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PODCAST

Dear Rach & Soph

Bestselling Australian authors Rachael Johns (The Other Bridget, The Patterson Girls) and Sophie Green (Weekends with the Sunshine Gardening Society, The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle) talk about writing and books and all sorts of things - and they welcome questions from other writers and readers! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

arts books

All Episodes

1:01:01

All about audiobooks from an audio insider, with...

Dear Rach & Soph ·

2025/11/02

We recorded this episode in September, and Rachael was under the weather at the time, but she’s not any more! And she also talks about her latest novel, The Lucky Sisters, maybe being out by the time this episode is - and that novel is indeed out now.Our guest for this episode is the wonderful Chiara Priorelli from audiobook publisher Wavesound. (Wavesound published the audiobook of Sophie's latest novel, Lessons in Love at the Seaside Salon.) We both know we have readers who have switched to audio

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1:10:24

From self-publishing to series smash and new stories...

Dear Rach & Soph ·

2025/10/25

When Rachael and I were offered the chance to have Lyla Sage as a guest on the podcast, we said yes straightaway. While our focus is Australian books and authors, Lyla has created something special in her Rebel Blue Ranch series and new novel Soul Searching, which kicks off the new series Sweetwater Peak. The writing is first and foremost, and she’s a great writer. But there’s also ‘the package’ - the covers that she envisaged herself and worked on with a designer, to create and convey the world

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39:05

When a writer works for a writers festival - with...

Dear Rach & Soph ·

2025/10/15

Note from Sophie:This is an episode featuring me alone - not because Rachael lost her voice or anything else, but because my guest is Qin Qin, and I published her book, Model Minority Gone Rogue: How an unfulfilled daughter of a tiger mother went way off script, so it made sense for me to do this one alone.Model Minority Gone Rogue has been shortlisted for The Age Book of the Year and at the time of writing is shortlisted for The ACT Book of the Year, with winners announced on 24 October during the

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58:45

How a respected journalist becomes a bestselling...

Dear Rach & Soph ·

2025/10/11

Michael Brissenden had a long career as an esteemed journalist (see bio below) and all the while was writing fiction, as we found out when we spoke to him recently. We were interested in finding out more about how he has moved from investigative journalism to writing fiction that has won him lots of new fans, as those books - the latest of which is Dust - have become bestsellers.We also found out that Michael has other creative talents! And all round it was very interesting to talk to him. His

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44:29

From emergency medicine to compelling fiction - guest...

Dear Rach & Soph ·

2025/10/04

‘So I just get this tiny snapshot of extreme humanity at its most tempestuous or its most vulnerable almost … I obviously have had a lifetime of influence of what humans can do when they're pushed to the edge in whatever way. And that obviously has to kind of influence how I see humanity and therefore how I write characters in a way.’Michelle Johnston is the author of THE REVISIONISTS and she is also an emergency physician, so in this me-alone episode (Rachael had lost her voice!) I had questions to

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1:29:08

From blogging to writing fiction - with guest Holly...

Dear Rach & Soph ·

2025/09/27

This year Holly Brunnbauer released her first novel, What Did I Miss? - but it is far from her first attempt at writing (and not even her first fiction manuscript). Holly began writing in earnest when she created a blog about motherhood in Melbourne and turned it into an enterprise. That taught her about writing to an audience, and she now assists other authors in understanding how to communicate with their readers (to the point that I asked if she would consider creating a course for it). This part

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1:05:35

From helping others to healing through stories -...

Dear Rach & Soph ·

2025/09/20

Renae Black (bio below) was a guest on the first season of Dear Rach & Soph, and at that time we talked about whether or not she needed a literary agent. This time around, we wanted to talk to Renae about how her work in child protection has influenced the stories she writes, including her latest, Second Chance Station. What followed was a discussion in which Renae not only talked about the sorts of stories she wants to tell but also of how writing fiction helped her manage postnatal anxiety

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4:39

September 2025 new releases

Dear Rach & Soph ·

2025/09/17

These are the Australian books being released in September 2025 that we know about. There is no one central place to find out about book releases so we rely on authors reporting to us and also on the publishers who have added us to their mailing lists for advance notice of releases (as opposed to newsletters). We hope these episodes help you find a great new book! **NB: This is a Soph-alone episode**Contemporary YATitle: Summer, in BetweenAuthor: Holly CardamonePublisher: Hawkeye Publishing‘Looking

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1:04:00

Writing, characters, pitching - we answer questions!

Dear Rach & Soph ·

2025/09/13

When we started doing this podcast it was mainly us talking to each other. Then we started bringing guests onto the podcast and that has taken on its own life. And we certainly love talking to other writers! However, every now and again we go back to talking to each other, thanks to listener/viewer (aka ‘liewer’) Lucinda Ellen, who sent us several great questions. The questions ranged from to write opening chapters to crafting a pitch to developing characters, and some other things too.As this was

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1:17:12

Is there a ‘second novel syndrome’? With guests Saman...

Dear Rach & Soph ·

2025/09/06

Two guests join me and Rachael Johns in this episode, and they are both fabulous (you can read their bios below). Emma Pei Yin has just released her first novel, When Sleeping Women Wake, and is working on her second. Saman Shad released her second novel, The Sex Lives of Married Women, earlier this year. Something Emma said to me when we first met - about what it was like working on her second novel - sparked the idea for this episode, then Rachael saw something Saman had written on the same

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1:07:28

From marketing romance to writing romance - with...

