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The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart - Jesse Bullington

Jesse Bullington’s debut novel roars into life with a vivid scene of mayhem and murder and sucks you into his gothic medieval world like quicksand. The adventure fantasy follows the travels of the pious, grave robbing, murdering twin brothers Manfried and Hegel Grossbart. Chased out of Germany and fed up with their homeland’s meager graveyard riches, they set out in search of the fabled treasures found in the ancient crypts and tombs of Egypt. But as things go for a pair of cantankerous, filthy brothers, nothing goes smoothly: they must battle manticores, vengeful witches, sea nymphs and plague-spreading demons if they are to reach their eventual destination. The Grossbart twins are perfect anti-heroes: as much as you detest their characters, you find yourself cheering them on through hell and high water. Bullington’s descriptive style is rich, bloody and occasionally as rough around the edges as The Grossbarts themselves. While this book drags on in places, the action sequences and the great cast of characters makes this an ultimately fulfilling read. If you like your fiction with history, medieval folklore and action thrown into the mix, The Sad Tales Of The Brothers Grossbart is the perfect antidote for a dark and stormy night. - Lindsey Cuthbertson

A Woman of Seville – Sallie Muirden

Australian author Sally Muirden returns to the written world after an eight year gap between her last novel, We Too Shall Be Mothers and her newest one, A Woman Of Seville. The novel is told by two teenage protagonists in the Spanish city of Seville; Diego, an apprentice painter and Paula, a runaway beauty taken in as a concubine by a catholic Bishop. Both are linked by ‘The Penitent Magdalen’, a mysterious painting that Paula is modeling for. Diego and his master are trying to discover the meaning behind the painting.. Diego is a young man of average wealth and average beauty thrown into the world of the upper class. While Paula is known throughout the city for her beauty, she ignores the trappings of the strict class structure of the 1600’s to spend her nights travelling from rooftop to rooftop with the mysterious and ethereal ladder-man Aurelio. Both struggle with discovering what they want from the world and it is this teenage uncertainty within them that is the most poignant aspect of Muirden’s story. Muirden writes the novel with a first-person, simplistic style and her two main characters are easy to identify with. The pace is a nice and meandering one - perfect for a novel such as this - allowing you to continually turn the pages over without wanting to skip forward or back track to better understand the story. A Woman Of Seville is a vivid and subtly moving novel that earmarks Muirden as a writer of much talent. - Lindsey Cuthbertson

Get Her Off the Pitch! - Lynne Truss

For those of you who are avid followers of all things sport (such as myself), you will have to come to realise that the world of sport   commentary and analysis in both the print, online, radio and television mediums is largely a male one. The past five years have seen progress in regards to women in sport commentary, but go back ten years or more and sports journalism was essentially a boy’s club. Lynne Truss, a novelist and TV critic,is thrown into sports writing by her editors at The Times after writing an article detailing her dislike of football (or soccer, depends where you’re from). Starting off as a light-hearted, alternative approach to sports coverage, Truss’ new job soon sees her becoming enraptured by the world of sport. For four years she sits in frozen seats in stadiums up and down England, watches football from a blimp, loses herself in the thrill of a world darts championship semi-final, and above all else, becomes a bonafide sports nut. And did I mention she became a golf fanatic? From the very start, Truss’ recounts are engaging and witty. Yes, she pokes fun at the setbacks of being a female sports reporter, but there is also a great bitterness that still lingers regarding the negatives that come with being a sports reporter in general, and this honesty really connects well as you go along. What’s best about Get Her Off The Pitch! is that, male or female, you’ll be swept away by Truss’ writing, and even if you still don’t like sport by the end, you’ll at least harbour a new appreciation for those hacks whose jobs it is to fill the back pages of newspapers all over the world. - Lindsey Cuthbertson

Billy Thorpe's Time on Earth - Jason Walker

If you have a passion for music and are interested in anything about Australia’s rock’n’roll history, this book is a must read. I must admit that even though I’ve been immersed in music all my life, I just knew Billy Thorpe as the guy who wrote ‘Most People I Know (Think That I’m Crazy)’ and dropped a lot of acid back in the 70’s. But after reading Walker’s posthumous biography of the now deceased rock’n’roll hall of fame laureate, I’m astonished with how much about the man I didn’t know. Like how he started performing around Brisbane at age eleven, calling himself Little Rock Allen, or the fact that he went from a teeny bopper tv star to a bankrupt music monster who pioneered the blues rock movement in Australia in the early 70’s. Or how successful, albeit brief, his musical career in the USA was, perhaps. When all these pieces come together, it forms a ripping yarn about the quintessential Australian rock’n’roll star. Walker’s writing is the perfect frame for the portrait of Thorpe’s life, choosing to focus more on his musical career than his personal life, which is quite alright with me. If you liked the Long Way To The Top documentary series, or the Countdown Spectacular, or even if you just love music in general, buy this book. - Lindsey Cuthbertson

Wonders of a Godless World - Andrew McGahan

Contrary to the old proverb, I like a book with a good cover, and Andrew McGahan’s new novel has one of the best I’ve seen in years. For the first hundred pages I had to stop reading every few pages so I could keep admiring the artwork adorning its cover. Don’t take that as a comment on McGahan’s skill as a writer, because Wonders Of A Godless World is in fact a great book. The story is set in a mental hospital tucked away on a small jungle island. The main character, The Orphan, cannot communicate with other human beings but has natural insights into the working of the weather. She goes through life without speaking to anybody until she meets The Foreigner, a strange comatose patient who seemingly has immense telepathic power. The two forge an odd relationship that drives the novel to its thought bending conclusion. Sometimes the novel seems to border on the realms of fantasy, but we’re talking about the imagination of the human mind here, not goblins and elf queens. Simply written and devoid of traditional dialogue, Wonders Of A Godless World is nonetheless compelling and holds far more depth to it than its simplistic appearance implies. - Lindsey Cuthbertson

Salon Events

I have attended the Salon Events with Kirsten Reed, Philipp Meyer and Ethan Canin, and have found the experiences invaluable. The sessions are for students and established writers to interact – a fantastic resource for those trying to break into the industry. Not only do we hear about each writer’s process, but how they came to get their work published.

It has also been a fantastic way to meet other up and coming writers. It is important to have contacts outside your work - to have others who understand the process and pitfalls of writing and to have a supporting network. - Ira McGuire