Totally Lit!
The podcast celebrating reading, writing and creating literature. Join your host Ky Garvey as she chats with readers, writers, illustrators & all types of creators of books and stories. Be inspired to read, write, create, ignite!
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Episodes
Thursday May 14, 2026
Thursday May 14, 2026
Host Ky Garvey interviews author Lauren Keegan about her new historical novel, The Woman In The Seal Skin, set in 1690s Scotland. They explore selkie folklore and research, the novel’s themes of motherhood, domestic violence and the pull to the sea, and Keegan’s path to publication including mentorship, craft work and practical tips for aspiring writers.
The conversation also covers balancing creative life with parenting and clinical work, Keegan’s podcast 'Trust the Process', and a light-hearted behind-the-scenes anecdote from her past.
About the Author:
Lauren Keegan is a perinatal psychologist, writer and author of All The Bees In The Hollows (Affirm Press) which was voted Best Debut Fiction in the 2025 Indie Book Awards and longlisted in the ARA Historical Novel Prize 2025. Her second novel The Woman in the Seal Skin will be published in April 2026 with Affirm Press.
Lauren has worked extensively in perinatal and infant mental health and is an editor at Perspectives in Infant Mental Health, a publication of WAIMH (World Association for Infant Mental Health). Her infant mental health training programs are consistently in high demand.
Lauren lives with her husband, two daughters and their pet Beagle on Dharawal and Gundungarra country (Wollondilly, NSW). Mint slices are her guilty pleasure and she drinks more tea than is sensible.
About the Book:
Based on the selkie myths of the time, this is the story of Malie, a young woman struggling with grief, oppression, her relationship with nature and her own inherent wildness within during Europe's 'little ice age'.
Malie grew up hearing tales of selkies: shape-shifting women who shed their seal skins to seduce fishermen on the Orkney shores. That's the story of how her parents met, and it must be true because one day her mother slipped into the sea and was never seen again.Raised by her father, Malie has always done what she's been told, and now she's married and expecting her first baby. Life on land is predictable and safe, and her future is all mapped out for her. But, just like the seals in the sea, there's a wildness in Malie's soul – one that cannot be tamed and deeply yearns for the sea.Dealing with themes of motherhood, grief, violence and female oppression, The Woman in the Seal Skin is a wonderfully haunting and atmospheric tale of a woman living in a cloistered community on a wild Scottish island, who one day meets her wildness within.
The Woman in the Seal Skin — Lauren Keegan
New Book Releases, Bestsellers, Author Info and more at Simon & Schuster | Simon & Schuster
Host: Ky Garvey
Theme Song: Claire Houghton
Logo: Tondo Creative - https://www.tondo.com.au/
Production: Aud Pitch - https://www.virtualcreatrix.com/
Totally Lit is an independent podcast. You can help support us to continue to chat with wonderful Australian creatives by leaving a review on Itunes or sharing our socials with your friends. You can also make a contribution at:
www.buymeacoffee.com/Totallylit
For those of you who know me I am kind of a caffeine addict! So you can keep me fueled with caffeine and this will also help with equipment & podcasting platform fees etc.
I love to interact with our listeners so feel free to say hello either by email or social media:
Totallylitpodcast@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/totallylitpodcast
Thursday May 07, 2026
Thursday May 07, 2026
Host Ky Garvey talks with Troy Hunter about his debut YA crime series - Gus and the Missing Boy and sequels, the shift from adult to YA storytelling, and the craft decisions that shape teen-focused mysteries.
They discuss Agatha Christie’s influence, engaging young readers - especially boys, school responses to the books, writing advice -finishing drafts and joining writing groups, and the rewards and realities of publishing later in life.
About the author:
Troy Hunter is a bestselling crime fiction writer, living in Melbourne/Naarm.
His debut YA novel Gus and the Missing Boy came out in March 2024 and was shortlisted for the Ned Kelly Award and the BAD Sydney Danger Award for Best Debut Crime Fiction. The sequel Gus and the Burning Stones was published in August 2025. A third and final Gus novel Gus and the Climate Killer is due out in March 2027. He is currently working on an adult crime novel.
