#australian fiction

[canberramaidan]

10+ books from Canberra authors

[uranusguided]

Hey my publisher finally got my book series, The Silent Trilogy, up on Apple Books! Check it out!!!

My publisher calls Silent Trilogy 'X-Men meets Good Omens'. That's not wrong but it is a series about abuse, colonialism and the importance of love in ways those aren't.

In more detail: the Silent Trilogy is an urban fantasy series set primarily in Hobart, Australia. It tells the story of the dainisa, a not-so-hidden magical community, focused primarily on their non-binary Princess, Torao Yamaguchi.

Desperate for her child to have a better life than she did, the leader of dainisa Amaya Yamaguchi sparks a revolution to claim Australia as a magical continent where dainisa can live in accordance with their own laws, not those of humans. However fighting power is a complex thing in a world built to function on injustice, and a pretty siren desperate for revenge could ruin it all…

Narrated through the eyes of a human who doesn’t quite get it, the Silent Trilogy is about the narratives we build of history. It's an exploration of trauma, the ways people learn to live with it, and how bigotry works. Also there's angels and demons messing things up. More info on the website!

I finished this series a long time ago but I'm still very proud of it!! It's a niche story I had a lot of fun with. I wrote this NB protag before I even came out myself so that's always cool. And every time I have to reread a part of the series I have a really hard time stopping cos I enjoy my own work so much lmao. So hopefully you'll enjoy it too!!

(it's also on Amazon if you prefer kindle, and if you don't wanna support either, well, chuck me a couple dollars on Patreon)

[sonyaheaneyauthor]

Despite their growing attraction, both Peter and Elizabeth have secrets that will come between them.

New South Wales, 1887

Peter Rowe's life is in the city, but his soul is in Australia's southern tablelands - a place he's never seen. Taking the new land manager's position on the thriving estate of Endmoor is the chance he needs to discover what happened to the family he has never met. What he doesn't expect to find in the bush is his employer's talented, beautiful sister.

Elizabeth Farrer's world is changing rapidly. An artist whose work has begun to gain acclaim, her brother's marriage has made her redundant in her own home and she intends to leave the country and make a life of her own. Her plans would take her far from her beloved New South Wales, but with the arrival of Endmoor's newest employee - a man unlike any other she has met - she discovers there might just be a reason to stay right where she is.

Just as they conquer their most difficult obstacles, old prejudices rise up and threaten to keep them apart ...

(via The Artist's Secret (Brindabella Secrets, #2))

[thirtyknives]

The Scenic

“Yeah, yeah, I know, big brother, no needles, no pills - “

“ - and no fucking speed of any type.”

“Dude, I had to explain to you what ice was, hey.”

He flaps a hand dismissively at me. “It’s all the same. Might have had a different name in my day, but it fucks you up, no different at all.”

“Gangly motherfucker like you would know.”

“Kid, I could tell you stories.”

“Frequently and against my will. But!” I say, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel. “We go, we look, we bail. No knocking on doors, no questioning the neighbours. I just have a wee feel, and then we’re off. If I pull her up later, I’ll do it somewhere safe and with your full knowledge.”

He sighs. “Okay. Quick and clean. No fucking around.”

“That was my thinking, yes. Learned from the best, right?”

He sinks back into the passenger seat, smouldering away. He’s lost the last of his colour and is all shadow and nicotine stain. But he sighs, rubs his hands over his face, and says, “Right. What’s the approach?”

Amber and Dio tackle both of their problems, dealing with a client before taking the scenic route through the city. Plans are made and promptly ignored, with no repercussions at all, whatsoever, in any way.

Content Advisory: Lots of drug references, suggestions of violence, the usual quantity of swearing and smoking, pushy old ladies, and acres and acres of heritage listed rose garden.

[scuffedgrannysblog]

Casey's Island by Patrick Ford

The story of Eamon Casey is a well-told tale of bravery, redemption, revenge and love.

There is something very solid about Patrick Ford’s storytelling. It has pace; it is plotted so you are led, as a reader, convincingly and adeptly from scene to scene through crucial events, action and character encounters, all conveyed with no stutters or comprehension issues with which you, the reader, must contend; the dialogue reads truly; the purpose is direct and unwavering. And sometimes…

[jpdoingwords]

Original Fiction Masterlist

I am now publishing all my original fiction for free on Wattpad. Most of it will also be published/is already published via Amazon and/or ebook publishers under the name Jenn Phizacklea.

The Day Fortuna Sends The year is 6 CE. The family Plautii have reached the pinnacle of the Roman social hierarchy and politics, led by the charismatic Aulus Plautius and his cousin Silvanus; but on a rainy day in late January, they gather together to relax and celebrate a wedding, bringing with it the expected new beginnings, and unavoidable old tensions. This is the first installment of a trilogy, the Plautii. This is intended as an introductory novella.

Bessie: A Short Story Bessie is a young woman struggling to find a path for herself in a town which straddles a wide cultural divide. A short story set in early twentieth century of Western Australia.

Becoming Something Else This collection of contemporary short stories dig into how women are shaped by the events of their lives, and how they might shape themselves despite that. They are all set in Australia, and reflect the culture of that country. They engage with questions around gender expectations - the pressures from within and without, and how that plays out when falling in love or experiencing hardships. Some of the stories address extreme situations around addiction and domestic violence, but always from the perspective of how someone might process those kinds of events - or refuse to. Most of all, they suggest that there's always hope, and the evergreen possibility of becoming something else.

