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COSTER, DJ

Jun 22, 2023 | *, *Featured books, *listed, Australian, Autobiography, Memoir, Society, South Australia

Doug Coster self-published author A Boomers Ride book cover
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ISBN 978-1-922957-80-1
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A Boomer’s Ride

An unlikely journey through post-war Australia

‘Profoundly insightful with a good dose of wit… a light-hearted, nostalgic read’

D.J. Coster describes his life journey against the background of profound socioeconomic change in Australia in the 80 years since the end of WWII.

Coster is a perceptive observer of what has gone on around him and acknowledges the impact of national and international events on his life – and everyone else’s.

He describes the transitions that have tested him – from a working-class home into elite educational institutions, from medical student to junior doctor and the metamorphosis into a clinician scientist, and the tricky transition from doctor to patient. The story is told honestly and reflectively by someone not afraid to provoke. It is not a story of personal achievement against the odds, but a description of factors that made the baby boomer generation more privileged than any other generation before or since, and the way national and global events, chance encounters, and luck, shape lives.

Doug Coster author photo

About the Author

D.J. Coster AO, DSc, FTSE, is a retired ophthalmologist with a distinguished career in academic medicine.

He lives in Adelaide with his wife Marion.

TANNER, Lindsay

May 4, 2022 | *, *Featured books, *listed, Australian, Fiction \ novel, Society

lindsay tanner the warriors book
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ISBN 978-1-9227223-9-3
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The Warriors

KNOCKABOUT MELBOURNE TAXI DRIVER JACK VAN DUYN HAS HIT ROCK BOTTOM. HIS TAXI BUSINESS HAS GONE BUST, HE’S BEEN EVICTED AGAIN, AND HIS FRIENDS HAVE EMIGRATED.

The mundane process of applying for the dole and finding a place to live unexpectedly propel Jack onto the front line of the gender wars. He is forced to go back to uni and enrol in Gender Studies, and finds himself enlisted to infiltrate the Warriors, a secretive men’s group dedicated to harassing women who’ve separated from their violent partners. Their prime target is his new co-tenant Anita, a sex-worker who Jack commits to protecting – because he is falling in love with her.

As the odd assortment of eccentrics and chancers in the decaying Carlton mansion he’s moved into descend into chaotic conflict, Jack’s mission turns deadly when the Warriors unleash vicious revenge attacks on women.

The Warriors explores the appalling realities of male violence against women, the twisted mentalities that impel otherwise ordinary men to extremes of brutality and murder, and the challenges facing decent men caught in a bewildering maze of rapidly changing gender roles and expectations.
 

POLA, Geoff

May 4, 2022 | *, *Featured books, *listed, Australian, Fiction \ novel, Melbourne, Society, Victoria

Geoff Pola The Shit Fairy
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ISBN 978-1-922337-20-7
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The Shit Fairy

Avril’s feelings for Dan are confusing. Hardened by institutional life, Avril Maguire sees Dan as someone she can use and manipulate. She has no concept of consequences and has difficulty adjusting to the psychological abuses by the staff.

Their friendship develops amongst the chaos of her mind, and her past. She inhabits two worlds. One of the sun’s rays, where she is burdened by her disability, and that of the moon’s beams, where she is tucked up tight in bed, free to explore her dreams. It’s through these worlds that Avril discovers a sense of identity and belonging.

The enigma that is Avril Maguire is unique in the complexity of a beautiful mind. Avril’s mischievous giggle is infectious and wills you into a world that is heart-felt and challenging.

Geoff Pola The Circle
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ISBN 978-1-922722-05-8
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The Circle

This is the second book in a series that follows Avril Maguire as she navigates a not so perfect world. At the age of five, Avril was sent to Pleasant Creek. In 1982 she was transferred to Aradale; formally known as Ararat Lunatic Asylum, which housed the adult population. We pick up Avril’s story as the year sees out the end of the 20th Century.

The true origins of the circle come from pagan rituals that worshipped the Sun and the Moon.

Avril knew the power of the circle; it was a symbol of defiance for the little girl that never grew up. She tried to block out the past and imagine her future. The scars on her forearms were a reminder; each one a chapter, a story. Danny Walters is one of Avril’s care workers; their relationship is conditional and one that is renegotiated on a daily basis. Hardened by institutional culture, Avril has no language and is frustrated by the restrictive practices to control her behaviour. Yet she is intrigued by the power she has over Dan.

“Dan thinks I’m all sugar and spice!” Hee

Geoff Pola author The Shit Fairy

About the Author

I was born in Melbourne and completed formal studies to gain a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at the federation University. My interest in psychiatric art lead to chance meeting with Dr Cunningham Dax in 1997 who was cataloguing the collection of psychiatric art from Aradale Mental Hospital, formerly known as Ararat Lunatic Asylum. This was the turning point in my career; I had the privilege of working with people in the disability sector who have fragile and broken minds, plus challenging and complex behaviours.

It was here I met some interesting characters and some beautiful minds filled with dreams and aspirations. I find it humbling to hold the memories of such souls; they will be always cherished and valued.

The Shit Fairy which is subtitled; The Complexities of a beautiful Mind, is a fictional book with contemporary historical elements. We follow the main character, Avril Maguire who has a profound disability. She was brought up in “institutional care” such as Pleasant Creek in Stawell and then transferred to Aradale in 1982, which housed the adult population. The plight of Avril is a poignant reminder regarding the recent Royal Commission into the Disability sector in Australia. I regard myself as a passionate advocate for people like Avril.

Avril story is set in the mid to late 1990’s and we follow her during the transitional period when it was Government policy to close these notorious institutions and integrate residents into social housing. These units were called Client Residential Units (CRU’s). The social expectations were a far cry from a society that had excluded her for thirty-six years.

