Fiona McArthur Author
Contemporary Medical Romance at its best
Feel good fiction, small towns, outback Australia - all with love, hope, adventure, babies and our medical heroes.
MEDICAL CONTEMPORARY FICTION
Writing for
Penguin Random House Australia
Drawing from her life as a rural midwife, Fiona McArthur shares her love of working with women, families and health professionals in her books.
In her compassionate, pacy fiction, her love of the Australian landscape meshes beautifully with warm, funny, multigenerational characters as she highlights challenges for rural and remote families, and the strength shared between women. Happy endings are a must.
Fiona is the author of the non-fiction anthology Aussie Midwives, and lives on a farm with her husband in northern New South Wales.
She was awarded the NSW Excellence in Midwifery Award in 2015.
THE DESERT MIDWIFE won the Australian Ruby Award for Contemporary Romantic Fiction in 2020. Available here
Out now available across all platforms, print ebook and audio
THE OPAL MINER'S DAUGHTER Penguin Australia Available from 30 August 2022
The heartwarming new medical rural romance from the bestselling author of The Farmer's Friend.
Obstetrician Riley Brand leaves the city behind to go in search of her mother, who's taken leave from her marriage to pursue a passion for opal mining in the dry back blocks of an old mining town. Accepting a short-term posting as a fertility expert in Lightning Ridge, Riley plans to assist women pursue their baby dreams in remote and regional areas, while at the same time helping to rekindle her parents' love for each other.
The small dusty community is a far cry from her polite medical practice on the North Shore of Sydney, but the down-to-earth locals soon welcome her into the fold with their Friday night social gatherings. But no one is more welcoming than enigmatic doctor Konrad Grey, the GP who's working alongside her.
When an employee of their medical practice confesses she's hiding an unwanted pregnancy, and then goes into emergency labour, Konrad and Riley are thrown together in challenging and wonderful ways.
A moving and heartwarming story about new life and new loves, about the treasures to be found above and beneath the surface of a small country town, and about the important choices women must make in life.
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THE FARMER'S FRIEND Penguin Australia 31st August 2021
'By the bestselling author of The Bush Telegraph comes a moving and uplifting Australian drama about what it really means to be a community – and learning that best friends can also make the best family.'
They’d bought a stock and feed store called, of all things, The Farmer’s Friend.
Gracie could tell Jed thought it a great name. ‘Farmers stick together. I like it.’
Jed and Gracie’s move to Featherwood brings big dreams and open hearts, despite the drought around them. The ready-made rural store even comes with an ancient homestead overlooking the river, albeit one requiring some TLC. Gracie is expecting, and they’re eager to put down family roots in the tiny community.
Midwife Nell has fled her life in Sydney, hoping to start afresh on a small farm away from prying eyes and gossip. She strives to go unnoticed, but that proves near impossible when she meets charismatic Gracie and Jed, and the unpredictable, attractive Liam, who has as much emotional baggage as Nell does herself.
Jed’s store becomes the meeting place for the town’s colourful characters, people who’d do anything for their neighbours and friends. As Gracie’s due date draws close, tensions rise between her and Jed when his impulsiveness strains their precarious financial situation. As a bushfire ravages the region, the whole town comes under threat, putting relationships and lives on the line.
Can quiet achievers, unexpected heroes, and a valley of part-time fire-fighters and farmers help Featherwood rise again?
THE BUSH TELEGRAPH Penguin Australia 1st September 2020
'Small towns and gossip go together like trees and birds.'
It’s been more than ten years since Maddy Locke left Spinifex, the small outback town where she gave birth to her daughter, Bridget. Now she’s back to prove she’s got what it takes to run the medical centre and face the memories of that challenging time in her life. But everything’s changed – the old pub is gone, her new colleagues aren’t pleased to see her, and it’s drier and hotter than ever.
Station owner, Connor Fairhall, thought he’d left the drama behind in Sydney, but moving back to Spinifex with his rebellious son, Jayden, hasn’t been the fresh start he’d envisioned. His brother, Kyle, is drinking too much and the only bright spot on the horizon is meeting Nurse Maddy, who’s breathing new life into the weary town up the road, little by little.
Can Maddy ignore the rumours about Connor and risk her heart again? Or will the bush telegraph spread along the wire fences and stand in the way of trust?
THE DESERT MIDWIFE Penguin Australia Released 16 July 2019
What if the love of your life forgot who you were?
When outback midwife Ava May meets Zac on a flight to Alice Springs, they tumble into a whirlwind affair. But an exciting adventure leads to a terrible accident, with shattering consequences. The couple who had so much going for them now find themselves with everything to lose.
Devastated, Ava retreats to her family cattle station to help salvage what she can of the critical situation. But at home on the drought-ridden farm, her brother is being pushed to his limits, and as his depression intensifies, Ava must step in to prevent another family tragedy.
Against the majestic backdrop of Australia’s Red Centre, old dreams are shattered, new babies are born and true love takes flight.
