The Small Picture Podcasts

In Lucky For Me, Frank Robson and his partner, Leisa Scott, rescued Lucky, a mischievous, cream-coloured terrier from Death Row, and embraced him as the third member of their high-spirited, boat-mad family.

Now, Frank relates how a curse seems to hover over the three of them as they try to set out on their long-planned, open-ended cruise. Instead of the adventure of a lifetime, there is bad weather outside, bad blood on board, and bad luck besetting them at every turn.

But when the trio do finally escape land, there are beautiful islands to explore and plenty of escapades to be had with a motley crew of colourful characters, crocodiles, feral cats, sharks, snakes, and even a new love interest for Lucky.

Lucky Goes To Sea will take you on an unforgettable journey, with a four-legged hero guaranteed to make you laugh and steal your heart.

I spoke to Frank just before he set out on his voyage a few years ago, and he actually remembered me - and in a good way, too, which is nice. Frank and Lucky are two of the most fortunate people on Earth, getting to travel around the wonderful Top End of Australia.

This interview covers some of their adventures, near misses and close encounters, and gives you some insight into just why Australia really is The Lucky Country!

I really enjoyed doing this interview, and I hope you enjoy listening to it, too!

Christopher O′Doherty, aka Reg Mombassa, has infiltrated our culture for more than thirty years with a unique, laconic view of our world ... and of his.

His wit, sense of mischief and larrikin energy resonated in the songs and performances of one of Australia′s most beloved bands, Mental As Anything, whose music became the soundtrack to a generation′s misbegotten youth.

His eye for the absurd and his unapologetic idealism captured another generation or three with his irreverent, frequently macabre and always distinctive designs for the original Mambo label.

Yet long before he became a Mental or transformed shirts into collector′s items, Mombassa was first and foremost an artist. From his idiosyncratic pop art to the delicately realised fine art landscapes and images that celebrate and elevate the suburban, his artworks are sought by collectors around the world.

Who else could stage the biggest one-man art show in history at the Sydney Olympics? Who else could have Elvis Costello producing his records, or the likes of Johnny Rotten and Crowded House seeking his record cover designs?

But there is much more to Reg Mombassa, as fellow New Zealand-born writer and painter Murray Waldren shows in this illuminated journey. Illustrated with almost 300 original artworks and packed with photographs, posters and band memorabilia, this is a true collector′s item.

A lovely, lovely guy to talk to, Reg was happy to talk about the things that you didn't see at the Olympics!

If you want to find out more about Reg, head to:

www.regmombassa.com.au

I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did!

People I interview often ask me, off air, what my life is actually like in China.

Well, I decided today to record a small snippet about what life is like for me here.

I'm not a political science major, I'm not even a very political person, so before you get all upset - just remember, I'm only telling you the things I see.

If you have any comments, any questions, plese, email me me.

Why did I do this interview?

That's a good question...

I did it because I wanted to.

Because I like Doug Stanhope, and I want to introduce him to other people.

Doug Stanhope is a stand-up comic. Has been since 1990.

His material ranges from true-life graphic perversion to volatile social criticism. Doug is vulgar, opinionated, brutally honest and shockingly uninhibited and is certainly not for everybody.

He started his career in Las Vegas doing jack-off jokes for free drinks. Not much has changed, save for the mullet.

Doug has built a wide-ranging television resume of dubious achievement. He hosted The Man Show on Comedy Central as well as the ubiquitous pseudo-porn for the sexually crippled, "Girls Gone Wild", both solely and shamelessly for financial gain. He has appeared on "The Howard Stern Show", "Comedy Central Presents", "Premium Blend", NBC's "Late Friday", "Spy TV" BBC's "Floor Show Live" while on ecstasy and wrote, produced and starred in Fox's "Invasion of the Hidden Cameras" and has even popped up on "Fox News with Greta Van Sustern" and "The Jerry Springer Show". But none of it compares to seeing him live.

He’s appeared at major comedy festivals including the Montreal Just For Laughs, Aspen US Comedy Arts, Chicago Comedy Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, where he won the Strathmore Press Award in 2002.

Also in 2002, he was named as one of the Top Ten Comics To Watch by both Variety and the Hollywood Reporter. He has released three CDs and three DVDs including the latest through Showtime, "No Refunds" in 2008.

"Ask anyone whose opinion matters, and they'll tell you Doug Stanhope is one of the top ten stand-ups in the world today.

Stanhope's confrontational stance comes from the rough, blistered underbelly of America's trailer parks; he's a feral, aggressive man full fuelled by primal urges to drink, fight and screw ­ and the corrosive material has all the venomous aggression you might expect from that background.

But what underlines it, and makes it so untouchably good, is the passion and conviction with which he holds his intelligent beliefs, informed by sensibilities that might seem alien to such a no-nonsense, pig-headed persona. -Chortle UK

"Stanhope shocks you with the virulence of his lucidity; he shocks you into realising how transparent the confidence trick of western propaganda can be made to seem. What he has in abundance is the charm, don't-give-a-damn swagger and aggressive intelligence that make for important, exciting comedy." -Guardian, UK

"Some of the sharpest and most biting cultural commentary you'll see in a comedy club." - St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The Austin Chronicle says, "Let me tell you something, friends. Doug Stanhope is one funny sumbitch. He's also one of the most twisted individuals I've ever met, but that's part of his charm. He's one of those comics that doesn't make shit up. He lives a mad, mad life and what he remembers he reports back to us. He's been known to bare his soul, and other things, right there on the stage. If you're easily offended, stay home this week. Watch Matlock or something. But if you like your comedy rough, raw, and rowdy, there's no one better than Doug Stanhope. Have I made myself clear?"