Dear Rach & Soph ·

2025/08/30

Patrick Lenton is the author of the book of short stories A Man Made Entirely of Bats (2015), the book of comedic essays Uncle Hercules and Other Lies (2019), and the full length short story collection Sexy Tales of Paleontology (2021). His debut novel, a rom-com called In Spite of You is out now from Pantera Press. And his actual bio is a lot longer than this because he’s a very accomplished individual!Sophie first met Patrick when he was working in marketing at Momentum, which was the digital-only

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1:05:02

All about Lessons in Love at the Seaside Salon

Dear Rach & Soph ·

2025/08/27

Each time one of us releases a book (separately) we devote an episode of Dear Rach & Soph to discussing the book - Sophie will interview Rachael about hers, and vice versa.This latest episode, which we’re releasing as a bonus episode, is about Sophie's new novel, Lessons in Love at the Seaside Salon. There’s a short description below and you can hear Rach read the longer blurb in the episode.We recorded this ep after we’d already recorded another episode so we were possibly a little tired and

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1:09:18

The ins, outs, ups and downs of romance writing -...

Dear Rach & Soph ·

2025/08/23

As the Romance Writers of Australia conference is taking place this weekend, we thought it was a good time to publish the episode we recorded with Amy Barry. Rachael is an expert romance writer; Amy is a romance writer and also an academic expert in romance fiction (her bio appears below).Note from Sophie: I was passenger for most of this episode - to the point that my internet cut out, I dropped out of the Zoom and the conversation continued seamlessly! - but that wasn’t because I was being left

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1:02:48

From historical fiction to Italian crime - with guest...

Dear Rach & Soph ·

2025/08/16

Kayte Nunn’s previous books were mostly historical fiction, and there was often an element of intrigue, so the signs were there that she was heading for crime, and it’s a genre that she has taken to like the proverbial duck to water in her latest novel, THE PALAZZO.We loved speaking to Kayte about her decision to switch to crime, and how she came to create the intricate web of story in THE PALAZZO, as well as choose the location. This is a novel that gives you a very satisfying crime story while

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9:47

August 2025 new releases

Dear Rach & Soph ·

2025/08/11

These are the new fiction releases in Australia for August 2025 – that we know about! We’re relying on information from authors and publishers, but not all of them send it to us, so if you’re an author with an upcoming release, please let us know!HISTORICAL FICTIONUntil the Red Leaves Fall by Alli ParkerDaughters of Batavia by Stefanie KoensThe Midnight Estate by Kelly RimmerGENERAL FICTIONThe Life Experiment by Jess KitchingLessons in Love at the Seaside Salon by Sophie GreenThe Visitor by Rebecca

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1:00:51

Living a fully creative life - with guest Maya Linnell

Dear Rach & Soph ·

2025/08/09

Maya Linnell is a beloved author of seven novels, the latest of which is COCKATOO COVE (blurb below). Her writing life began with journalism, and she worked at a rural newspaper before moving into public relations then into writing fiction as well as blogging for Romance Writers Australia. Maya currently lives in rural Queensland with her husband and three children.We wanted to talk to Maya about her writing life and her fiction, of course, but she also participates in a number of other creative

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58:58

Changing genres, changing lives - with guest Jess...

Dear Rach & Soph ·

2025/08/02

We never know where a conversation will go on this podcast, whether it’s us talking to each other or talking to a guest. While questions are prepared, a script is never followed to the letter - we both tend to let conversations go where they go.This conversation with Jess Kitching, author of new novel THE LIFE EXPERIMENT (published by Simon & Schuster - blurb below), went to several extraordinary places as Jess told us her story. At one point Sophie has to ask Rachael to take over because she's

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1:07:23

Writer therapy! With guest Ky Garvey

Dear Rach & Soph ·

2025/07/26

Here’s the latest instalment of our ‘writer therapy’ and this time our guest is Ky Garvey (bio below), who volunteered herself for some of the tough love we seem to dish out. Please note we are not therapists! But we are writers (who may need therapy) and as Sophie is also a publisher (who often gives advice to writers) we feel somewhat qualified to talk other writers through any issues they may be having.This episode was recorded quite a while ago - on Mother’s Day, in fact. It’s taken this long to

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14:19

July 2025 new releases

Dear Rach & Soph ·

2025/07/20

It’s a double episode today! That’s because we're late posting the July new releases. As it happens, Rachael recorded that one on her own, and as Sophie made the Emma Clancey episode (posted earlier) on her own, it has lined up nicely that we post both episodes today. So instead of one episode with us together, you have one from Soph and one from Rach. Lots of great new reading in this episode!Details of the books mentioned in this episode appear below.Title:What Did I Miss?Author:Holly

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50:15

From medical school to magical worlds - with guest...

Dear Rach & Soph ·

2025/07/19

‘Writing and healthcare aren’t that different. At their core it’s an interest in people and it’s an interest in telling and understanding stories.’Sydney-based medical student and author Emma Clancey says this deep in Sophie's recent interview about her outstanding YA fantasyThis Dream Will Devour Us (blurb below), which is out now from Allen & Unwin and which will be published in the USA next year.This is an interview Sophie did solo as while we have been pretty good at lining up times, we

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