Today’s authors’ pick was chosen by Kim Kelly.

Koombana Days by Annie Boyd was my fantastic find for 2015. I was idly surfing Goodreads – I can’t even remember what rabbit hole I’d fallen down – when the cover of this maritime history jumped out at me. A glance at the blurb had me soon adding to car

The elegant, ultra-modern SS “Koombana” arrived in Western Australia in March 1909; after only three years of service in the North West of Australia, the ship and her entire complement disappeared in a late-summer cyclone off the Pilbara coast in 1912. All 156 lives were lost but the wreck was never found.It was our own mini Titanic and yet I’d never heard of it before. Irresistible! I devoured not only the amazing tale of glamour entwined with tragedy but Annie Boyd’s wonderful wrangling of vast research into a compelling narrative. She does something here that few historians manage do, too, and that is to bring to life her characters from the past – especially the character of the ship itself – and she does so with great love for her subject.

I was so inspired by the story of the Koombana, it sent me down a whole Edwardian steamships research rabbit hole of my own, and I’ve just finished the draft of a novel based in part on the wreck. Thank you, Annie Boyd!

Kim Kelly is the author of four novels, all lorikeet-coloured tales about Australia, our history and who we are. Her latest work is the novella Wild Chicory.

Readers of my blog will know that a couple of weeks ago I interviewed Beattie Alvarez, a multi-talented creator, and today she is talking about favourite books of 2015.

Favourite reading, by Beattie Alvarez

Two books have really stuck in my mind this year, neither of them written or published in 2015.

Last week I was exhausted. It was only 6:30pm and my eyes were drooping. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep until the next year.

But I couldn’t. My eleven-going-on-sixteen year old was fine.

‘You go to bed Mummy. I promise I’ll go to bed at the right time and not watch bad things on TV,’ she said. What a lovely child!

My three-going-on-eleven year old was another matter. She’s not old enough to put herself to bed, or to let her big sister put her to bed.

So I resorted to a bribe.

‘I’ll read you a Really Long Book if you go to bed now,’ I cajoled, begged, pleaded. ‘You can sleep in your dress!’

That worked. The mere thought of sleeping in my clothes makes me feel icky and grungy, but whatever! I just needed her in bed.

I pulled out the Really Long Book from my shelf and started to read. It was a book that my mum read me when I was a little girl, filled with cosiness and food and ivy covered houses.

‘Ivy Cottage’ by E.J. Taylor is the story of Violet Pickles and her maker Miss Biscuit. When Miss Biscuit retires they move from the lovely, busy, bright city to the country, spending a wet night under an umbrella on their way because they couldn’t find their new house.

In the morning they search under the enormous mound of ivy that blocked their way only to find that the cottage was beneath it!

Violet gets very bored (she’s quite a spoilt doll who needs to be told ‘no’ a little more often) when it rains all day and she can’t play outside. So Miss Biscuit makes her a friend called Ruby Buttons.

This book is cosy reading at its finest.

When I had finished reading it I was instantly worried. It was still obviously light outside and how had I ever thought that Charlotte (Miss three-going-on-eleven) would agree to sleep?

Simple. She didn’t. She asked if she could read the book until it got dark.

I left her sitting bolt upright in bed, carefully turning the pages and telling her own handmade doll what was going on. I didn’t hear a peep from her until the morning when I went in and the book was carefully hidden under her pillow.

Now, the other book I’m going to talk about is completely different, and it starts with a confession: I read in the shower.

Yes, really. It’s simple really, just hold the book in one hand and turn the pages with the pinky of that hand — hold it out of the water of course.

The shower is the only place that I get any peace. So I have very long showers (yes, I know, I should save water).

This particular morning was a BAD morning. Everything was going wrong, everyone was running late and everyone was in bad moods.

It was freezing cold, the toilet was backing up again and I wasn’t wearing my glasses when I grabbed my shower book.

It was ‘Judgement of the Judoon’ by Colin Brake, a Doctor Who novel. I love Doctor Who, but I had been reading a different one and wanted to find out what happened. It took me a few pages to realise that I had the wrong one, but as I was already in the shower I was stuck with it.

And I did!

It was a beautiful medley of science fiction, adventure and nods to some of my other favourite shows. Specifically Veronica Mars.

Veronica Mars was the show that got me writing, oh so many years ago.