MOTHER'S DAY Penguin Australia Released March 2018
Midwife Noni Frost needs a miracle. Among the white gums of the NSW northern rivers, Burra Hospital’s maternity unit is under threat and will close unless a new obstetrician is hired to share the on-call load.
When Iain McCloud and his pregnant teenage daughter, Jacinta, arrive in town to await the birth of Jacinta's baby, Noni's stressed but that doesn't stop the sparks from flying between her and Iain as they disagree on everything from pain relief to breastfeeding.
When Noni's young son, Harley, goes missing, everything comes to a head. With lives at risk, Noni and Iain must draw on all their strength and work together. Can they save those closest to them?
HEART of the SKY Penguin Australia Published Jan 2017
The BABY DOCTOR Penguin Australia Released October 2017
The right people turn up in your life at the right time if you let them.
There’s a new arrival in town . . .Sienna Wilson is living her dream in the city – a rewarding obstetrics job in a leading hospital, an apartment with a view, and handsome Sergeant McCabe on call whenever she needs him. The last thing she wants is a posting to a remote outback town to investigate a medical mystery.
But on arrival in Spinifex, Sienna is brought to life in new and exciting ways. In a community riddled with secrets, she meets troubled young barmaid Maddy, and tough publican Alma, both with their troubles to hide.
As they draw strength from each other, new friendships, new loves and new babies are born, proving that when strong women join forces, they can overcome even the greatest odds. Amazon reviews for The BABY DOCTOR - Five Stars -' Couldn't put it down.'
Five Stars - 'beautifully written fabulous engaging characters ...'
Five Stars - 'an author who is definitely at the top of her game... '
A year after a tragic accident changed her life forever, Tess Daley is in desperate need of a change. When she is offered a position with the Flying Doctor Service, she seizes the opportunity to make a fresh start. Yet once she arrives in remote Mica Ridge she feels like an outsider, unable to connect with her patients and unsure if she'll ever fit in with this outback community.
Station owner Soretta Byrnes has grown to love the company and chaos that comes with living in a house filled with boarders. So with tenants moving out and bills piling up, it's a welcome relief to have Tess and new pilot Charlie Fennes arriving in town and looking for somewhere to stay.
As they share life's triumphs and challenges, it isn't long before everyone at the station feels like family. But Charlie has yet to reveal his motive for coming to Mica Ridge and his secret will change the life of someone in the house forever
HEART OF THE SKY Penguin Random House January 2017
The HOMESTEAD GIRLS Penguin Australia Published June 2015
Moving to the outback to join the Flying Doctors will change Billie's life forever.
After her teenage daughter Mia falls in with the wrong crowd, Dr Billie Green decides it's time to return home to far western NSW. When an opportunity to join the Flying Doctor Service comes along, she jumps at the chance. Flight nurse Daphne Prince and their handsome new boss, Morgan Blake, instantly make her feel welcome.
Just out of town, grazier Soretta Byrnes has been struggling to make ends meet and has opened her homestead to boarders. Billie, Mia and Daphne decide to move in and are soon joined by eccentric eighty-year-old Lorna Lamerton.
The unlikely housemates are soon offering each other frank advice and staunch support as they tackle medical emergencies, romantic adventures and the challenges of growing up and getting older. But when one of their lives is threatened, the strong friendship they have forged will face the ultimate test...
RED SAND SUNRISE Penguin Australia Published June 2014
When the father she barely knew dies suddenly, midwife Eve Wilson decides she owes it to him to go to the funeral and meet her stepfamily in Red Sand. She doesn't expect to be so completely charmed by the beautiful remote township in far west Queensland – or by local station owner, Lex McKay.
After disappointment and heartbreak in Sydney, Dr Callie Wilson doesn't hesitate to move home and spend some time with her grieving mother. The chance to establish the area's first medical clinic seems a perfect opportunity, and Callie is keen to involve Eve, whom she's just getting to know.
Melbourne-based obstetrician Sienna Wilson can't understand why anyone would want to bury themselves in the outback, but when her hospital sends her north to research the medical mystery affecting women in Red Sand, it seems fate is intent on bringing the three sisters together. And when disaster strikes, they must each decide if being true to themselves means being there for each other . . .
AUSSIE MIDWIVES Penguin Australia March 2016 (True Stories)
Nineteen Australian midwives share their incredible stories with passionate midwife and bestselling author Fiona McArthur.
Midwives play a vital role in supporting women through some of the most challenging and rewarding moments of their lives. These remarkable professionals watch over births across Australia from the remote outback to busy urban hospitals.
Meet Annie, working on the tiny island of Saibai where mothers arrive by dinghy; Kate, a clinical midwifery consultant, who sees women with high-risk pregnancies; Priscilla and Jillian who fly thousands of miles to get mothers and babies to hospital safely with the Royal Flying Doctor Service; and Louise, who gives impromptu consultations in the aisles of the local supermarket.
Funny one minute and heartbreaking the next, Aussie Midwives explores the joys, emotion and drama of childbirth and the lasting effect it has on the people who work in this extraordinary profession.
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