'Some essays in this collection plunged me into thought. Some caused me to weep. Some brought tears of laughter. Some essays won me over by the power of their imagination. Some by their analytic clarity. Some by their excruciating honesty. Some by the pain of things past or present faced without flinching.' – Robert ManneIn The Best Australian Essays 2014, Robert Manne assembles his picks of contemporary non-fiction writing. Tim Winton reflects on the impact of landscape on the Australian character; Helen Garner remembers her mother with a raw and stirring poignancy; Christos Tsiolkas wonders how the Left forgot their origins; Tim Flannery traces the history of the Great Barrier Reef and fears its destruction. With essays traversing madness, liberty under the rule of Tony Abbott, the enslaving of horses and the legacy of Doris Lessing, this sharp collection offers lucid insight, shrewd understanding and heartbreaking empathy.Moreno Giovannoni ...

APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENTName: Elle MedinaMarital Status: I'm separated from my fiancé.Occupation: He was a highly paid attorney.Employment History: You mean mine? Technically I haven't exactly worked before. But I'm motivated and I work well with others. Most others. Usually.Career Goals: I thought I was happy with Louis, but now I'm not sure. Ever since he dumped me for some floozy, I've been thinking I should find out what I'm good at and pursue it in a formal job-type way.Salary Requirements: I need my own apartment (currently staying on friend's sofa) and a car. And I've always wanted a dog. Oh, and I definitely need a shopping trip.Elle Medina must be qualified for something other than shopping and causing trouble, but when she moves to Santa Barbara after the end of her engagement, what she's suited for isn't clear. Bartender? Private eye? Phone psychic? It seems like everything she tries ends...

Becoming Billy Dare follows the life of a feisty Irish boy who runs away to Australia and finds his vocation as an actor in the colourful theatres of Melbourne, around the time of Federation.Paddy secretly boards a ship bound for Australia, only to be shipwrecked at the end of the voyage. Once rescued, he faces the big question: how is he to make his way in this strange new land? On the road with a travelling circus, on the run with a wild child, sleeping rough on the mean streets of Melbourne, Paddy finds help and friendship with Bridie, and learns to live by his wits. Each adventure brings him closer to discovering his true gift.Character, choice and destiny intertwine in this richly detailed historical novel.Meticulous research . . . Becoming Billy Dare is, above all, an entertaining book that invites readers and provides inspiration. Jill Swann, Teacher-Librarian.Starting in the 1840s and ending in present-day Australia, the Children of the...

As a series of brutal murders darkens the Wrightsburg, Virginia countryside, the killer taunts police by leaving watches on the victims set to the hour corresponding with their position on his hit list. What’s more, he strives to replicate notorious murders of the past, improving on them through savage attention to detail. Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are already investigating a crime involving an aristocratic and dysfunctional Southern family, but when they’re deputized to help in the serial killer hunt they realize the two cases may be connected. Adding to the tension is the appearance of a second killer, this one imitating the murders of the first. Soon, the two killers are playing a game of cat and mouse, with King and Maxwell racing to solve the intricate puzzle of their identities—before the body count escalates.

The riveting tale of an executioner's daughter who struggles to find a different path in lifeBorn into the family of an executioner, Lily has always been sheltered by her mother from the horrors of her father's occupation. But when her ailing mother takes a turn for the worse, Lily is suddenly thrust into the paralyzing role of executioner's assistant. Aside from preparing healing concoctions for the suffering and maimed, Lily must now accompany her father at the town executions, something she has never done before. Though she loves her father, the emotional burden of his disturbing profession is just too much for her to bear. Lily must find a way to change her destiny, no matter the consequences.Set in medieval England, this well-researched and beautifully written novel tells the story of one girl's fight to rise above her fate.

For twenty-seven years I’ve flitted through life clueless to abilities I’ve had dormant inside of me. In the blink of an eye everything changed. She changed it. Now I know that nothing is as it seems and I will never be the same…but this isn’t my story. It’s hers. I’m just being forced to live it, resolve it, and ultimately try to move on after learning that our lives are tangled far more than I would’ve ever imagined. My name is Parrish Locke and I can see the dead.

EDITORIAL REVIEW: When millionaire Matt Conway returned to his Michigan hometown to expand his business, he hadn't counted on running into Emily Douglas—or being asked to seduce her! Now, in a secluded lake house under the stars, Matt had another chance with the blue-eyed beauty he'd let slip away. And this time, he was determined not to let her go. Emily had never forgotten her night with Matt—and she'd never had another like it. Though years had passed, passion still flared between them. But could Emily forgive the man who'd broken her heart, or would falling for his seduction request leave her even more shattered than before?