Troy is passionate about getting reluctant readers, especially boys, into reading books. He’s also a massive Agatha Christie fan.
He regularly appears at writers’ festivals, runs YA and crime writing workshops, and also hosts of the Queer Writes Sessions podcast.
Troy Hunter
Home - Wakefield Press
About the book:
True crime buff Gus Green has always felt out of place in the world. He's overweight, gay, his injured mum's primary carer, and he only has two real friends: sporty Kane and feisty Shell, who are both dealing with their own problems.
Gus's life is flipped on its head one day when he finds a missing persons website with a digitally aged picture of a missing boy who looks eerily like him. Could he be a kidnapping victim? It would explain a lot about his patchy background, but what would that make his mum - his kidnapper?
As Gus and his friends dive into the mystery, their investigation reveals more questions than answers. Can they unravel the case before his world falls apart? And what will they do if the truth is too much to handle?
Host: Ky Garvey
Theme Song: Claire Houghton
Logo: Tondo Creative - https://www.tondo.com.au/
Production: Aud Pitch - https://www.virtualcreatrix.com/
Totally Lit is an independent podcast. You can help support us to continue to chat with wonderful Australian creatives by leaving a review on Itunes or sharing our socials with your friends. You can also make a contribution at:
www.buymeacoffee.com/Totallylit
For those of you who know me I am kind of a caffeine addict! So you can keep me fueled with caffeine and this will also help with equipment & podcasting platform fees etc.
I love to interact with our listeners so feel free to say hello either by email or social media:
Totallylitpodcast@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/totallylitpodcast
Wednesday Apr 29, 2026
Wednesday Apr 29, 2026
Mercedes Mercier discusses her new novel Couples Retreat, a locked-room crime novel set on Kangaroo Island about rookie officer Emily Quinn and a weekend of wealthy guests cut off by a storm after a murder. The episode covers Mercier’s criminal-justice background, true-crime inspiration, research and setting, writing while raising twins, character development, mentoring services, and launch events.
About the author:
Mercedes Mercier writes 'just-one-more-page' crime with twisting plots and relatable characters. As well as writing books, Mercedes has worked in the criminal justice system for over a decade, providing her unique insight into the world of crime and offenders.
After a brush with death, Mercedes threw herself into life. She lived overseas, became a black belt in Karate, skydived, and volunteered with animals.Mercedes lives in Adelaide, in a tree-top home surrounded by kangaroos, koalas, kookaburras and the occasional echidna. Her home is busy, fun and slightly chaotic, with her very patient husband, identical twin daughters and beloved German Shepherd who rules the roost.
Mercedes Mercier
About the book:
A twisty, compulsive destination thriller where no one is as perfect as they seem.
There’s nothing more dangerous than someone who remembers who you used to be.At a secluded beachfront mansion on Kangaroo Island, three wealthy couples gather for a weekend of partying and luxury indulgence. But beneath the glitter and excess, deep rivalries and explosive secrets fester between the old friends.When they wake to a shocking murder scene, they are gripped first by fear, then by suspicion. With ferry services suspended due to a storm, the survivors and the killer remain trapped on the island together.Thrust into the biggest case of her fledgling career, rookie police officer Emily Quinn quickly discovers that the locals are mistrustful of outsiders. When her dangerous ex-boyfriend tracks her down, Quinn’s past and present collide in spectacular fashion, threatening not only her new life, but the investigation of the most gruesome crime in the island’s history.Set in one of Australia’s most beautiful locations, The Couples Retreat is a twisty, compulsive thriller that proves privilege cannot protect you from everything, and no one is as perfect as they seem.
Order here: The Couples Retreat by Mercedes Mercier - Penguin Books Australia
Host: Ky Garvey
Theme Song: Claire Houghton
Logo: Tondo Creative - https://www.tondo.com.au/
Production: Aud Pitch - https://www.virtualcreatrix.com/
Totally Lit is an independent podcast. You can help support us to continue to chat with wonderful Australian creatives by leaving a review on Itunes or sharing our socials with your friends. You can also make a contribution at:
www.buymeacoffee.com/Totallylit
For those of you who know me I am kind of a caffeine addict! So you can keep me fueled with caffeine and this will also help with equipment & podcasting platform fees etc.