This is the first book in a series that follows Avril Maguire as she navigates a not so perfect world. Her fear is that she will inflict her will on you! Will you still like me.

WALES, Stephen

May 4, 2022 | *, *Featured books, *listed, Australian, Autobiography, Biography, design, Health & wellbeing, Memoir, Self-help, Society, South Australia

Book : Unbreakable by author Steven Wales
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ISBN 978-0-6483239-1-4
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Unbreakable

A true story of love & human resilience

On their honeymoon in remote Northern India, Steve and Terri’s lives would be forever changed when their tour vehicle collides with an oncoming bus.

What follows is a series of events only the rarest of people survive.Left with catastrophic injuries and given little hope of ever regaining her life back, Terri’s story is one of true courage, determination and ultimately triumph over enormous odds.

stephen wales fork in the road
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ISBN 978-1-922722-95-9
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Fork in the Road

When the screaming fades and the sounds of breaking glass and twisting metal are just distant memories, what happens next?

Putting the pieces of lives torn apart back together is a challenge that will test Steve and Terri well beyond the accident that forever changed them.

Steven Wales Author - Unbreakable
stephen and terri author fork in the road

About the Author

To come.

NOOROA, Iotia

Dec 16, 2021 | *, *Featured books, *listed, Christian, Family history, History, Language and culture, Society, Travel and Adventure, Victoria, VoyaginK Publishing
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ISBN 978-1-922452-66-5
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John Williams – Missionary to the South Seas

The effect of the Good News concerning Jesus Christ has transformed the lives of our people from a life of hopelessness to that of hope and blessings.

The missionaries gave us a good knowledge of the English language. It has given us a clean and prosperous lives. It has given us easy access to the Country of Australia and all Commonwealth Nations.

But it did not just come freely; men and women from the United Kingdom through the London Missionary Society suffered so much to avail to us such privileges. Many of them were martyred. All of them were deprived of the luxuries and comfort of their homeland.

This journey will take you back to the history of your ancestors.

Every word jotted by John Williams imprints a vivid picture of how the Cook Islands people thought and lived, confirming practises and inclinations.

These recounts are an unfolding of the Cook Islands history.

About the Author

Rev Iotia Nooroa holds a Master of Arts Degree in Biblical Studies from the Evangel Christian University of America, Louisiana USA, 2013 and a Bachelor of Theology from Prairie Bible Institute, Albertan Canada, 1981. Teacher and preacher within the Cook Islands Community and visiting lecturer at the Takamoa Theological College, Rarotonga, Cook Islands. Pastor at Casey Bible Church, Melbourne, Australia and Principal at Casey College of Biblical Studies, Melbourne, Australia. Married to Terepai Tutu Mani and has two girls Nanua who is married to John Amato of Samoa and have five children: Tarai, Iosia, Tepaeru, Tereapii, Pouna; and Moari our second daughter. Speaks and writes both English and Cook Islands Maori fluently and understands French, Tahitian, New Testament Greek and Biblical Hebrew. Born in the village of Ruatonga, Avarua, Rarotonga, Cook Islands, 1953 and raised up in the Cook Islands Christian Church of the London Missionary Society, at Avarua. Now living in Melbourne, Australia, 2020.
Mrs Terepai Nooroa holds a Master or Arts in Biblical Studies Degree (M.A.) from the USA and a Bachelor of Religious Education Degree (B.R.E.) from Canada. Serving with her husband in all Ministries of the Church.

 
 

MORGANELLA, Tina & ISABEL JIMINEZ, Maria

Nov 26, 2020 | *, *Featured books, *listed, Comedy, design, Fiction \ novel, Graphic novel, Self-help, Society, South Australia

Wear a Mask, Cupid! by self-published authors Tina Morganella and Maria Isabel Jimenez
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ISBN 978-1-9224522-9-0
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Wear a Mask, Cupid!

Love (or at the very least, desire) always finds a way, right? The true stories in this collection reflect our basic human need to connect with others, physically and emotionally – and we won’t let a little thing like a pandemic stand in our way.

Sometimes funny and romantic, often disastrous and heartbreaking, our brave contributors share their adventures in online dating, dating long distance, dating by stealth, and trying to date but failing. Despite being light-hearted or simply-told, all of the stories demonstrate in their own way, how deeply complex, lonely and profound life can be in lockdown.

Tina Morganella, editor of 'Wear a Mask, Cupid!
Dr Maria Isabel Jimenez, editor of 'Wear a Mask, Cupid!'

About the Editors

Ms Tina Morganella

Tina is a freelance writer and copyeditor with an MPhil in creative writing from the University of Adelaide, Australia. Tina writes short fiction, personal essays and travel literature. Her short stories have been published in STORGY Magazine (UK), Tulpa Magazine (Australia), Sky Island Journal (US), Entropy (US) Sudo (Australia) and Fly on the Wall Press (UK), amongst others. Tina also has nonfiction work published in the Australian press (The Big Issue, The Australian, The Adelaide Advertiser). In her bi-weekly blog, Use it in a Sentence, Tina introduces readers to Merriam Webster’s Word of the Day via micro fiction. Tina is currently between boyfriends, and yes, she has tried online dating with varying degrees of failure.

Dr Maria Isabel Jimenez

Maria is an Officer in the Australian Defence Force. She has a PhD in complex Military Procurement Projects from the University of South Australia, and extensive experience in logistics and procurement, both in the government and private sector. Strangely, none of this prepared her for her online dating tour of duty. Maria survives to tell the tale, with only minor battle scars and a motivational speaking tour planned, once COVID is over. She is fluent in Spanish, is learning French, and knows how to cha-cha. Current personal status: It’s complicated!!