Cirrus@Austlit

'It’s 1955, and four talented young women become best friends while living at the Hollywood Studio Club, the famous boarding house for movie hopefuls.

'Julia Newman is a rising star. As Goldstar Studios‘ ‘new Grace Kelly’, she has been sent to the club to keep her out of trouble, though Julia is just thrilled to finally make friends.

For Peggy Carmichael, Julia’s roommate, life is not so easy. She takes classes, auditions constantly, and grabs whatever bit-part is offered. Still, her ‘big break’ remains stubbornly out of reach.

'Meanwhile, Vivienne Lockhart, the most talented actress of them all, is constantly reduced to ‘sexpot’ roles. She’ll do whatever it takes to succeed. But is she driven by ambition, or by a heartbreaking need to be loved?

Finally, there’s aspiring scriptwriter Sadie Shore, who has little interest in the trappings of fame. Particularly when she becomes the PA of a big studio boss and her eyes are opened to the perils of her friends’ dreams . . .' (Publication summary)

'Life is full of downs and ups . . .

'Dolly Jamieson is not homeless, she’s merely between permanent abodes. The 78-year-old spends her days keeping warm at the local library, where she enjoys sparring with the officious head librarian and helping herself to the free morning tea. It’s not so bad, really.

'But it’s certainly a far cry from the 1960s, when this humble girl from Geelong became an international star of the stage. As the acclaimed lead in the Broadway production of The Rose of France, all Dolly’s dreams had come true.

'So how, in her old age, did she end up here?

'When Jane Leveson, a well-to-do newcomer to the library, shows an interest in Dolly, the pair strike up an unlikely friendship – and soon Jane is offering to help Dolly write her memoirs.

'Yet Dolly can detect a deep sadness in the younger woman’s eyes. Perhaps by working together to recount the glittering highs, devastating lows and tragic secrets of Dolly’s life, both women can finally face their pasts and start to heal . . .' (Publication summary)

'When Shirley Sullivan signs her 83-year-old husband, Frank, out of the Sunset Lodge Nursing Home, she has no intention of bringing him back.

'For fifty-seven years the couple has shared love, happiness and heartbreak. And while Frank may not know who his wife is these days, he knows he wants to go home. Back to the beach where they met in the early 1960s . . .

'So Shirley enacts an elaborate plan to evade the authorities - and their furious daughter, Fiona - to give Frank the holiday he'd always dreamed of.

'And, in doing so, perhaps Shirley can make amends for a lifelong guilty secret . . .' (Publication summary)

'We all expect our friendships from childhood to last forever...

'Libby and Kit have been best friends ever since the day 11-year-old Kit bounded up to Libby's bedroom window. They've seen each other through first kisses, bad break-ups and everything in-between. It's almost 20 years since Libby moved to Sydney, but they've remained close, despite the distance and the different paths their lives have taken.

'So when Libby announces she's moving back to Melbourne, Kit is overjoyed. They're best friends - practically family - so it doesn't matter that she and Libby now have different...well, different everything, actually, or so it seems when they're finally living in the same city again.

'Or does it?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Four different women. The same big problem. One magical solution?

Despite excelling at university, Mezz has ended up the second-choice doctor in a two-doctor town, and won't be winning Mother of the Year any time soon. Miserably overweight, she knows it's only a matter of time until her gorgeous husband starts to stray...

'Jewels runs a successful business and lives in her dream house. All she needs to make life complete is a baby. She'll do anything to lose weight and become a mother... just as soon as the Tim Tams are finished.

'Ellie's life looks perfect on Facebook. But unlike the sunny snapshots, her world in Canberra is dull: she left everything behind in London, and the woman she sacrificed her life for is hardly ever home. Her ever-increasing waistline is testimony to just how small Ellie's life has become.

'Kat's baby is her world. As a Bosnian refugee, she wants nothing more than a stable, happy life for Ami, but Kat's relationship with Ami's dad is collapsing. If she could just lose the 'baby weight' maybe Josh would look at her the way he used to.