"Sharp, off color, and howlingly funny" - The San Francisco Chronicle

"Stanhope breaks down the walls of decency. He uses profanity, but nothing he says is meant to shock. Everything he says is designed to make the audience laugh. Stanhope has worked his way to become one of the best comics around" - The Reno Gazette Journal

Doug Stanhope makes me laugh.

I hope he makes you laugh, too... he's a very funny guy, despite his protesting otherwise.

I enjoyed doing this.

I took a punt, and it paid off.

And if you don't like it, email me.

Or Doug.

And if you want to know more, check out:

http://www.dougstanhope.com

Every year, thousands of Australians discover they have breast cancer. It could affect you, someone in your family, your friend, your workmate. Whatever links you to breast cancer, TELLING IT LIKE IT IS: 23 BREAST CANCER JOURNEYS reminds you that you are not alone.

Fully supported by the National Breast Cancer Foundation, this is a collection of first-hand accounts and experiences from people whose lives have been touched by breast cancer.

This life-affirming book is the vision of acclaimed Queensland sports journalist AnneMarie White OAM. She conveys her own experiences via emails sent to her inner circle over the course of her treatment for breast cancer. To capture the stories of the other 21 women and one man in the book, White conducted months of interviews. The result is nothing less than extraordinary.

At times inspiring, hopeful and wistful; sometimes confronting and angry and sad, these are the voices of spirited contemporary Australians. Contributors include Susan Duncan, Ros Kelly, Kerryn McCann and Professor Fiona Stanley AC.

A warm and uplifting interview about what is usually a depressing subject, and one I really enjoyed!

The Hadron Collider is turned on and everyone in the world goes to sleep for a few moments. In those few moments everyone's consciousness is catapulted forward more than twenty years into the future. When it awakes the world must live with the knowledge of what is to come. Some saw themselves in new relationships, some saw exciting new technologies, some saw the stuff of nightmares. Some, young and old alike, saw nothing at all and must live with the certainty that they have less than 20 years left.

http://abc.go.com/shows/flash-forward

A good, fun interview, with lots of info about the show - you can't say fairer than that!

Four friends, one block of land, no power tools

′One day,′ Philip said, ′I′d like to build something bigger ... Like a house. We could just buy a block of land, you know, the four of us, and have a go.′

It was just an idea. Then it started to take shape. In this frank, funny and thought-provoking memoir, Richard Glover describes how he and his friend Philip and their partners built a house in the bush on weekends. It was a huge and exhausting undertaking ... not least because they decided to use mudbricks.

′Imagine this -- with mudbrick you have a building that is made out of the very earth it stands on ... There is another thing: the stuff is free. Once we buy the land we′ll have no money left. This way we can get started as soon as we have the block.′

In the end it took three years simply to make the bricks. As for the house itself ...

But the process gave Richard the opportunity to examine things he had never quite reconciled to himself -- big things like what it means to be a man, the nature of male relationships, fatherhood -- and to challenge himself in the kind of blokey environment he had rejected.

Above all, the mud house proved that even if it ′wasn′t the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel′ there is nothing like the satisfaction of making something with your own hands.

Richard Glover is the author of five books, including In Bed with Jocasta, and three stage shows. His weekly column has appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald since 1985. He presents the Drive show on ABC Radio in Sydney.

A fun interview about a fun subject, Richard Glover is always one of my favourite Aussie authors to have a chat to!

When the Merry Makers dance, it′s hard to find a dry eye in the audience. ′I never used to believe in miracles,′ says one admirer. ′But now I know they happen.′

All the Merry Makers have intellectual or physical disabilities - sometimes both - and face huge challenges in their lives, yet to see them dance is one of the most uplifting celebrations of the resilience of the human spirit and the power of music.

With a record-breaking three appearances on 60 Minutes and their documentary "The Music In Me" winning awards around the world and enjoying ratings success when shown on ABC TV′s Enough Rope, the Merry Makers are now about to conquer the USA. This is their story.

Praise For The Merry Makers' Performances:

′I was taken aback by the sheer joy of it ... moments of pure goodness.′ Andrew Denton

′I was overwhelmed by the love! There′s so much joy.′ Marcia Hines

′I cried - not because of sadness, but because of happiness ... immensely touching.′ John Laws

′It was amazing, so beautiful. It′s such a lot of fun.′ Todd McKenney

′It′s like a wave washing over you, all that warmth ... extraordinary!′ Julia Morris

Sue Williams is a high-profile journalist who writes for The Australian, The Melbourne Age and The Sunday Age as well as several magazines. Sue is the author of the bestselling Peter Ryan biography, Peter Ryan: The Inside Story, and co-author of a motivational women′s health guide, Powering Up. In 2001 she contributed a short story, her first piece of fiction, to Love, Obsession, Secrets & Lies, a collection of stories by nine Australian writers, published by HarperCollinsPublishers. She lives in East Sydney.

A lovely interview with a lovely lady, I hope you all enjoy it!

The eagerly awaited conclusion to Penelope Green's trilogy of memoirs about her life in Italy. After living in Rome and Naples, Penny and her Italian partner Alfonso move to the small and very beautiful island of Procida in the Gulf of Naples, across the bay from Capri. Penny and Alfonso want a change of scene and decide to accept the challenge set by Enzo, the owner of the island's Bar Capriccio, who tells them that young couples come to Procida, 'But not many last'. Adapting to life in the small community, where many locals are wary of newcomers and the conveniences of the city are more than an hour's ferry trip away - often on rough seas - is hard for Penny, and could become even more isolated when Alfonso has to leave for three months to tour with his band. But with her trademark optimism and determination, Penny sets her own goal. She is going to ask her Procidian neighbours to teach her to cook. Over kitchen tables, in cafes and sharing family meals under vine-covered pergolas, Penny learns the art of Italian cooking, and enters into the lives of people on the island as friendships form and stories are traded.

