eBook Listing

Child of the Cloud is the fifth book in the Pie Rats adventure series.

 

Deep in the heart of Aladrya stands a mighty mountain. Rising high above the clouds, its rocky crags and windswept cliffs are home to four species of birds. With only three days left until the full moon feast, Whisker's mission to save his sister hangs in the balance. Even if he can reach the mountain alive, he still has to outwit and out-fly the dreaded birds of prey.

This exceptionally well-researched book's intention is to reveal what is really happening in our society and to spur people into action to turn this shameful and complex problem around so that abuse stops and healing can begin. It should be a compulsory handbook for all whose work involves children, especially in the legal system, all human services, schools, pre-schools and foster care. It covers all aspects of child abuse and neglect and presents recent case studies of acts of abuse and the ways they have been dealt with in recent times. It is books such as this that 'get the message out there' so that something is done in this supposedly enlightened age.

'For a long time I have been intending to write down earliest memories to discover how many I retain clear-cut before my memory is too moth-eaten. I meant to do this as a diary for myself alone, as sailors in the doldrums erect full-rigged ships in bottles just because the mind is an instrument that sanity cannot leave idle. I must find some kind of exercise for a mind unused except on chores or with the triffle-traffle of housewives.'

Miles Franklin wrote this delightful autobiography in 1952-1953. She was unable to arrange for publication before her death in 1954 and the MS. came to Angus and Robertson Ltd from her executors, the Permanent Trustee Co. Ltd of New South Wales. It was first published in 1963.

When Dan Travers is faced with the prospect of losing his job in humiliating circumstances, and possibly going to jail, he makes a desperate choice. A choice that will affect not only his future but will have dire repercussions for all those around him.

How did this dedicated surfer and family man find himself in such a dilemma? Why would he contemplate such a wild scheme?

Bombings and murders in Bali combine with drug wars on the streets of Sydney to draw Dan ever deeper into the hell he created with a few simple words.

Once the choice has been made how can Dan return to a normal life, and who will be made to pay the price for his foolishness?

It's grosser, weirder, funnier and even smellier than before!

 

Take another brilliantly twisted adventure with Sam, Jared and little Miss 'dung daks' smelly Melly poop pants as they head off on holidays ... to the most dangerous place on the planet.

 

But is it really a holiday ... or a final resting place to get rid of annoying kids?

 

With the poisonous puke plants, ferocious farting animals, tree swinging hippies and Smelly Melly's deadliest fungus growing, chunky chuck-up nappies yet!

 

This time, adventure is snapping at their heels ... and they just might not be able to keep their stomach contents down.

Ever wondered if you're who you're really supposed to be? In these three tales of queer romance and adventure, you'll find people becoming their truest selves.

Eighteen-year-old Tuli is a student desperate for independence. Protected by her mother, then helped by her exciting new friend Rishona, Tuli learns she can shape-shift into a flying, fire-breathing dragon.

Alex is a skeptical paranormal researcher who debunks hauntings - until he discovers a chilling secret about the local manor, encounters an impossibly real ghost named Griffin, then fights an old, old evil to save the handsome specter's soul.

Robbie has aspirations of adventure far above his station, especially for someone people see as a scullery maid. He meets Selene, a young noblewoman, doing all she can to delay a wedding she doesn't want.

With the help of friends and even a few enemies, Robbie, Alex and Tuli will find love, overcome expectations, and at last become who they were always meant to be.

Plenty of retirees take a holiday. When Brian Rix retired after 36 years as a policeman in Victoria rather than hitching up the caravan, he put his wife, journalist Shirley Hardy-Rix, on the back of his motorcycle and headed off for a ride.

For the next 16 months Brian and Shirley rode more than 83,000 kilometres through 32 countries on five continents with side trips to Antarctica and Galapagos Islands.

They rode from the bottom of South America to the very top of North America. They rode over the Andes, sometimes more than 5,000 metres high. They rode through deserts, the tropics and up to Alaska. They had a catastrophic breakdown in the heart of bear country and suffered altitude sickness.

The motorcycle didn't make it to Antarctica but they did - taking them from Antarctica Circle to the Arctic Circle... and then a bit more.

Beautifully illustrated in full colour throughout, Circle to Circle is an engaging account of the travels of an adventurous couple. It will entertain you in your armchair, or it may even inspire you to get up and go!

 

Makes you want to get up and go. – Australian Women's Weekly

Few books are as inspirational as that just written by Melbourne journalist Shirley Hardy-Rix and her policeman husband Brian Rix. – Herald Sun

For bikers and those with itchy feet. – Sunday Age

The inspiring story of two middle-aged adventurers. – Manly Daily

A great read for anyone with a yearning for the open road and exotic climes. – West Australian

A must-read for adventurous hearts. – Canberra Times

For anyone who's ever dreamed of escaping and experiencing the romance of the open road. –Inverell Times

This book might tip undecided travellers over the edge - no bad thing. – Two Wheels

All the corvids - rooks and ravens, jays and jackdaws, crows and magpies - have the best collective nouns: from tidings and titterings, bands and trains, to a parliament, a party, and an  unkindness.

