Show Notes
This episode of the podcast was recorded a few weeks before Sophie's latest novel, The Frock Shop, was published and Rachael asked her some questions about it, including how she manages writing multiple points of view (there are give in this novel). Sophie also mentions some events and how at the time we recorded there weren’t booking links for everything - but there are now!
However, The Frock Shop is not the focus of this episode - we’ve recorded a separate episode for that - because we have a guest, and she is Petronella McGovern.
Petronella’s first books were memoirs she ghostwrote for others and from there she moved into writing fiction, and she is now the author of several bestselling domestic thrillers, the latest of which is Every Time She Wakes. You can find more information about Petronella and her new book below.
At the core of the new novel is the concept of time, and whether or not it is linear. We both love talking about time, so this conversation was right up our alley!
Petronella will be the feature author in Rachael’s Book Club in September - you can join that group here.
Other news: Rachael is teaching a one-day workshop at the Romance Writers of Australia conference in mid August - tickets still available - and Sophie will be at the conference too, as her publisher self.
ABOUT PETRONELLA MCGOVERN Petronella McGovern is fascinated by what makes us tick, the lies we tell, and the secrets we keep. She is the best-selling author of Six Minutes, The Good Teacher, The Liars and The Last Trace. Her books have been nominated in the Ned Kelly Awards, the Davitt Awards and the Australian Independent Bookseller Awards. The Liars was selected in the Top 100 Big W/Better Reading list for 2023. Her new novel is Every Time She Wakes, is a time-bending thriller about family and identity.
ABOUT EVERY TIME SHE WAKES A taut, time-bending thriller about family, identity and defying fate.
When careers counsellor Suze and her family are evacuated from their home during a bushfire, the van crashes and she thinks it's the end. But Suze wakes up two weeks back in time. No-one else remembers what came before. Is it all in her mind? Suze must work out what's happening and why to save her family, and wake up in a world she recognises.
'Gripping, unsettling and impossible to put down.' Sally Hepworth
'A clever, propulsive thriller that plays brilliantly with time and tension.' Christian White For more information about Rachael Johns: https://www.rachaeljohns.com
For more informationabout Sophie Green: https://sophiegreenauthor.com
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More from Dear Rach & Soph
Nina Kenwood was one of the featured authors at this year’s Rachael Johns Book Club Readers Retreat in Geelong, Victoria, a few months ago, so we met her there. At the time we had not organised to talk to Nina about her new novel, People Skills, which will be released by Text Publishing on 6 October. And we hadn’t yet read the book, but ahead of recording this episode we did (and have both read the novel before it, The Wedding Forecast). As fans of Nina's writing and her storytelling, of her sense of humour and her compassion for human foibles, we had much to discuss when she joined us on the pod for this episode.
A year ago, on the podcast, we talked to Chloe Berry, who was in the process of launching a digital marketing agency for authors and also planning to become a literary agent. Chloe is in her twenties and has worked in publishing as a marketer for romance and other genre fiction. Starting her own agency was, obviously, risky - starting any business is a risk.
Listeners-slash-viewers a.k.a. liewers, you’re going to have to watch or listen to find out why, quite early on in our latest episode, Rachael says, ‘This is not a poo podcast.’ We're not giving you any hints! What we will say is that we recorded this ahead of her going to the RWA conference in Darwin, at which she taught a day-long workshop, gave the opening keynote speech and was made a lifetime member of the RWA. In short, she was an RWA rock star!
At the time of recording this episode Rachael was preparing her day-long workshop for the RWA Conference, which is happening this weekend. Sophie was meant to attend but, due to personal circumstances, had to cancel, so we aren’t seeing each other in person as planned. Yet we are together on screen and in audio in this episode, which we recorded about three weeks ago.
As has become customary, each time Rachael or Sophie releases a book, we devote an episode of the podcast to discussing it. This time it’s Sophie's turn, with The Frock Shop, which was published on 21 July 2026 (blurb below).