Cirrus@Austlit

'A sassy, heart-breaking and jaw-dropping memoir of life behind the scenes in a funeral home and strip club, written with all the panache, honesty and sensitivity of Rosie Waterland's The Anti-Cool Girl and Sarah Krasnostein's The Trauma Cleaner.

'Emma Jane Holmes had her dream job, working in the funeral industry, caring for those who could no longer care for themselves. But when the bills mounted after her marriage breakdown, she turned to her other dream - dancing on stage as a showgirl - and her glittering alter ego Madison was born. Emma Jane kept Madison a secret. Madison kept Emma Jane an even bigger one.

'But what happens when death touches the neon world of the strip club? And sex - in the form of a cute co-worker - encroaches on the funeral home? Could the answer be life, lived in the day, because that's the only day you have?

'Emma Jane Holmes' debut will take you into the mortuary, cemetery and crematorium - and behind the scenes in night clubs - and answer all the questions you never wanted to ask ...'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Journalist Nadine Williams is heart-broken following the untimely death of her French-born husband, Olivier. 

Long-time friend Jane, alarmed at Nadine's despair, suggests a return to Europe to restore her joie de vivre: ending in Paris where Nadine's love for Oliver was borne.

Their journey from Barcelona to Paris is peppered with hilarious battles about food, fashion and politics, which challenge their friendship. But slowly the fun of travelling together in the glorious Loire Valley, Provence and Paris takes over.

And when, alone now in Paris, Nadine meets a French man who resembles Olivier, she is confronted by her grief once more as well as a conundrum: does she want another man to share her future or does she now prefer her freedom? 

Finally, Nadine begins to recover and to redefine herself as a widow and realises that loss is the legacy of women, as gratitude for memories replaces grief in her heart. ' (Publication Summary)

'Outback Governesses is collection of eye-opening stories about fourteen governesses who drop in, Mary Poppins-like, to educate children in Australia’s remotest rural areas and in return receive a bush education of their own…

From the School of the Air to vast outback stations, small rural schools to remote Indigenous communities around Australia — all across this wide brown land, governesses and teachers drop in, Mary Poppins-like,  to take over homestead schoolrooms and the responsibility of educating children. 

The governesses are often young women from urban backgrounds, and they become part of the family they work for as well as the local community, and share the trials and tribulations of station life. They fall in and out of love, learn to ride horses and motorbikes, explore spectacular parts of Australia, help with station work, cook and eat with the family, attend rodeos, campdrafts, country races, and the local shows, and other bush events. 

There are medical emergencies, seasonal floods, bushfire and drought that all affect station life and the school routine. And then there are the unwelcome visitors to liven things up – snakes, bats, mosquitoes, centipedes, flies, feral pigs, red back spiders and the massive insect explosions following rain.

There is always something happening and you can never be sure what the day will bring. Living and working in isolated areas can mean battling poor access to technology, teaching children who speak English as a second language and learning how to engage and motivate children who might be the only student in the classroom. Days can swing from triumphant, hilarious and joyful, to downright difficult – but it’s clear from the tales in this collection, the rewards of teaching outback far outweigh the disadvantages — there is nothing like a bush education.' (Publication Summary) 

'Like Beth McCrae's bestselling Outback Midwife, these real-life stories come from Australian midwives working in the outback, where they share their experiences of that most commonplace but miraculous event, the birth of a child.

'Sweet, funny and sometimes sad, these stories share what it is to be an Australian midwife in remote areas where resources are limited. A moving and celebratory collection of tales that brings you close to the drama and wonder of birth.

'Each of the thirteen midwives in this book work in extreme locations with few resources, but armed with only courage and skill, they regularly save lives and birth babies in difficult circumstances —on an airstrip, a cattle station, a dinghy (knee-deep in water with a wary eye out for the local croc), a troop-carrier or in the face of a cyclone. These stories are a tribute to both the skill of the midwives and the courage of the mothers. For these women, midwifery is not just a job - it's a committed and passionate way of life. ' (Publication summary)