Doctor Who is the show that kept me alive when I was in the dark depths of post-natal depression, even more years ago.

So to have ‘Nikki Neptune’ solving mysteries with rhino-headed police and the Tenth (and best) Doctor in a galaxy far, far away was a very welcome surprise to start my morning!

When I got out of the shower — finally — the kids were fed, dressed and ready to go. The sky had clouded over, making it the perfect writing day. And I ended up writing almost 6000 words.

Judgement of the Judoon is a fun and easy book to read — in the shower or anywhere really!

Beattie Alvarez is an escape artist. She writes worlds that she wants to live in, but if she doesn’t ever get to be Queen of the Universe, she will settle for escaping to a pretty little cottage in lovely, damp England.

Today’s authors’ pick has been chosen by Goldie Alexander.

Plainsong, by Kent Haruf

Plainsong is the most perfectly named book imaginable. A simple story of individual struggle with human problems dealt with in a very human way. There is no clattering crescendo for the triumph of good over evil. Rather, the struggles we see detailed are wonderfully real and simply drawn with a story that hinges on homely challenges that the reading is a soothing passage to a quiet place.  The real triumph for Plainsong is not for the characters, but for their creator. Author Kent Haruf hones the feeling of simplicity with simple language — well used — and a sharp focus on character rather than place or even action Alternating chapters focus on eight compassionately imagined characters whose lives undergo radical change during the course of one year. High school teacher Tom Guthrie’s depressed wife moves out of their house, leaving him to care for their young sons. Ike, 10, and Bobby, nine, are polite, sensitive boys who mature as they observe the puzzling behaviour of adults they love. At school, Guthrie must deal with a vicious student bully  in a scene that will leave readers with palpitating hearts. Meanwhile, pregnant teenager Victoria Roubideaux, evicted by her mother, seeks help from kind-hearted, pragmatic teacher Maggie Jones, who convinces the elderly McPheron brothers, Raymond and Harold, to let Victoria live with them in their old farmhouse.

Goldie Alexander writes novels for both adults and youngsters of all ages. Her work covers many genres, though she is mostly known  for her historical fiction.

Today’s authors’ pick has been chosen by Michael Pryor.

Seveneves, By Neal Stephenson

Of all the books I read in 2015, I only gave five stars to one: ‘Seveneves’ by Neal Stephenson. I am an unashamed Stephenson fan – he’s one of the few authors that I will buy their next book sight unseen. ‘Seveneves’ is hard SF and is a book of two parts. It begins with the end of the world and ramps up from there … The human race is reduced to seven women and after a substantial time gap the second half of the book explores how these seven women – aided by technology – have managed to resurrect and preserve the human race. Absolutely fascinating, full of the hugest ideas, the sort of book that goes where mainstream titles wouldn’t even think of. And at nearly a thousand pages, it’s a great read for the holidays!

Michael Pryor writes fantasy and science fiction, mostly for teenagers. He has published more than thirty novels and 50 something short stories. He is one of the co-publishers of Aurealis, Australia’s longest running Fantasy and SF magazine. He has been shortlisted for the Aurealis Award six times, and seven of his books have been CBCA Notable books. His website is www.michaelpryor.com.au.

Today, popular children’s author Hazel Edwards, who I also interviewed on my blog a little while back, tells us about her favourite book for 2015.

Title: Hanna: My Holocaust Story

Author: Goldie Alexander

Publisher:  Scholastic

Publication Date: March 2015  $16.99 RRP

 Format: Paperback

ISBN: 9781743629673

Type:  Historical fiction

WHY THIS ONE? 

We need heroes.  And we need to know about ‘real’ events. But it’s so difficult to write authentically about historic ,tragic events from the perspective of a young person AND still retain 13 year old reader interest. And it’s hard to find historical books that are pitched at : ‘How would I react  if I were there then?’

The tone is appropriate in this book, ‘Hanna My Holocaust Story’ , and the telling is not emotionally overwhelming. Well paced.  Author got the balance right. Even the cover works.

Hazel Edwards often reads in the bath (not usually with clothes on).This fun photo about author workspaces was taken by the Copyright Agency. Her memoir ‘Not Just a Piece of Cake:Being an Author’ (Brolga) is available in print & e-book. http://www.hazeledwards.com/page/not_just_a_piece_of_cake_being_an_author.html.