family to Westchester, New York, where life as he knew it was soon turned upside down. His parents split up and he and his sister moved into the home of his mother's free-wheeling, jazz musician boyfriend - trading in rules, stability, and barbecues for bohemian values, wildness, and Sunday afternoon jazz parties where booze, weed, and music flowed in equal measure. There began Michael's life-long journey to channel all the frustration, loneliness, love, and joy he felt into incredible rhythm.

'When Michael's family moved to Los Angeles in 1972, his home situation was rockier than ever. He sought out a sense of belonging elsewhere, spending most of his days partying, playing basketball, and committing petty crimes. At Fairfax High School, he met another social outcast, Anthony Kiedis, who quickly became his soul brother, the yin to his yang, his partner in mischief. Michael joined some bands, fell in love with performing, and honed his skills. But it wasn't until the night when Anthony, excited after catching a Grandmaster Flash concert, suggested they start their own band that he is handed the magic key to the cosmic kingdom.

'Acid for the Children is as raw, entertaining and wildly unpredictable as its author. It's both a tenderly evocative coming of age story and a raucous love letter to the power of music and creativity'  (Publication summary)

'HE DISAPPEARED FOR 15 YEARS...SHE HAS 12 HOURS TO FIND OUT WHY.

'Compulsive, atmospheric and stunningly accomplished, HERMIT introduces a thrilling new voice in Australian crime fiction, perfect for fans of Jane Harper and Chris Hammer.

'After the puzzling death of a shopkeeper in rural Australia, troubled detective Dana Russo has just 12 hours to interrogate the prime suspect - a silent, inscrutable man found at the scene of the crime, who simply vanished 15 years earlier.

'Where has he been? And just how dangerous is he? Without conclusive evidence linking him to the killing, Dana must race against time to persuade him to speak. But over a series of increasingly intense interviews, Dana is forced to confront her own past if she wants him to reveal the shocking truth.' (Publication summary)

'A fast-paced, harrowing story about the fault in memories and the lies that can bind families together - or tear them apart - from the Top 10 bestselling Australian author of Before I Let You Go

'1959: Grace is a young mother with four children under four. All she ever wanted was to have a family of her own, but there are thoughts Grace cannot share with anyone about the true state of her marriage, and the terrifying numbness that engulfs her in the months after childbirth. Instead she pours her deepest fears into the pages of a notebook, hiding them where she knows husband Patrick will never look. When Grace falls pregnant again, desperate and in despair, she turns to her sister Maryanne.

'1996: When Beth's father Patrick is diagnosed with dementia, she and her siblings make the heart-wrenching decision to put him into care. As Beth is clearing the family home, she discovers a series of notes. Patrick's children grew up believing Grace Walsh died in a car accident when they were little more than toddlers, but these notes suggest something much darker may be true.

'1959: When Maryanne responds to her sister's call for help, she sets in motion a series of tragic events, ending Grace's life. With the explosive details of what happened that day buried in Grace's notes, Maryanne must find them before Patrick does... because if the truth is revealed, it will cost her everything.' (Publication summary)

'There are times in your life when something happens, after which you're never the same. It may be something direct or indirect, or something someone says to you. But whatever it is, there is no going back.

'Paris: 1989. Recently retired police inspector Auguste Jovert receives a letter from a woman who claims to be his daughter. Two days later, a stranger comes knocking on his door…

'Set in France and Japan, The Snow Kimono tells the stories of Jovert, former Professor of Law Tadashi Omura, and his one-time friend the writer Katsuo Ikeda. All three have lied to themselves, and to each other. Their lies are about to catch up with them.

'A quarter of a century after the award-winning bestseller Out of the Line of Fire, Mark Henshaw returns with an intricately plotted, beautifully written novel that is both a psychological thriller and an unforgettable meditation on love and loss, memory and its deceptions, and the ties that bind us to others.' (Publication summary)

'A true warrior fights without mercy…

'A dramatic and gripping exclusive e-short story set in Roman Britain that brings the bitter rivalry between Constans, son of Emperor Constantine III, and Lord Vortigern vividly to life. The perfect read for fans of James Wilde and Michael Arnold.

'Constans travels to Vienna to relieve his father’s troops, accompanied by the Cymru king, Vortigern, who cannot decide of the boy should live or die in order to facilitate Vortigern’s rise to prominence. An ambush attack at a dangerous river crossing forces Constans to devise a courageous plan and fate to play its hand…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'M.K. Hume’s exclusive short story The Last Dragon’s Voyage is an untold adventure from The Ice King (Twilight of the Celts Book III).

[...]

'When Arthur, the illegitimate son of King Arthur, embarks on a dangerous voyage across the uncharted, frozen seas off the coast of Norway, the hazardous ice forces him to shelter in a fjord during the winter.

'But Arthur and his crew are soon confronted with an even greater danger when an enormous blue whale enters the fjord and starts attacking the natives’ vessels. They must risk their lives in a death-defying mission to slay the whale before it destroys them all…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'M.K. Hume’s exclusive e-novella tells the dramatic story of how the Storm Lord became king of the Sae Dene.

'When the king of the Sae Dene is murdered by treacherous Geats, his young son, Valdar Bjornsen, swears an oath of vengeance. But first he must learn the skills of the sea-faring warriors to prove he is a worthy heir to the throne.

'Setting sail on his father’s ship, Loki’s Eye, Valdar embarks on a voyage of pillage and murder that earns him the name of Stormbringer. When news of his triumphant conquest reaches Hrolf Kraki, the newly crowned king of the Dene, Valdar is summoned to take on a mission that will change his destiny for ever…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Lucy is in love with Shadow, a mysterious graffiti artist. Ed thought he was in love with Lucy, until she broke his nose. Dylan loves Daisy, but throwing eggs at her probably wasn't the best way to show it. Jazz and Leo are slowly encircling each other.

'An intense and exhilarating 24 hours in the lives of four teenagers on the verge: of adulthood, of HSC, of finding out just who they are, and who they want to be.' (From the publisher's website.)

'When the world faces a deadly threat from a lost weapon, Lachlan Fox, disillusioned ex-Navy operative, is forced back into action. Lachlan Fox has made a career out of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. As a shore assault specialist in an Australian Navy Clearance Diver Team, he came up against bad guys and even worse odds. Having been discharged from the Navy, Fox tries to enjoy the quiet life, but during a visit from his best friend Alister Gammaldi, Fox's life is thrown out of balance. On a diving trip off Christmas Island the pair recover an obviously military but unidentifiable pod from the sea floor of the Indian Ocean - setting in motion a chain of events that will drag them both into the corrupt world of international politics and arms races. From East Timor and Christmas Island to Grozny, Washington to New York, Venice to Iran, Lachlan Fox is forced back into action to save the world from a deadly threat.' (Publisher's blurb)