Publication day flowers from my mother, to whom THE FROCK SHOP is dedicated.

Less than 24 hours to go … THE FROCK SHOP is out tomorrow in print in Australia and New Zealand and in ebook and audiobook everywhere. #thefrockshop #fashionstory #mosmanliving

The Frock Shop has something my other novels do not: vignettes throughout the text, about pieces of clothing and the people who have worn them. I sketched the clothes to go with the stories and they appear as a collection in the book and also with their stories. Early feedback is that readers l

There are playlists for my previous novels THE BELLBIRD RIVER COUNTRY CHOIR and LESSONS IN LOVE AT THE SEASIDE SALON (which has two - a contemporary one and a 1980s one - both linked in my Linktree). Given I have a whole life over at Sunburnt Country Music, music is clearly important to me and w

When writing and submitting a manuscript, it’s important to be able to identify your hook - that is, what makes your story/work different?

As a publisher and editor, I see this mistake a lot.

n the latest issue of The Sunshine Society (on Substack) you'll find an extract from my forthcoming novel, The Frock Shop, in the form of the first 'frock story', which is called 'The Houndstooth Suit'. This is reprinted with permission from @hachetteaus and there's an audio

Some dates have a powerful significance. I originally had one reason to love the 7th of July. Then a second. Now a third, and it’s book related. As is the second, because without what happened to me on 7 July 2011, I likely wouldn’t be here to write books at all.

Audrey, the smart and hilarious daughter of Australian author Anthea Hodgson, has attended all four of the Rachael Johns Book Club Readers Retreats. Last week in Geelong she made badges for the retreaters. The first is one I plucked from the selection. The second is one she made for me and I shall

Curiosity may have killed the cat but it’s essential for writers. #writingabook #writersoflemon8 #writingcommunity

The next issue of The Sunshine Society, my newsletter on Substack, will not only feature the first ‘frock story’ from THE FROCK SHOP (pub date: 21 July 2026) but the chance to win 1 of 3 copies of the new smaller edition of LESSONS IN LOVE AT THE SEASIDE SALON. All you need to do is sign up to r

Some views offer lovely surprises … as this one of Corio Bay at Geelong does (watch to the end). I’ve just arrived to take part in the Rachael Johns Book Club Readers Retreat and festivities are about to commence! #geelong #geelongevents #readerscommunity

This is one of the settings of my next novel, The Frock Shop, which will be published on 21 July 2026.

The theme for the party was ‘flight’. Extra instruction: ‘dress warmly’. So I decided to grab my fake fur coat and go a 1980s Concorde passenger.

Wednesday morning rainbow seen from a couple of doors down from the location of my (fictional) frock shop. My eighth novel, The Frock Shop, will be published in August 2026 by Hachette Australia. #rainbowsss #morningvibes Mosman

Four years of doing Bushcare and FINALLY I have been given a tool belt AND I am feeling incredibly smug about it. The second photo is taken from Curraghbeena Point in Mosman looking over Sirius Cove towards Taronga Zoo and South Head beyond it. The bush block I work on is not far from here. In t