Penelope Green was born in Sydney and worked as a print journalist around Australia for a decade before moving to Rome in 2002. Her first book, When In Rome, recounts her early experiences in the Eternal City. In 2005 she moved to Naples to work for ANSAmed, a Mediterranean news service. She found an apartment in the city’s colourful Spanish Quarter, worked hard at mastering the Neapolitan dialect, and writing her second travel memoir, See Naples And Die. Girl By Sea completes Penny's Italian experience as she moves to the idyllic island of Procida, across the bay from Capri, with her Italian partner, Alfonso. The couple have now returned to Australia, where they are making a new life for themselves back in the Southern hemisphere.

One of those fun interviews about food, friends and travel, I hope you enjoy it!

First Patrick receives DVDs in the post. They show footage of him and his wife washing, dressing, going to work - all taken by cameras hidden in his house. Someone is out to get him. And then the emails start arriving: Tell No One Go Alone OR SHE DIES Patrick's life is turned upside down. Suddenly, this is a matter of life and death. He must follow the instructions on the email if he is to survive...

Gregg Hurwitz grew up in the Bay Area. He has written screenplays for film and TV, and reinvented a comic character for Marvel. In the name of research he has swum with sharks and sneaked onto demolition ranges. He now lives in L.A. where he teaches fiction writing and is a keen soccer player.

Gregg was great fun to talk to, and you can find out more about him at his web site:

http://gregghurwitz.net/

Enter a world of beauty and danger, of French cabaret and terrible revenge.

Mak Vanderwall - beautiful, street-wise daughter of a cop, graduate in forensic psychology, and now PI - is hired by a widowed mother to track down her missing nineteen-year-old son. Has he come to harm? Or has he run off with a bizarre troupe of shady French cabaret artists sweeping through Australia?

Has the dark beauty of the burlesque, the magic, the mind-bending contortion, beguiled him? Or has he been seduced by the mysterious and amoral older woman who has a terrifying starring role in the troupe′s modern performances of the Grand Guignol ′Theatre of Fear′, famous in Paris in the early 1900s?

And what of the rumours of violence and tragedy that have plagued the troupe for the past decade? Is their horrifying past fact or fiction?

Meanwhile, Mak is increasingly obsessed with the powerful Cavanagh family, one of Australia′s richest and most ruthless families, whom she believes has got away with murder. And it seems their security advisor Mr White, and his hit man, Luther Hand, may not have forgotten about Mak either ...

"Tara Moss is much more than a pretty face. She′s an international best-selling author, ambassador, television host, and reptile-wrangler...she may well become one of the world′s best-sellers."

- World Literature Today

"No-one really believed she could have written four hugely successful detective novels, and each unaided. Is it possible that such a stunner can actually write? Absolutely..." - Vanity Fair magazine

Tara is the author of the international bestselling crime novels - Fetish, Split, Covet and Hit, published in fourteen countries in nine languages, helping to make the young author, "...one of Australia′s most successful female authors in any genre." (quote -Crime Factory), and winning fans around the world, "Her novels are completely entertaining and gripping from beginning to end." (quote- Hugh Jackman). In fact, according to AC Neilsen sales figures, Moss is ′Australia′s #1 crime writer′. In 2006 her novels were launched in the USA to acclaim. "A bold new female voice for American crime-fiction fans." (quote -Publishers Weekly, USA).

Writing has been a lifelong passion for Moss, who began penning gruesome "Stephen King-inspired" stories for her classmates when she was only 10. Moss went on to a successful international career as a model before pursuing professional writing, first earning a Diploma from the Australian College of Journalism in 1997, and in 1998 winning the Scarlet Stiletto Young Writers Award for her story, Psycho Magnet. Moss started writing her successful debut novel, Fetish, when she was just 23. Her crime novels have been nominated for both the Davitt Award and the Ned Kelly; two of Australia′s most prestigious honors. Not a writer to rely solely on imagination, Moss′ in-depth research has seen her earn her Certificate III in Investigation from the Australian Security Academy, tour the FBI Academy at Quantico, spend time in squad cars, the morgue, prisons, the Hare Psychopathy Lab, the Supreme Court and criminology conferences world-wide, take polygraph tests, shoot weapons, conduct surveillance with private investigators, pass the Firearms Training Simulator (FATSII) with the LAPD, pull 4.2 G′s doing loops over the Sydney Opera House flying with the RAAF Roulettes, acquire her CAMS race driver licence and much more.

Moss hosts the crime documentary series "Tara Moss Investigates" on the National Geographic Channel in the UK, across Europe, Australia and New Zealand. She has also hosted Nat Geo Presents, mediated a GNW TV Debate, been an MTV Canada guest host, and participated as a guest and panelist on numerous popular TV programs in Australia and Canada, including ′Fashion TV′, ′Book Television′, Entertainment Tonight′ and ′The Panel′. Moss has also conducted hundreds of talks at writer′s festivals, literary events, schools, universities and corporate events.

Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Moss is a proud dual Australian/Canadian citizen, and divides her time between Sydney, Los Angeles and her hometown in Victoria. When not researching and writing her sixth crime novel, Moss enjoys riding her 900cc Triumph Scrambler motorcycle and spending time with her 7 foot coastal carpet python ′Fester′, her 5 foot baby black-headed python ′Thing′ and her faithful dog ′Bogart′, and serving as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, as well as an ambassador for the YWCA, and the Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children.

For more information visit her official website www.taramoss.com which receives one million hits a month from around the world.

Tara is one of my favourite authors to interview, and this was a great interview to do... but... unfortunately we had phone problems, so parts of the interview are louder than others, sorry.

