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Tully's great-great uncle Michael was hanged for murder more than a century ago. According to family lore, he was attacked in a pub - accused by his attacker because as an Irish immigrant he was taking work from locals. At a time when anti-Irish prejudice was rampant during an economic depression, he never stood a chance of justice.

 

The bare bones of the story are more or less 'true' but have been fleshed out using the author's imagination. Michael's family emigrated from County Donegal in Ireland to Tyneside in northern England sometime in the 1890s. They had planned to go to America but their ship never turned up in Cork. The title, On an Alien Shore, is taken from James Horsley's poem 'An Emigrant's Sigh'.

 

Although these sad events took place long ago, the themes are very relevant today, with so many refugees, asylum seekers, 'economic migrants' and resurgent racism.

 

"On an Alien Shore presents a vivid background of the poverty and squalor of late 19th century Tyneside with its slums, its appalling working conditions, its pubs and prisons. Against this background plays out a well-told story of romance, family love and pride. It is in marked contrast to most period melodramas because of its emphasis on the empowering role of the union movement. Most of all, On an Alien Shore stands as an indictment both of unthinking racial prejudice and of laissezfaire capitalism. In both these regards it is not only an insight into history, but a monitory tale for today." - Tim Thorne

It is the late 1960s. Rebellion and "doing your own thing" is in. But while the majority of Australians flock to the beaches, one young man heads inland to find his patch of dirt and follow his dream.

 

On the banks of Moonan Brook, surrounded by inhospitable and barely accessible bushland, a local on his horse stumbles across this twenty-three-year old with his inappropriate vehicle, a dog named Doggo, and a girlfriend sitting under a tree reading a book. He listens as the pale young city-slicker with a mannered accent tells him he wants to go bush.

 

What drives him over the next fifty years to build and maintain a bush hut in challenging terrain will captivate the imagination as the dreamt-of patch materialises, a hut is built and grows, and the forest "tamed".

 

Henry Lawson or Henry Thoreau?

 

Along the way we catch glimpses of his fellow travellers who come and go over the years, each contributing in their own way to the fulfilment of one man's unwavering vision.  Romances form and fade, friendships will span generations and continents. And through it all threads the forest: its plants, its creatures, its quiet power.

 

Until finally, time dictates a letting go .…

At last! The new parents' manual to successfully raising happy, healthy and confident kids!

On Track Parenting is the ultimate book for any parent who wants to be sure their kids have the skills to navigate today's fast-paced world with confidence and ease.

You have in your hands a new collection of the best-of-the-best tools, tips and strategies gathered over 25 years from expert psychologist, speaker and international author Brad Everton, laid out in simple ideas you can use right away.

You'll learn:

- The secret to maintaining open communication which resolves conflict with your kids

- How to keep your self-control in trying circumstances using the super-effective "flip-switch"

- 3 bad listening habits you must eliminate from your daily life to improve the connection with your kids

- How to recover quickly when you hit rock bottom so you can bounce back with energy and vitality

- The simple model to teach your kids so they can solve problems on their own leading to better self-confidence

- 5 rules to form the basis of rock-solid family harmony

- The most powerful way to boost self-esteem in your kids (it's not as hard as you think)

...and much, much more.

Take this book and implement just one strategy a month for fast and life-changing results. You will see raising happy, healthy and confident kids is possible when you know how.

The first step towards the family you've always wanted starts today!

Are some things better left unfound?

Best friends Louise and Emma grew up next door to each other in a grim inner-city suburb of Dublin.

Now Louise, an art conservator, is thousands of miles away in Sydney, restoring a beautiful old painting. She meets Dan, whose family welcome her as one of their own, but she will always feel lost until she finds her mother who walked out when she was just eight years old.

Back in Dublin, Emma is stuck in a job where she is under-appreciated and underpaid, but her biggest worry is her ex-partner, Jamie. Emma has lost so much because of Jamie: her innocence, her reputation, almost her life. Now she is at risk of losing Isla, her young daughter.

So where is Louise's mother? Will Emma ever be free of her ex? Both women frantically search for answers, but when the truth finally emerges it is more shattering than they had ever expected.

