Posted on 21 Comments

#WriteRoundOz w/ Meredith Appleyard +giveaway

AuthorMeredithAppleyard web Meredith Appleyard

And I’m thinking  Meredith Appleyard, from South Australia’s Clare Valley, is my new best friend.

1. She’s a dog lover

2. She lives in one of the best one regions in the country.  (Did someone say wine?)

 Hi Meredith,

Thank you for letting my park my rig under your … gum tree. Would that be with lots of plum trees, a sheep or two, and a kangaroo?  (Now YOU all have the Don Burke/John Williamson ear worm, too!)

What’s that I see written on your ‘welcome mat, Meredith’?

It’s a favourite quote by Groucho Marx and I’d have it on my welcome mat anytime – ‘Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.’

If I looked in your refrigerator right now, what would I find?

Too many healthy things. Not enough chocolate.

Downsizing my life into a 24 ft caravan meant leaving lots of things behind in boxes. What (or who!!) would you have trouble leaving behind if you took off in a caravan?

The dog.

Whose home would you like to visit in your van and why? (anyone, anywhere)

A friend from the whom I haven’t seen in years.

Do you REALLY have room at your house to park a fifth wheeler caravan and do you mind visitors? Oh, sorry, you don’t have to answer that one!! ☺

We have plenty of room and the dog likes visitors. We don’t mind them either.

Country curiosities…

My latest novel, Season of Shadow and Light, has a strong horse theme. (I love what horses can teach us). If you were an animal what would you be?

A border collie with owners like my border collie.

You’re cooking and your food going up against the best cooks from the CWA (Country Women’s Association). What would be your winning dish?

They’d win hands down.

About you…

What is the hardest part of writing for you?

Not quarantining enough time to write. I get distracted easily. Deadlines do make it easier to put writing first. My first advance also helped!

If someone was to write your biography, what do you think the title should be?

She finally got it write.

What question have you always wanted to be asked in an interview? How would you answer that question?

I have no idea! The hardest question I’ve had to answer so far was for a Penguin Q&A sheet – Describe yourself in three words. I challenge anyone to do that off the cuff. Luckily, I had time to ponder and it took me ages and I had to ask a friend… Well, a few friends actually. It really got everyone thinking.

Favourite Five 

Favourite four authors – MM Kay, Peter Temple, Michael Robotham, James A Michener

Favourite place in Australia – the Flinders Ranges

Favourite holiday destination: Somewhere I haven’t been before

Favourite movie – French Kiss

Favourite quote – see above

 If I said to you, “Just entertain me for five minutes, I’m not going to talk,” what would you do?

Tell you about my next book –  The Country Practice.

After working in a London emergency room, a month as a GP in rural South Australia can’t be that hard – or can it?

Meghan Kimble is taking control of her life. Newly single, she’s returned to Australia to follow her dream of working as a GP. Her first stop is a month-long locum in the colourful community of Magpie Creek.

It’s been ages since the town has had a permanent doctor and Meghan is generating more than her fair share of attention, especially from forthright farmer Sean Ashby. A handsome man with a difficult past, Sean isn’t shy about making his intentions known to the redheaded medico.

Against her better judgement, Meghan finds herself charmed by the enigmatic Sean. But time is against her and when love threatens to derail her career plans, she’s forced to reassess her priorities in ways she never imagined. Is Meghan ready to fall for all that life in Magpie Creek has to offer?

WIN a signed copy of Meredith’s book.

All you have to do is describe yourself in three words*.

Buy link: Penquin Books

 

 

(*Aust postal addresses only)

Posted on 19 Comments

Natasha Lester is at the bar and she’s shouting – TWO BOOKS!

NatashaLester001 small size copy

“Drinks for everyone,” Natasha shouts out over the crowded bar. 

Okay, so maybe not exactly EVERYONE (and not exactly drinks). Even better… She’s giving away TWO BOOKS! 

(I’ll drink to that! See end of post.)

