Posted on 12 Comments

Author Harvest ‘bales up’ Tony Park~adventurer extraordinaire

Tony Park

You don’t get much blokey than my token Author Harvest bloke – a leopard loving, rhino revering, Tony Park

So Tony, tell me, is it scones and tea or some other homemade delight you have whipped up for me today?

Beer and biltong (dried beef or game meat.  An acquired taste, but addictive once you’ve fallen)

(Ahh, gee, thanks, you shouldn’t have. I’ll have to pass and take your word for it! New Years resolution to lose weight, you know … )

At home… 

My mum says garden gnomes make a house a home! Are you loud and proud in your love of garden gnomes at home, a closet gnomer or with a strict ‘no gnomes’ policy at your place?

My wife, Nicola, and I live in a two bedroom flat in Sydney for six months of the year, so no room for gnomes there – our flat is full of carved wooden giraffes, rhinos, elephants and other African creatures.  In Africa we’re on the road a lot of the time, but also recently bought a holiday house in a game reserve.  We have a leopard that loiters out the back of our house so a gnome wouldn’t last a night.

(I knew I was going to love this Harvest!)

What vegetable (or fruit) have you always wanted to grow at home?

I don’t eat enough of either, but I do like tomatoes fresh off the vine.  (They do grow on vines, right?).

(Yes, Tony! Can’t believe this man knows the mating ritual of the rhino but not how a tomato grows.)

If I came to your home and looked in the refrigerator, what would I find?

In the flat in Sydney, not much.  In the house in South Africa enough beer, wine and red meat to feed an army – our nearest supermarket is 40km away.

(Ha! Beer and wine – hold the meat – and you are talking my language!)

If you sorted your wardrobe by colour, what colour would stand out? (Ahh, do you sort your wardrobe by colour?!)

Green.  We do wear a lot of safari clothes in Africa, not so much to blend into the bush, although you don’t want to be wearing bright red around an angry buffalo, (Oh, right, yes or course. Why didn’t I think of that?) but because it hides the dust. (Hmm, yes, hiding the dust would be my number one reason for not wearing red.)

What are you wearing now? (Be honest!)

Running shorts, T-shirt and runners.  I’m in Sydney now and have just been for a run to the beach.  This is the best thing about being back home in Sydney – the beach that is, not the running.

Whose home would you like to housesit and why?

Wilbur Smith’s so I could know how the other half lives.

(Nine books, Mr Park! You must be getting into theDark Heart swing of things by now. PS. You have THE best covers–stunning.)

Country curiosities…

We love a sunburnt country (slip, slop, slap and all that). What’s your ideal hat? Or are you a boots person?

I’m usually a green baseball cap person in Africa, but I also have the camouflage bush hat I wore when I served with the Army in Afghanistan back in 2002.  It reminds me of how good it is to be home.

If you were a tree (or animal) what kind of tree (animal) would you be?

I identify strongly with the white rhino – pudgy, skinny legs, poor eyesight, but likeable and generally placid.  Tree-wise my favourite is the African Leadwood which, like me, grows very tall.

(Hmmm — pudgy, skinny legs, poor eyesight, but likeable and generally placid!)

Now for the big question… Why did the chicken cross the road?

Because my resident leopard was after him.

About you…

Your turning point: when was that point in your life that you realized that being an author was no longer going to be just a dream but a reality and a career?

I was in Afghanistan with the army, in 2002, when I got an email from Pan Macmillan telling me my first book, Far Horizon, was going to be published.  All I’d wanted to do with my life for as long as I could remember was write books and at that moment I knew I’d not only fulfilled a dream, but that this was all I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

(That’s a wonderful call story.)

What is the hardest part of writing for you?

I don’t find writing hard at all.  I hate getting to the end of a book and saying goodbye to it.  I also agonise when I submit it to the publishers and wait to hear back.

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

I like my life.

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

Question: Are the sex scenes in your book based on real life experiences?

Answer: I wish.

(Well, having just read a particular scene in African Dawn I don’t think I will look at motor bikes in quite the same way again. I also now feel incredibly old … and inflexible!)

Fun stuff …

What does your protagonist think about you? Would he or she want to hang out with you, the author, his/her creator.

I don’t have a favourite of all the protagonists in all nine of my novels, but I like to think we would all get on famously over a couple of beers or red wines.  They might even see a little bit of me in them, except for Sonja Kurtz, from The Delta, who is hot.

