Sulari Gentill

Sulari set out to study astrophysics, ended up graduating in law, and later abandoned her legal career to write books instead of contracts. When the mood takes her, she paints, although she maintains that she does so only well enough to know that she should write.

She grows French black truffles on her farm in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains of NSW, which she shares with her young family and several animals... the farm, not the truffles.

Sulari was shortlisted for Best First Book in our region for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize 2011. She was also offered a Varuna Fellowship, commended in the Fellowship of Australian Writers’ 2008 Jim Hamilton Award, long-listed for the Hachette/QLD writers Centre Australian Manuscript Development Program for fiction writers, and shortlisted for the 2008 New Holland Publishers and NSW Writers Centre Genre Fiction Award.

She has been writing for a few years, but thinking about it most of her life. She’s pretty sure now that writing is what’s she’s supposed to do.

A Few Right Thinking Men is her debut novel, and introduces Rowland Sinclair, the gentleman artist-cum-amateur-detective.

Her second in the Rowland Sinclair series, A Decline in Prophets, is now available at all good booksellers. Download a free chapter now.

Under the name S.D. Gentill, Sulari's first story in the exciting new Hero adventure series for Young Adults, Chasing Odysseus, was released in March 2011. Four young heroes in a quest against myth, magic...and betrayal. Download a free chapter now. 

And please, tell us what you think.

STOP PRESS! One of Pantera Press's first books shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best 1st Book:  A Few Right Thinking Men by Sulari Gentill

 

Click here to download our Media Release

Visit Sulari's website.

Interviews

Hear ABC Radio National's Richard Aedy interview Sulari on Life Matters

Hear ABC Radio National's The Book Show interview Sulari

Hear ABC Radio Canberra interview Sulari

What people are saying about Sulari...

Marele Day, award-winning novelist:

''Witty dialogue, lively characters, and a shrewd political awareness of the times.'

Bookseller + Publisher magazine:

'... historically correct, gripping, no-holds-barred novel... an enjoyable read for young and old.'

The Age, Pick of the Week:

"A Few Right Thinking Men is a richly drawn and involving Australian historical crime novel... it's a cut above much Australian crime. It's well researched and atmospheric, with a brisk pace, colourful characters and charming period dialogue."

Booktopia:

"Gentill has written an immensely readable first novel... Get used to her name. We are going to be hearing a lot more of it." more>

Booktopia:

"The sequel to A Few Right Thinking Men: A Decline in Prophets - a heady mix of religion, murder and scandal... the inner workings of an international cult (the Theosophical Movement), luxury boats, seances and mystics and the Masons - in short, the grace, charm and contradiction of the 1930s (plus a rather alarming body count), all put together with Gentill's now trademark light-hearted irony." Click here to buy it at Booktopia

ABC Radio  National's The Book Show:

"A historical crime series featuring a wiley detective makes us think of Miss Marple or Inspector Poirot..."

ABC Radio 666 Drive Canberra:

“[A Decline in Prophets] is a very entertaining and lovely book… what is so lovely about it is the characters and the historical detail… People who love Kerry Greenwood’s books featuring Phryne Fisher, the very wealthy flapper in 1928 in Melbourne, well, Rowland is your equivalent and these books are very reminiscent… that same attention to the history… that same attention to the luxury and having a central character who has money and is able to go anywhere in the world as a consequence… and we’re in these extraordinary places… I was much more interested in the colour, movement, light history, the sense of Sydney in the 1930s, the sense of place… that is what I loved…” (Sue Turnbull) Click here to listen to the podcast

Courier Mail (Mary Philips):

"[A Few Right Thinking Men]...a thoroughly enjoyable foray into those long-ago days when national politics could never be classified as dull... an absorbing story about a crucial but underwritten slice of Australian history. The narrative and characters she has created complement the historical facts and give colour to events that are at risk of dropping from public consciousness. Francis de Groot's infamous action in intervening to cut the ribbon at the Harbour Bridge opening, the Great Depression biting hard into people's lives and the conspiracies and riots of this volatile era should capture the interest of readers looking for meaning as well as pleasure in their novels."

