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-----      Who was on the show  -----

15 Guests in the main season

27 Bonus Interviews from the Indie Author Book Fair

S2E1: With JA Duxbury and her mindfulness tactics
S2E2: Playing in the worlds of JA Duxbury

More about the guest

​JA Duxbury has been writing since an early age, but only returned to 1998 after a hiatus of about 20 years. During the grey period, she worked full-time in places like records management and customer service. She spent a lot of that time writing procedural manuals, training documents and plans as well as creating Wikipedia type pages for her employer. Wver the last 10 years, she's been writing full-time getting all of her ideas on to paper and realising her dream of publishing books that people can lose themselves in. She has an extensive range of interest but her primary interest is creating words that bring to life the characters and stories she creates.

What is the Treasure Chest Prize?

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This was an action packed season filled with a wide variety of guests from a Sci-fi sensation to a Romantasy diva. If you want to see the full show notes then have a look at the episode on your favourite pod catcher. 

S2E3: With Allie McCormack and her mindful tips
S2E4: Worldplay with Allie McCormack

More about the guest

​Allie McCormack is a disabled U.S. military veteran who has transformed her life-long dream of writing into reality. Having lived across the United States and spent memorable years in both Cairo, Egypt as an exchange student and Saudi Arabia working at a hospital in Riyadh, Allie now crafts her stories from the beautiful California wine country she calls home, accompanied by her family and two rescue cats.

When not weaving tales of romance and adventure, Allie explores the intersection of art and technology through AI-generated artwork, finding new ways to express her creativity. Her passion for storytelling drives everything she does, bringing to life the countless characters and worlds that populate her imagination. Whether through words or images, Allie believes in creating works that touch hearts and spark joy.

 

What is the Treasure Chest Prize?

A copy of the Wishes and Dreams Trilogy generously donated as a prize for one lucky listener to enjoy. 

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S2E5: Mindful Chat with Kylah Elliott
S2E6: Peeking into the world of Kylah Elliott

More about the guest

​Hey! I’m Kylah, a book editor and author. I’ve been a writer from the moment I could do so, writing music, poems and books. I have no published works yet, but my debut novel is in the works! I’m a cat mum of two and love them with my entire heart and I’m an avid fantasy reader. 

What is the Treasure Chest Prize?

For one of the creatives out there, a half price edit.

S2E7: Being present with Ian Hooper
S2E8: Detecting fictional worlds with Ian Hooper

More about the guest

Ian Hooper grew up in the coastal town of Larne, Northern Ireland. He joined the Royal Air Force at age eighteen and worked initially as an aircraft technician before being commissioned as an Intelligence Officer. After serving for two decades, he and his Australian wife relocated to the southwest of Western Australia. 

In 2014, writing under the pen name of Ian Andrew, his first novel, A Time to Every Purpose, was released to critical acclaim, and in 2018, the first of his ‘Wright and Tran’ crime series, Face Value, won the Publishers Weekly Booklife prize for fiction. In 2024, his poem, Just Enough won the Shore Lines writing for performance prize.

He is now the executive director of independent publisher, Leschenault Press and its imprint, The Book Reality Experience, as well as being an author, editor and ghost-writer. In addition, he is the co-founder of the international series of independent author book fairs. A fellow of the Australian Institute of Management, he holds qualifications in management, training, and learning design as well as a master’s in creative writing.

Living in rural Western Australia, surrounded by a resident mob of kangaroos, he is currently working on the next novel in the Wright & Tran series of detective stories.

What is the Treasure Chest Prize?

Two Prizes donated by Ian. You'll never walk alone and Slaughtered Nursery Rhymes. 