I love to interact with our listeners so feel free to say hello either by email or social media:
Totallylitpodcast@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/totallylitpodcast
Tuesday Apr 28, 2026
Tuesday Apr 28, 2026
In this episode, Courtney Pepinnell discusses her debut novel The Last Poem, the transition from poetry to fiction, themes of grief and healing, writing American settings as an Australian author, and her journey from self-publishing to traditional publishing.
About the author: Courtney Peppernell is an internationally best-selling author from Australia, known for her deeply moving poetry and storytelling. Her beloved Pillow Thoughts series, along with Watering the Soul, I Hope You Stay, Time Will Tell, and more, have resonated with readers around the world, selling millions of copies and being translated into multiple languages. Blending themes of love, healing, and self-discovery, Courtney's work has made a lasting impact in the poetry and contemporary literature space. She lives on the South Coast of NSW with her partner and spends her days writing and working on many projects, always accompanied by her beloved dogs and chickens. Passionate about the power of storytelling, she hopes to continue creating work that fosters connection and healing for years to come. Courtney's debut fiction novel The Last Poem will be released in March 2026. For the latest updates and announcements, follow her on Instagram and TikTok: @courtneypeppernell
About the book: Bestselling poet B.W. Paisley is grief-stricken and lost when her sun-kissed life is turned upside down by the unexpected loss of her fiancee, Lucy, in a fatal car crash that left a young bystander paralyzed. Unable to escape the media frenzy that swarms the brownstone they once shared, she drives across the country until she hits Everston, Colorado, a town she's never visited but feels unexplainably pulled to. Everston is charming, the people are kind, and, most importantly, no one knows who she is. Deciding to start anew, she changes her name, cuts her hair, and takes up residence in a crumbling old Victorian house, determined to renovate both the house and herself from the ground up.It feels fortuitous – and a little dangerous – when she learns that the local library holds a weekly grief support group that reads, of all things, poetry. Hesitantly, she joins and slowly begins to build community with the other members, including Henry, a librarian mourning the loss of his brother, Emerson; a young woman recovering from a traumatic accident; and Olivia, a grieving reporter who gives her butterflies. Finally, she can breathe again.But not for long.As she grows closer to new friends and a possible new love, her past comes barreling back into focus. How long can she keep her old life in the rearview? Will she be able to build a new life in Everston, or will it all come crashing down when the truth finally comes to light?
Courtney Peppernell
New Book Releases, Bestsellers, Author Info and more at Simon & Schuster AU | Simon & Schuster AU
Host: Ky Garvey
Theme Song: Claire Houghton
Logo: Tondo Creative - https://www.tondo.com.au/
Production: Aud Pitch - https://www.virtualcreatrix.com/
Totally Lit is an independent podcast. You can help support us to continue to chat with wonderful Australian creatives by leaving a review on Itunes or sharing our socials with your friends. You can also make a contribution at:
www.buymeacoffee.com/Totallylit
For those of you who know me I am kind of a caffeine addict! So you can keep me fueled with caffeine and this will also help with equipment & podcasting platform fees etc.
I love to interact with our listeners so feel free to say hello either by email or social media:
Totallylitpodcast@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/totallylitpodcast
Monday Apr 27, 2026
Monday Apr 27, 2026
Host Ky Garvey talks with Jane Sullivan about the origin and rapid growth of Birds of a Feather Book Club, her partnership with Rebecca Sparrow, and their mission to help women fall back in love with reading. They discuss community-building, supporting remote readers, author events, the challenges of monetising a book club, and new initiatives like a romance-only subgroup.
This episode celebrates reading as nourishment for mental health, the joy of connecting readers and authors, and the inclusive, no-judgment spirit that keeps the book club thriving.
About Jane:
By day, Jane Sullivan co-hosts Birds of a Feather, Australia’s fastest-growing online book club for women, and by night, she’s probably under a doona with a good book (some habits never change). She’s also the creator of Scholarly, an online tutoring platform supporting high school students across Queensland.
