OUR BOOKS
Books published by Contempo
(so far!)
The Starre, The Moone, The Sunne
by Ron Destro
In 1624 London, a brave printer is executed, a portly poet is kidnapped, a Stratford-upon-Avon grave is emptied, King James is put into a panic, many swashes are buckled, and things are never as they seem, all because brave Nicholas and clever Valentina are about to discover and reveal the true identity of "William Shake-speare.” This is a timely tale that touches on the powerful love of fathers, the perils of the plague, the joys of turnips, and the mysterious life and tragic death of the Bard of Avon. It is a (mostly) true story filled with suspense and humor.
Winner!
This book has already won the following awards
Historical Fiction Company - Best Audiobook 2023 / Book of the year runner up, 2023.
Flash 500 (Novel Opening Competition) - Shortlisted.
Rabbit Town
by Kevin Radley
It is 1932 and one in every three men is out of work. Charlie he is desperate to find somewhere for his family to live. He moves them to Happy Valley, a shanty town on Sydney’s eastern fringe.
Their shelter is but a thin layer against the elements, and resources are scarce. Charlie must live on his wits and intuition to make ends meet. With his son, Tom, they follow in the footsteps of the original ‘rabbitohs’, traipsing the streets and flogging rabbits.
Tom, just fifteen years old, is mesmerised by a young Catholic, Irish girl, Hazel. Their blossoming love is torn apart by circumstances, and to make life even more difficult for them, Hazel’s mother is infuriated that Tom, the Rabbitoh boy, is a Protestant.
Set against the backdrop of war and social upheaval, a family secret is buried, the damning consequences of which, are manifested in the generations that follow. Many years later, the deception is exposed, and family descendants are faced with the truth. Can they come to terms with history and be willing to forgive those from the past?
Bad Country
by Kim Ulrick
“Remember what I said, Laura. Stay away from that awful place. It’s not safe.”
People and place. A deep and timeless connection
Since European settlement, disturbing things have happened in the small town of Wallaby Rock.
When the bodies of teenage football stars Benny and Jordy Thompson are discovered at the bottom of the local gorge, everyone is shocked.
Everyone except 18-year-old Laura Murray. Laura has the gift of second sight. It’s a gift she’s never wanted and struggles to accept. Laura is drawn to the gorge, ignoring the warnings of her best friend Joanna and her family to stay away.
As Laura’s dreams grow darker, more disappearances and deaths occur, and Wallaby Rock is front-page news for all the wrong reasons.
It’s Because I Love You
by Karin Keays
It was 1988 and Karin had arrived in Melbourne on the first step of her lifelong dream to travel overseas, find excitement and maybe even romance. The path to that dream took an unexpected twist when, only hours after arriving, she met Jim. A devastatingly handsome rockstar and music legend, Jim Keays fell instantly in love when he opened his front door to the beautiful young woman from the Gold Coast.
IT’S BECAUSE I LOVE YOU is the story of Karin Keays’ real-life rock and roll romance and possibly the first such book to be written from the unique perspective of a woman who has lived and worked for 35 years in the inner sanctum of rock and roll royalty.
A gripping read that is at times vastly amusing, fascinating, insightful, and deeply tragic, it is the story of a fairy-tale life that goes suddenly and shockingly wrong, turning into a nightmare of maternal loss and grief.
Crabbe & the King’s Gambit
by E. Atkinson
England 1811. Thomas Crabbe has just entered the ailing George III's navy as a young cadet. After a running battle with an American privateer ship, an injury confines him to the galley as the ship's cook.
While there he befriends an indentured African and the ship’s cat. Their ship is captured and the three friends are seized as prisoners of war, but a twist of fate separates them, changing the course of their lives. Thomas is swept into a world of intrigue, which takes him to the heart of Paris, exciting but treacherous.
In England the Prince Regent waits impatiently to ascend the throne.
As political unrest builds, across the channel the former Emperor of the French, Bonaparte, is rattling his sabre.
Can a cat-loving cook save Europe from impending war? Will the unlikeliest of friendships endure and stand the test of time?