Showing results by narrator "Kate Hood" in All Categories

It's 1963 and Sally Mitchell, the daughter of a New Zealand sheep farmer, is on her way to England. On a stop-over in Sydney, she impulsively takes a job as a governess at Barra Creek, and finds herself in a different world: one dominated by John Monroe and his strict and proper wife, Lorna. Here, Sally's life changes forever. Only Lorna knows the truth of a mysterious death and a terrible injustice. Now, in 2003, she searches for the former governess to and share her horrific secret.

The valley is nestled between rugged peaks, divided by a magnificent river. Within its peaceful green contours are held the secrets of generations of tribes, families and loners who have come under its spell.

It's the psychedelic '70s and social conventions are being challenged. When Catherine Moreland from rural Australia goes on her first trip abroad, a handsome American naval officer sweeps her off her feet and she goes to live in beautiful, romantic Hawaii with her new husband. At first, the magic and loveliness of the Islands lead Catherine to believe she is living in paradise.

Sydney, 1942. Pearl is 18, beautiful and impetuous. She plays saxophone in an all-girl jazz band at the Trocadero and occasionally sits in on underground gigs with her twin brother Martin, who also plays the sax. On one such evening black GI and jazz legend James Washington blows into her life, and nothing is ever the same again, especially not Pearl. A love story begins to unfold against the blacked-out nights and rumour-filled days of a city in the grip of war.

When Nikki Stern left suburban Melbourne for Europe in the early 1980s, little did she know that her life was about to change dramatically. Adopted into a well-connected family and educated at an exclusive school, she fell instantly and hopelessly in love with a charming and charismatic cartoonist in Amsterdam. Paul and Nikki embarked on a passionate love affair, enjoying the hedonistic days of the '80s before eloping and returning to Australia. But soon Nikki found herself in a world she never imagined. Descending into the depths of the sex industry - as a dominatrix, stripper, prostitute and porn star - there was almost nothing she didn't do.

Blaze exposes the new order of women and power in the cut-throat arena of up-market magazines. The idealistic baby boomers have been pushed aside and it's every woman for herself. An intimate look at four women coping with their private and public lives in the world where scheming and fox cunning seem to beat skill and talent, where sexism and ageism in office politics label women over 30 over the hill. Blaze is the story of women trying to survive, to compete, while maintaining friendships and finding happiness. In this pressure-cooker world, something has to give and for some women it isn't worth the fight.

Great Pioneer Women of the Outback profiles 10 female pioneers, from Jeannie Gunn, author of We of the Never Never, to equally remarkable but lesser known women, such as Emma Withnell in Western Australia and Evelyn Maunsell in Queensland. Building on the women's records and her own knowledge of Australian history, Susanna de Vries documents the grit and determination it took to build what many today would consider an extraordinary life.

Fiery and ambitious, brilliant architect Francey Spinetti is a young woman on her way to the top. When wealthy magnate CJ Ambrose introduces her to his vast North Queensland business empire and a career-scarred local cop, Steve Parish, everything seems to be falling into place, including her love life. But the harsh outback landscape holds more secrets than Francey could possibly have imagined, and more enemies too. CJ's family seem determined to eliminate Francey from the picture—whatever the cost.

I tell you, you meet some strange characters in this game.... Boasting the biggest beats in the world - some as large as France - Australia's outback police have seen it all: natural disasters, incredible acts of selflessness, unspeakable crimes and daring rescues, just to name a few. And they've met some unforgettable characters along the way: from the murderer who stuffed his victims' bodies down wombat holes to the policeman who arrested his own wife....

In July 2009 Jim Stynes, the acclaimed professional Australian-rules football player and administrator, was diagnosed with cancer and given less than a year to live. The diagnosis caught him by surprise. He was 42, healthy, and didn't have time for illness; he was director of the Reach Foundation, president of Melbourne Football Club, father of two primary school-aged kids, and the husband of Sam. Jim's ability to use mind over matter and never give in gave him two extra years on the prognosis. This book is Jim's legacy.

