Host Ky Garvey interviews K D Aldyn about her new crime thriller You Girls Play Nice, exploring themes of female rage, revenge and loyalty as four friends’ hypothetical murders are replicated in real life. They discuss Katie’s writing process across genres, her publishing journey, and personal insights from life on the road and living with dyscalculia and mild synesthesia.

About the book: When their best friend is murdered, four women decide to take hypothetical revenge. But their imagined murders soon turn into total carnage when someone discovers their secret desires and is bent on taking them down in this dark thriller perfect for fans of Karin Slaughter and The Butcher Game.

Perfect for fans of Karin Slaughter and The Butcher Game, comes a chilling, "Good for Her" revenge thriller that paints a searing picture of friendship, justice, and vengeance, both imagined and actualized, that will leave you questioning how far would you go to avenge your friend? Four friends. Four plans for revenge. One secret killer.

When Helen Wyatt is brutally murdered, her four best friends anxiously wait in the courtroom to ensure justice is served. But when her attacker is acquitted of all charges, the women decide to get revenge.

Hypothetically, of course.

The friends host a girl's night, each presenting a different way they would kill the culprit to avenge Helen. It's a silly thing, a way to ease their grief. Until, a week later, a murder is discovered that mirrors one of their imagined killings. Then another. What started as a cathartic exercise soon ends in carnage, with suspicion quickly falling on the four friends.

Someone has discovered their secrets. And now, the women will have to hunt down who is framing them for murder. Or, even more chillingly, question who among them may be capable of being a killer themselves…

You can buy the book the book here: Books | Online Bookshop | QBD

(This is an affiliate link)

About the author: KD Aldyn lives everywhere and nowhere (home is where the Wi-Fi is). She most often wears black (and sometimes red) and sometimes dances like Elaine from Seinfeld. Sister, Butcher, Sister is her debut.

https://kdaldyn.com/

You Girls Play Nice by KD Aldyn - Penguin Books Australia

Host: Ky Garvey

Theme Song: Claire Houghton

Logo: Tondo Creative - https://www.tondo.com.au/

Production: Aud Pitch - https://www.virtualcreatrix.com/

Totally Lit is an independent podcast. You can help support us to continue to chat with wonderful Australian creatives by leaving a review on Itunes or sharing our socials with your friends. You can also make a contribution at:

www.buymeacoffee.com/Totallylit

For those of you who know me I am kind of a caffeine addict! So you can keep me fueled with caffeine and this will also help with equipment & podcasting platform fees etc.

I love to interact with our listeners so feel free to say hello either by email or social media:

Totallylitpodcast@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/totallylitpodcast

Author Dinuka McKenzie joins host Ky Garvey on Totally Lit to talk about her Kate Miles series, her upcoming standalone SHEER LIGHT FIRST, and her work as an ambassador for Chapters for Change.

They discuss the Chapters for Change readathon—how to register, how teams and social media boost participation, and how the fundraising supports community-led literacy projects in Cambodia.

You can register for the 2026 Chapters for Change Readathon here:Sign Up • Chapters for Change Readathon 2026

Host Ky Garvey interviews debut author Inessa Jackson about her award-winning crime novel Devil Mountain, a small-town police procedural with a creepy, witchy twist. They discuss the grisly murder that kicks off the story, the themes of misogyny and power, and how folklore and Wiccan practice inform the mystery.

Inessa shares her ten-year writing journey, the surprising moment she won the Verena mentorship, working with her publisher, research into police procedure and witchcraft, and practical advice for aspiring writers. The episode blends book chat, publishing insights, and the pleasures and challenges of life as an author.

About the book:

A wickedly dark police procedural with a hint of the supernatural, this crime novel is Dinuka McKenzie meets The Bluffs.

When Detective Sergeant Anastasia Brown is sent to investigate a grizzly murder in a small New South Wales town, she welcomes the chance to run from heartbreak and humiliation. But she quickly discovers that this is no ordinary murder. The body of a popular doctor has been found on the mountain, chained and burned, with arcane ­symbols carved into the soles of his feet – and the boy who found him swears he saw a ghost lingering in the trees.

Is this a clever killer with a flair for the macabre? Or the work of an elusive Wiccan coven that worships on the mountain? Or, even stranger, are the local murmurs of the mountain being haunted more than just folklore? 

As the investigation grows ever murkier, Ana realises that everyone in town has a secret … and some are deadly.

You can buy the book the book here: Books | Online Bookshop | QBD

(This is an affiliate link)

About the author: Inessa Jackson is a Sydney crime writer living on the land of the Garigal people, within the Eora Nation. Her debut novel, Devil Mountain, won the Affirm/Varuna Mentorship Award. Her first murder mystery was runner-up for the 2023 Banjo Prize and short-listed for the 2022 ASA/HQ Commercial Fiction Award. Before she fell in love with crime writing, Inessa backpacked around the world, worked in corporate PR and then settled into life as a stay-at-home mum. When she’s not writing, Inessa is reading, swimming at Manly beach and walking her loyal assistant, Billy the Cavoodle. She has a passion for travelling to far-flung places … and is terrified of sheep.

Home | Inessa Jackson Author

Devil Mountain | Book by Inessa Jackson | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster AU

Host: Ky Garvey

Theme Song: Claire Houghton

Logo: Tondo Creative - https://www.tondo.com.au/

Production: Aud Pitch - https://www.virtualcreatrix.com/

Totally Lit is an independent podcast. You can help support us to continue to chat with wonderful Australian creatives by leaving a review on Itunes or sharing our socials with your friends. You can also make a contribution at:

www.buymeacoffee.com/Totallylit

For those of you who know me I am kind of a caffeine addict! So you can keep me fueled with caffeine and this will also help with equipment & podcasting platform fees etc.

I love to interact with our listeners so feel free to say hello either by email or social media:

Totallylitpodcast@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/totallylitpodcast