Praise for Ber Carroll:

'I enjoyed every page of this touching, authentic novel.' - LIANE MORIARTY

'Ber Carroll has a clever eye for characterisation and story.' - CATHY KELLY

'With all the humour and empathy of Binchy... Carroll captures the conflicts and compromises women make.' - DAILY TELEGRAPH

Twenty-five years after Gabrielle Gouch left her native land, Transylvania, communism collapsed and the author returned to Romania from Australia to visit her half-brother Tom who told her stories about his life under communism. Though the story is factual, the author uses her strong eye for detail and the techniques of fiction to create this engaging and thought-provoking account about ordinary people in turbulent times. These sad and funny tales are interleaved with the story of the rest of the family from which Tom became estranged.

This memoir portrays the exodus of Jewish families from Romania and their arrival in the Promised Land, a dream come true for some but a shock for others. It explores issues of identity, disability, emigration and family relationships against a background of the major political events of the time from a perspective that challenges some accepted views.

This is the story of an emotional journey by an aging woman who still wants love and sex in her life and who is desperately trying to hold on to her long hair, her good looks and her youthful figure. Carole Lethbridge discovered at the age of 65 that she wanted romance back in her life after recovering from a serious bout of cancer. Her friend suggested she give internet dating a go as the chance of meeting someone suitable where she lived in the Blue Mountains was virtually nil.

Online Dating After Sixty describes her internet and other dating experiences, as well as her responses to retirement, aging and friendship, many humorous conversations with local women and friends about aging and sex. Within days of her profile becoming live on RSVP, a 68-year-old guy walked into her life. The following week he was in her bed and she was besotted. He turned out to be a dishonest, uncommitted, unfaithful Lothario who was active on four other internet dating sites while involved with her. After having online contact with another 38 guys, she comes to the conclusion that finding a suitable and honest guy on internet dating sites wasn't like finding a needle in a haystack - it was more like finding a needle that had been dropped into the Pacific Ocean from an orbiting satellite!

Nonetheless, Carole did eventually find a partner through the internet and has now settled down to a happy and contented relationship.

A gripping adventure story based on real historic quests for the priceless buried treasures of ancient Egypt.

How do you lose an army of fifty thousand without a trace?

Napoleon's invasion of Egypt turned into a treasure hunt with ancient sites plundered to enhance France's museums and palaces. When, in 1799, Napoleon learned his position in Egypt was untenable due to the British blockade, Bonaparte ordered that the best gold and jewel encrusted loot be buried to be retrieved at a later date. In 1805, when the political situation allowed, Bonaparte organised a large caravan to set out in secrecy with armed escort into the Great Sand Sea, south of the Siwa Oasis to recover the treasure and transport it back to France. The entire caravan marched into oblivion, swallowed by a fierce sandstorm and lost without trace in a sea of burning sand.

Since then, others such as the memorable team of Carter and Lord Carnarvon have attempted to uncover the hidden secrets beneath the sands of Egypt and adventurers and amateurs have sniffed around like bloodhounds to uncover leads and pay locals for information. Negotiations were carried out with intrigue and clandestine deals to thwart rivals.

It is against this factual historic background that the two main characters of this story embark on a journey from Prague to Cairo and through the Sahara to the remote oasis of Siwa to fulfill a promise, to solve a mystery and avenge their uncle's murder.

Saeed has not returned to Iran after publishing his novel The Imaginary Narrative of a Real Murder for fear of political persecution. He is surprised when Ismael, his father who has never left Iran, announces that he is travelling to Adelaide to visit him. During his short stay, Ismael tells Saeed the story of his unrequited love for Forugh Farrokhzad - the most controversial poet of modern Iran. The story makes Saeed see his father in a new light, and leaves him with the burning question: had his father, unwittingly, played a role in Forugh's death?

Perth cop Eve Rock is investigating a series of abductions from the seedy inner-city Paradise Nightclub when her boss adds a murder case to her workload.

Now, Eve loves a challenge - about as much as she loves red wine, exotic food and cigars - but this case is a bit tricky because she'd speed dated the sleazy salesman hours before he met his Maker.

But then 'tricky' is Eve's middle name.

Her mum's a former hooker-turned-nun who runs a select girls school.

Her daughter's a fanatical 'Virgin Vigilante' who attends that same school.

And Eve is being stalked by a department store Santa.

If that isn't enough, her love life is dead in the water.

Or it is until Eve meets dreamy undercover cop Adam Fox whose sex appeal isn't diminished by his slut heels and micro skirt.

And then there's his equally gorgeous dad...

Eve's life could be peachy... except now someone wants to kill her.

There was only one Phar Lap: There is only one 'Oppy' - Courier Mail, 1932.

