Cirrus@Austlit

'Charlie Brightman is young, talented, self-confident, well-dressed (very well-dressed), and a bit of a drip. His first attempt at a theatre job is with the rather seedy Dengate Theatre in Soho, where a cast of dubious characters ensnares him into helping with an improv show which descends into chaos. He does, however, meet Lilly, a candidate for the position of his girlfriend. While pursuing this woman of his dreams, Charlie is hampered by the unexpected cancellation of his acting scholarship, resulting in a complete lack of funds. He takes on a job in the country, helping the redoubtable Hattie Witherspoon run a 'literary dramatic festival'. Hattie assumes a position of importance in Charlie's affections after a night involving gin and a bathtub. The story follows his attempts to win Hattie's heart and the adulation of London theatre-going audiences - or at least a paying job - in an ever-increasing maelstrom of bad luck and bad parts. But he remains confident that it will all be all right in the end. This picaresque story lurches from highs to lows to highs again, examining the curious question of whether it's really a wise policy to continually look on the bright side of life.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'During three weeks in the High Arctic our heroine reaches her ‘farthest north’ as well as her ‘coldest north’. With a wry sense of humour, this fictionalised memoir introduces us to a diverse cast of characters, including polar bears, reindeers, walrus, a Polish Arctic explorer, a Russian sea captain, a quirky expedition leader ... and the shadowy Eduardo. As she journeys on, our narrator tells Eduardo about everything she is seeing, experiencing, learning and reading. We learn gradually that Eduardo is stuck in his office and couldn’t make the trip with her. Are they lovers?

'In northern Norway, night disappears along with the 3G signal. Bravely facing the rickety steps down the side of the ship to the inflatable dinghy, learning to make wet landings, and how to – and how not to – approach walrus, our narrator learns a few things about herself and the difficulty of remaining cheerful in spite of a very cold butt. In Svalbard, euphoria at a polar bear sighting gives way to a ho-hum glacier expedition. In Greenland, Heidi the Inuit Girl welcomes the expeditioners in full traditional dress and with walrus canapes, and an Inuit grandmother offers roasted polar bear. In Iceland various threatened species adorn the café menus.

'In reading our heroine’s journal written for Eduardo, we are eavesdroppers on her uncensored thoughts. Her bouts of bad temper and her unreasonable expectations are all here, along with her wry assessments of her fellow Arctic travellers. If you’ve ever wondered what it was like to sit in a small boat above the Arctic Circle, with nothing around you but fog, the disappearing sea ice, the chance of a bear sighting and a severe bout of unrequited love, this story is for you.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Fulfilling the dream of many a book-lover, Annette Freeman bravely stepped outside her mid-life comfort zone and opened a bookshop café in the heart of Sydney. Tea In The Library became a beloved haven of readers and a cosy forum for writers. Plus a great place for coffee - and nineteen varieties of tea.

'But behind the scenes were anxieties large and small, frustrations, challenges, and - now and again - glorious moments of success. Welcome to retail!

'"How hard can it be to run a successful small business?" Annette asked herself. "People do it every day. It can't be rocket science." We find the answer to that question, and it is sobering news for those wannabe bookshop or café owners out there.

'The triumphs and disasters, the eccentric characters and the myriad challenges of retail are spiced with wry observation and a good sprinkling of literary references. In the end, everyone will have a view on what could have been done differently to save a small bookshop café that briefly lit up the Sydney literary scene.' (Publisher's blurb)