Author Talks

Ben’s Book Club

Together We Read

Join Ben Hobson in conversation with Jacquie Byron as they discuss her latest novel ‘Happy Hour’.
 
This month’s meeting is a special Together We Read event that will be held on September 22, at 7:00PM AEST.
Ben’s Book Club will resume as normal on the fourth Tuesday of next month.
 
Between September 6-20 Together We Read invites anyone with a library card to borrow Australian author Jacquie Byron’s wonderfully received novel ‘Happy Hour’, as an e-book or audiobook, and join Australia’s biggest annual online book club.
 
 

About the author:

As a professional writer – journalist, copywriter and publicist – for more than 20 years, Jacquie Byron has been a voyeur of many different worlds. Her work for newspapers, magazines and custom publishing has taken her from the glamour of pop princesses to
the mystique of light commercial vehicles. Her most recent newspaper
feature explored Australian crime writers’ success internationally and in 2016 she was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award. She lives in Melbourne with her
husband and pets, including Whisky the cairn. During Melbourne’s COVID lockdown she Instagrammed daily escapades of her 88-year-old mother who moved in for the duration. She was benevolent dictator of The Mrs Underhill Book Club for a
decade plus.
 

About ‘Happy Hour’:

Gin in one hand, paintbrush in the other, Franny Calderwood has turned her back on the world, at least the world she used to know. At 65 her beloved Frank is dead, mowed down by an ice – addled driver. Franny lives a life of decadent seclusion, until
the Salernos move in next door. A troubled but charming trio made up of beleaguered mother Sallyanne, angry teenager Dee and eccentric eight – year – old Josh, the family manage to breach Franny’s fortress, literally and figuratively; it’s hard to enjoy your Tanqueray when someone’s either crying or yelling over the garden fence.
In their own way, each Salerno is captivated by their witty, cantankerous neighbour, especially Dee, who admires the older woman’s self – confidence and independence. None of them see the pain lurking behind Franny’s intoxicating (and often intoxicated) screw-the-world persona. Franny’s flamboyant drinking habits lead to trouble, and there is an element of pain lurking behind Franny’s intoxicating (and often intoxicated) screw-the-world persona. No longer defiant, she now seems defeated. The
Salernos withdraw just as Franny finds herself in the intolerable situation of needing temporary care.
Once recovered, Franny is hell-bent on reclaiming her privacy and self-sufficiency.
When Dee finds herself in a dangerous situation Franny is the only one on hand to help. This drama forces the neighbours back together and reminds them why they grew so close at the start. With eyes wide open, but her gate still tightly closed, Franny must answer the question: Yes, Frank is dead, but did the woman he loved have to die with him?

Join Ben Hobson in conversation with Jacquie Byron as they discuss her latest novel ‘Happy Hour’, for a special Together We Read event.

When:

September 22, 2022 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

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