If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional, with whom would it be?

Robert Mugabe, tyrannical president of Zimbabwe.  I’d hand over power to the opposition (who won it rightfully at the last election), resign from office and hand myself in to the international criminal court and plead for mercy for all of the crimes I committed in my more than 30 years of misrule.  Hopefully I’d be locked away for the rest of my life.

(Beautifully put.)

I am almost too terrified to ask…. If I said to you, “Just entertain me for five minutes, I’m not going to talk,” what would you do?

Sing you some Elvis.  I do like to sing and I love Karaoke, but the problem is I’m not good at it.  You would not be entertained, unless you had ear plugs (my moves are sensational).

(Sensational moves with “pudgy, skinny legs”. You’re eyesight is obviously worse than you thought. I’m guessing I won’t be getting ‘All Shook Up’ any time soon.)

What food would you be?

Kudu steak, medium rare (it’s a big African antelope, and very tasty).

(You mean it was a big African antelope. Did I mention the no meat thing yet?)

What was the best thing before sliced bread?

Kudu biltong.

(Perhaps I didn’t mention the vegetarian thing strongly enough!)

Name 5 uses for a stapler that has not staple pins.

(I can’t believe Tony didn’t answer this question. I mean, there must be a dozen or more uses for such a device while on an African safari.)

How weird are you out of ten – with 1 (not) to 10 (very).

8.5.  I just bought a house in South Africa while tens of thousands of people are trying to leave.  I love it there, and I love having a leopard out the back of my house.   I just wish the lions would visit more often.  Is that weird?

(Yes. You win!)

What a great sport. Thank you….

Leave a comment: Let’s tell Tony how a stapleless stapler might come in handy on African safari.

Tony’s website is quite something: www.tonypark.net
Blog: www.tonyparkblog.blogspot.com

 

Posted on 25 Comments

Author Harvest ‘bales up’ Lily Malone

Author Harvest

LilyMI believe I may have met my match.

Lily Malone is one witty, wine-loving, lady. I am so glad I found her lurking on her blog (a blog that is littered with gold, BTW.)

Trouble is, every time I see her name I start singing Lili Marlène* over and over in my head. (For Gen X and Y – it’s an old Vera Lynn, WWII… oh, just forget it and watch the clip – or not.)

Okay, Lily, now I have that out of the way, start by telling me if it’s scones and tea or some other homemade delight you have whipped up for me today.

Hubby has previously described my attempt at muffins as “like ice-hockey pucks” and I dread to think what I might do to a scone… but I am a QUEEN of chocolate brownies. And in particular I make a white chocolate and cherry brownie (sometimes with crushed hazelnuts) that is kind of gooey and almost tea-cakey-chewy (very un-brownie like) but dang, it’s DIVINE!

(After so many Author Harvest posts I’ve learned not to be fussy, so… Plate ’em up, Lil!)

At home …

My mum says garden gnomes make a house a home! Are you loud and proud in Lily AfricanLadyyour love of garden gnomes at home, a closet gnomer or with a strict ‘no gnomes’ policy at your place?

No gnomes here. I do have an African lady that was a wedding present. (Here’s a photo). The idea is to put your keys in the basket on her head so if you forget your keys, you can always get in the house. Oops. Do any potential burglars read Author Harvest?

(Nah. You’re safe here. Anything about the family jewels you’d like to add, though?!)

What vegetable (or fruit) have you always wanted to grow at home?

Good tomatoes. I have struggled to grow tomatoes. They generally come out looking all Bonsai. But dare I say, this year I have thrown everything into the soil and so far, they are looking fab. One is VERY close to being picked.

(Is that it? The one behind you in the profile pic above? Well, I hope you enjoy it. I hate to tell you but I have tomato bushes just pop up every season on their own so I have to make chutney!)

If I came to your home and looked in the refrigerator, what would I find?

Yikes! Right now there is a bottle of Jansz bubbles. Coopers Pale Ale. Coopers Stout. There are vegetables in the crisper which are probably the floppy side of crisp. Lots of condiments and a homemade muesli slice which, incidentally, I probably could also have shared for you with the white choc-cherry brownie I mentioned above. But the brownie is more glam, and for you Jenn, glam is the go!

(Lily, as I mentioned to Jaye Ford the other day on Facebook. As one ages, one needs to avoid making reference to anything being ‘floppy’.)

If you sorted your wardrobe by colour, what colour would stand out? (Ahh, do you sort your wardrobe by colour?!)

