**Discussion of some mature themes**

While Lauren K McKellar is no stranger to publishing, this year marks the release of her first foray into women's fiction with a thoroughly delightful, uplifting and thought-provoking novel entitled 'The Calendar Mums'.

Published by HQ Fiction, 'The Calendar Mums' is a novel about motherhood and the importance of female friendships. A novel that, to me, was 'The Calendar Girls' meets 'Big Little Lies'.

Trust me when I tell you this is a must-read novel for anyone woman who has struggled with post-natal identity, body-image or indeed grief.

I enjoyed a wonderful chat with Lauren for the podcast recently.

Cassie Hamer is not only an Australian bestselling author of 3 novels - 'After the Party', 'The End of Cuthbert Close' and the 'Truth About Faking It' - but a colleague, a writing buddy and most importantly, a dear friend.

This month, Cassie has a new novel out. And listener’s it’s an absolute cracker.

‘The Stranger at the Table’ published by HQ Fiction is part crime, part family drama that’s pacy and page-turning.

Filled with a cast of flawed but relatable characters and a killer plot twist at the end, 'The Stranger at the Table' heralds an exciting new direction for this bestselling author and with an endorsement from Australian literary legend Markus Zusak - you know you’re going to be in good hands with this story.

Have a listen to this brilliant chat I had with Cassie recently.

Sara Foster is a Perth-based author of six best-selling psychological suspense novels that include ‘You Don’t Know Me’ The Hidden Hours’ and ‘All that is Lost Between Us’, along with the acclaimed dystopian thriller ‘The Hush’.

Two of Sara’s novels have been optioned for TV and ‘You Don’t Know Me’ - a book I have read and absolutely loved - was adapted into a chart-topping drama podcast series by Listnr.

Sara’s newest novel ‘When She Was Gone’ was released by HarperCollins earlier this month. And listeners, what a nail-biting thriller this one is.

Taut, pacy and utterly compelling, I ripped through this page-turner at break-neck speed.

With the mystery behind the sudden disappearance of two small children and their young nanny at the heart of this novel - the story not only pulls at the heartstrings, but shines a spotlight on rich people behaving badly and the tricky interplay between politics, power and justice.

An astounding read that I cannot recommend highly enough.

I was thrilled to speak with Sara about this new book on the podcast recently.