Dear Rach & Soph

• Season 3, episode 5 - Scrivener: The cases for - with guest Karina May

  ‘It’s solving overwhelm’. Our guest this week, novelist Karina May, is an experienced user of writing software Scrivener and the above is one of the reasons why she uses it. Rachael has tried using it; I never have. Will I be convinced to try by the end of this episode? Listen and find out!We cover this subject because we like to have a theme to these episodes, and mainly because we thought it would be interesting and useful to chat about. And we also wanted to talk to Karina about her latest novel, That Island Feeling (out now from Pan Macmillan) - there’s a blurb below should you wish to know more. Karina writes romcoms, and she is terrific at it! She also has a podcast, That Rom Com Pod, with author Clare Fletcher. Do you know about Scrivener? Use it? Love it? Loathe it? Let us know in the comments!***ABOUT THAT ISLAND FEELINGFrom holiday fling to homecoming ... A whirlwind island romance becomes something more in an uplifting romantic comedy about finding yourself after heartbreakA week on Pearl Island is exactly the R&R that perpetual planner Andie Alcott needs. Except instead of sipping pina coladas by the beach, she's busy throwing her freshly divorced bestie, Taylor, a girls' trip to remember, dealing with a double-booking fiasco and worrying about her ailing father on the mainland. But it's cool – she has it covered. After all, everyone would be lost without her, right?The last thing habitually barefoot local Jack Cooper wants is the headache of managing tourist bookings. But since he's to blame for the island's dwindling supply of holidaymakers, he'll do whatever it takes to keep them happy - in particular, a beautiful visitor named Andie …With sun-kissed sands, sapphire waters, oysters and wine, Pearl Island promises the perfect getaway - and maybe even a hot holiday fling. But what happens when the emotional baggage comes in excess, and island life suddenly feels all too real? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  --------  

  1:04:59
• Season 3, episode 4 - 'Writer therapy' with guest Emily Paull, author of The Distance Between Dreams

  Not that long ago I put a message on social media basically saying that Rachael Johns says she gets ‘writing therapy’ from me and asking if anyone else would like some. We had responses! Thus, this will be the first of several episodes of such ‘therapy’ [NB: neither Rach nor I is a therapist, although teaching yoga can feel like it sometimes].Our guest for this episode is Emily Paull, whose debut novel, The Distance Between Dreams, is historical fiction and out now from Fremantle Press. Like Rach, Emily is from Perth. Her ‘therapy’ question was specifically about managing the promotional process for the book, so we talked about that and also about her writing background and the story behind the novel. (If you’d like to know more about her novel, you can find that below.)Emily is so engaging, just like her writing. I thank her for her honesty in talking to us about the process of writing and promoting the book, and I’m sure, whether you’re a writer or not, you’ll find something to relate to in her story.***THE DISTANCE BETWEEN DREAMS by Emily PaullA heart-wrenching romance set around WWII that was shortlisted for 2023 Fogarty Literary Award.Sarah Willis longs to free herself from the expectations of a privileged upbringing, while Winston Keller can’t afford the luxury of a dream. Despite their differences, the pair are drawn together in a whirlwind romance that defies the boundaries of class. But when a dark family secret pulls the young lovers apart, and WWII plunges the world into chaos, it seems impossible they will ever find their way back to each other – or even hold onto the dream of what might have been.***For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is The Bad Bridesmaid (2025)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophiegreenauthor.comSophie's latest book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  --------  

  1:01:25
• Season 3, episode 3 - April new releases

  This is our first episode dedicated to books that are being released, as we’d like you to know what’s coming out so you can find your next favourite read!As it’s the first one, and organised quickly, there’s no order to how we present the books, other than sequestering April titles from titles released between January and March (as we decided to do those too). Please note that these are the titles we were told about and the list is not comprehensive. Unfortunately there isn't space here to list all the titles, so please go to https://sophiegreenauthor.substack.com/p/dear-rach-and-soph-april-new-releases for that. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  --------  

  40:17
• Season 3, episode 2: Guest Catherine Greer on writing stories for women in later life

  We like to have a subject on Dear Rach & Soph, so when we learnt about Sydney author (originally from Canada) Catherine Greer and her novel The Bittersweet Bakery Cafe (Allen & Unwin, March 2025), and saw her website Love Our Age, we asked if she’d be interested in talking about stories for women in later life. What followed was a wide-ranging conversation about Catherine’s life, her interests as a writer, and her extensive writing background, which includes several works of non-fiction - Small Steps Are Perfect, The 10 Minute Fix, The 10 Minute Fix Journal, and Choosing Happiness - along with YA novel Love Lie Repeat (Penguin, 2019) and two picture books for children, Violin & Cello and Jacaranda Snow. And there was plenty more too. It was wonderful to talk to Catherine, and her novel is wonderful too! Here’s a little bit about it: A woman’s midlife reinvention and a beach village of eccentric Aussies collide with stupendous results in this witty, razor-sharp and immensely enjoyable debut from author Catherine Greer.In The Bittersweet Bakery Café, Catherine Greer takes readers on an emotional rollercoaster when Audrey Sweetman is left shattered by her husband’s betrayal, and uncertain of her career as they both crumble in one horrible day. With everything to lose, she leaves her fast-paced city life behind and heads for the picturesque seaside town of Whitehaven Bay where she holidayed as a child.As Audrey immerses herself in her new surroundings, she finds herself in financial strife and the locals rally around to help her embark on a business venture no one saw coming. She’s humbled by the unexpected bonds that have come with making a fresh start in this close-knit community with its cast of oddball characters.***For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is The Bad Bridesmaid (2025)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophiegreenauthor.comSophie's latest book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  --------  

  1:21:29
• Season 3, episode 1: All the questions

  When we started Dear Rach & Soph last year, we named it that because we hoped readers (and writers) would send us questions. For this first episode of season 3, we have mainly reader questions to answer and one writer question. Plus we generally have a chat, per usual.Coming up this season we have some fabulous guests to talk about a range of subjects and we’ve had some writers volunteer for ‘writer therapy’ so you’ll see/hear that too. Plus we’re adding an episode a month to cover newly released Australian fiction, so if you’d like to find your next favourite read, tune in! If there’s anything you’d like us to cover on the pod, please leave a comment, send a DM or email me on sophiegreenbooks [at] gmail [dot] com***If you have a question for us, please email sophiegreenbooks [at] gmail [dot] com and put ‘Dear Rach & Soph’ in the subject line.And if you’d like to actually be in the podcast with us while we answer your question, please let us know in the email.For more about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.comRachael's latest book is The Bad Bridesmaid (2025)For more about Sophie Green: https://sophiegreenauthor.comSophie's latest book is Art Hour at the Duchess Hotel (2024) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  --------  

  1:17:27

More Arts podcasts

Trending Arts podcasts

About Dear Rach & Soph

Dear Rach & Soph: Podcasts in Family