Definitely not a wardrobe sorter. Black would probably dominate. I’m also a bit of a purple/burgundy kind of girl. I own nothing orange and nothing green.

(Hmm? What was that you said? Burgundy? Why, yes, pour me a glass!)

What are you wearing now? (Be honest!)

It’s about 37 degrees in Adelaide today, so it’s a little blue sundress that my sister (who loves shopping and buys brilliant presents) gave me for Christmas last year (2012).

Whose home would you like to housesit and why?

Someone like Gai Waterhouse or Bart Cummings or Peter Moody. Actually, make that Peter Moody. I am a Black Caviar freak and I’d love to see memorabilia of all these amazing horses. If Peter Moody’s house looked over the paddocks and Black Caviar was out there… that would be pretty amazing. But any rural/horsey/paddocky type thing would do.

Country curiosities…

We love a sunburnt country (slip, slop, slap and all that). What’s your ideal hat? Or are you a boots person?

I love hats. The widest brim straw hat I have always blows off in the wind, which may mean my head is not big enough. (Some would argue this fact). But I really love wearing beanies in winter and I have quite a few.

If you were a tree (or animal) what kind of tree (animal) would you be?

I don’t know about tree. But I was asked what animal I’d be many, many moons ago at a Nutrimetics party of all places, and I said if I was an animal, I’d like to be an Otter. Go figure.

Now for the big question… Why did the chicken cross the road?

She saw Timothy Olyphant on the other side.

About you…

Your turning point: when was that point in your life that you realized that being an author was no longer going to be just a dream but a reality and a career?

This is very very recent for me. In fact I still don’t think I can call it a “career”. But my biggest turning point was when a scene from His Brand Of Beautiful finaled in the RWA First Kiss competition in 2012. When Kasey from RWA rang me up to tell me, I was just blown away. It was the first time anyone who I felt “knew” the romance genre and so, made a good judge, gave me an indication that what I was doing was actually any good. (Or even potentially good – it still had a heck of a long way to go at that point). But I think this was a moment where I thought, okay, if I work and work and work… maybe I can just do this.

(And you did! It’s all official today, I believe. Fantastic.)

What is the hardest part of writing for you?

Finding the time. I have two young kids and I work part-time. It isn’t exactly the ‘time’ itself that is the hard part, but it’s quality time. I have struggled a lot with feeling that my writing is selfish time, and that I should be putting those hours to cutting out and colouring in and painting pictures with the kids… I really am not that type of crafty mum. And I’m a bit of a procrastinator. But once I get stuck in, I’m fairly disciplined.

(Not “THAT type of crafty mum”! So what sort of ‘crafty’ mum are you exactly?)

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

Lily Malone: Glass Half Full

(Ha! Love it! I’m definitely more full bottle. What? Why are you laughing?)

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

I can’t think of one! I have actually been the answer to a Hockey Club quiz night question once. Does that count?

(Was the question something to do with you puck-like muffins?)

Fun stuff …

What does your protagonist think about you? Would he or she want to hang out with you, the author, his/her creator.

Christina Clay would find my fashion sense very boring, but she would love my hats and we would drink beautiful champagne together.

If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional, with whom would it be?

Do you know? I think it might be Lady Di, or possibly if it was now, Kate Middleton. Just to see what it was like being a princess. That lifestyle is so far from mine…

If I said to you, “Just entertain me for five minutes, I’m not going to talk,” what would you do?IMG_0220

Pop the cork on a bottle of Moet. I have two in the pantry right now, waiting for the day my book is released! But if you twist my arm, I’ll make an exception for you! (Ouch! That was a hard twist, Jenn!)

(I BYO’d Lily. Here you go. Today is the champagne occasion. Cheers to Escape Publishing for having the good sense to see your talent.)

What food would you be?

I love making icecream cakes… I’m not much of a baker otherwise, (outside of the Brownies in Q1 above). I think I’d be something vanilla-ish, with a chocolate swirl of crushed-up Flake and Tim Tams and with a couple of fresh cherries artfully plonked on top. I like artfully plonking.

(Yes, plonking much more acceptable than flopping!)

What was the best thing before sliced bread?

Mel Gibson in Braveheart, or perhaps Brad Pitt in Troy. Or no! Definitely Russell Crowe in Gladiator.

(So, men in skirts do it for you, huh?)

Name 5 uses for a stapler that has not staple pins.

