109 | What have we read? Every book recommendation from 2024
Release Date: 12/17/2024
118 | Cybercrime, murder and audiobooks - behind the scenes on 'Like, Follow, Die'
James and Ashley Stay at Home
Ashley's brand new thriller Like, Follow, Die is out now as an audiobook exclusive from Audible! In episode 118, Ashley discusses the book's unique development and what it was like working with an ensemble cast of prominent Australian actors to bring her third book to life. Like, Follow, Die is a "shattering and provocative psychological thriller that dives into the darkest corners of the internet and the powerful bonds between parents and children." Books & authors discussed in this episode: John Sandford (narrated by Richard Ferrone) JP Pomare Why Can't I Just Enjoy Things? by Pierre...
info_outline
117 | Writing towards your greatest fear with Melanie Cheng, author of 'The Burrow'
James and Ashley Stay at Home
Award-winning author Melanie Cheng joins James and Ashley to discuss her writing practice, her pet rabbit, and The Burrow, her 'most personal book' and its many parallels to her own life. She also shares her experience of writing toward her greatest fear, coming to terms with her cyclical writing process, and how teaching narrative to medical students can help increase communication between doctors and patients. Melanie Cheng is a writer and general practitioner. She was born in Adelaide, grew up in Hong Kong and now lives in Melbourne. Her debut collection of short stories,...
info_outline
116 | Bonus ep! 'Cold Truth' Live with Ashley & James
James and Ashley Stay at Home
If you missed hearing Ashley and James live in conversation at the launch of Cold Truth, we've got the full event recording for you here, complete with fake nazi invasions, terrifying cybercrime stats, and the satisfying crunch of James being forced to try genuine Manitoban dill pickle chips. Thanks to local bookseller Roaring Stories for hosting this event! Upcoming events: Join Ashley and podcast fav Hayley Scrivenor for the Mystery and Mayhem Readers Retreat at the 5-star Tamborine Mountain Glades, 3-5 October Learn more about Ashley's thrillers, Dark Mode and...
info_outline
115 | Where's my 'Menopause: What's Happening to Me?' book with Jay Martin, author of 'Boom Town Snap'
James and Ashley Stay at Home
How did Jay Martin go from an award-winning memoir to a fiction manuscript she ultimately abandoned? And what did she learn that helped her craft her debut novel, Boom Town Snap? Jay talks with Ashley and James about what toxic workplaces have in common with abusive relationships, and how we get trapped in toxic relationships at the community level as well. Jay Martin’s first book, Vodka and Apple Juice: Travels of an Undiplomatic Wife in Poland, won the Hungerford Award and was published in 2018. She has worked in a range of roles including in community development, government...
info_outline
114 | Bonus ep! Winter Writing Retreat with Lynne Ainsworth
James and Ashley Stay at Home
Lynne Ainsworth is the founder of Writers at the Woolshed, an emerging writer, and a person who 'loves hanging out with people who read and write'. She loves it so much, she not only created a pop-up festival to connect authors with regional readers and writers, she's now hosting the first Winter Writing Retreat, featuring masterclasses with Eleanor Limprecht, Betty O'Neil, Audrey Molloy, Ashley Kalagian Blunt and Lee Kofman (from eps 3, 76 and 112). In this special bonus episode, Lynne tells us how she first became a festival director, and shares details of the...
info_outline
113 | Rewriting your stalker with Pip Drysdale, author of 'The Close-Up'
James and Ashley Stay at Home
How does having a stalker change your life? We talk with bestselling novelist Pip Drysdale about her latest novel 'The Close-Up,' its real-life inspirations, and how surviving a stalker shifted her worldview. We also discuss how to navigate public image and the role anxiety has to play in creative pursuits. Plus, this ep's What Are You Reading? inspires a debate about what's derivative and what's inspired, and if those can be the same thing. . Pip Drysdale is an author, musician and actor. She grew up in Africa, Canada, and Australia, became an adult in New York and...
info_outline
112 | Choosing to have children as a creative with Dinuka McKenzie and Lee Kofman
James and Ashley Stay at Home
What considerations come into choosing to have a baby for creatives? And once baby enters the picture, how do you balance parenting with your creative practice? We ask Dinuka McKenzie and Lee Kofman, two beloved past guests who happen to be both authors and parents, about their decision to have children and how they manage their writing lives as parents. Plus, James has a big announcement – you'll never guess what it is. Lee Kofman is a Russian-born, Israeli-Australian memoirist, novelist, editor and writing coach. She’s the author of three fiction books and two memoirs,...
info_outline
111 | Surviving second book syndrome - James and Ashley talk 'Cold Truth'
James and Ashley Stay at Home
Cold Truth, Ashley's new thriller, is out now. James and Ashley discuss just how difficult writing this book was, plus why she chose to set in a city that makes headlines for being colder than the surface of Mars. They also chat about real-life research, including the time Ashley learned how to pick a lock with a credit card. Plus, James horrifies Ashley with a true story about digital privacy. Cold Truth is , your and your library. Books & authors discussed in this episode: Everyone and Everything by Nadine Cohen My Dream Time by Ash Barty Upcoming events: ...
info_outline
110 | Back to the 90s with Michelle See-Tho, author of 'Jade and Emerald'
James and Ashley Stay at Home
'I always knew I wanted to write a novel, but I didn’t have any ideas that I thought could extend to a novel-length work.' In episode 110, Michelle See-Tho shares her journey from aspiring writer to winner of the 2023 Penguin Literary Prize for her debut novel, Jade and Emerald. Though she started out writing short stories and video game reviews, she discusses how drawing on inspiration from her own life, including her passion for video games, helped her shape the world of her novel. Michelle See-Tho is a freelance writer and copywriter. She has had articles and stories published...