 

Hubert 'Oppy' Opperman was a sporting icon, a cycling phenomenon whose epic feats of endurance captivated the world. For over two decades, he dominated almost every race he entered and shattered record after record in Australia and Great Britain. In 1928, he led the first Australasian team to ever contest the Tour de France.

 

But Oppy was more than just a champion. During the Great Depression, a time of painful economic and social change, he became a transcendent symbol of Australian fortitude. He became a household name, a legend - as popular as the cricketer Don Bradman and the racehorse Phar Lap.

 

As well as vividly retelling his sporting triumphs, this book is the first to consider the legacy of Opperman's post-cycling career. It explores the emotional pain of his private life, the controversies that dogged his seventeen-year political career including his term as Minister for Immigration in the Menzies Government, and the far-reaching changes he helped bring to Australian immigration policy.

 

This meticulously researched biography gives readers a thrilling insight into the brutal world of professional cycling and an intimate portrait of an extraordinary Australian.

When Bobby's grandmother was thirteen, she and seven friends disappeared for a period of six days. No-one in town ever talks about this mystery but Bobby wants to know what happened then and if it was the reason why her grandmother always had a sad, faraway look in her eyes.

Red-haired, hot-tempered Bobby is an ultra-modern twelve-year-old girl from a Celtic background with ideas that could be described as alternative. Raised to be open-minded and confident by a single, working mother who holds angel card readings and is interested in New-Age beliefs, Bobby is fiercely independent in her own thinking and behaviour.

When she meets another home-schooler, David, who is from a big, highly educated Italian family and has been raised to have more conservative, mainstream beliefs and old-fashioned values, it is difficult to imagine how they could ever be friends. However, the do have something in common. David too has a mystery that he wants to solve about his own heritage.

Bobby is determined that she will solve the mystery of the missing children whether the wary David is prepared to be involved or not. But David does not have much choice.

With the help of a crystal ball possessing magical powers that Bobby has just stumbled across, the two are transported through a wormhole into another time dimension where they make startling discoveries, not only about their own ancestries but also about themselves.

Join them on an adventure where an evil workhouse and her orc slaves threaten to overrun the idyllic island paradise which has now become their new home.

Orlando lives in an apartment in the city, but that doesn’t stop him and his family from having an amazing garden.

Orlando grows all sorts of colourful fruits and vegetables with the help of his mummy and daddy.

What could you grow in your garden?

There are lots of playful cats to spot in this book.

Can you find them?

Sequel to the bestselling 'Our House is Not in Paris'.

Join for the first time, or continue to share in this sequel, the French renovee trials and triumphs of Susan and Stuart Cutsforth, an 'ordinary' Australian couple. Our House is Certainly Not in Paris is a magical memoir about their renovation of an old farmhouse in France. They devote their holidays to breathing life back into its ancient stone walls. It is so charmingly written that the reader is transported to their petite village and the people in this book become like old friends. This is a story about achieving dreams. It makes you want to grab life with both hands.

'Our House is Definitely Not in Paris is the third memoir in the 'Our House' series, following 'Our House is Not in Paris' and 'Our House is Certainly Not in Paris'.

The French countryside has again been poetically evoked in this delightful, charming and captivating memoir. The renovee adventures continue to enchant the reader and draw them further into the unfolding account of the Cutsforths' other life. This memoir allows us to travel side by side with Susan and Stuart as they fling open the shutters each day in their petite maison in a small French village.

Humour, drama and pathos - Cuzance is a microcosm of the world. Cuisine, markets and the stunning rural landscape of Le Lot - a story that holds equal appeal for armchair travellers; those who already love France or those who will be inspired to explore the most visited country in the world.

'Our House is Definitely Not in Paris' is about the cadences of daily life in a French country village, permeated by the clanging of church bells, enveloped in the endless golden light of a French summer.

Susan Cutsforth and her husband, Stuart, are 'ordinary' people living an extraordinary life. They both work full-time: one is a teacher librarian of thirty years, and the other, a middle-level clerk in the public service. But, as Susan recounts in Our House is Not in Paris, they own a holiday house in France - the other side of the world. And not only that, this petite maison required significant renovating, which they accomplished almost singlehandedly during their working holidays.

Our House is Not in Paris is a story of pushing boundaries, aiming high and, most of all, taking risks. With humour, poetry and insight, Susan's story shows that you can do more than simply dream: if you work hard, anything is possible.