Literary Elixirs - Maria Lewis

This episode will be a little different from previous ones as joining me for an online chat is the wonderful author, journalist and screenwriter Maria Lewis! Maria got her start as a police reporter and has been a journalist for over 15 years. She has written on pop culture in publications such as the New York Post, Guardian, Penthouse, The Daily Mail, Empire Magazine, i09, Junkee and many more. She has previously been a presenter on SBS Viceland’s nightly news program The Feed and the host of Cleverfan on ABC. Her best-selling debut novel Who's Afraid? was published in 2016, followed by its sequel Who’s Afraid Too? in 2017, which was nominated for Best Horror Novel at the Aurealis Awards in 2018. Her Young Adult debut, and the only one I have yet to read, It Came From The Deep, was released globally on Halloween, 2017 and her fourth book, The Witch Who Courted Death, was released on Halloween, 2018 and won Best Fantasy Novel at the Aurealis Awards in 2019. Her fifth novel set within the shared supernatural universe - The Wailing Woman - was released in November, 2019 and recently shortlisted for Best Fantasy novel at the Aurealis Awards!!!!! The pairings: Cari Mora by Thomas Harris Twenty-five million dollars in cartel gold lies hidden beneath a mansion on the Miami Beach waterfront. Ruthless men have tracked it for years. Leading the pack is Hans-Peter Schneider. Driven by unspeakable appetites, he makes a living fleshing out the violent fantasies of other, richer men. Cari Mora, caretaker of the house, has escaped from the violence in her native country. She stays in Miami on a wobbly Temporary Protected Status, subject to the iron whim of ICE. She works at many jobs to survive. Beautiful, marked by war, Cari catches the eye of Hans-Peter as he closes in on the treasure. But Cari Mora has surprising skills, and her will to survive has been tested before. Maria chose to pair this with a White Russian cocktail as it is hard hitting but with an underlying sweetness. Intercepted by Alexa Martin Marlee Harper is the perfect girlfriend. She's definitely had enough practice by dating her NFL-star boyfriend for the last ten years. But when she discovers he has been tackling other women on the sly, she vows to never date an athlete again. There's just one problem: Gavin Pope, the new hotshot quarterback and a fling from the past, has Marlee in his sights. Gavin fights to show Marlee he's nothing like her ex. Unfortunately, not everyone is ready to let her escape her past. The team's wives, who never led the welcome wagon, are not happy with Marlee's return. They have only one thing on their minds: taking her down. But when the gossip makes Marlee public enemy number one, she worries about more than just her reputation. Between their own fumbles and the wicked wives, it will take a Hail Mary for Marlee and Gavin's relationship to survive the season. Maria chose a Pimms Cocktail to pair with this book as it is refreshing, fun, fruity and sweet!