[toofarforward]

Louder

The woman rushes in just as your friend gets up to take a piss and check out the bar options. Her face is smug and you’d think she were pretty if not for the mullish looking toddler straddling her hip. The kid looks to be in need of a nap and on the brink of tears and you know, you just know, that this is going to ruin your night. She takes her seat on your left and bounces the sullen toddler on…

[adreamthatsworthkeeping]

I thought the book 'Everybody in my Family has Killed Someone' was a memoir. Apparently it's fiction and this whole time I thought it was this guy's story about his family and their criminal inclinations.

[bluevelvetcat]

The Dry by Jane Harper - Book Review

I haven’t read Australian fiction in a while, and I quite enjoyed this solid, well-written crime novel set in regional Victoria during an unrelenting drought. Continue reading The Dry by Jane Harper – Book Review

[fox-the-rainbow]

Quartz spacecraft, and a few rain drops

Black night thrown against the sky, a sky that put this dress on, a last minute thoughts. A similar rocket would not do for it, slanted against myself by the right side of my leather jacket. Sipping a long gone glass of coffee, dregs and all downed in hours past while contemplating if it was worth all of this. A quartz spacecraft, a few raindrops, a coffee in my hands as I watch it launch. Is…

[elysh-k-letters]

Seeking beta readers/critique partners

I finally finished the third draft of my first novel !! (only took me months longer than I originally planned).

Now looking for anyone to read and provide feedback to move to the manuscript phase. If you want to give it a read or would like to exchange critiques of works please let me know!

Synopsis:

November 1979, Kathrine Walker hasn’t spoken to her best friend Joan Martin in nearly two months. A brief moment of bravery followed by an apparent ultimatum is jarred by Joan’s sudden disappearance. Spanning over two weeks in the emergence of an unforgiving Australian summer, Kath struggles to mine through her memories and the glimpses left behind to understand why Joan left her behind before they had planned to escape.

Themes: queer identity, coming of age, fallibility of memory, character focused.

If you have any interest please contact me for more information!

[canberramaidan]

10+ books from Canberra authors to read this summer

[loonarmuunar]

Humans being the first. Not the strongest or the smartest or the weirdest or the most violent. Just the first.

We called out into the dark over and over. We sent out messages in hopes. We searched every planet we could reach, in hopes of any sign of life. Any at all.

We thought, hoped we were the last, because we couldn’t bear the idea of being the one ones this awake and alive in a world as vast as this.

And we died alone.

When the others are born, many many years later, they find us, everything we left for them.

They recover The Golden Record and look at it a million times over, they dig up our fossils and put us in museums, they study us for years and years, loving us as we love our ancestors’ painted hands on cave walls.

In a lot of their languages, the word they use for us has the same root for “mother”.

[sonyaheaneyauthor]

READ THE FIRST CHAPTER

New South Wales, 1885

When Alice Ryan wakes to find thugs surrounding her cottage, on the hunt for her no-good brother, she escapes into the surrounding bush.

It is wealthy landowner Robert Farrer who finds her the next morning, dishevelled, injured, and utterly unwilling to share what she knows. With criminals on the loose and rumours that reckless bushrangers have returned to the area, Robert is determined to keep Alice out of danger, and insists on taking her into his home-despite the scandal it may cause. Convincing her to stay on with him for her own safety, however, is going to take some work.

What Robert doesn't expect is his growing attraction to the forthright, unruly woman staying in his home. Before either of them can settle into their odd new situation, their home and wellbeing come under threat and they will need to trust each other to survive. But they are both keeping secrets, secrets that have the potential to ruin their burgeoning love, their livelihood ... and their lives.

(via The Landowner's Secret (Brindabella Secrets, #1))

[thirtyknives]

Who likes free reads? Everyone, that's who! This piece initially went out in Netherworld Arcade's in house lit mag, Denizen's Digest. Happily I have rights to publish it myself now, so I've put it out for free on my Patreon. You can get your copy here. Small compensation for folks who can't get themselves out to Brisbane's premier gaming bar. Content Warning: Descriptions of death, lots of swears, irresponsible use of a kebab.

[tamsin-lillywhite]

On Earth, Where There Are No Angels by Tamsin Lillywhite

(Part 1 of a Duology)

Mini blurb

Nobody tells you how to recover from losing a friend, who you've lost from growing up and growing apart. And nobody tells you how you're meant to reconnect when they come back to you, or if you should. Can you get back to what you once had? A close friendship so nourishing, so close, like pure love.

Or did you grow apart for a reason.

On Earth, Where There Are No Angels is one part of a place-based magic realism duology that follows a somewhat non-chronological format. It centres on the dramatic and romantic tensions between old and new friends, with a backdrop of angelic intrigue via three main protagonists; Briellen, an archangel, Hazel, an ex-angel hunter, and Zeke, an angel hater.

Where to buy

$11.99 Kindle Edition or $32.99 Paperback on Amazon (AU)

£6.28 Kindle Edition or £15.61 Paperback on Amazon (UK)

€23.50 Paperback on KulturKaufhas (EU/Germany)

£16.99 Paperback at Waterstones (UK)

$21.42 Paperback at Barnes & Noble