Books published by Vine Leaves Press

In Meg Johnson's second full length poetry collection, The Crimes of Clara Turlington, women break the rules and pass for good girls. As the poem Slugger reveals, ';I could never be / a suspect, cardigan / and pink lips.' Clara Turlington and her contemporaries are contradictions, both trouble-making thrill seekers and faultless products of their environment. '; I didn't know / my mind would become a neon / death scene ...' (Ex's Exit). Scandalous, yet heartfelt, The Crimes of Clara Turlington, is indeed a ';furry pink pillow full of blood and teeth.'

Sonia yearns for sharp objects and blood. But now that she's rehabilitating herself as a ';normal' mother and mathematics teacher, it's time to stop dreaming about slicing people's throats.While being the wife of Melbourne's leading drug lord and simultaneously dating his best mate is not ideal, she's determined to make it work.It does work. Until Mia, her lover's daughter, starts exchanging saliva with her son, Mick. They plan to commit a crime behind Sonia's back. It isn't long before she finds out and gets involved to protect them.But is protecting the kids really Sonia's motive?