Afternoon Tea with Christine Sykes

A cup of tea and something sweet, while Christine and Emily chat about Christine's new book, perfect recipe for a Saturday afternoon.

About the book

An uplifting novel about ageing with a sense of fun from the bestselling author of Gough and Me

Meet Sofia, Carol and Bonnie: three very different women who have known each other for a lifetime. What could possibly come up that would threaten their friendship? Bonnie returns to Australia from America with a secret she has kept all of her adult life. It’s a revelation that will profoundly rock the foundations of her friendship with Sofia and Carol, and even the destiny of the Tap Cats.

Set in the stunning landscape of the Sunshine Coast, the Tap Cats dance their way through the challenges of the Senior Superstar Competition and their personal trials and tribulations all the way to New York and a Greek island. They discover that even friends you think you know best can still have secrets.

The idea for The Tap Cats of the Sunshine Coast came to author Christine Sykes in a very personal way. Her Auntie Peg, who lived on the Sunshine Coast, took up tap dancing when she retired and it gave her a new lease on life. Christine attended several performances of Peg’s group over the years and also enjoyed sitting in on rehearsals when she was visiting. When Christine retired, she followed Peg’s lead and also took up tap dancing! Something she continues to do to this day.

The Tap Cats of the Sunshine Coast is a moving and heart-warming story of secrets, love and the power of friendship.

About Christine

Christine Sykes is a community worker and senior public servant, now retired, who lives on the NSW South Coast. She published her acclaimed memoir Gough and Me: My journey from Cabramatta to China and beyond in 2021 and her award-winning novel The Changing Room in 2019. As well as writing and tap dancing, Christine loves to walk and have coffee with friends, when she’s not visiting family on the Sunshine Coast, Central Coast, Sydney and Melbourne. The Tap Cats of the Sunshine Coast is her third book, inspired by her and her aunt’s experiences taking up tap dancing later in life.

About Emily

Emily is the author of six novels, including the Stella Prize and Miles Franklin shortlisted An Isolated Incident, and three non-fiction books. She works as a teacher and as a mentor to young and emerging writers and was the 2018/2019 Writer-inResidence at the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney. Her latest book is the novel Love Objects.