A spectacular car crash in the sweltering Seville summer accidentally brings to a life a suitcase filled with millions in cash - and the prospect of a serious mafia presence on Inspector Jefe Javier Falcón′s beat.

As a turf war erupts, Falcón finds himself and those closest to him personally targeted by the lethal forces suddenly unleashed. In the face of attack, Falcón decides to retaliate with a ruthlessness that surprises him as much as his adversaries.

But there is a terrible price to pay.

The final, stunning chapter in the critically acclaimed Javier Falcón series.

Robert Wilson was born in 1957. A graduate of Oxford University, he has worked in shipping and advertising in London and trading in West Africa. He is married and divides his time between England, Spain and Portugal.

Robert Wilson's life is as amazing as his books - and he was a delight to interview. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did recording it!

Let's face it...we are all having to be more conscious of our spending habits. But with Money Saving Meals it is possible to eat well cheaply. Money Saving Meals shows how to make meals that take us back to the basics so we eat well and save lots of money. This book isn't about instant food or only using four ingredients, it is about feeding yourself and your family cheaply and cooking meals that aren't complicated, expensive or require a visit to a specialist deli. Feeding four people well on $10 is not that hard. You will find you'll be eating less processed foods so you won't just save money you will be eating more healthily as well. Money Saving Meals isn't about whipping up instant meals from a can. It is about returning to old ways...when a meal was savoured and the smell of it cooking brought the whole household together.

Diane Temple was wonderful to talk to - it's great to have a chance to chat with someone who shares a passion for fast, easy and economical meals. Truly a delightful interview!

It′s Summer in the Granite City, but even the sunshine can′t improve the mood at Grampian Police Headquarters.

Aberdeen′s growing Polish community is under attack from a serial offender who leaves mutilated victims to be discovered on building sites - eyes gouged out and the sockets burned.

Detective Sergeant Logan McRae is assigned to the investigation, codenamed Operation Oedipus, but with the victims too scared to talk, it′s going nowhere fast.

When the next victim turns out to be not a newly arrived eastern european, but Simon McLeod, owner of the Turf n′ Track bookies, Logan suddenly finds himself caught up in a world of drug wars, prostitution rings and gun-running courtesy of Aberdeen′s oldest and most vicious crime lord.

Stuart MacBride has gone from asking people if they ′want fries with that′ to project-managing vast IT projects for the oil industry. Somewhere in the middle he managed to make money out of dressing up as a woman.

His first book, ‘Cold Granite’ was shortlisted for the International Thriller Writers′ best debut novel and won the Barry Award for best first novel. The follow-up, ‘Dying Light’, became an instant top-ten bestseller. Stuart won the 2007 CWA Dagger in the Library, awarded for a body of work.

Stuart lives in north-east Scotland with his wife Fiona, cat Grendel, and a vegetable plot full of weeds.

This is easily one of the best interviews I've done in an awfully long time. Stuart's a wonderful guy, easy to talk to, as well as being clever, quick witted and often just down right funny.

The interview ranges from things to do with offal, poking people in the eye, cookery, sushi, finding a good butcher, and why Scotland's just such a great place to produce murder mysteries in...

Lieutenant Alex Delillo must face a dangerous serial killer in Scott Frost's fourth book for Headline. It starts with a body found lying in the centre of the Rose Bowl's dark field, surrounded by thousands of empty seats. For Lieutenant Alex Delillo, it's the beginning of a nightmare. The sixteen-year-old girl is found wrapped in a sleeping bag and as Delillo opens its she discovers that the body is frozen solid. The mystery deepens further when her partner, Harrison, recognises her as the daughter of a prominent lawyer who disappeared three years before. A search of the stadium reveals the only other clue - a copy of an etching by the nineteenth century artist Francisco Goya. It's a picture of a dead woman in the exact same pose as the frozen young girl. The girl's death is swiftly followed by others. All of the victims are prominent in the community and each body is posed as a copy of a Goya painting. For Delillo and Harrison, one thing is clear - their killer is treading in the footsteps of a great artist who despised the Establishment and now it seems no-one in power is safe. Not even their boss, Chief Chavez...

Scott Frost is a screenwriter whose credits include Twin Peaks and The X-Files. He lives in Los Angeles.

Scott was great fun to talk to, and I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did!

Your one-stop survival guide to staying sane during pregnancy

Includes:
• Everything you need to know to stay of the doldrums while up the duff
• Tried-and-tested labour tips to help you blitz birth
• All the stuff those deadly serious, anatomical guides to pregnancy leave out

For many women, the emotional aspects of pregnancy are far more taxing than the physical ones. There’s no shortage of studies into the health of the foetus and the physical state of its incubator. But how women FEEL during pregnancy is largely ignored. It’s just pregnancy, right? They’ll cope. Unfortunately, not everyone does.

This wise and very funny book is the result of hundreds of interviews with sympathetic professionals and pregnant chicks generous enough to reveal how they stayed sunny-side up despite spending nine months in tracky daks the size of North Korea. It is the essential survival guide to staying sane during pregnancy — a time when complete strangers think it’s OK to grope your groin, when it’s tempting to eat not just for two but for three or four, and when even the most ginormous underpants fit better back-to-front.

Emma says: “I decided to write Attack of the 50-Foot Hormones because so few of the books I bought on the subject took the emotional issues associated with pregnancy seriously: issues such as fear of labour, body image obsessions, antenatal depression, relationship problems, work worries, freak outs about impending parenthood, oh, and did I happen to mention fear of labour? As the sort of person who hates feeling like a victim, my difficulty in dealing with the emotional fallout of fertilisation drove me nuts — especially since I was all over the physical factors. I knew, for instance, that possible cures for pregnancy heartburn included chewing almonds, scoffing tahini and cow-like grazing. Yet I was completely lost when it came to managing pregnancy panic attacks — those terrifying tidal waves that rolled in every time complete strangers reveled in telling me horror stories about stillbirths, perforated private parts and never having sex, money or sleep ever again. That's when I started researching."

