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Mary-Lou Stephens

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Mary-Lou Stephens

Goodreads Author


Born
in Hobart, Australia
January 06

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Twitter

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Member Since
February 2012

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Mary-Lou Stephens was born in Tasmania, studied acting at The Victorian College of the Arts and played in bands in Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney. Eventually she got a proper job - in radio, where she was a presenter and music director, first with commercial radio and then with the ABC.

She received rave reviews for her memoir Sex, Drugs and Meditation (2013), the true story of how meditation changed her life, saved her job and helped her find a husband.

Mary-Lou has worked and played all over Australia and now travels the world slowly and writes, mostly.

Her debut novel The Last of the Apple Blossom was published by HarperCollins (HQ) in 2021.

The Chocolate Factory (HarperCollins HQ) 2024.

The Jam Maker (HarperCollins HQ) 2025

Praise for The Choco
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Mary-Lou Stephens Ironically, for a novel that starts with bushfire and drought, it was a very rainy day when the idea for this story landed inside my heart. I had inte…moreIronically, for a novel that starts with bushfire and drought, it was a very rainy day when the idea for this story landed inside my heart. I had interviewed Monica McInerney for a literary event in the morning, and in the course of the interview we talked about grief and how it informed her writing. That afternoon the premise for this novel revealed itself to me. I found the idea terrifying. It was too big, too daunting and so very sad. Also, I might have grown up in Tasmania but I knew very little about growing apples.
I emailed Monica the next day to tell her about the idea and added, ‘It’s your fault. It was all that talk about grief.’ She very generously replied that she could take none of the credit and that I must write the book even though it terrified me. In a wonderful turn of events, after I had overcome my fear and written many drafts, Monica became my mentor through the Australian Society of Authors mentorship program, and guided me through the final drafts before I submitted to publishers. (less)
Average rating: 4.21 · 3,943 ratings · 556 reviews · 7 distinct worksSimilar authors
The Jam Maker

4.45 avg rating — 1,599 ratings — published 2025 — 3 editions
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The Chocolate Factory

3.92 avg rating — 1,175 ratings3 editions
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The Last of the Apple Blossom

4.19 avg rating — 1,002 ratings3 editions
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Sex, Drugs & Meditation

3.99 avg rating — 158 ratings — published 2013 — 8 editions
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How To Stay Married

3.78 avg rating — 9 ratings2 editions
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7 Tips For Your Best Relati...

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The Hobart Hotel

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More books by Mary-Lou Stephens…

Three Women – without whom The Last of the Apple Blossom book might never have existed.

My heartfelt thanks to these three women without whom The Last of the Apple Blossom might never have existed.


Naomie Clark-Port

Naomie Clark-Port is an orchardist in the Huon Valley, tending the orchard that has been in her family for many generations. I called her, out of the blue, with three pages of questions about apple growing. Even though I was a complete stranger, she responded with overwhelm Read more of this blog post »
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Published on August 01, 2021 17:32 Tags: fiona-mcintosh, monica-mcinerney

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Mary-Lou Stephens is now friends with Pauline Reid
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The Jam Maker by Mary-Lou Stephens
The Jam Maker
by Mary-Lou Stephens (Goodreads Author)
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Mary-Lou Stephens and 33 other people liked Helen's review of The Jam Maker:
The Jam Maker by Mary-Lou Stephens
"This is a story that will stay with me for a long time to come, once I picked it up I didn’t want to put it down, it was a story so beautifully told about woman, who lived in times that were far from easy and how they made something with their lives," Read more of this review »
Mary-Lou Stephens and 29 other people liked Brenda's review of The Jam Maker:
The Jam Maker by Mary-Lou Stephens
"Harriet Brown was only twelve years old in Wapping, Tasmania, in 1874, when her mother clipped her braid and cut her hair short; immediately Harriet was Harry; a boy to work in the George Peacock & Sons jam factory as a label paster. Beside Harry as " Read more of this review »
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The Last Illusion of Paige White by Vanessa McCausland
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Darling Girls by Sally Hepworth
Darling Girls
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The Ledge by Christian  White
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The Lyrebird Lake Ladies Choir by Sandie Docker
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Beautiful and Heartfelt. One of Sandie's best. ...more
The Dressmakers of Yarrandarrah Prison by Meredith Jaffe
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The Lyrebird Lake Ladies Choir by Sandie Docker
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Beautiful and Heartfelt. One of Sandie's best. ...more
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Topics Mentioning This Author

D.W. Winnicott
“It is a joy to be hidden, and disaster not to be found.”
D.W. Winnicott

Charles Dickens
“the United Metropolitan Improved Hot Muffin and Crumpet Baking and Punctual Delivery Company.”
Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby

Jane Austen
“Good apple pies are a considerable part of our domestic happiness.”
Jane Austen

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