New Releases by Stephanie Johnson

Trump: Unaliving a Former President - 2 Disappearing Attempts Later, a BulletProof Presidential Campaign is a provocative and gripping exploration of resilience, power, and the unbreakable force of one of the most polarizing figures in modern political history. This book delves into the harrowing events surrounding two mysterious attempts on former President Trump''s life and how these experiences galvanized his political resurgence. A riveting blend of political intrigue, conspiracy, and comeback story, this narrative examines the unyielding determination of a man who refuses to be sidelined, raising questions about the intersection of leadership, danger, and the indomitable human spirit.

Women Redefining Leadership With S.P.I.C.E. is not just another leadership book to sit on the shelf. Led by Shayla N. Atkins, a former Fortune 500 executive turned visionary CEO, this anthology offers a rare and intimate glimpse into the lived experiences of 13 trailblazing women who refused to conform to outdated norms and redefined what leadership looked like in their own terms. Each chapter offers a powerful blend of resilience, strategy, innovation, insights, and authenticity. These accomplished women-CEOs, executives, corporate leaders, and thought disruptors share raw and unfiltered stories of their journeys, from breaking glass ceilings to navigating biases and outdated norms. Packed with hard-won wisdom and actionable leadership & career strategies, their insights will help you find your voice, embrace your individuality, lead with impact, and deliver results with your well-being intact. At its heart, Women Redefining Leadership With S.P.I.C.E. is a roadmap for women who refuse to conform to outdated leadership paradigms. It empowers you to lead with S.P.I.C.E.: Savvy, Performance, Image, Communication, and Exposure.

In God Kept Me, Evangelist Stephanie M. Y. Johnson unravels her troubled life from her childhood to adulthood. To ordinary people, we will question, ''How could a person fall into the drug life when they know what drugs can do to them?'' God Kept Me, is a look into her life and journey from disfunction, hurt, and pain; to an understanding that it''s only by the Grace of God she''s still alive. "What my life encountered could only be orchestrated by God." In this riveting memoir, you will learn: - If your loved ones are still alive, there is hope and victory in Christ. - Even in tragedy, God has a plan for them. - If nothing else, "Don''t give up on anybody. Keep praying and believing." - Your relationships can be restored. "This memoir is told out of love, and for the love of people in truth." "A transparent look to hitting rock bottom and surviving." To those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior can attest to the changes that come over a person when accepting Christ. This telling story depicts what a person goes through to get to the point of Salvation and knowing it''s nothing short of a miracle.

High on the Southern Alps of New Zealand lies a fallen man, like ‘a black exclamation mark on a white page, Kiwi-noir face down in the snow’. Is he still alive? This funny, fearless, thought-provoking novel trains its sights on us. Kerry-Anne is kind, unlike her foster sister Joleen, who is a different kind of person altogether. Being locked down for Joleen will mean behind bars. For Kerry-Anne’s ex-husband, the National MP Lyall Hull, lockdown will also take on a new meaning when he goes on a cycle trip instead of staying at home. From lockdown in the Bay of Islands, Kerry-Anne tries to work out what both are up to. Will anyone come up smelling of roses? ‘Johnson has always had an eye for topicality’ — Steve Braunias

If you liked Ann Hood''s Fly Girl and Julie Cook''s Come Fly The World: The Jet-Age Story of the Women of Pan Am, you''ll love True Tales of TWA Flight Attendants. The golden age of air travel promised a life of glamour and adventure for beautiful, single, young women interested in exploring the world-and no airline offered more glamour or excitement than Trans World Airlines. TWA provided an enviable jet-set lifestyle for flight attendants-and the opportunity to travel to exotic destinations like, London, Paris, Rome, Hong Kong and Bombay. Flight attendants appeared on TV and in movies, and rubbed elbows with the rich and famous, from Elizabeth Taylor and John F. Kennedy Jr., to presidents and Popes, all while decked out in designer uniforms from clothing designers like Oleg Cassini and Ralph Lauren. In the 1960s and 1970s, TWA accepted fewer than 1% of applicants to be flight attendants-making it tougher to get into than Harvard. Plus, a flying career offered the best education money could never buy. TWA flight attendants could cook chateaubriand medium rare, deliver a baby at 35,000 feet, and survive a plane crash-all the while immaculately dressed from their never-a-strand-out-of-place hairstyles, all the way down to their mandatory high heeled shoes. But the glamorous lifestyle of a TWA flight attendant sometimes came at a cost. True Tales of TWA Flight Attendants is a diary-style fly girl memoir with stories from hundreds of TWA flight attendants, and filled with a fascinating behind-the-scenes, never-before-seen look at the glamour, excitement, and struggles faced by young women as they traveled the world with TWA during this exciting time in airline history-from the golden age of air travel through the great stewardess rebellion and beyond. Click "buy now" to read the most fascinating, behind-the-curtain, fly girls'' book of the year! Perfect for flight attendant gifts too!