There is one copy each of: If I Should Lose You and What is Left Over After

(Are they not the most intriguing titles??)

For those new to Natasha, she is a very generous author (obviously) and her website is  ‘chockers’ with information for writers. For readers she has great stories, of course. But how will she cope having a bar yarn with me as I ask her the hard questions? See for yourself. 

First up, here is a beer coaster! Take a minute to jot down the blurb for one of your books.

If I Should Lose You

if i should lose you

Alix is a brilliant heart transplant surgeon. She sees hearts as purely functional – until she falls in love with Dan. Then a sudden tragedy forces Alix to rethink the way she views love and medicine and the consequences of this are felt many years later, by her daughter Camille.

Camille has two daughters of her own, and one is critically ill. Camille has no time to caretake her failing relationship with her husband, no time to face up to a niggling suspicion she holds about her mother. Because Camille is the one person who can save her daughter. Her daughter needs a new liver. Camille is an organ donor coordinator. How far will she go to keep her daughter alive and what might it cost another child waiting on the list?

 

(Did you know I have an organ in Simmering Season? Okay, so it’s only a church organ. Nothing too dramatic in that, until a teenage Maggie is forced to play another rendition of ‘I Honestly Love You’ for a gushing bride and groom. Then there’s some drama. ;))

C’mon, Tash… grab a pew. What can I get you to go with your beer nuts? (Shandy? Wine Spritzer? Pink Lemonade?)

A: Definitely a Gin, especially if it’s 5.30 and thus bath-time, dinner-time and general chaos-time for me and the 3 kids!

Hey, did you hear the one about … 

WILOA web sizeA: All of the jokes I now know are suitable for a 3 year old to understand as that’s how old my youngest is, so I can’t promise and great laughs, but here goes:

Knock Knock

Who’s there?

Barbara!

Barbara who?

Barbara black sheep, have you any wool…

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

A: A pretzel. Twisted into all kinds of weird shapes from trying to do 10 things at once, and from trying to be here, there and everywhere. Also from all the strange but relaxing yoga poses I try to practice a couple of times a week.

IMG_1275

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 neat nut case or “What desk? Where? Is there a desk here somewhere?”

A: I have to go with a 5 because my desk is either one extreme or the other, so both extremes cancel one another out and end up somewhere in the middle. If I’m very into the book I’m writing, my desk will be an absolute mess; if I’m in an admin phase or not right in the middle of a book, it will be relatively neat. (There is always a cup of tea and a baby monitor on my desk, as the photo shows).

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?

A: I have to confess to knowing none of the moves to Gangnam Style and I hate washing dishes. I do still remember many of the words to Take Me Home, Country Roads after learning it in primary school in the old Singing and Listening Sessions we used to have piped into the classroom every Friday afternoon – anyone else remember those? So, the karaoke option it will have to be – better clear the pub out now!

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. I’ve been getting into a 1920s theme with the book I’m writing so Ain’t Misbehavin’
  2. Dancing Queen – Abba
  3. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

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

A: We have 5 chickens and none of them are clever enough to have crossed the road. The agent is probably a mirage, teleported in by the author’s wishful thinking that she might actually acquire one, one day. So it would have to be the author, who probably needs a drink while she’s waiting to hear if her latest book has been accepted or not.

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

A: Because I’m trying to keep my kids occupied with craft while I attempt to have a conversation that lasts for more than 3 minutes without an interruption of “Mum!”

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 (self explanatory)
  2. My kids and hubby (also self explanatory)
  3. Sleep

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

#4. I have no idea why, it just is.

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

Like most authors I have a website: www.natashalester.com.au and I’m also on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/NatashaLesterAuthor and Twitter https://twitter.com/Natasha_Lester

I also blog most weeks at: http://whilethekidsaresleeping.wordpress.com so I’m pretty easy to find on the net.