Clamour and Mischief is a veritable storytelling of adventures featuring corvidae, the bird family known for its intelligence, cunning and connection with folklore and urban legends.

Our storytellers come from around the world and include award-winning and shortlisted writers, as well as fledgling authors in their professional debut.

Herein are 16 striking stories imbued with the humour, darkness, wisdom and magic of the birds which inspired them. Take them as a jest, a guide, or a warning - but don't, whatever you do, ignore them!

Clamour and Mischief is enacted by:
Raymond Gates, GV Pearce, Eugen Bacon, Geneve Flynn, Alex Marchant, Jack Fennell, Lee Murray, RJK Lee, Dannye Chase, Narrelle M. Harris, R.D. White, Katya de Becerra, Jason Franks, George Ivanoff, Tamara M Bailey, Gabiann Marin.

Discover how master franchising together with commercial cleaning can create the ultimate residual income business.
International author, entrepreneur and leading franchise expert, Damien Boehm, shares his breakthrough franchise secrets that allowed him to build a network of over 100 franchises in just 6 years. In this book, he reveals how he turned a simple cleaning business into an international franchise powerhouse. Damien takes you by the hand and shows you how the secrets of a closely guarded, little known entrepreneurs' business model can create long term residual income with high profits and low overheads.
You'll learn:
- the secret to running a multimillion dollar business without a single employee
- how to operate a highly profitable business with next to no overheads
- how to generate recurring revenue that doesn't rely on you cleaning or managing cleaning teams
- the 6 things you must have in your business to attract the most profitable commercial cleaning accounts
- the 3 step process used to win twenty new accounts in 30 days
- how to franchise a cleaning business to accelerate growth and profit
- how to create an irresistible franchise offer
This book is your blueprint to building residual income

Shortly before his death in 2014, an elderly man brought his publisher friend a crumpled purple folder filled with type-written pages. Cleaning the Stables he called it: a selection of stories, poems and a recipe that he didn't want left behind.

In this posthumous collection we are given a feast of mostly unpublished treasures from the great literary life of Morris Lurie. Written in the wry and ironic style he was celebrated for, these pieces are sometimes odd, always clever, and at times profoundly moving as they give us insight into a man who had a truly unique way of interpreting and writing about the world around him.

'One of the most significant Australian writers of his generation.' - Peter Pierce, editor of the Cambridge History of Australian Literature

'A sharp, rare writer with an acerbic wit.' - Kevin Childs, The Guardian

The brutal bashings of a five-year-old Cody Hutchings by his step-father promoted a major change in state legislation in Australia.

After Stuart John McMaster was found guilty manslaughter, the Victorian State Government introduced the new offence of child homicide.

Welcome to Crime Shots - short, sharp, true crime stories from Australia's past and present.

Strap yourself in as three tales from award winning speculative fiction author David McDonald take you on a tour of time and space. Visit a frozen post apocalyptic Earth, a galactic delivery service, and very Australian dystopia to discover what happens to ordinary people faced with extraordinary choices or challenges.

Cold Comfort

Ice spiders, snow bears and deadly cold are only most obvious of the dangers a young trader faces as she searches for the secrets of the Elders on a post-apocalyptic Earth.

Deck the Halls

A rebellious pilot races against time to make a vital delivery to a planet in need. But in the face of the worst solar storm in years, his only ally is a sentient spaceship who is an outcast even to its own kind.

Our Land Abounds

In a world divided by war and wracked by food shortages, the Republic of Australasia is an oasis protected by its isolation and the Border Patrol. But, a chance encounter leaves a weary veteran asking whether the price of plenty is too high.

Praise for Cold Comfort

"What a great story. A believable world of snow and ice, and a tough, engaging protagonist. Vanja is a trader moving between isolated settlements, navigating the hazards of a harsh environment and sometimes prejudiced attitudes towards women as she searches for relics relating to the mysterious 'Builders'. This story has it all: ice spiders, snow bears, and terrific action sequences - immersive and beautifully paced. More! More! More!" - Ambelin Kwaymullina, author: The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf

Timoshenko Aslanides' first book of poems, The Greek Connection, won him the British Commonwealth Poetry Prize for 1978 for the best first book of poems in English, published the previous year in the British Commonwealth excluding England. He was the first Australian to win this prize.

 

In his numerous subsequent books of poetry, he has sought to describe and affirm what it is to be an Australian and to celebrate the natural and built environment of the country, and the history and imaginative genius of the people, all within the context of a lyric poetry inspired by love. Collected Poems assembles the best of his entire work as a poet, including some previously unpublished poems.