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “A deeply touching memoir . . . A beautiful, sometimes shocking NC-17 story, kept out of the lily-white, upper crust canon of literature—until now.” —The Washington Post The storytelling phenomenon Humans of New York and its #1 bestselling books have captivated a global audience of millions with personal narratives that illuminate the human condition. But one story stands apart from the rest... She is a woman as fabulous, unbowed, and irresistible as the city she lives in. Meet TANQUERAY. In 2019, Humans of New York featured a photo of a woman in an outrageous fur coat and hat she made herself. She instantly captured the attention of millions. Her name is Stephanie Johnson, but she’s better known to HONY followers as “Tanqueray,” a born performer who was once one of the best-known burlesque dancers in New York City. Reeling from a brutal childhood, immersed in a world of go-go dancers and hustlers, dirty cops and gangsters, Stephanie was determined to become the fiercest thing the city had ever seen. And she succeeded. Real, raw, and unapologetically honest, this is the full story of Tanqueray as told by Brandon Stanton—a book filled with never-before-told stories of Tanqueray''s struggles and triumphs through good times and bad, personal photos from her own collection, and glimpses of New York City from back in the day when the name “Tanqueray” was on everyone’s lips.

Buying a rundown motel to start a new life — what could possibly go wrong? In this funny and moving novel, prize-winning author Stephanie Johnson turns her wry eye on us. ‘What a fabulous read. Stephanie Johnson’s characters choose an old motel with little to offer except an amazing view in order to start a ‘new life’. Their first guests are a classic cast of the sorrowful and dysfunctional that every-day life throws at us these days. They are joined by their pregnant daughter, a mysterious young criminal from next door and a dog that knows more than all of them put together. The story is fast paced, and unpredictable, it’s smart, contemporary and heartbreaking all at once. And, just when it was about to make me cry, Johnson startled me into wild laughter. This is her best book ever, and I loved every page of it.’ – Fiona Kidman

"Henry Has Heart Surgery" follows a young imaginative boy on his journey through a major medical procedure. Starting from the moment his parents explain he is having surgery, all the way through the ensuing hospital stay and ultimately the trip back home, this story allows your child to understand the process he or she may be going through soon. Your child will be introduced to different members of the hospital staff and types of medical equipment in an easy to understand and empowering way. By using his imagination and the power to choose, Henry overcomes fears and anxieties about his operation. With its interactive structure, "Henry Has Heart Surgery" encourages your child to be a part of the story and opens the door to conversation about your own child''s upcoming procedure. A percentage of the profits from each book sold will be donated to a CHD research organization.

Five notable twentieth-century New Zealanders who made their lives in Australia are the subject of this fascinating biographical investigation by award-winning author Stephanie Johnson. Roland Wakelin, Dulcie Deamer, Jean Devanny, Douglas Stewart and Eric Baume had little in common in personality, proclivities and politics. Yet they all experienced fame and/or notoriety in the West Island while being largely forgotten in their country of origin. They also occasionally crossed paths in the course of eventful lives. The works of painter Roland Wakelin place him as a founder of Australias Modern Movement, while his modest and affable personality was the opposite of the stereotypical artist. Dulcie Deamer was a writer and libertine known for her leopardskin attire and associations with the larger-than-life characters of the Sydney bohemian set including the Witch of Kings Cross, fellow New Zealander Rosaleen Norton. The forthright feminism and creative integrity of novelist Jean Devanny led to bitter battles with the same communist movement she devoted decades of her life to. Douglas Stewart was one of the most famous Australian writers of his period. He was a long- term gatekeeper for Australian letters as the literary editor of the Bulletin, and then editor for publishers Angus and Robertson. Born into an unusual and unorthodox Jewish family, Eric Baume gained prominence in Australia as an early prototype of the modern- day shock jock and at one stage one of the countrys highest-earning media personalities and bestselling authors. A lifelong gambling addict, he died in debt. Stephanie Johnson restores these striking New Zealanders to our national narrative, engaging their life stories to illuminate the curious lacuna that exists at the heart of the complex relationship between the two nations. As a writer with strong connections to both countries, Johnson draws on her own experiences of life on both sides of the ditch in her reflections on the trans-Tasman diaspora and the subtle differences and cultural divide that set apart the two countries.

Its more than blood that binds a family. Jackson Alexander lives two lives. In the world of fashion, he is an up and coming stylist to some of the biggest names on the runway and silver screen. At home, he lives in constant fear of the abuse that has plagued him for years. While working a routine photo shoot, Jackson''s life is forever changed the moment Luke O''Neill, star of the show Living Pretty, saunters on set. A colourfully inked and auburn-haired Irishman, Luke is instantly attracted to Jackson, and persists on getting to know him. Their immediate chemistry causes heads to turn, including those of some members of Jackson''s homophobic family. As their relationship grows, so does the physical abuse at the hands of Jackson''s father and brothers. After a series of horrific and avoidable events, will Luke and his family be enough to help Jackson find the strength and confidence within himself to survive it all? Or is he already too broken that not even his Superman can save him?

