We welcome author Shelley Dark to the show! After a lifetime raising cattle on Queensland’s Granite Belt, Shelley and her husband swapped the bush for the Sunshine Coast of Queensland Australia. She's an award-winning Australian author who travels as often as she can and enjoys iPhone photography. She's a member of the ALLWRiTE Club and Writers on the Coast Noosa—a generous community of writers whose work and thinking continually stretches her own.

Her books include Hydra in Winter (2024), awarded a Gold Medal at the Global Book Awards 2025 (Biographical—Traveler & Explorer), about her trip to the Greek island of Hydra to uncover her husband’s ancestor, Ghikas Voulgaris—Australia’s first Greek convict pioneer. And Son of Hydra (2025), awarded a Silver Medal at the Global Book Awards 2025 (Historical Fiction), inspired by his extraordinary life. Next will come Daughter of Cork, the story of his Irish wife, along with another exciting new narrative non-fiction. Her short fiction appears in anthologies. Join us in getting to know Shelley!

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Son of Hydra on Amazon

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We welcome Tom & Nick from the Ouzo Talk podcast to the show! Ouzo Talk is a Sydney-based podcast for Greeks of the diaspora. They bring the Ouzo-fueled conversations of ‘kafenia’ the Greek world over, right to your ears. From music, history and culture, to science, philosophy and everything in between, Ouzo Talk is all about 'parea'. And with a bottle of Ouzo always on the table, there's no telling where the conversation might go. It's solving the world’s problems – one bottle of Ouzo at a time. Join us in welcoming Tom & Nick to Connecting Greeks!

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We welcome writer, director, and actress Rachel Suissa to the show! Rachel has created something truly unique with "Greek Mothers Never Die" — a supernatural comedy inspired by her real-life relationship with her Greek mother, blending heartfelt themes with laugh-out-loud cultural quirks. We talk to Rachel about how this very personal film was born, what it means for Greek American audiences, and how her family (and ghostly mothers) helped shape the story. Join us!