Lindfield Bookshop, Sydney (Scott Whitmont):

"With its well rounded and charismatic characters, the palpable real-life politics behind the fiction of this engaging story is what makes A Few Right Thinking Men a welcome and highly recommendable addition to the genre of Australian historical fiction. A new Rowly Sinclair novel is planned for 2011. Bring it on!" more>

Amazon.com (reb c The West):

“One of the highlights for me was the wit, the humour, and the dialogue between these characters. This is all masterful, and I was guffawing even in the midst of a grim reality that could have ultimately changed Australia from the lovable place we know (albeit filled with the world's most poisonous snakes and spiders, not to mention crocs and jellyfish) to a place of dictatorship. Thank God that didn't happen! ... A Few Right Thinking Men could have been a dark account, almost a documentary, one event leading into the next. But the addition of Rowly, Wilfred, Ernest, Kate, Edna, Clyde and especially Milt (I love him) and their enduring friendship, the barely contained romance (which is masterfully done,) draws one in and makes this a story where the reader is completely invested in the lives, emotions, and outcomes of these people. From the first page to the last, everything flows, woven perfectly, so that we see the big picture of Australian politics in the 30s along with the microcosm of Rowland's life, friendships and family.”

Angela Savage (author):

"Sulari does a great job of weaving fact and fiction together. In Q&A notes at the back of the novel (a nice touch), the author says she was attracted to the ‘nuttiness of this time’. Her evocation of the era and witty exchanges among the characters, especially the Woodlands House residents, reminded me of the plays of Oscar Wilde, whom she cites as an influence. I did think on finishing A Few Right Thinking Men that it was more of a historical political thriller than a crime novel: the Australian Crime Fiction review notes the murder in it is ‘more on the incidental side’ and there is more violence threatened than enacted. I think this is due in part to the outlandishness of the plot: the wild plans of the proto-Fascists, their cloak-and-dagger codes and penchant for fancy dress undermine the seriousness of the threat they posed and the criminality of their plans. As Rowland Sinclair reflects of the time, “The whole state’s gone mad… we’re all following crazy people into revolution.” Of course, on reflection, history is full of reasons to be very afraid when paranoid, morally certain, right thinking men are on rise. A Few Right Thinking Men is a fascinating, highly entertaining read, which I suspect will attract a wide audience in addition to readers of crime fiction." [Angela interviewed Sulari at the Crime & Justice Festival in Melbourne on July 17, 2010.]

Central Coast Advocate (Alesha Evans):

"...an historical crime novel with a difference. Set in Australia during the 1930s, in a time when the world was feeling the pinch of the Great Depression, A Few Right Thinking Men is a murder mystery rife with political scandal and steeped in Australian history. However, you do not have to be an expert in politics or history to appreciate Gentill's unique and clever writing. Gentill has created a cast of unique and likeable characters who drive the novel with their humorous and witty dialogue...  As the novel progresses, Gentill accurately documents Australia's fear of revolution in the face of communism and fascism and the lengths that some right-thinking men were prepared to go to in order to protect their way of life. Ultimately, however, it is Gentill's vivid historical descriptions of 1930s Australia that makes A Few Right Thinking Men such an enjoyable and informative read. From the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge to descriptions of life in rural Yass, Gentill ensures the reader feels at home in 1930s Australia. For those who have an interest in the dark side of Australian politics and history, or even those who just love a good murder mystery to solve, A Few Right Thinking Men is highly recommended."

Crime Space (Karen from Auscrime):

“The characters are wonderfully drawn. Rowland and friends are eccentric, but not overly so, they fit within that period of history well. The members of the New and Old Guards are nicely shadowy, dedicated to the cause, slightly mad in their own right, but not cartoonish or overdone. There are light touches of humour, and there are some sad moments - the loss of Rowland the elder, the descent of Rowland's mother into complete madness are deftly drawn...  a good book for readers who like their murder and mayhem more on the incidental side. It's not that hard to pick the why very early on, and the who narrows down as events progress. But the murder doesn't read as the point of this book. It's the overall environment, and that short, sharp, mad period of Australian history, which is really very well handled.”

Ozzie Book Reviews:

"Sulari captures the heart of Australia, highlighting a mad period of her history in a fictional story that is intriguing and entertaining. Her characters appeal to the reader while instructing the uninformed about the past... even if you have no interest in history, the story itself is wonderful. A murder mystery in the style of Agatha Christie, a mystery without the blood and horror of most modern authors. I will be watching with interest to see what further adventures Mr Rowland Sinclair is involved in and I look forward to reading more of Ms Gentill's works."

Ellison Hawker Bookshop, Hobart (Megan Hancock):

'A Few Right Thinking Men is a historically correct, gripping, no-holds-barred novel. In the tradition of historical action novels, a background storyline accompanies the character’s  journey. It does, however, deal with relatively modern themes and is fillled with spies, murder and intrigue. It also features comic relief from minor characters. A Few Right Thinking Men is an enjoyable read for young and old.'

Snowprint Bookshop, Jindabyne (Shaaron Ellis):

“I didn’t know all this about the 1930s and I’m a grandmother. I like the way Sulari lets the reader come to their own conclusions on things.”