Stephanie Johnson is the author of two collections of poetry, The Bleeding Ballerina and Moody Bitch; three collections of short stories, The Glass Whittler, All the Tenderness Left in the World and Drowned Sprat; and eight previous novels: Crimes of Neglect, The Heart''s Wild Surf, The Whistler, Belief, The Shag Incident, Music from a Distant Room, John Tomb''s Head and The Swimmer''s Rope. The Shag Incident won the Montana Medal for Fiction in 2002. Stephanie has won the Bruce Mason Playwrights Award and Katherine Mansfield Fellowship. Many of her novels have been published in Australia, America and the United Kingdom

Wit, compassion and insight combine in this entertaining novel that explores the politics and human comedy behind writers’ festivals and the publishing industry. Writers’ festivals can be hotbeds of literary and romantic intrigue, and the Oceania is up there with the best of them. Rookie director Rae McKay, recently returned from New York, fears she has bitten off more than she can chew. Pressure comes not only from local and international writers but also from the prestigious Opus Book Award, which this year is being hosted by the festival. Add to that high-level diplomatic fallout surrounding a dissident Chinese writer, Rae’s slowly disintegrating private life and ongoing dramas involving much loved characters of The Writing Class, and the result is a wise and witty novel that explores the contemporary phenomenon of the public face of the writer. This lively, stand-alone novel is as ‘intelligent, tender and funny’ as readers found The Writing Class. ''. . . a book that''s sophisticated, witty and - best of all - generous in its attitudes to its characters. It''s a love letter to reading and writing and things readers and writers share, especially the mutual effort to understand the world and the people in it.'' - Paul Little, North & South on The Writing Class

Romantic, funny and surprising, this novel is a bold exploration of love in a time of confusion. In Fiji at the end of 1918, the distant Great War is drawing to a close and Spanish flu is raging. Twelve-year-old Olive McNab is sent from Suva to stay wih her aunt and uncle on a plantation on Tavenui. On this magical and mysterious island she uncovers some startling, well-kept secrets. The death of her mother, her friendship with two independent women, and a series of adventures change Olive''s life for ever. ''Johnson''s work is marked by a dry irony, a sharp-edged humour that focuses unerringly on the frailties and foolishness of her characters . . . There is compassion, though, and sensitivity in the development of complex situations . . . A purposeful sense of such larger concerns balances Johnson''s precision with the small details of situation, character and voice that give veracity and colour.'' - The Oxford Companion to New Zealand Literature

A brilliant novel about history, the forgetting and rewriting of it, and a satire on a society that has lost compassion in the process. Smooch is a ''Whistler'', a genetically altered lapdog with special talents, including the ability to remember his previous incarnations and to communicate directly from his brain by electronically downloading his thoughts onto disc. Smooch has been reincarnated many times, and has lived on many of the great laps of history, past and future. He can recall many of history''s key moments, such as the birth of Jesus and the imprisonment of Mary Queen of Scots. The Whistler is a virtuosic feat: wise, funny and intelligent. Smooch''s current reincarnation is in Sydney in the year 2318. The world has gone to hell: democratic government worldwide has given way to a society run by corporations, pollution is everywhere, and society is heavily stratified between the haves and have nots.

This unique novel is both a compelling love story and an insightful writing manual. ''Writers take what we learn of human nature and, fuelled by our longings for other existences and other times, forge new identities that can be as real as she is, sitting with her dog on the weathered step of the old house, stories that move us to tears or laughter.'' Merle Carbury, an author in her own right, also teaches Creative Writing. Amid the tension of the final semester of the year, her many and varied students prepare to submit their manuscripts. As Merle mentors their assorted ambitions, observes the romantic entanglements of her colleague, worries about her husband and is intrigued by their mysterious German lodger, she both imparts and embodies how to write a novel. Written by a prize-winning author, who is also an experienced teacher, the overarching intelligence, compassion and wicked humour in this inventive book make it a joy to read.

Wry and insightful, this short story is told by a young American girl, who is all too knowing about her own world, but ignorant about the Kiwi strangers she meets. When Ruthie''s father needs a drink, he takes his young daughter with him. She sits in the bar, with her pink panther, watching the drinkers and fending off unwanted approaches. One day there are strangers at the bar, with an unusual accent, saying they are from ''Nyu Zillun''. They give Ruthie a ''little green monster'' they call a ''tuckie'' and ask her about herself . . .