'When Mezz, Jewels, Ellie and Kat meet in an online weight-loss forum, a common goal accelerates their friendship. As the kilos start to disappear but their problems don't, they begin to realise that weight-loss might not be the key to happiness, but that supporting and believing in the ones you love, and yourself, just might be ...'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Move to the country for a dollar a week!

'Dulili is suffering a people drought. Over the years more people have moved away than have arrived to stay in this old New South Wales farming town, and now only a handful of young families and elderly residents are left. The locals put a plan into action to entice newcomers: offering the town's empty houses to people from anywhere in Australia. Who could resist renting a beautiful homestead for a dollar a week?

'Three people, eager for a new chance at life, take up the challenge. Adele, newly retrenched and with a daughter in tow, is living on hope; while newly divorced Bea has a point to prove both to herself and her family. For Lachlan, a farmhouse for a buck, a job and a town to call his own seems perfect. But can he keep his secret in such a close-knit community?

'Are the newcomers prepared for the revelations, disruptions and distractions of love?

'Featuring stories by bestselling authors Jennie Jones, Lisa Ireland and Catherine Evans, Last Chance Country is a collection of small town dreams, second chances and the healing power of hope.' (Publication summary)

'Dulili is suffering a people drought. Over the years more people have moved away than have arrived to stay in this old New South Wales farming town, and now only a handful of young families and elderly residents are left. The locals put a plan into action to entice newcomers: offering the town’s empty houses to newcomers from anywhere in Australia. Who could resist renting a beautiful homestead for a dollar a week?

'Newly divorced Bea Elliot needs Honey Hill House for more than just a quaint project – restoring a ramshackle old farm house to a successful B&B will prove to her family – and herself – that she is strong enough to make a go of things on her own. She doesn’t need anyone to help her, even if the guy next door is remarkably obliging, delightfully generous, and terribly charming.

'A city girl won’t last six months in the country, but Callum ‘Mitch’ Mitchell has good manners and loves his town, so he’ll be neighbourly, but keep his distance. Experience has taught him not to get involved with out-of-towners. Even if this out-of-towner is surprisingly resilient, unexpectedly tough, and unpredictably fond of local football.

'Good fences make good neighbours, but in Dulili, it seems like barriers might instead be breaking down…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When celebrity novelist Johanna Morgan surprises everyone by arriving back in Linden Gully three weeks early for her best friend’s wedding, she’s shocked to find her ex-boyfriend Ryan Galloway is back too and well-integrated in the community as the local vet.

'Jo’s maid-of-honour duties are not the only thing that’s brought her home. The family homestead of Yarrapinga is now her responsibility, and Jo needs to decide whether to keep it – and replace old memories with new ones – or sell it and cut off all ties to her childhood and her home.

'Ryan has brought his young daughter home to Linden Gully to provide stability after the death of her mother. The last thing he needs is Jo’s return, and all of the emotional turmoil that she brings with her.

'Thrown together as attendants at their best friends’ wedding, Jo and Ryan have no choice but to grin and bear all the tension. But it’s not only resentment lingering between them. The attraction is still there, and the heat and the memories.

'They say you can’t come home again, but maybe, for Jo and Ryan, home is not just a place, but a state of the heart.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When a smooth-talking, sophisticated city girl comes striding into town on her stiletto heels, he's the last person who wants to notice...

'When Jenna McLean gets roped into attending a matchmaking ball in a small country town, she holds no illusions of meeting the man of her dreams. A no-nonsense magazine editor, Jenna doesn’t believe in leaving love to chance, which is why she’s developed Marriage Material – a fool-proof framework for husband hunting. Shearers and farmhands need not apply.

'Sheep grazier Luke Tanner has met women like Jenna before, and knows not to waste his time. With the drought dragging on and bushfire season around the corner, the last thing he needs is a spoiled city girl like Jenna adding to his problems. He'll help out with the ball because it's good for the community, but he won't dance, he won't flirt, and he definitely won't be matched.

'It's been a long dry season, but everyone knows when it rains, it pours.' (Publication summary)