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S2E9: Mindful Growth with Jo Henwood
S2E10: The Storytelling world of Jo Henwood

More about the guest

​Jo Henwood is an Accredited Storyteller with Australian Storytellers, accredited Professional Guide with the Institute of Australian Tour Guides, and has been President of the Australian Fairy Tale Society.  She is a museum theatre creative, and workshop leader on literature, history, creative writing, folklore, and storytelling.   As a Tour Guide she leads tours around Sydney, as and Education Officer she interprets history and science in heritage sites, and she was a FEAST (Federation of Asian Storytellers) mentor to Storytellers performing in heritage sites. Her qualifications include BA (Library Science), Tour Guiding Cert III, Graduate Diploma of Museum Studies, Graduate Certificate of Gifted Education, and Master of Cultural Heritage.  Jo has been performing stories for over 25 years, specialising in historical stories and fairy tales, and storytelling in heritage sites, but also performing myths, mysteries, romances, ghost and literary stories, for audiences from pre school to elderly, including school age, families, teens, and People With Disability.

What is the Treasure Chest Prize?

A copy of the Australian Fairytale Associations compilation of stories called - South of the Sun.

S2E11: Treasure Chest Summary and Winners

This was a summary episode for the first treasure chest. 

Dianna and Julz had a chance to talk about the interviews that have been played so far and how they have been going through the fast fire questions and the different buffy topics.

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S2E12: Intentional Creative Rest with Jessie Cunniffe
S2E13: Crazy Plant Lady Writes Blurbs with Jessie Cunniffe

More about the guest

Jessie Cunniffe* is a professional blurb writer and book blurb coach from Sydney, Australia. A passionate advocate of the indie author community, Jessie has dedicated herself to taking the pain out of blurb-writing with her custom blurb services and two signature courses: Book Blurb Magic and The Spicy Blurb Playbook. When she’s not writing or dreaming up the next BBM product, Jessie can be found journaling, exploring new ocean pools, and playing her guitar. On the occasion that Jessie manages to snatch some reading time, she’s probably buried in P. G. Wodehouse or Agatha Christie.​

What is the Treasure Chest Prize?

Jessie donated access to her premium course Book Blurb Magic

S2E14: Create Time to Write with Angela Hughes
S2E15: Retelling old Myths with Angela Hughes

More about the guest

​Historical & Paranormal fantasy author Angela R. Hughes believes in the power of storytelling. Her ambition to write stories that grip and inspire readers has led her to study Celtic Mythology  and live for a time in Ireland, where she fell in love with the history and landscapes of the ‘Emerald Isle,’ Wales, Scotland and England. When she isn’t traveling or researching Arthurian legend, she is chatting with fellow fantasy nerds over coffee or spending time with her family at home in Waco, Texas.

What is the Treasure Chest Prize?

Angela Provided 2 copies of her first books Elanor and the song of the Bard and The Golden dragon awakens.

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S2E16: Getting in the flow with Selina Shapland
S2E17: Building in Layers with Selina Shapland

More about the guest

Selina Shapland is a certified fiction book coach who uses her developmental editing knowledge and skills to guide aspiring authors through the shadows of storytelling. She has studied fiction since 2008, and she writes paranormal mysteries, romance and horror too. 

Angels, demons, ghosts, psychics, spirits, vampires, witches, werewolves and monsters populate her stories. Gods and Goddesses grace her fiction pages and she loves sprinkling magic throughout her fictional worlds.

The worlds Selina creates often intersect with our world, but there's always something lurking on the other side of the veil to be discovered by her lead characters. 

In Selina’s writing world, the paranormal is normal, mysteries plague her latest work in progress, and sweet to medium heat romance connects enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, and old crushes with new levels of love with a dash of spice. 

She lives in Holbrook NSW with her leading man. She’s a poodle mumma, a cat servant and an art dabbler.

What is the Treasure Chest Prize?

Selina donated a tarot reading for character development in a zoom call.​

S2E18: Staying true to your voice with Sue-Ellen Pashley
S2E19: Felling comfortable in the space with Sue-Ellen Pashley

More about the guest

A writer of a copious amount of words (because if they didn’t come out, she’s sure her head would explode), Sue-Ellen writes everything from picture books to young adult and adult fantasies. A best-selling, internationally published author, she gets a real thrill out of not being able to read a story she’s written when it’s translated to another language.  

