From the author of beloved Top Ten bestsellers The Inaugural Meeting of the Fairvale Ladies Book Club and The Shelly Bay Ladies Swimming Circle comes a delightful new novel about friendship, love and finding yourself. Far North Queensland, 1993: At 74, former cane farmer Grace Maud is feeling her age, and her isolation, and thinks the best of life may be behind her. Elsewhere in town, high school teacher Patricia has given up on her dreams of travel and adventure and has moved back home to look after her ageing parents, while cafe owner Dorothy is struggling to accept that she may never have the baby she and her husband so desperately want. Each woman has an unspoken need: reconnection. And that's how they find themselves at Orange Blossom House, surrounded by perfumed rainforest, being cajoled and encouraged by their yoga teacher, the lively Sandrine. Together, they will find courage and strength - and discover that life has much more to offer than they ever expected. Set amid the lush beauty of tropical Queensland, Thursdays at Orange Blossom House is a heartwarming story of friendship and family, of chances missed and taken, and the eternal power of love. Praise for Sophie Green: 'Sophie Green has established herself as a leading writer of warm-hearted tales about female friendship and second chances' Canberra Weekly 'A tender, heartwarming read' New Idea 'An upbeat story about suburban life and female solidarity' Spectrum 'Reading this book was like snuggling beneath a warm beach towel after a bracing dip in the ocean' JOANNA NELL 'Heartwarming, fulfilling and Australian as a lamb roast and full-bodied shiraz' The Australian Women's Weekly

'Meticulously researched, and the result is Heiss’s great achievement: the reader is transported in place and time.’ – The Australian 'Tact and intelligence are sustained to the end of this bold novel of the wartime home front’ -- Sydney Morning Herald ‘With deftness and a lightness of touch … Heiss's strengths as a writer are on full display’ – The Conversation A story about a love that transcends all boundaries, from one of Australia’s best loved authors. 5 AUGUST, 1944 Over 1000 Japanese soldiers break out of the No.12 Prisoner of War compound on the fringes of Cowra. In the carnage, hundreds are killed, many are recaptured, and some take their own lives rather than suffer the humiliation of ongoing defeat. But one soldier, Hiroshi, manages to escape. At nearby Erambie Station, an Aboriginal mission, Banjo Williams, father of five and proud man of his community, discovers Hiroshi, distraught and on the run. Unlike most of the townsfolk who dislike and distrust the Japanese, the people of Erambie choose compassion and offer Hiroshi refuge. Mary, Banjo’s daughter, is intrigued by the softly spoken stranger, and charged with his care. For the community, life at Erambie is one of restriction and exclusion – living under Acts of Protection and Assimilation, and always under the ruthless eye of the mission Manager. On top of wartime hardships, families live without basic rights. Love blossoms between Mary and Hiroshi, and they each dream of a future together. But how long can Hiroshi be hidden safely and their bond kept a secret?

The fire took everything - except two women's fighting spirits. A sweeping, big-hearted Australian family saga for readers of Judy Nunn and Victoria Purman. 7 February, 1967. Walls of flame reduce much of Tasmania to ash. Young schoolteacher Catherine Turner rushes to the Huon Valley to find her family's apple orchard destroyed, her childhood home in ruins and her brother dead. Despite her father's declaration that a woman will never run the orchard, Catherine resolves to rebuild the family business. After five sons, Catherine's friend and neighbour, Annie Pearson, is overjoyed by the birth of a much longed for daughter. As Annie and her husband Dave work to repair the damage to their orchard, Dave's friend Mark pitches in, despite the fact that Annie wants him gone. Mark has moved his family to the valley to escape his life in Melbourne, but his wife has disappeared leaving chaos in her wake and their young son Charlie in Mark's care. Catherine becomes fond of Charlie, whose strange upbringing has left him shy and withdrawn. However, the growing friendship between Mark and Catherine not only scandalises the small community but threatens a secret Annie is desperate to keep hidden. Through natural disasters, personal calamities and the devastating collapse of the apple industry, Catherine, Annie and those they love battle to save their livelihoods, their families and their secrets. PRAISE FOR THE LAST OF THE APPLE BLOSSOM: 'An outstanding historical novel about women and the secrets and burdens they carry' - The Australian 'What a cracker of a debut! A beautiful story of family and orchards, of secrets and love and forgiveness' - Victoria Purman, author of The Nurses' War 'The crisp prose sparkles and the characters stay with you long after the story ends' - Lauren Chater, author of Gulliver's Wife 'Australian historical fiction at its finest ... It will linger in your mind and heart long after the last page.' - Karen Brooks, author of The Good Wife of Bath