 

A proudly Australian-born and Australia-focused full-time professional poet, Timoshenko Aslanides has noted that this is probably his last book of poetry. He often needs to deal with the common misconception that, because he has a Greek surname, he must be an 'ethnic' poet who writes 'multicultural' poetry. He is not.

 

Aslanides is first and foremost someone in love with language, fascinated by form, committed to a sense of the Australian nation, and engaged with human experience at its many versatile levels.

 

He would like to see his poetry taught in Australian schools and universities so that, supplemented by the teaching of other Australian literatures, Australian children and young adults can obtain an appreciation of how they relate to each other and where they live, and what the possibilities are for them to make both a living for themselves in that environment and a positive difference for the nation.

 

Aslanides was named Artist of the Year for 2002 by The Canberra Times. His proposed preamble to the Australian Constitution was published in the April 2015 edition of Quadrant.

"Colour Blind tells the story of two wars affecting Australia a hundred years ago: World War I that everyone knows about, and the lesser known one, the battles that past generations of Aboriginal Australians faced. Not the British Invasion, but the struggle more than a century later when Aboriginal men who were willing to serve alongside non-Aboriginal Australians, their mates, were not seen as worthy of doing so. And the battle for ordinary citizen rights - such as joining the local RSL, of all things - went on long after the war ended. Discrimination such as this, on top of the horrors of war, could easily make this book a depressing read. But what eclipses the negativity and meanness of the way our First Australians were treated is their loyalty, their mateship and their guts, making this book a most enjoyable read from cover to cover. This book reminds us all of their marvelous contributions to Australia - lest we forget. As an Aussie who is equally grateful for my non-Aboriginal and my Aboriginal ancestry, reading of the lows as well as the highs of this nation's history gives me a better appreciation of what my Aboriginal forebears endured - and, more essentially, how they triumphed. Mr Willmott, I now eagerly await for the next book in this series." - Dr. Anthony Dillon, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, MTrainDev, Mpsych (Clin), BSc(Hons), PhD

 

"Australian Aboriginals fighting a war for a country that didn't recognise them. Educating and entertaining are the two words I would use to describe the latesd book Colour Blind by GS Willmott. Mr Willmott has the knack to deliver interesting information about the battles of World War I as well as getting you involved in the human side of it. I enjoyed travelling on the journeys of our diggers and learning just how difficult it was for the indigenous people of Australia to not just fight but to enlist to fight for our country and get the recognition for their efforts that they so rightly deserved." - Kim Krarup, preview reader

 

"Thank you for sending Colour Blind to me. Michael Bell our Indigenous Liaison Officer from our Military History Section read the book for me and did indicate that he is supportive of the story of Colour Blind." - Dr Brendon Nelson, Director Australian War Memorial

 

"If you like your novels laced with a good dose of historical information and peopled with engaging characters who sound and behave like people of their time, you'll enjoy Colour Blind by Garry Willmott. Colour Blind follows several young men on their momentous journey through the Great War. There are horrors and discomforts galore, but the khaki-clad boys get by with courage, quips and a solid culture of mateship. We follow them every step of the way through the gruelling war years, and through the immediate aftermath. What makes Colour Blind unique in my reading is the inclusion of some indigenous boys who just want to do their bit like their mates. The difficulties they face are all down to red tape and the peculiar laws that deny them equal rights. Once they join up, they more than prove their mettle. So if courage and mateship and the quintessential true-blue character is your preference, read Colour Blind. If it doesn't bring a glow of equal parts indignation and pride to your heard... well you know what I mean." - Sally Odgers, author

Jan Smith's Confessions... is finally out! Self-acknowledged victim of too many books and too much liveliness, this is an almost intergalactic memoir where small town life at Eumundi, Queensland meets the political changes of war-time Australia, Catholics and Protestants hold an uneasy truce, and Irish black humour abounds: By English standards there wasn't a Right in Australia, just men who'd stopped being Left. We visit Brisbane and Longreach in less-than-fashionable 50s, then the urban thrall of Sydney and Woman magazine. Marriage, motherhood and the enigmas of the Bulletin. Separation, independence, even editor of Forum magazine, topped off with a home birth at 40...

Jan Smith is the author of two novels, An Ornament of Grace (Sun Books, 1966) and The Worshipful Company (Cassell, 1969), and co-author, with Dr William Vayda, of Health for Life: Are You Allergic to the Twentieth Century? (Sphere Books 1981)

After dropping out of the University of Queensland and working as a cadet journalist on The Courier Mail Jan went to Sydney and joined Woman's Day magazine. After three years on Woman's Day, she was forced to resign because she had married a staff member, and for the next fifty years survived by freelancing, notably for The Bulletin and Pol magazine, apart from a year on Forum UK, the sex magazine, and Australian Business.

She now lives happily in King's Cross, Sydney, with her cat, doing what she'd have rather done all along.