A lifelong reader, Jane was the kid who stayed up late with a flashlight, determined to finish “just one more chapter.” Her love of literature led her to study English at university, where she fell for voices as diverse as Shakespeare, Charlotte Brontë, Vikram Seth, and Arundhati Roy. She spent 15 years sharing that passion as an English teacher before becoming a professional book club host, public speaker, wedding celebrant, and online course creator. She also spent five years running book clubs for kids, teens, and teachers at her favourite Brisbane bookstore.
Now, Jane pours her biblio-zest (yes, she made that word up) and literary nous into Birds of a Feather, creating a warm, thoughtful space where women connect over great reads. When she’s not recommending books or running her literary ventures, she’s wrangling her four young sons and gently encouraging their love of reading (with plenty of picture books on repeat).
Firm favourites: Still Life by Sarah Winman, My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante, Dusk by Robbie Arnott.
About Birds of A Feather:
Founded in 2022 by best-selling author Bec Sparrow and experienced English teacher Jane Sullivan, Birds of a Feather Book Club has reignited a love of reading in thousands of Australian women.
Today, it stands as the country’s most successful subscription-based online book club; cleverly meeting women where they are by offering online meetings and facilitating real life meet-ups.
Bec and Jane have turned what is typically a solo activity into a joyful, collective experience - inspiring women to put down their phones, pick up a book and join in.
We are a tight-knit yet welcoming community of readers who happily glide from delicious whodunnits to literary award-winners.
Birds of a Feather Book Club – Australia's fastest-growing book club for women.
Host: Ky Garvey
Theme Song: Claire Houghton
Logo: Tondo Creative - https://www.tondo.com.au/
Production: Aud Pitch - https://www.virtualcreatrix.com/
Totally Lit is an independent podcast. You can help support us to continue to chat with wonderful Australian creatives by leaving a review on Itunes or sharing our socials with your friends. You can also make a contribution at:
www.buymeacoffee.com/Totallylit
For those of you who know me I am kind of a caffeine addict! So you can keep me fueled with caffeine and this will also help with equipment & podcasting platform fees etc.
I love to interact with our listeners so feel free to say hello either by email or social media:
Totallylitpodcast@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/totallylitpodcast
Monday Mar 30, 2026
Monday Mar 30, 2026
On this episode of Totally Lit, host KyGarvey speaks with author Edwina Shaw about her new book Dear Madman, which investigates a century-old family tragedy in the Lockyer Valley and the murder that has haunted generations.
They discuss Shaw's years of research, the book's dual narrative voices, access to archives and mental health files, and the surprising discoveries about the perpetrator and his past. The conversation also explores grief, healing practices, empathizing with perpetrators without excusing actions, and practical writing advice and retreats for emerging authors.
Edwina Shaw is a writer of memoir, fiction and screenplays. She is also an editor, a mentor, a yoga teacher, a workshop and retreat facilitator and now an independent publisher with her imprint Red Backed Wren Publishing.
Edwina Shaw | WRITER / EDITOR / MENTOR / THE HEALING POWER OF STORY
Buy the book: Dear Madman: A Notorious Crime, A Family Curse — AndAlso Books
Host: Ky Garvey
Theme Song: Claire Houghton
Logo: Tondo Creative - https://www.tondo.com.au/
Production: Aud Pitch - https://www.virtualcreatrix.com/
Totally Lit is an independent podcast. You can help support us to continue to chat with wonderful Australian creatives by leaving a review on Itunes or sharing our socials with your friends. You can also make a contribution at:
www.buymeacoffee.com/Totallylit
For those of you who know me I am kind of a caffeine addict! So you can keep me fueled with caffeine and this will also help with equipment & podcasting platform fees etc.
I love to interact with our listeners so feel free to say hello either by email or social media:
Totallylitpodcast@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/totallylitpodcast
Tuesday Mar 24, 2026
Tuesday Mar 24, 2026
Join Ky Garvey as she chats with Sophie Stern, whose debut novel 'What Is Left for Us' traces two estranged sisters returning to their grandmother's crumbling Bondi clifftop house. The episode explores family secrets, alternating timelines, a vivid sense of place and the environmental threat of coastal erosion that frames the story.