You can buy my books through Booktopia: http://www.booktopia.com.au/search.ep?keywords=natasha+lester&productType=917504

 

Leave a comment below to go into the giveaway draw. Maybe tells us… What is your favourite ABBA song?  CLOSED

 
In the meantime, watch out … It’s on the way …

This storm season, in Calingarry Crossing, a perfect storm is heading Maggie Lindeman’s way.  

Find out more, right hereSimmering Season: April 1, 2014

For emergency alerts and warnings for Simmering Season, subscribe to Jenn J McLeod’s blog before you go, or follow her on Facebook.

Posted on 11 Comments

Bar Yarns w/ Author – Margaret Sutherland

I am welcoming author of Seven Little Words – Margaret Sutherland – into the bar for a yarn and a beer. Come on in and, yes, bring the dog. Calingarry Crossing pub welcomes all dogs and their well-behaved humans. In fact, I love a book with dogs. They are the first characters I create with each novel. 🙂

Now, Margaret, before we start. Here is a beer coaster! Take a minute to jot down the blurb for your book.

Two writers, two lovable dogs, two ailing parents in need of care.  Is it a heartbreaking choice between love and duty?

Okay, grab a pew. What can I get you to go with your beer nuts? (Shandy? Wine Spritzer? Pink Lemonade?)
Beer and peanuts will do me.
(and a treat for the dog, of course!) 
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
Tidy desk is a bad sign. I’m not working!
Have you heard the one about…? Come on, Margaret, tell us a joke.
How about this riddle for seniors?  Here’s the situation:
You are on a horse, galloping at a constant speed.
On your right side is a sharp drop-off.
On your left side is an elephant traveling at the same speed as you.
Directly in front of you is a galloping kangaroo and your horse is unable to overtake it.
Behind you is a lion running at the same speed as you and the kangaroo.
Q: What must you do to get out of this highly dangerous situation?
A: Get your drunken arse off the merry-go-round and go home!
(Readers, if you didn’t spit your favourite beverage at the computer screen after that joke … well, you are obviously not a senior, nor a drinker!!)

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?

I’d put the dishes in the dishwasher and accept the drink.

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.
I’m a music teacher. The songs I don’t want to hear are Ode to Joy, Bingo, and C Major scale.
(I have a character in Simmering Season – plays the church organ – who has the same thoughts when it comes to I Honestly Love You and Morning has Broken!!)
There’s a stapler on the bar. Tell me what it’s doing there.
I collect pencils and pens, maybe I would put the stapler in my pocket too.

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?

I’d be lost without my husband Bill, my dogs and my kindle.

Now… more about SEVEN LITTLE WORDS, by Margaret Sutherland

After a painful break-up, budding romance writer Cathy Carruthers is avoiding men. So what happens when she meets successful Australian literary novelist, David Hillier, at his country writing workshop? Good-looking David’s a bachelor with problems. His writing’s blocked, his blind father’s in respite care and David has to care for his retired guide dog, Banquo. He has absolutely no time for a relationship. Meanwhile Cathy’s past partner hunts her down, her grandmother’s ill and Cathy is landed with Pixel, a tiny dog with the heart of a lion.

David and Cathy can’t resist the powerful desire that at first overrides their problems.

But pressures build and lead to conflict and friction. It felt like love. Was it just a passionate affair? Cathy’s a stronger woman now. Eventually she faces a choice. Must she send the man of her dreams away? Fortunately there’s a solution from a most unexpected quarter…

CONNECT WITH MARGARET:
Links and blurb. www.margaretsutherland.com
SEVEN LITTLE WORDS. SCP Publishers. http://tinyurl.com/keabbbr
$4.99 (Publication Date: August 19, 2013)

And in case you haven’t heard…

Watch out … It’s on the way …

This storm season, in Calingarry Crossing, a perfect storm is heading Maggie Lindeman’s way.  

Find out more, right hereSimmering Season: April 1, 2014

For emergency alerts and warnings for Simmering Season, subscribe to Jenn J McLeod’s blog before you go, or LIKE her Facebook Page.