Attack of the 50-foot Hormones also includes Emma Tom’s hilarious pregnancy diary which reveals what happened after the former motorbike-riding rock chick was unexpectedly diagnosed with an SLF (which turned out to be ridiculous medical jargon for a Single Live Foetus).

Emma Tom is an award-winning Sydney writer and broadcaster. Her column appears in The Australian newspaper each Thursday and she freelances widely for magazines and newspapers both in Australia and overseas. She has written six books including a novel, Deadset, which won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Asia and the South Pacific for Best First Novel in 1997. In her spare time, Emma tutors and lectures at assorted Sydney universities and is inching her way through a PhD at the University of New South Wales. She lives in Sydney with her partner and daughter who is now twoandfourmonths (that's how she says it).

Emma's an extremely witty and clever person to talk to, and I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did!

For nearly a decade, Ecstasy kingpin Oded Tuito was the mastermind behind a drug ring that used strippers and Hassidic teenagers to mule millions of pills from Holland to the party triangle-Los Angeles, New York, and Miami.

Chemical Cowboys is a thrilling journey through the groundbreaking undercover investigations that led to the toppling of a billion-dollar Ecstasy trafficking network- starting in 1995 when New York DEA Agent Robert Gagne infiltrated club land to uncover a thriving drug scene supported by two cultures: pill-popping club kids and Israeli dealers.

Gagne’s obsessive mission to take down Tuito’s network met unexpected challenges and personal discoveries that almost crippled his own family. Weaved into the narrative are the stories of Tuito’s underlings who struggled with addiction as they ran from the law, and the compelling experiences of a veteran Israeli police officer who aided Gagne while chasing after his own target — a violent Mob boss who saw the riches to be made in Ecstasy and began to import his own pills and turf warfare to the U.S.

Chemical Cowboys offers a taut, behind-the-scenes glimpse into an international criminal enterprise as daring as it is deadly.

Journalist Lisa Sweetingham has written for the New York Times, Parade, Spin, Time Out New York, Health Affairs, and many other publications. Previously she covered high-profile murder trials and Supreme Court nomination hearings for Court TV online. Sweetingham is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She resides in Los Angeles. Chemical Cowboys is her first book.

And what a book - and interview! Lisa is a fantastic new author who I hope has a bright future ahead of her!

What if you found out that the central story of your life was a lie?

A successful writer returns to her hometown of Baltimore on the hunt for new material and stumbles into the middle of a mystery which takes her back to her schooldays.

Former classmate Callie Jenkins hit the headlines when she was jailed for 7 years having refused to give up the whereabouts of her missing child. But why did she remain silent? And whatever happened to the little boy?

Cassandra thinks she can find out. But in the course of her investigation she finds out that her own history might be far from the truth...

Another enjoyable interview!

16−year−old Adam is an orphan three times over. He and his older brother‚ Johan‚ were abandoned by their mother as children; he watched as Johan was adopted and taken away by a wealthy couple; and he had to hide when Karl‚ the Dutch man who raised him‚ was arrested by soldiers during Sukarno′s drive to purge 1960s Indonesia of its colonial past.

Adam sets out on a quest to find Karl‚ but all he has to guide him are some old photos and letters‚ which send him to the colourful‚ dangerous capital‚ Jakarta. Johan‚ meanwhile‚ is living a seemingly carefree‚ privileged life in Malaysia‚ but is careering out of control‚ unable to forget the long−ago betrayal of his helpless‚ trusting brother.

"Map Of The Invisible World" is a masterful novel‚ and confirms Tash Aw as one of the most exciting young writers at work today.

Tash Aw is a recent graduate of UEA. He is Malaysian by birth but now lives in London. The Harmony Silk Factory was his first novel.

Tash was great fun to talk to, and I really enjoyed interviewing him!

The Weight Of Silence is the gravity of all the unsaids, the unseens, and how they shape our lives. A father's drinking, a mother's shame, a daughter's longing to hold onto a trouser leg to hear someone speak of what never happened. The Weight of Silence = 9 lbs 4 ozs. In her achingly funny, heartbreaking childhood memoir, Catherine Therese takes the reader inside her head, and upside down on a unique emotional rollercoaster from picking her belly button in her backyard in Blacktown, pulling her hair out standing on her head, to the stage; hiding inside her wardrobe interpreting silence, to the bedroom of a boy with half a thumb and to the labour ward, in an unforgettable story of remembering, forgetting, pretending, of becoming who you are.

Catherine Therese was born quietly in 1965. She wrote the first draft of her memoir ‘The Norty Girl’ aged four, acted it out for the next 36 years and began rewrites in 2001. In 2005 she attended the inaugural Varuna Masterclass. In between acts she's created poetry, prose and children in Australia, Belguim and Spain; studied Languages, Car parks, Colour and Design, and worked as a stylist, mentor and lecturer. She is a 2007 Varuna Fellowship recipient. The Weight of Silence is her first book. She is married with three children and lives noisily amongst trees in Sydney.

If there′s one thing I′ve learned it′s that the pleasure in life is doing what other people say you can′t.′ − LAUREN HUXLEY

It was a shocking crime that made headlines around Australia.

An innocent young woman‚ violently attacked in her family home by a total stranger and left to die. Beaten repeatedly and soaked with petrol as her home burned‚ Lauren Huxley′s life was hanging by a thread.

Lauren′s battle to survive caused an outpouring of public love and support. The crime was so horrific‚ so senseless‚ anyone who read about the attack couldn′t help thinking: how could I bear someone I loved to go through this?