Sophie shares her path to becoming a writer — taking permission to write, being shortlisted for the 2024 Penguin Literary Prize, the editing and publishing process, balancing a day job and family, creative techniques (playlists, Scrivener, residencies) and practical advice for aspiring authors: make time for your work and write what you love. The episode also previews her upcoming launch and events.
About Sophie:
Sophie Stern is from Sydney, Australia, where she lives with her husband and son. Her short fiction has been published in magazines and literary zines including Yen Magazine and Ellipsis Zine, and shortlisted for the Bridport Prize. The manuscript of her first novel, What Is Left For Us, was shortlisted for the Penguin Literary Prize in 2024.
Home - Sophie Stern
About the book:
A devastatingly beautiful debut about sisters, secrets, and the weight of thepast. In What Is Left For Us, debut novelist Sophie Stern delivers a deeplyemotional portrait of two sisters bound by family, betrayal and the hauntingpull of home. Set between London’s corporate glass towers and theweather-beaten cliffs of Bondi, Stern’s novel explores the question that liesbeneath every family story: how much of the past can ever be left behind?When high-powered London lawyer Rebecca Gill receives word that herlate grandmother’s house has been left jointly to her and her estrangedsister Hannah, she reluctantly returns to Australia — and the life shethought she’d escaped. For Hannah, a mother and wife living in Sydney’saffluent east, Rebecca’s return threatens to unravel the fragile orderof her carefully controlled world. As the sisters begin to pack up theirgrandmother’s seaside home, long-buried memories of their mother’s deathand an unforgivable betrayal begin to surface.Through the intertwined perspectives of both women — and the ghosts thatlinger between them — What Is Left For Us intricately captures the cracksin sisterhood, the weight of inheritance, and the slow erosion of truth.
What Is Left For Us by Sophie Stern - Penguin Books Australia
Buy the book: What Is Left For Us by Sophie Stern - 9781761354441
(this is an affiliate link)
Host: Ky Garvey
Theme Song: Claire Houghton
Logo: Tondo Creative - https://www.tondo.com.au/
Production: Aud Pitch - https://www.virtualcreatrix.com/
Totally Lit is an independent podcast. You can help support us to continue to chat with wonderful Australian creatives by leaving a review on Itunes or sharing our socials with your friends. You can also make a contribution at:
www.buymeacoffee.com/Totallylit
For those of you who know me I am kind of a caffeine addict! So you can keep me fueled with caffeine and this will also help with equipment & podcasting platform fees etc.
I love to interact with our listeners so feel free to say hello either by email or social media:
Totallylitpodcast@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/totallylitpodcast
Monday Mar 02, 2026
Monday Mar 02, 2026
Host Ky Garvey interviews Lawrey Goodrick about his illustrated middle‑grade book Half‑Life, a lively AA battery adventure following Half and his friend Hope as they explore science, history and identity.
The episode covers the book's STEM themes, neurodiversity and mental‑wellbeing, Laurie’s creative and publishing journey, his illustration process, and practical tips for aspiring authors.
Lawrey Goodrick– Hawkeye Publishing
Host: Ky Garvey
Theme Song: Claire Houghton
Logo: Tondo Creative - https://www.tondo.com.au/
Production: Aud Pitch - https://www.virtualcreatrix.com/
Totally Lit is an independent podcast. You can help support us to continue to chat with wonderful Australian creatives by leaving a review on Itunes or sharing our socials with your friends. You can also make a contribution at:
www.buymeacoffee.com/Totallylit
For those of you who know me I am kind of a caffeine addict! So you can keep me fueled with caffeine and this will also help with equipment & podcasting platform fees etc.
I love to interact with our listeners so feel free to say hello either by email or social media:
Totallylitpodcast@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/totallylitpodcast
Monday Feb 16, 2026
Monday Feb 16, 2026
And now for something completely different...In this episode I chat to Sally Leydon the host of The Missing Matter Podcast. Sally recounts her mother Marion Barter’s disappearance in 1997 and how podcasting transformed her search - from Channel 7’s investigation to her own series, The Missing Matter.
