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Ali Berg & Michelle Kalus

@aliandmichelle

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📖 Co-authors #TheBookNinja, #WhileYouWereReading, #FancyMeetingYouHere & #LoveOverdue
🚂 Co-founders @booksontherail
✏️ Enquiries @zeitgeistwriters

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Thank you to everyone who came into the Leaf and helped make Love Your Bookshop Day special! ✨

#sundaystack #loveyourbookshopday #theleafbookshop

Thank you to all our furry friends and their families who made an appearance!

Thank you to our visiting authors, Sarah Zweck, Ali Berg, Michelle Kalus, S.k. Stapar, and Martin Blake.

Thank you to Tess, who ran our Kids’ Craft Workshop and oversaw the creation of many glamorous masterpieces!

And finally, congratulations to the winners of our Golden Ticket competition, our Best Dressed Doggy competition, and our raffle!

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Come and celebrate Love Your Bookshop Day 2026 on Saturday 10th of October at The Leaf Bookshop! We have so many fun things planned for adults, kids and furry friends too! We can’t wait to see you there 📚✨🍃🎈

#loveyourbookshopday #loveyourbookshop #booklovers #supportsmallbusiness #indiebookshop

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🚂📚 BOOKS ON THE RAIL

Yesterday, I joined the @booksontherail movement!

I left a copy of A Few Shades Greener and Eye to Eye on a random seat on a metro train bound for Melbourne.

Who knows where they are now!

How does it work?
👉🏽 Find a book on a train, tram or bus & take it home with you!

👉🏽 Read it, love it, review it

👉🏽 Return it to any train, tram or bus for others to enjoy!

I'm adding my own in there: sign it!

Are there any book ninjas out there?
Has anyone played this game?

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We were so happy to spend some moments with @westernportwrites over the weekend. Spending an afternoon listening to such talented authors was just what any book loving soul needs ✨ thank you to @lissmanning and @aliandmichelle for having us and the support of our wonderful local bookshop @petersens_bookstore

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It was pens at the ready recently at the WPW26 Workshop Day in Hastings.

We were privileged to welcome three brilliant writers to share their wisdom in two workshops.

Melissa Manning presented The Craft of Short Stories to a keen group of writers, with an in-depth hands-on workshop covering each facet of creating a compelling short story.

Co-authors Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus presented Writing Romance, a blend of practical writing with tips and prompts, and a Q&A that covered their writing journey, writing practices and the road to publication.

A fabulous three hours of writing advice. Thanks to Melissa, Michelle & Ali.

Our thanks to Ali and the incredible team at @lovehastingslovelocal for their ongoing support of these workshops to encourage creativity and build community.

As always we were supported by festival bookseller Petersen’s Bookstore - thank you Melissa! And our wonderful WPW crew - thanks Julie, Tilly & Marg.

#writersandwriting
#WPW26
@aliandmichelle
#loveoverdue
@lissmanning
#frogsong
@petersens_bookstore

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I have thoroughly enjoyed each book published by these authors and this one is no exception. I've seen it described as a 'second chance romance' which seems the most accurate. It is super cute with quite witty funny parts which is always a highlight for me. There are some real-life dramas throughout including relationship separation, addressing past trauma and grief. The storyline alternates between current time where deputy principal Lauren is shocked to see a parent is school is her teenage love who broke her heart, with the other time period being back when they are in high school. For me being a very similar age to main characters Lauren and Jamie, I particularly enjoyed the nostalgic memories their high school storyline invoked. This was a feel-good read that is thoroughly engaging the whole time.
Overall: happily recommend!

#loveoverdue @aliandmichelle #australianauthor #romancebooks #contemporaryfiction #bookrecommendation

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August was one of my fave months this year because it was filled with manuscript milestones, literary events and days down the beach. On the flip side however, it was one of the hardest months because my family and I officially said goodbye to my absolutely wonderful and super talented nonna Maria. Now all my grandparents are up in Heaven 🕊️ So yeah, Aug was full of highs and lows, but I’m so grateful for all the love and support I received from those near and far 🫶🫶

September is birthday month for me. I’m officially entering my mid-30s. Eeeek! 🎂 Looking forward to seeing all this month will bring.