info_outline
109 | What have we read? Every book recommendation from 2024
James and Ashley Stay at Home
Here it is - the annual end-of-year book recommendation extravaganza! This bumper episode contains every single edition of 'What are you reading?' from 2024, in which James, Ashley and guests discuss the books on their shelves, and why you should read them too (or not). Use it as a last-minute Christmas shopping guide or a wishlist for your own personal library in 2025. Books and authors discussed in this episode (brace yourself, this is a long list): From episode 92 (Kylie Ladd, author of 'I'll Leave You With This') The Vitals by Tracy Sorensen (Kylie) The Wolves of Eternity by Karl Ove...
info_outlineHere it is - the annual end-of-year book recommendation extravaganza! This bumper episode contains every single edition of 'What are you reading?' from 2024, in which James, Ashley and guests discuss the books on their shelves, and why you should read them too (or not). Use it as a last-minute Christmas shopping guide or a wishlist for your own personal library in 2025.
Books and authors discussed in this episode (brace yourself, this is a long list):
From episode 92 (Kylie Ladd, author of 'I'll Leave You With This')
- The Vitals by Tracy Sorensen (Kylie)
- The Wolves of Eternity by Karl Ove Knausgård (James)
- Red River Road by Anna Downes (Ashley)
- A Mother’s Reckoning by Sue Klebold.
From episode 93 (Adele Dumont, author of 'The Pulling')
- Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid (Adele)
- The Wolves of Eternity by Karl Ove Knausgård (James)
- Unfinished Business by Shankari Chandran (Ashley)
From episode 94 (no guest)
- Red River Road by Anna Downes (James)
- The Consultant by Im Seong Sun, translated by An Seon Jae (Ashley)
From episode 95 (Liz Nugent, author of 'Strange Sally Diamond')
- The Prophet Song by Paul Lynch (Liz)
- In the Woods by Tana French (James)
- The Witch Elm by Tana French (James)
- Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica (Ashley)
- Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (Liz)
From episode 96 (Tracy Sorensen, author of 'The Vitals')
- I’ll Leave You With This by Kylie Ladd (Tracy)
- Number Go Up by Zeke Faux (Ashley)
- The Trial by Franz Kafka (James)
- Loosely Based on a Made-Up Story by James Blunt (James)
From episode 97 (no guest)
- The Cop Who Fell To Earth by Craig Semple (Ashley)
- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (James)
From episode 98 (Imbi Neeme, author of 'Kind of, Sort of, Maybe but Probably Not')
- Ghost Cities by Siang Lu (Imbi)
- Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami (Ashley)
- On Our Best Behaviour by Elise Loehnen (Ashley)
- The Writer's Room by Charlotte Wood (James)
From episode 99 (Siang Lu, author of 'Ghost Cities')
- He Who Drowned the World by Shelly Parker-Chan (Siang)
- Amygdalatropolis by BR Yeager (James)
- So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan (James)
- Better Than Happiness by Gregory P Smith (Ashley)
From episode 100 (no guest)
- Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver (Ashley)
- Scary Monsters by Michelle de Krester (James)
From episode 101 (Khin Myint, author of 'Fragile Creatures')
- Detachable Penis by Sam Elkin (Khin)
- Quiet by Susan Cain (Khin)
- The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth (Ashley)
- Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb (James)
From episode 102 (Zahid Gamieldien, author of 'All the Missing Children')
- Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor (Zahid)
- The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin (James)
- Dark Matter by Blake Crouch (Ashley)
- The Guest List by Lucy Foley (Ashley)
From episode 103 (Robyn Harding, author of 'The Haters')
- This Book Will Bury Me by Ashley Winstead (Robyn)
- Girl Falling by Hayley Scrivenor (James)
- Tyranny of the Minority by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt (James)
- Catherine Wheel by Liz Evans (Ashley)
From episode 104 (Michael Klim, author of 'Klim')
- Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles (Michael)
- The Storyteller by Dave Grohl (Michael)
- Andrew Johns: The Two of Me by Andrew Johns and Neil Cadigan (James)
- Johnathan Thurston: The Autobiography by Johnathon Thurston (James)
From episode 105 (Arna Radovich, author of 'Limits of Forgetting')
- Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout (Arna)
- What Happened to Nina? by Dervla McTiernan (Arna)
- The Glass House by Graeme Simsion & Anne Buist (Arna)
- Stoneyard Devotional by Charlotte Wood (Arna)
- Nuclear War: A Scenario by Annie Jacobsen (James)
- The Conspiracy Against the Human Race by Thomas Ligotti (James)
- Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (James)
- Revisionist History season 11: Hitler's Olympics by Malcolm Gladwell and Ben Naddaff-Hafrey (Ashley) [Podcast]
- Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke (Ashley)
From episode 106 (Simone Amelia Jordan, author of 'Tell Her She's Dreamin''
- The Greater Freedom: Life as a Middle Eastern Woman (Simone)
- Outside the Stereotypes by Alya Mooro (Simone)
- Parable by the Sower by Octavia E Butler (Ashley)
From episode 107 (Maggie Walters, author of 'Split')
- In Bad Faith by Dassi Erlich (Maggie)
- For Life by Ailsa Piper (Maggie)
- The Anatomy of Motive by John Douglas (Ashley)
- My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (James)
Upcoming events
- Ashley is teaching Year of the Novel for Writing NSW beginning on Wednesday evenings starting 26 February 2025
- The Cold Truth tour is happening in February! Sign up for Ashley's newsletter here for full details
Learn more about Ashley's thrillers, Dark Mode and Cold Truth, and get your copies from your local bookshop or your library.
Learn more about James' award-winning novel Denizen and get your copy from your local bookshop or your library.
Get in touch!