It's 1982 in Australia. THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER is a box office hit and Paul Hogan is on the TV. In a seaside suburb, housewife Theresa takes up swimming. She wants to get fit; she also wants a few precious minutes to herself. So at sunrise each day she strikes out past the waves. From the same beach, the widowed Marie swims. With her husband gone, bathing is the one constant in her new life. After finding herself in a desperate situation, 25-year-old Leanne only has herself to rely on. She became a nurse to help others, even as she resists help herself. Elaine has recently moved from England. Far from home and without her adult sons, her closest friend is a gin bottle. In the waters of Shelly Bay, these four women find each other. They will survive bluebottle stings and heartbreak; they will laugh so hard they swallow water, and they will plunge their tears into the ocean's salt. They will find solace and companionship, and learn that love takes many forms. Most of all, they will cherish their friendship, each and every day. 'A tender, heartwarming read' New Idea 'An upbeat story about suburban life and female solidarity' Spectrum 'A delightful novel about the power of female friendship' Sunday Age 'Reading this book was like snuggling beneath a warm beach towel after a bracing dip in the ocean.' - JOANNA NELL Praise for Sophie Green's THE INAUGURAL MEETING OF THE FAIRVALE LADIES BOOK CLUB 'Tender, intimate, heartwarming, fulfilling and Australian as a lamb roast and full-bodied shiraz' The Australian Women's Weekly **Includes BONUS extract from Sophie Green's new novel, Thursdays at Orange Blossom House**

This book is a stunningly beautiful record of the nation's biggest springtime festival. As the 100th anniversary of the National Cherry Blossom Festival approaches in the Spring of 2012, millions of people from across the country will gather to revel in the beauty of the Cherry Blossoms. Capturing the true essence of spring, Blunt's striking photography will also allow those who are unable to travel to the festival the chance to experience the splendor of the blooming cherry blossoms through his photography.

Simon Winchester, author of A Crack in the Edge of the World and The Professor and the Madman: "The essence of this inexpressibly beautiful story will remain with me, I believe, for the rest of my life. This exquisitely crafted account of the loves and lives of Arthur and Masa, Violet and Kiyoshi - such very ordinary names, yet names that conceal extraordinary passions and confusions - is a tone poem to duty and honour, courage and enduring passion, set against the fantastically rich recent histories of Japan and Ireland, England and France. It is a long time since I have read so moving and haunting a book" This is the true story of an extraordinary love affair. When Captain Arthur Hart-Synnot, a disciplined, conservative officer, met Masa Suzuki, a bright, beautiful Japanese girl, when the British army posted him to Tokyo, he fell for her and within weeks they were living together. Arthur told her she was the 'supreme woman in the world' and they pledged they would love each other for the rest of their lives. But he could not tell the army about her, and they faced almost insuperable barriers of race and class. When he was recalled to London the question was whether Masa had, all the time, just been what expatriates referred to as 'a temporary wife', an exploited Madam Butterfly. Though separated for years at a time, and by huge distances, they remained devoted to each other. Based on a cache of over 800 letters found in Tokyo, the story is set against the wider history and the wars of the first half of the twentieth century. This is a record of enduring love and great loss, where events beyond Arthur and Masa's control dictate the final tragic outcome.

The next installment in the popular Big Book series is a fascinating introduction to some of the most magnificent and surprising flowering plants from around the world. In The Big Book of Blooms, the next installment in the wildly successful Big Book series, Yuval Zommer’s charming illustrations bring to life some of the most colorful, flamboyant, and unusual flowers from across the globe. In the opening pages, readers will learn all about botany, including how to recognize different types of flowers. Subsequent pages illustrate the various habitats that are home to flora such as pitcher plants, the giant water lily, and the weirdly wonderful corpse flower. Readers will discover which flowers are endangered and why some blooms are fragrant or colorful, not to mention grisly details about carnivorous and poisonous flowers. This title pairs picture-book charm and concise, informative text to create a beautiful book for children to return to. Zommer’s quirky illustrations appeal to young readers, who will relish these fun and amazing facts about the world’s most exciting plants.