Bar Yarns with Joanne van Os

This is pretty exciting.

The bar gets some amazing authors dropping by, and today’s country pub dweller is Joanne van Os (and something tells me Joanne is quite comfy in a country pub!)

Joanne van Os is an Australian writer living in Darwin, Northern Territory. She is the author of best-selling memoir Outback Heart, the story of her life with the “Real Crocodile Dundee” Rod Ansell, their adventures living in the remote parts of the Territory, and his subsequent spiral into tragedy.

Find out more about Joanne’s amazing story and her books: www.joannevanos.com

Welcome to Calingarry Crossing, Jo. First, here is a beer coaster! Take a minute to jot down the blurb for your book – Ronan’s Echo.

“The legacy of love and war ripples across time…”

In 1916 twin brothers Denny and Connor Ronan are eager to get to the war before it’s all over; Bridie O’Malley, their childhood friend and the woman they both love, watches them leave, understanding too late that war is about more than heroes and handsome boys in uniform.

Nearly a century on from the disastrous battle of Fromelles, forensic anthropologist Kat Kelso, Bridie’s great granddaughter, is in France identifying the recovered bodies of lost Australian soldiers. The discovery of her own relative amongst the dead men begins the unravelling of a hundred years of family history, lies and secrets.

Grab a pew. What can I get you to go with your beer nuts? (Shandy? Wine Spritzer? Pink Lemonade?)

A cold pinot noir would be lovely

Hey, did you hear the one about … Tell us a joke (preferably one that comes with a punch line you actually remember!)

A man goes skydiving. After a fantastic free fall he pulls the rip-cord to open his parachute but nothing happens. He tries everything but can’t get it open.

Just then another man flies by him, going UP. The skydiver yells, “Hey, you know anything about parachutes?” The man replies, “No, you know anything about gas stoves?”

 I’m a beer nut nut! What bar snack would you be and why?

I like the idea of being a trendy tapas, but I’m probably a pretzel…

Ahh, that beer hit the spot. Let me slip a drink coaster under your glass while you tell us—on a scale of 1 to 10—as a writer are you a messy desker or tidy desker? 

My husband would say I’m an 11, but I reckon about a 7. I’m not THAT messy. Will send a photo when I find it – it’s somewhere here on the desk, I’m sure…

The publican offers you free drinks all night if you will:

• Dance to Gangnam Style
• Sing John Denver’s ‘Take me Home Country Roads’ on the Karaoke machine
• Spend an hour washing dishes

Which do you choose?

Are you kidding? Point the way to the sink.

Time to liven the place up. Got a buck? We can crank up the old jukebox in the corner. You get to pick three songs.

1. Led Zeppelin “Whole Lotta Love”
2. Rolling Stones “Dancing in the Street”
3. ABBA “Dancing Queen”

An author, an agent and a chicken walk into the bar… how do you know which one crossed the road?

The agent and the chicken – the author would still be wondering about motive

There’s a stapler on the bar. Tell me what it’s doing there.

Someone’s planning the perfect murder. The stapler is integral to the plot.

The pub is the heart of a small town and most locals would be lost without one. What are three things you’d be lost without?

1. My laptop
2. My reading glasses
3. Good coffee

There are a few good prizes up for grabs in the bar jackpot. Do you have a lucky number?

Do I have to have one? Ok, 7

Last drinks, my friend! It’s been great having you here. But before we go, tell us how we can find out more about you and your writing/books.

Simple: www.joannevanos.com