Need something new to read? Get your hands on a copy of Magpie's Bend, Bottlebrush Creek and Wildflower Ridge today.

Tiny copies of Bottlebrush Creek

These smaller versions of Bottlebrush Creek have just rolled off the printing press and will be in store from May 4. They're exactly the same story, just in a smaller size - perfect for slipping into a handbag, gift pack or suitcase - and with a smaller price tag. It also has the first chapter of Magpie's Bend, so if you can't wait any longer to get started on Lara's story, then pick one up where all good books are sold.

And look what arrived early! The feeling of holding your book in your hands for the first time NEVER gets old. I'm counting down the days until Magpie's Bend hits the shelves on June 1 and hoping you'll love Lara and Toby's story just as much as my first two novels. Early copies have just starting making their way into reviewers' mailboxes. It's always a nervous time for authors, waiting for the first reviews to come in!! Keep your eyes peeled for a special early copy giveaway on my social media later this month. 

Clunes this month, SA, Qld next month

I'm off to the Clunes BookTown Festival today, ready for a panel event with Fiona Lowe and Alli Sinclair tomorrow afternoon. Tickets are still available, make sure you come and say hi if you're in town!

I've also locked in several in-person events to launch Magpie's Bend:

June 4 - Portland Library, Vic

June 5 - Millicent Library & Gallery, SA

June 6 - Blarney Books & Art Port Fairy, Vic

June 9 - Hamilton Library, Vic

June 9 - Mortlake Library, Vic

June 16 - Mount Gambier, SA

Space will be limited, so please contact the venues to reserve your free seat. Queensland tour details to come in my next newsletter.

Free ways to support your favourite authors

In an ideal world, we'd all have huge book budgets, unlimited book shelves and oodles of free time to sit and read, right? Supporting an author by buying their books is wonderful, and I'm ever so grateful to everyone who purchases my books, but there are also other ways you can support me (and your favourite authors) without paying a cent!

- Ask your library to purchase a copy (once an author has more than 50 copies of their book in library branches across Australia, they receive a small annual fee, thanks to an initiative called the public lending rights scheme)

- Recommend the book to your friends, hairdressers, workmates and rellies

- Write a kind review on Good Reads/Amazon/Booktopia to help new readers find it (even a line with one reason why you liked the book is super helpful)

- Share a photo of the book on social media (don't forget to tag the author)

- Repost an Instagram or Facebook post about the book, an event or giveaway on your social media

- Attend a book event (online or in person)

- Encourage your local book shop to stock it

- Sign up for the author's email list

- Choose it for your book group or recommend it to another book club

May author spotlight

Do you love baking, entertaining, and warm, fuzzy novels with bee-keeping and crazy, mixed-up family dynamics? Then you're in for a treat this month, with the spotlight shining on two fantastic authors from New South Wales and Western Australia.

Sophie Hansen's new cookbook In Good Company combines her love of seasonal produce and sharing great food with her wide circle of friends within the farming and food blogging sphere. I've made a number of recipes from her cookbook already (including poached quinces here and a beautiful fig tart here) and they're divine.

With a gorgeous cover, and even more delightful storyline inside, Sasha Wasley's new release Spring Clean for the Peach Queen is on the top of my 2021 favourites list. It's a sweet, uplifting read that tackles sensitive issues with heart and humour.

Read the full reviews below and enter the contest for your chance to win a copy!

Get your crime fix pronto

I'm also thrilled to give you a taste tester of Candice Fox's new bestseller - The Chase. I've been hooked on her fast-paced novels since meeting Candice at a library talk in Portland, and following her fascinating publication highlights (rubbing shoulders with Bill Clinton, co-writing with James Patterson and interviewing death-row inmates is all in a day's work for this Aussie crime author).

Set in the Nevada desert and jam-packed with action, dry humour and razor-sharp tension, The Chase kept me up way past my bedtime this week. It was a brilliant ride. Click below to read the first chapter (spoiler alert: you won't want to stop there!) and find Candice online @CandiceFoxAuthor.

Fresh from my garden

After four months of living and breathing dahlias, our season has drawn to a close. It feels like a short season this year and I'll miss their beauty in the garden. I've labelled my favourite varieties so I don't accidentally give them all away, cut back the bushes and saved the last seeds of the season. As our soil is very sandy and free-draining, I'll keep the tubers in the ground over winter and divide them in spring.

We've almost finished building our newest garden (lots of shovelling, trenching and concrete paths involved). I plan on planting it out with the new roses from my Christmas voucher, dahlias from my existing stock and seeds I've saved from my spring and summer garden. I'll also start a new veggie patch for winter greens. Tomato-geddon has almost finished. We're picking the last of the green tomatoes (which ripen beautifully on our north-facing kitchen window), our freezer is full of tomatoes to last another nine months and our panty shelves are groaning with the weight of homemade sauce.

Another thing I'm enjoying is the shape of the flower heads and seeds as they ripen, almost as pretty as the flowers themselves, and the funny-looking tomatoes we've grown this season. A great reminder of how overrated 'perfect' can be!

From my writing desk...

It's official! The first draft of my 2022 novel is complete. My first drafts usually take nine to twelve months to write, so it's always a huge relief to type THE END on the book and let it 'rest' for several weeks before I dive into the second draft. I'll start tackling the second draft in between the upcoming promotions and book tour frivolities for Magpie's Bend.

How were your school holidays? We enjoyed a long-overdue trip to Melbourne. Trips to the city are few and far between for our kids, so it was neat to see them marvel at the sights and delights of the big smoke, and as always, a treat to return home to our quiet country home.

Book giveaways and bikkies

I'm a sucker for ANZAC biscuits all year round, not just late April! If you're after a new recipe to try, here's one from my grandmother's treasure trove. Enjoy! I also love seeing happy bookworms with prizes from my newsletter. Lou from Mudgee, NSW, won Tabitha Bird's new novel in last month's newsletter. Thanks for sending me a pic with your new book, Lou - enjoy!

May is also the month of Mother's Day. My kids are that great age where they're young enough to be enthusiastic about crafts and cards (handmade bookmarks are always very popular), old enough to bring me a cup of tea in bed and smart enough to prompt my husband, Jase, to buy my favourite type of chocolates as a gift. It's low cost, low fuss and always makes me smile. To all the Mums out there, I hope your Mother's Day is a good one, too.

And an extra big congrats to Helen Varcoe, from Millicent SA, who won my Mother's Day competition. Thanks also to everyone who pre-ordered Magpie's Bend to enter. I'll have more beautiful seeds to giveaway next month in a 'selfie' competition. Entry will be simple, just snap a photo of Magpie's Bend out in the wild and tag me when you post it on your social media. Can't wait to see what pictures you come up with!

MAY WRITING TIP: Go to author talks! Libraries and bookshops host author events regularly, and they're usually free. Authors love talking about books, writing and reading, and they're usually pretty open about their daily practice, tips for starting and finishing manuscripts, and sharing how they went from aspiring to published. There's no such thing as a silly question and you're likely to meet other likeminded book-lovers.

Thanks for your company, friends. Have a great May and I'll pop back in your inbox again soon.

xx Maya

Until next month...