Sue-Ellen was writing stories before she could actually write, reading the scribbles out to her parents, but has definitely progressed from this early start! An eternal optimist, she enjoys making things difficult for her protagonists, but loves a satisfying ending.

She enjoys running workshops on writing and all things authory at schools and conferences and sometimes surprises herself with how much she now enjoys public speaking.

In her other life, she lives in Central Queensland with her family, a bordoodle called Bella and a snake called Slide. She loves quirky shoes, dark chocolate and a good tea. 

What is the Treasure Chest Prize?

Sue-Ellen donated a readers choice from one of her wide selection of books.

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S2E20: Humbling opportunities with Ryan Null
S2E21: There are no set rules with Ryan Null

More about the guest

I was born and raised in Indiana. I have three boys. My wife and I have been married for 15 years in August. I love grilling, writing, and working outside. I have six brothers and sisters. I love exploring the country and finding new spots. I have been to a few places. I have a trip planned to London this year in October. I will be in Canada multiple times next year and in India for two weeks. I am part of the prestigious program Author Allstar, for which I will be on live T.V. at the ceremony dinner in December. I am the Vice President of the Midwest Writers Guild Evansville, Indiana. I have over 300 books planned for my immersive series and will dive back into it once the map is complete for my spicy romantasy series. I have also won the International Impact Award in Teen Fantasy.

What is the Treasure Chest Prize?

Ryan Donated a  copy of his Flare chronicle books

S2E22: Looting the Treasure Chest 

Time to draw the second treasure chest of the season Celebrating the guests that have come through so far in Season 2.   

S2E25: The way to it is through it with Elizabeth Chaffin
S2E26: White is for mourning with Elizabeth Chaffin

More about the guest

​Elizabeth Chaffin is the creator of Bearded Rat Mysteries, through which she has written over 14 digital-download murder mystery games that have been sold around the world. She is also the author of two novels, Dead Man's Swamp and Newfangled Madness, published under the name E. M. Chaffin. Both books feature homeschooled protagonists and explore themes of friendship, courage, and the pursuit of truth. She lives in Oklahoma, USA with her own personal creatures Paisley and Tricki Woo. She enjoys eating mashed potatoes, adventuring to beautiful places, and taking vitamins. There was this one time she floated on the Yellow River on a raft made of inflated sheepskin, but that doesn’t have anything to do with this podcast.

What is the Treasure Chest Prize?

Much like one of her murder mysteries, the treasure chest prize is a choose your own adventure from the many murder mystery stories or her books.

S2E23: Table, Cat and Scarlet Witch with Poppy Solomon
S2E24: Pink, Sun and Sleeping Beauty with Poppy Solomon

More about the guest

Poppy Rose Solomon's novels are inspired by both her coastal childhood in Queensland and her love of escaping into magical worlds. Her debut series is four-book YA fantasy saga Woken Kingdom. She's also a professional editor and loves to help other authors cultivate their voice and tell their story. You'll often find her posting rosy-filtered pictures or yapping about publishing on social media. Find her at Poppy's Pages Editing .com or @PoppysVintageBooks. 

What is the Treasure Chest Prize?

Poppy donated the first book in the Woken kingdom series and a copy of how to self publish.

