Books published by Tale Publishing

Eddie is an echidna who is ashamed of his long tongue until one day he finds out what a treasure it is.

This is a short story anthology by the Monash Writers Group. Each writer has taken the first line of a story they like and used it as the starting point for a new tale.Some lines are famous, others obscure, but the works they have inspired are original and entertaining.From historical fiction, drama, science fiction, mystery, adventure and literary there is a story in this collection for every reader.Stories include:Man's Best Friend by Bishnu AddisonAn Unusual Point of View by Mube Akinci-DesemThe Type Writer by Sasha BuntmanMystery Lights at Sea by Stephen EllisThe Howling by Ingrid FryWhere There's Life, There's Hope by Ingrid FrySame Thing, No Difference by Sakuntala GananathanFortitude by Margaret HepworthWhat a Coincidence by Marlene LaurentKicking and Screaming to Heaven by Sung-Ju Suya LeeA Reconciliation Myth by Bala MudalyThe Coat Hanger by Robert NewTangle by Andy RussellA Portrayal of Defeat, and Hope by Robert SayeghSnakes Alive! by Brook TaylaThe Test by Erica Tippett

Inspired by the appreciation of a light-hearted caper, these three heists have twists in the tale.The Coat Hanger: Mug and his crew are hired to steal a coat hanger from a dry cleaner. It's a matter of life and death.The Argument: Mug makes a bet over why two people are arguing. Will Mug finally make a bet he can win?The Second Safe: One job, two safes. One contains money, but what's in the second safe?

Which colour death would you fear the most?From the author of Movemind and Incite Insight, comes a collection of nine detective stories where colour plays a role in the mystery. Including:Blue Bloods: A high school awards ceremony turns to tragedy when the audience turns blue as they die.The 11th Killer: A serial killer's hair colour could be the key to their capture.Storyteller: An arsonist is trapping people in burning buildings, just to write a story about the rescuers.Black Death: After a body is dumped in public, working out how the victim died is harder than decoding the intended message.Fear the Red Man: An incident with the Red Man haunts Detective Thomas, but may also be the key to solving a new case.Praise for Robert New's Books:"A super sleuth" (Peter Lingard, Author)"Thrilling mystery" (SC Karakaltsas, Author)"Grippingly readable" (Sara Stuart, Author)"Interesting and authentic twists" (Robert Sayegh, Author)

This debut collection of poems and short stories explores varied themes, moods, genres and voices. In literature as in life, the boundary between what is real and what is imagined may be tenuous.Equally, hope and despair may be co-related experiences. So loss and despair in some stories and poems in this collection give way to hope and possibilities.

As the characters views change, yours might too.This twelve story collection is centred around the theme of being altered by a situation. In the acclaimed How to Win a War, a soldier experiences a strategy for ending wars that might just work. In The Patriotic Amnesiac, a mother voluntarily gives up her ability to form new memories with far-reaching consequences. A Queen and a Prime Minister plot against a President in Sever-Reign. The Legend of Legend is a light-hearted caper about an egg that contains a universal truth. In the dystopian The Second Fear a ministry attempts to produce fear in someone who is incapable of feeling it. In the closing story, Devilish Tricks, a deal with the Devil changes the life of Casimir Hendrix, but is it for the better?

Imagine an Affirmative team being met with a Cooperative team; a Mindful Coordinator chairing the debate; and a Mentor who doesn't judge, score or rate, yet instead meters out a series of Guidances. Now you have a Collaborative Debate – a debate that may actually get us somewhere beyond the argument, towards the solutions that we are seeking. A debate where the skills that young people are learning are not simply for the sake of learning – they are life skills.

First time parents Tim and Nicole give birth to a baby with a halo.For a couple of atheists, it’s a bit of a shock.In what should be the most auspicious moment of their lives, the couple find themselves scrambling for what to do next. When the child performs his first miracle, they realise they may well have the second coming on their hands.As they go to ground to hatch a plan, their cover is blown, and the church is brought into the frame. But not before the leader of a fanatical religious sect catches  wind of their story and vows to have the child for his own.With the church, the fanatical fringe, and even their own family wanting a piece of the new messiah, can Tim and Nicole find a way to bring God to the world without turning the exercise into a circus?In his gripping and darkly comic debut novel, Stanford explores the fight for the ownership of God, and tries to imagine what the world would do if there really were a second coming.

After an eight year absence from big musical theatre, Jeremy Stanford suddenly finds himself cast in a leading role of one of the most expensive and eagerly anticipated Australian musicals ever; Priscilla Queen of the Desert – The Musical. Involved from the outset, starting with the workshop of the first script, he navigates the auditions, the nerve-wracking rehearsals and finally, the incredibly fraught lead up to the world premier of this hit show. It’s a wild bus trip through a landscape of big personalities, high stakes, tantrums and creative blocks. Along the way he limbers up his rusty musical theatre muscle and investigates the outrageous world of drag as he attempts to recreate the role of Tick, the character made famous in the film by Hugo Weaving.‘...reveals a taste for juicy gossip equal to that of any queen...’   Steve Dow, Sun-Herald‘...not only interesting to theatre fans but also anyone who has seen the movie or ever thought about putting on a pair of heels for the heck of it.’    DNA Magazine