The Bay is a beautiful and peaceful town on the Australian east coast; a melting pot of city escapees, alternative lifestylers, feral dropouts, lost souls, backpackers, and men and women in search of love and a new sense of identity. When Sydney corporate wife Holly Jamieson turns 45 she shocks her husband by buying an old house in The Bay with plans to transform it into a charming B & B. What began as a gesture of independence changes her life.

Someone is trying to sabotage Ashworths, the exclusive department store set up by Laura Beaumont. Is the company about to be taken over? The timing is bad for the Beaumont family because Laura's health is declining and they desperately need to find a successor to the business. Caroline, Laura's eldest daughter, is a concert pianist in search of a new career; perhaps at Ashworths. But her ambitious sister Michaela has her eye on the top job and is suspicious of Caroline's motives. Meanwhile, Joel, Laura's son, has to deal with his own problems before he can pursue his career as a doctor.

Laura McRae is beautiful, gifted, and madly in love, until at 18 her life is shattered in a few brief moments. Soon it is wartime, a time of racketeering and high stakes...and impulsive marriages. Falling into the arms of Eddie Ashworth seems to be the love Laura has dreamed of, but is her new husband really the man he seems?

Kelly is 17. She's a scholarship girl, her dad drinks too much and her mom lives in another city. Her house isn't renovated like those of her friends. But Kelly has one thing her friends are envious of: Phil. Rich, devoted, handsome Phil. And it looks like their future together is all mapped out. Then, on a hot afternoon in a dingy little pizza shop, Kelly meets Con. He's unlike anyone she's ever known before.

Australian street kids are the forgotten underclass of society, an ever-increasing pool of children who are often abused, frequently in the clutches of drug dealers, and usually engaged in crime just to make enough money to stay alive. Their childhood dreams of a happy, loving future are lost forever. This audiobook tells of Father Riley's faltering first steps towards helping such children, and his determination to pledge the rest of his life to giving them back their dreams.

Australia's national character and spirit have always been defined, rightly or wrongly, by 'the bush'. This entertaining, thought-provoking, humorous, nostalgic, and, above all, highly readable collection of stories for the modern reader shows why the romance endures.

From Jim Haynes, one of our most successful and prolific Australian authors, comes a collection of classic and iconic stories from the remote outback, cattle station, wheat farm, and rural town. The bush is where our iconic characters are found living in, taking refuge or exploring, whether an Aborigine, explorer, squatter, bushranger, or stockman.

The Kimberley, a land that cradles Australia's ancient treasures, is sanctuary to the mysterious spirits reflected in the oldest rock art in the world. It is also home to a people whose powerful secrets could unlock the future for a modern mankind. Four people are tied up in a mystery so powerful it could change their lives forever.

When English actress Vanessa Forsythe falls in love with Bren Selby, her life changes forever. Leaving behind her London apartment, she becomes mistress of Amaroo Downs, a remote cattle station in Western Australia. Not only does Vanessa have to adjust to a vastly different lifestyle in the outback, she must establish her place in the Selby family.

Lured by the peaceful town and its need for a doctor, the young family decide to settle at Bindi Creek and make friends with the locals, including Jason's old mate Wes, who admires Jason and Brooke's perfect life. But Brooke is not all she appears to be, and the guilty secrets of her tragic past are tearing her apart. When Jason is seriously injured in a motorcycle accident, Brooke has to confront her past and rediscover herself in order to survive. Meanwhile, Wes begins to make his move.

Barrister Jessica Pearce is brilliant in the courtroom until a personal tragedy tears her life apart. To help her recover from her trauma, husband Dr Simon Pearce decides they will move to Norfolk Island. Here, Simon hopes that Jessica will rebuild her life. But strange, inexplicable things have Jessica questioning her own sanity on an island scarred by dark secrets from its convict past. To help uncover the truth behind Jessica's problems, Simon enlists the help of psychologist Marcus Hunter, a native Norfolker.