S2E27: When things fall into Place with Lorna Woulfe
S2E28: An entire world with Lorna Woulfe

More about the guest

Lorna Woulfe was born and raised in the state of Ohio. She has lived in such exotic locales as Denver CO, Los Angeles, CA, and Nashville, TN. She is the alter ego of L. Anne Wooley who writes nonfiction under that name.  Her pen name was created to honor both sides of her family; Lorna was her maternal grandmother (also a writer ). Woulfe is what Wooley descends from, Ireland is here the clan lived. She's a poet, writer, editor and flutist ; also a jewelry designer.  She is a co-admin and co-host of an event called Writer's Night, held via the Facebook group Writer's Night Quills for over 11 years now. Also a 16-year veteran of NaNoWriMo and has run many workshops on Nano prep including the history of NaNoWrimo, tips Character Creation, Plotting and Outlining and, of course, World Building. She is published in multiple anthologies with both short stories and poetry. Her latest is a poem in Ohio Bard's Poetry Anthology 2025 

What is the Treasure Chest Prize?

Lorna donated a winners choice from all of her works.

S2E29: Not Pronunciation Polise with RA Sandpiper
S2E30: Start with the part you love most with RA Sandpiper

More about the guest

R A Sandpiper (she/her) is a British fantasy author from the south of England. She has a law degree she's never used despite spending five years in government-adjacent roles, loves games of all kinds (the nerdier the better), and will always dance at weddings. She's passionate about creating strong and complex characters in unkind and twisting worlds, but despite what she puts them through, there will always be a heart-pounding romance. Her debut trilogy, Amefyre, commencing with A Pocket of Lies, is out now. Her next duology will launch with To Touch A Silent Fury in September 2025.

What is the Treasure Chest Prize?

Rachel donated a copy of her book a pocket of lies.

S2E31: The Subject is entirely Tony James Slater
S2E32: An essential component with Tony James Slater

More about the guest

Tony James Slater is an unusual combination of science-fiction author and travel-memoir writer.

He is a very, very strange man. He believes himself to be indestructible, despite considerable evidence to the contrary. He is often to be found making strange faces whilst pretending to be attacked by inanimate objects. But perhaps his biggest problem is this: he has a mouth so big he is at risk of swallowing his own head.

It is for this reason (amongst others) that he chooses to spend his life far from mainstream civilization, tackling ridiculous challenges and subjecting himself to constant danger. He gets hurt quite a lot.

What is the Treasure Chest Prize?

S2E33: Season Finale

More about the guest

What is the Treasure Chest Prize?

IBF1: Bookfair Minisode Intro

More about the guest

What is the Treasure Chest Prize?

IBF2: E.A. Olivieri Minisode

IBF3: Nicole Bazley Minisode

IBF4: Khaiah Thomson Minisode

IBF5: Tricia Trevaskis Minisode

IBF6: Robin Murarka Minisode

IBF7: Claire Butler Minisode

IBF8: Mark Aeschlimann Minisode

IBF9: Isabelle Fleay Minisode

IBF10: Pete Mitchell Minisode

IBF11: D. G. Loermans Minisode

IBF12: David Cornford Minisode

IBF13: David Blacker Minisode

IBF14: Danielle D Drummond Minisode

IBF15: Torah Channing Minisode

IBF16: Natasha Madden Minisode

IBF17: R.C. Dacre Minisode

IBF18: Narelle Wynter Minisode

IBF19: Teena Raffa-Mulligan Minisode

IBF20: Paul Hewer Minisode

IBF21: Heather Salter-Purves Minisode

IBF22: Gaye Mcbride Minisode

IBF23: Murray Hall Minisode

IBF24: Brett Cole Minisode

IBF25: Vanessa Joyce Minisode

IBF26: Vanessa Savundra Minisode

IBF27: Shannon Riley Minisode

IBF28: Ian Hooper Minisode

100th Episode Special from host to guest with Dianna and Izzy

It is hard to believe that we are 100 episodes down.

Dianna switches positions for this episode and becomes the guest for a day. This gives Dianna a chance to talk about the creative journey when it comes to the podcast and what the plan is going forward with the show. 

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Do you have a guest for the show?

Listen for updates on new releases, author resources, and community events and how you or one of your recommendations can get a spot on the show.

© 2025 Bushland Castle Productions . All rights reserved.

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