For her father‚ Patrick‚ mother Christine and sister Simone it was like being plunged into hell. Doctors gave Lauren only a five percent chance of survival. Her injuries were among the worst they had ever seen‚ so horrific that she was barely recognisable.

But those insurmountable odds counted for little against the Huxley family′s determination‚ courage and love. Together‚ they started to rebuild their shattered lives ... and Lauren started coming back.

This is their extraordinary story.

Author Lisa Davies is the senior court reporter for The Daily Telegraph in Sydney. She was the first journalist to interview the family at Lauren’s hospital bedside just four days after the attack that changed their lives. She has remained close to the family and wrote this story with their cooperation.

This is a very interesting interview about an horrific act.

A man walking his dog by the River Lea in London makes a grisly discovery and soon DCI Jack Hawksworth is in the grip of a confounding case: Londoners have become the target of a calculating killer‚ who ′trophies′ the faces of his victims.

Under enormous pressure from politicians and the public‚ Jack and his team begin their investigation‚ which takes them into the murky world of human organ trading. But when the murderer strikes closer to home than Jack could ever have imagined possible‚ the case becomes a personal crusade −− and a race against time. Can the killer be brought to justice before Jack is removed from the operation?

From London′s backstreets to the dangerous frontiers of medicine‚ Beautiful Death will keep you reading late into the night.

Fiona McIntosh was born and raised in Sussex in the UK‚ but also spent early childhood years in West Africa. She left a PR career in London to travel and settled in Australia in 1980. She has since roamed the world working for her own travel publishing company‚ which she runs with her husband. She lives in Adelaide with her husband and twin sons. Her website is at www.fionamcintosh.com.

Another great interview with Fiona, who's becoming a regular here at The Small Picture Podcasts!

He is the man who brought you the award−winning Choir of Hard Knocks − made up of the homeless and the disadvantaged − the judge on Battle of the Choirs‚ a highly renowned opera singer and conductor who has worked with some of Australia′s most talented performers.

But Jonathon Welch′s own story is less well known‚ and here he tells it in his own words for the first time. His modest beginnings in suburban Melbourne where he exhibited early ′theatrical′ tendencies‚ his life at the centre of a family falling apart‚ his coming to terms with his sexuality and the rifts that caused‚ the discovery of his singing talent‚ his stellar career in the heady worlds of opera and theatre and the crisis which caused him to question his life′s direction and to walk away from it all.

In this warm and candid memoir‚ Jonathon reflects on the forces which shaped him and made him an advocate for social change − and how music was at the centre of helping him put his own life − and that of many others − back together again.

Jonathon has received numerous awards in recognition of his services to the Community including a Commendation from the City of Melbourne, St Michael’s Medallion, the John Campbell ‘MO’ Award along with nominations for News Limited’s Pride of Australia and the Bar None Award from the Victorian Government. In 2008 Jonathon was also awarded RMIT Communicator of the Year, ANZAC of the Year, Victorian and Australian of the Year – Local Hero and an Honorary Doctor of Griffith University in Queensland. He has also received the Limelight Award ABC Music Personality of the Year and Medibank Community Service Award.

Together with Jimmy Barnes, Jonathon has created the School of Hard Knocks Foundation, dedicated to assisting those who are homeless and disadvantaged with further support and educational opportunities through music, arts and cultural programs as part of the ‘Play It Forward’ ™ program. A percentage of the profits from all sales of Choir Man will go to this organisation.

You can find out more at:

www.jonathonwelch.com

I really enjoyed talking to Jonathon, and I hope you enjoy this interview!

Kenny′s Department Store‚ with its handsome Edwardian façade‚ is the jewel in Ardagh town′s crown.

TV presenter Ingrid Fitzgerald has watched her husband David‚ Kenny′s charismatic owner‚ pour his heart and soul into the family store‚ making it the epitome of boutique chic. She′s juggled family life and her glittering career admirably. Now‚ as their children fly the nest‚ Ingrid discovers a secret that will shake her world to its very foundations.

Natalie Flynn shares a flat with Ingrid′s daughter‚ Molly. As love blossoms in her life‚ motherless Natalie starts to ask questions she has never dared to before. But will they help her make sense of her life and who she really is?

Charlie Fallon is a passionate and motivated Kenny′s employee who adores her husband and son‚ but her eccentric mother seems bent on wrecking her life. Now it′s time to fight for her own happiness.

Free spirit‚ Star Bluestone‚ who handcrafts fabulous tapestries for Kenny′s‚ is the woman with the knowledge to help them all. Star knows from experience that the important things in life must be nurtured and treasured. She harbours many secrets and understands that the chance for real joy comes only once in a lifetime...

Cathy Kelly is the author of nine other novels‚ all of which were number 1 bestsellers. In 2005 Cathy became an Ambassador for UNICEF in Ireland‚ helping to raise awareness of the plight of 12 million children orphaned across Africa through AIDS. Cathy Kelly now lives in Wicklow with her partner and young sons.

I had a great time talking to Cathy, and finding out more about the person behind the books!

A huge book for cricket fans‚ Hat Trick combines tons of info about the game with three out−of−this−world Toby Jones cricketing adventure stories.

Toby Jones is not your average schoolboy cricketer. He and his friends live for cricket‚ but Toby′s ability to travel through time makes him unique.

Using a copy of Wisden‚ the ′bible′ for cricket enthusiasts‚ Toby drops in on the great cricket matches of the past‚ first in India and then in the West Indies. But at the 1930 Test at Leeds where Don Bradman bats his legendary 334‚ Toby gets unexpectedly involved in the match.

Packed with tips from Brett Lee‚ one of Australia′s fastest−ever bowlers‚ Hat Trick offers hours of top reading ... and the inside edge on Australia′s most loved sport.