A moving novel about a blind son with a love for music that surpassed sight and gave him a vision uniquely his own. A fortnight after jazz pianist Carl Tyler''s funeral, his lover Tamara has one week to go before she leaves New Zealand to return to her native Chicago. His mother Nola wants to solve the mystery of her son''s death, to know everything Tamara might be able tell her, so she begins an account of Carl''s early life, in the hope that Tamara will remember a clue to what happened at its end. Nola was a dental nurse in the 1960s. Her life revolved around her spotless dental clinic at the local school, the ''murder house'' the kids called it. She didn''t know it, but by taking an interest in young Brett''s bruises, and meeting his father Bernie, her life would be changed for ever.

An epic novel of love and religion that sweeps across New Zealand and America at the turn of the nineteenth century. In 1899 William McQuiggan leaves his young Australian wife and new-born twins in New Zealand and travels to America in search of God. Belief is the story of his journey and of his marriage to Myra, who follows him from Auckland to Salt Lake City, Utah, and to Zion City, Illinois. With each leg of the journey the family grows until William is the reluctant father of six, and Myra''s understanding of her husband deepens and matures. Belief is a vivid evocation of a way of life that has passed, a tale told on a grand scale: the story spans seventeen years, three countries and three religions. More than that, it is the story of how love and patience may triumph over violence and despair.

Returning to the biting and hilarious satire of contemporary New Zealand conveyed so well in the prize-winning The Shag Incident, this is a daring, astute and rollicking novel. John Tomb saw more of the world than most Englishmen of the early nineteenth century. From England to Australia to New Zealand, he led a life of adventure and romance. Two hundred years after his death, his tattooed head is discovered in an American museum. His spirit reawakened, John Tomb wryly observes those who would lay claim to his relic. Among others, there''s the New Zealand delegation headed by the Prime Minister and including Tomb''s Maori descendants, a leading historian, a prominent carver, the Diplomatic Protection Squad and the Prime Minister''s fifteen-year-old daughter. From England come Tomb''s English descendants and supporters, eager to take the head back to the land of his birth and their family museum. There is also a wealthy private collector and his clever wife ...

A collection of short stories to dip into and devour, by a prize-winning writer. These 23 stories show the breadth of Stephanie Johnson''s fine writing. It features poignant insights as well as her sharp wit, with characters as diverse as a woman arranging a second wife for her husband, a criminal returning to the care of his mother, and a widow who hears an octopus call her name.

Darkly satirical and wickedly funny, this prize-winning novel takes a tilt at a wide range of contemporary matters. What happened that connects a diverse group of characters, along with an ex-All Black and an elephant? The people who committed the act of revenge in 1985 thought it was perfectly executed. Twenty years on, the truth is revealed, the truth about the deception that started it all. From sexual stereotyping to militant feminism, the machismo of the All Blacks to new age beliefs, psychiatry to womb burial and naming ceremonies, nothing is safe from the razor-sharp wit of this superb writer. This novel won the Deutz Medal for Fiction in the Montana New Zealand Book Awards.

A fascinating novel about secrets, finding a home and early colonial New Zealand. ''I miss my smiling son more than any other man before or since.'' London 1866. Elizabeth Smith is struggling to survive when she hears that her former New Zealand employers, Judge and Lady Martin, are returning to England. Accompanied by her dear friend, the lunatic Reverend Cotton, she makes a pilgrimage to settle old scores. Elizabeth is also accompanied by liberal doses of opiates and two small ghosts, walking by her side, whispering, murmuring, calling her. Award-winning writer Stephanie Johnson lovingly peoples a landscape of the past. Mid-century New Zealand, London and the spa town of Buxton are vividly evoked in a novel about motherhood, earliest colonial days, pharmacology and poreirewa - the yearning for absent loved ones.

A powerful novel about friendship, guilt and sex and our changing notions of loyalty and culpability. Friends since childhood, Norman and Lyn grow up as next-door neighbours at the turn of the twentieth century. When Lyn is sent to manage a central North Island timber mill at the tender age of fourteen, Norman goes to visit him. There he is forced to confront a mysterious adult truth. Later, in their twenties, the two men commit an act so appalling that it ruptures their friendship for many years. In 1972 the elderly Norman meets a young woman in a pub. Burdened by the memory he must at long last assuage, he presses Bronwyn into becoming his unwilling confessor.

Five miniature dolls come to life in Great Britain during the Second World War. Explores ideas of history, storytelling, and imagination. Suggested level: primary.

When their husbands stop paying attention to them, three best friends take matters into their own hands as they engage in anonymous sexual encounters and passionate one-night stands. Reprint.

A woman who was severely abuse by her father as a child does not realise she has a rebellious altyernative personality, which emerges and threatens to take over her life. It''s alive!

When she marries Kyle Evans, a captain at the local police department, Pier finds her new husband''s controlling ways comforting, until he tries to take over her life. Original.