PS. Enjoy all the little book teasers too 📖✨

#bookstagram #romancebooks #fantasybooks #writersofinstagram #yabooks

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WRITING ROMANCE
WORKSHOP: Sat 19 Sept

Are you an emerging romance writer? Have a story in mind or a manuscript in hand? This workshop is not to be missed.

Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus have co-authored four best-selling romance novels. In this practical workshop they will share how to:

❤️ Create irresistible romantic tension and believable chemistry
💙 Use romance tropes to build fresh stories and multidimensional characters
💜 Use dialogue and subtext to show attraction (not tell it)
💛 Use practical tools to plot, draft and refine your manuscript
💚 Pitch your novel, approach agents and publishers and navigate the road to publication.

Writing exercises will include prompts and instructions. And we’ll hear more about how Ali and Michelle got started, their co-writing process and why they keep writing romance.

It’s a session packed with useful advice to get you started or moving down the publication pathway. Don’t miss out.

Book now.

📍Hastings Community Hub
1973 Frankston-Flinders Rd Hastings
📅 Saturday 19 September
🕐 1pm-2pm
🔗 Link in bio

#writingromance
@aliandmichelle
@booksontherail
#loveoverdue
#whileyouwerereading
#thebookninja
#fancymeetingyouhere

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Spring has sprung! 🌻🌱🌼🌷

QOTD: What's your favourite season?🌺 Or what's your CR?📖

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Love was truly in the air at the inauguration Reading(s) Romance festival!

Shout out to the incredible authors for providing such wonderful discussions all about love! And thank you to all who came to help us celebrate the many joys of reading romance.

A huge thank you to everyone who supplied prizes and offers for the event: Axil Coffee Roasters, Continental Deli, Eckersley’s Art & Craft, Fishbowl, Hawthorn BWS, Hawthorn Aquatic & Recreation Centre, Lido Cinemas, Our Terroir Bar, Text Publishing, Simon & Schuster, Yo-Chi.

#romancebooks

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🩷 Reading(s) Romance 🩷

Wow! More events like this please 🙏

The panel discussions were fabulous, but what I really appreciated was how relaxed and casual the whole evening felt. There was no formal signing table or feeling of being rushed through a queue. We had the chance to chat with the authors 1:1, get books signed and just enjoy the experience at our own pace.

Everyone was so kind and patient, and it made such a difference. It felt less like a structured author event and more like an opportunity to spend time with authors and other readers.

Getting to meet
@ninakenwood @darcygreenwrites @dranitaheiss @aliandmichelle @victoria_brownlee @oliviatolich

And seeing @stephevizard and @jodimcalister again was the cherry on top 🍒

@katydidinoz you made my day recognising my Canadian Burkin (IYKYK)

And of course how could I forget my beautiful friends @booksta.babe @giannalucas_ @_tracey.reads @rachelllbaillie and @is.b_

A finally a huge thank you to @whatluciesreading , Chris and the whole team at @readingsbooks Hawthorn for a fabulous evening.

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Love Overdue - Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus

4.25 ⭐️

This was another hit from @jessileah25 she has a way of finding books in Australia that i haven’t seen over here yet.

Jamie was Lauren’s first love and their high school break up has haunted her since. Now, twenty years later, she’s a vice principal, has had a more recent messy breakup and her life is a bit falling apart. Only made worse when Jamie walks into her school.

This is such a fun second chance romance, it intertwines past and present, has a lot of fun school drama with staff and students and has an underlying emotional drive that keeps you turning pages.

I’m always impressed when a book is wrote by a duo. Any duos you recommend?

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