Hat Trick includes:

Toby Jones and the Magic Cricket Almanack

Toby Jones and the Secret of the Missing Scorecard

Toby Jones and the Mystery of the Time−Travel Tour

Michael Panckridge has published over 20 books‚ including the bestselling Toby Jones cricket series and the new Legends of League series with Laurie Daley.

You can find out more about Michael at his web site:

http://www.michaelpanckridge.com.au/

It was great talking to Michael, he made me all nostalgic about cricket on the radio - and he's a fun guy to talk to as well!

′Nullius in verba′‚ The Royal Society′s motto‚ roughly translated‚ means
 ′Take nobody′s word for it′. Why not do the experiment 
for yourself and see the reality of nature.

Don′t trust authority − trust nature.

Does cranberry juice cure urinary tract infections″ Is the hookah really a safer way to smoke″ Will the Large Hadron Collider destroy the Earth and the Universe″ Is the purpose of the peacock′s tail to attract females″ And in the unlikely event of a plane crash‚ are some seats safer than others″

The human hand has 27 bones; Uranus has 27 moons; 27 is a perfect cube‚ being 3 x 3 x 3; and in this‚ Dr Karl′s 27th book‚ he takes us on another exploration of the dazzling world of science.

Dr Karl Kruszelnicki used to be a ‘proper pukka scientist‚ engineer and doctor’‚ but is currently a popular author and science commentator on radio and television. He appears on Triple J and other ABC radio stations‚ the BBC and is a regular on Channel 7’s Sunrise program. He writes a weekly column‚ ‘Mythconceptions’‚ for Good Weekend magazine‚ and is presently the Julius Sumner Miller Fellow at the University of Sydney‚ and is one of Australia’s bestselling authors. Last year Dr Karl ran as a candidate in 2007 Federal Election‚ campaigning for the Climate Change Coalition. He lives with his family in Sydney.

You can find out more about Dr Karl and his record breaking attempt at:

http://www.drkarl.com/

′This dog has no nose.′

′How does he smell″′

′ Terrible′

Join Selby and Gary Gaggs‚ Bogusville′s craziest comedian‚ with this gathering of giggles and gut−busting gags.

Watch Gary tackle life on a leaky boat with a bad history.

Chuckle as he gets involved in a film romance with a difference.

Be part of the epic ′Poem that Stopped Bogusville′.

And when an unseen heckler beats him to the punchline every time‚ Gary′s in trouble. Selby must not only discover who the phantom gagster is‚ but stop himself laughing at Gary′s terrible jokes ... and blowing his own secret!

For the first time in one book‚ readers can find‚ and fans can rediscover‚ all the hilarious stories starring Gary Gaggs‚ Selby′s favourite funnyman. And Gary′s own great jokes can be found in Selby′s Joke Book and Selby′s Side−Splitting Joke Book.

Duncan Ball is one of Australia′s most popular authors for children. The books about Emily Eyefinger‚ the girl who was born with an eye on the end of her finger‚ are among his best−loved works. His books also include the Selby series.

Duncan lives in Glebe‚ NSW with his wife‚ Jill‚ and their adorable but incomprehensible cat‚ Jasper.

You can find out more about Duncan at his website:

http://www.duncanball.com.au/

The Naked Truth is the very personal story of Graeme Blundell - Australia's first sex icon (by chance), a founder of the Melbourne's theatre groups La Mama and Playbox, which showed audiences that actors could speak in Australian English, and now an acclaimed writer and journalist. From his a childhood in Melbourne's working-class outer suburbs Graeme passionately followed his dreams to becomes a central part of Australian popular culture. He has worked in films, TV and theatre. The hit movie Alvin Purple made him Australia's first permissive pin-up, and he became a symbol of the early seventies - an era everyone still wants to be part of. Actor, director, producer, biographer, critic and journalist, Blundell established theatre companies and was there when they closed, watched the film industry through its many renaissances, and television as it became an addictive digital environment. In The Naked Truth Blundell writes about Australian life in the 40s, 50s and on with the insight of someone who was always part of the action - whether he wanted to be or not.

Actor, director, producer and writer, Graeme Blundell has been associated with many pivotal moments in Australian theatre, film and television. After working at the legendary Pram Factory and then Hoopla, he was co-executive director of the Playbox Theatre Company, associate director of the Melbourne Theatre Company, artistic director of the National Playwrights' Conference and artistic director of Kinsela's in Sydney. He has directed over 100 plays, acted in about the same number, appeared in more than 40 films and hundreds of hours of television. He is also an award-winning director and a prolific journalist. He wrote the bestselling book King, co-authored a biography of painter Brett Whiteley, An Unauthorised Life, and edited and compiled Australian Theatre: Backstage with Graeme Blundell for Oxford University Press. His columns appear most frequently in the Australian and he has also written for the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Sun Herald, the Australian Women's Weekly and Luxury Travel. He lives on the New South Wales Central Coast with writer Susan Kurosawa.

Graeme Blundell has long been on my list of people I'd wanted to talk to, so this was, to me, an excellent opportunity to ask questions about the things I'd always wanted to know!

'Jones knew the score with "deniable" operations that were sanctioned secretly at the highest levels. If they turned to custard and the cover was blown, the powers–that–be would simply deny everything and disown all involved, from the military down to the spooks and, at the bottom of the food chain, hired guns like him.'

What happens to the elite, close–knit soldiers of Australia's Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment after they leave the Who Dares Wins world of special forces? For some, there are highly paid jobs in the world's war zones and trouble spots protecting global corporations from terrorism, sabotage and violence. Others become powerful government advisers, many join foreign armies to train their special forces and expand the global brotherhood. Most risky of all, is the shadowy world of deniable 'black ops'. Guarding a deadly secret military cargo – a new missile system brokered through a spook under the guise of a Middle Eastern arms dealer – is all in a day's work. These are the risky yet vital jobs that governments will never admit. From Iraq and Afghanistan to Africa and Asia, award–winning defence writer Ian McPhedran uncovers a virtually unknown network and tells how Australia's top soldiers are forever linked in a seemingly borderless world.