She shares the international leads, community detectives who uncovered new evidence, the challenges with police priorities, and her advocacy work including the Green Seat Project to support other families of missing people.
Usually Totally Lit focuses on the written word but in this chat Sally and I explore audio storytelling, podcasting and what it is like to work with the media to get your message out.
About Sally: Marion’s daughter and mother of three, Sally works full-time and she is the driving force behind the effort to find out what happened to her mother. For more than 25 years, Sally and police have been investigating what happened, uncovering some astonishing information, including Marion’s name change, the use of her passport to travel back to Australia, how her bank account was emptied at a seaside town, not to mention the rumours at the school where she taught and the stranger she met before she left.
Sally is committed to ensuring the missing are not forgotten or dismissed by authorities or communities. She is now launching The Green Seat Project, an initiative dedicated to raising awareness about missing persons. The project aims to collaborate with local governments across Australia and beyond to install green benches equipped with QR codes linking to www.themissingmatter.com, where stories of those lost are visible to all. These seats will provide a peaceful space for families, friends, and communities to sit, reflect, and honour all those who are missing because #themissingmatter.
www.sallyleydon.com
The Missing Matter
The Green Seat Project | The Missing Matter
Podcast links:
The Missing Matter: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-missing-matter/id1812362613
The Lady Vanishes: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-lady-vanishes/id1457296528
Crime Analyst: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/marion-barter-investigating-my-mums-murder-with-sally/id1545830333?i=1000726858938
Host: Ky Garvey
Theme Song: Claire Houghton
Logo: Tondo Creative - https://www.tondo.com.au/
Production: Aud Pitch - https://www.virtualcreatrix.com/
Totally Lit is an independent podcast. You can help support us to continue to chat with wonderful Australian creatives by leaving a review on Itunes or sharing our socials with your friends. You can also make a contribution at:
www.buymeacoffee.com/Totallylit
For those of you who know me I am kind of a caffeine addict! So you can keep me fueled with caffeine and this will also help with equipment & podcasting platform fees etc.
I love to interact with our listeners so feel free to say hello either by email or social media:
Totallylitpodcast@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/totallylitpodcast
Friday Jan 30, 2026
Friday Jan 30, 2026
2025 Top Listens #14
Author and agent Danielle Binks talks about her middle-grade novel Six Summers of Tash and Leopold — a tender suburban mystery about former best friends, school refusal, childhood anxiety and the slow rebuilding of trust.
She also discusses her work as a teacher and agent, her World War I research, and her ambassadorship with Chapters for Change, encouraging listeners to join the July Readathon to support literacy projects in Cambodia.
Chapters for Change Readathon 2026
Danielle Binks - I write books for children and young adults and short stories for grown-ups.
About the author:
Danielle Binks is a Melbourne-based writer and literary agent with Jacinta di Mase Management. She is the author of bestselling middle-grade book The Year the Maps Changed, and the award-winning young adult books; Begin, End, Begin: A #LoveOzYA Anthology as well as The Monster of Her Age. Her latest middle grade novel is Six Summers of Tash and Leopold. Danielle also teaches Fiction & Young Adult Writing in the Associate Degree of Professional Writing and Editing at her alum, RMIT University.
Buy the book:
QBD Aiffiliate link:https://www.qbd.com.au/six-summers-of-tash-and-leopold/danielle-binks/9780734421890/?a=garvey
Host: Ky Garvey
Theme Song: Claire Houghton
Logo: Tondo Creative - https://www.tondo.com.au/
Production: Aud Pitch - https://www.virtualcreatrix.com/
Totally Lit is an independent podcast. You can help support us to continue to chat with wonderful Australian creatives by leaving a review on Itunes or sharing our socials with your friends. You can also make a contribution at:
www.buymeacoffee.com/Totallylit
For those of you who know me I am kind of a caffeine addict! So you can keep me fueled with caffeine and this will also help with equipment & podcasting platform fees etc.
I love to interact with our listeners so feel free to say hello either by email or social media:
Totallylitpodcast@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/totallylitpodcast