Ian McPhedran is the Sydney based national defence writer for News Limited. He has been a journalist all his working life and has covered conflicts in Burma, Somalia, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq.In 1993 he won a United Nations Association peace media award and in 1999 the Walkley award for best news report for his expose of the navy's Collins class submarine fiasco.His first book, The Amazing SAS: the inside story of Australia's special forces, is a national best seller.McPhedran lives in Balmain with his wife Verona and daughter Lucy.

Ian actually takes time to do what a good defence writer should do - go to the sharp end, and talk to the diggers on the ground. You can't cover a war over a telephone.

This book is a bloody good read, and it highlights the inadequate ways in which former SAS troopers are treated by not only the government, but by society in general.

A great interview about a great book.

It's Christmas Day in Shaggy Gully.

The kangaroos are feeling bouncy, the echidnas are being prickly, the emus are feeling peckish and the possums are just hanging around.

Only the Bunyip is gloomy. 'I'm mad and I'm mean! Bunyips don't like Christmas!'

Meanwhile, Dawn and her chorus are playing Christmas carols, but somehow Emily Emu can't get a note right. Her musical mishaps float down to the creek, where the Bunyip lives...

Can Emily Emu and her friends possibly make the Bunyip smile this Christmas?

A delightful new picture book from the team who created bestselling Diary of a Wombat, Pete the Sheep and Josephine Wants to Dance.

Jackie French is a full–time writer who lives near Braidwood in the Araluen Valley, NSW. In 2000, Hitler’s Daughter was awarded the CBC Younger Readers’ Award. To the Moon and Back won the Eve Pownall Award in 2005. Macbeth and Son, and Josephine Wants to Dance were both shortlisted for the 2007 CBC Awards.

It's always an absolute pleasure to talk to Jackie, and this was a particularly fun interview - I hope you enjoy it!

You can find out more about Jackie and her books at:

http://www.jackiefrench.com.au/

A grieving widower gets caught up in the politics of his Texas hometown when he returns to make peace with his father. Beck Hardin returns to his Texas hometown - and his estranged father - after the death of his wife leaves him with two children to raise. The town is still reeling from the murder of sixteen-year-old Heidi, whose father - Beck's old college friend - asks Beck to help him find Heidi's killer before the statute of limitations runs out.

Meanwhile, Beck is pushed into becoming town Judge, and he makes some powerful enemies amongst the rich white landowners when he refuses to condone their treatment of the Mexican workers of the town. As events escalate, the landowners carefully plot their revenge...

From Mark’s website: I grew up in Galveston County, Texas. I attended Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, and earned a B.A. in Political Science with honors. I then attended Notre Dame Law School in Indiana and earned a J.D. degree magna cum laude. I practiced law with a large Dallas law firm and became a partner. After ten years, I left to practice solo and to write. I live outside Fort Worth with my wife and two sons. Author Location: Texas, USA

I'm not a big fan of lawyers, or legal fiction, but I did really enjoy talking to Mark about his book - and I hope that shows through in the interview.

It's the most controversial conflict of our time: a war which has divided citizens, politicians, and militaries, resulted in headlines about torture and suicide bombings, death and destruction. There's no single identifiable enemy and no exit strategy. So how will the war in Iraq be won? What will victory look like?

In 2004, when Australian Major General Jim Molan was deployed to the war to oversee a force of 300,000 troops, including 155,000 Americans, he faced these and other questions on a daily basis. In Running the War in Iraq he gives a gripping insider's account of what modern warfare entails – the ghastly body count, the complex decisions which will mean life or death, the divide between political masters and foot soldiers – and the small, hard–won triumphs.

General Jim Molan joined the Australian Army in 1968 and has served in Jakarta, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. For his contributions in Iraq, he has been awarded the legion of merit by the US government and the Distinguished Service Cross by the Australian government.

This is an incredibly down to earth interview with one of the people who was on the ground in Iraq, grappling with the every day problems of running a counter insurgent campaign.

Probably one of the most interesting and thought provoking interviews I've done in an awfully long time, and one of which I am very proud. I hope you share and enjoy this interview.

'Surely God weeps,' an Australian Vietnam veteran wrote in despair at the memory of the Vietnam War. But no act of God intervened to stop the long years of carnage and devastation in this most controversial of wars.

In Vietnam, Paul Ham (author of the bestselling Kokoda) narrates in compelling detail the full story of Australia's involvement in our longest military campaign, in which 50,000 Australians participated.

This extraordinary, sweeping account, draws on hundreds of unpublished sources and interviews with soldiers, politicians, medical practitioners, aid providers, entertainers and the Vietnamese people to reconstruct the epic history of a campaign that disfigured a country and divided the world, nations, families and friends.

At its heart, this is the soldiers' story –– of being tossed about in politicians' battles. Unlike any previous history of the war, Paul Ham sets the Australian story in the context of both the American and Vietnamese experiences, giving us a true sense of the sheer scale of this tragedy.

Paul Ham is the author of Kokoda and the Australia correspondent for The Sunday Times (London). He has a Masters degree in Economic History from the London School of Economics.

Paul Ham offers us an incredible insight into what the Vietnam conflict was really about - and at the heart, the very core of this book is one key issue... that Australian troops involved were not blindly following the Americans, that they didn't commit atrocities, nor did they deliberately harm the civilian population.

If you only ever read one book about Australia's involvement in this conflict, this is the book to read.

Simply amazing.