My stapler rarely has pins. The kids are forever emptying them.

How weird are you? Rate yourself on a scale of 1 (not) to 10 (very).

I don’t think I’m weird, not really. So I’d go with a 2.

Thank you Lily, and congratulations on your contract.

Folks, if you aren’t already subscribed to Lil’s blog, do. She brightens a day and makes for fun procrastination moments. www.lilymalone.wordpress.com

Here is the blurb about her debut novel – for release March 2013

His Brand Of Beautiful – Lily Malone
When marketing strategist Tate Newell first meets wine executive Christina Clay he has one goal in mind: tell Christina he won’t design the new brand for Clay Wines. Tell her: Thanks but no thanks. So long, good night.

But Tate is a sucker for a damsel in distress and when a diary mix-up leaves Christina in his debt, he gets more than he bargained for.

What does a resourceful girl do when the best marketing brain in the business won’t play ball? She bluffs. She cheats. And she ups the ante. But when the stakes get too high, does anybody win?

Falling in love was never part of this branding brief.
His Brand Of Beautiful will be published by Harlequin Escape in March
For more information or to contact Lily, visit www.lilymalone.wordpress.com

Posted on 25 Comments

Author Harvest ‘bales up’ Juanita Kees

Author Harvest

Don’t you just love a person whose very energy and cheeky grin makes you want to smile right along with them? I had the pleasure of meeting this pocket rocket of fun at a writers’ conference in 2012. So I am chuffed she has invited me home.

Juanita KeesJuanita, start by telling me if it’s scones and tea or some other homemade delight you have whipped up for me today.

Hi Jenn, come on in! No scones and tea for you today because I have a special cocktail to share with you instead. I’ll let you all in on a little secret…I’m a little vertically challenged, so my friends call me ‘Duckie’. They reckon I suffer Duck’s Disease i.e. my bottom hits the pavement every time I step off the curb. So my cocktail of choice is a Fluffy Duck. I’ll mix one up for you now:

 

– 1 nip of white rum eg. bacardi
– 1 nip advocaat
– 1 nip cream
– lemonade
– ice cubes

Method:

Put some ice cubes into the bottom of a very large cocktail glass. Top with the rum, advocaat and cream. Fill up the glass with lemonade. When you add the lemonade the drink with froth up; thus the name fluffy duck! Decorate the side of the glass with slices of pineapple, cherry, strawberries, etc. Cheers!

(Well quack me happy, Juanita. Cheers! I figured we’d be celebrating, given your latest news – Congrats on Taming the Tiger being picked up Harlequin Escape – for release in March.)

Now, where were we? Oh, yeah… At home …

My mum says garden gnomes make a house a home! Are you loud and proud Juanita gnomein your love of garden gnomes at home, a closet gnomer or with a strict ‘no gnomes’ policy at your place?

I have gnomes hiding everywhere in my garden, although they’re only little ones. So do watch where you step because you never know when one will pop up and say hi. My favourite is the little guy on his throne reading a book under the (almost) guava tree.

What vegetable (or fruit) have you always wanted to grow at home?

Well, we have enough fruits in the family, so I don’t think I’ll grow any more of those 🙂 I’ve tried growing herbs but they don’t thrive on neglect like pumpkins do. So pumpkins it is! Pumpkin fritters, pumpkin stew, roast pumpkin in the wood-fired oven…yum.

(Cinderella, golden carriage, Prince Charming… Keep trying!)

If I came to your home and looked in the refrigerator, what would I find?

The three essentials for a writer: chocolate, wine and chilled Gaviscon liquid

If you sorted your wardrobe by colour, what colour would stand out? (Ahh, do you sort your wardrobe by colour?!)

Yes, I did that once! And realized there was only one colour in my wardrobe…black! Over the years I’ve been adding a bit of colour and now I have mostly blue and cerise.

What are you wearing now? (Be honest!)

My PJ’s – the ones that say: UR driving me crazy! There, happy now? I’m crazy

Whose home would you like to housesit and why?

Hugh Jackman (preferably with him in it) Why? Omigosh…do I need a reason? It’s Hugh *sigh*

Country curiosities…

We love a sunburnt country (slip, slop, slap and all that). What’s your ideal hat? Or are you a boots person?

Mmm…I’m not much of a hat girl, I’m afraid. I lurve boots though. I have a pair of Harley Davidson boots which are my favourites. They’re ‘kickass boots’, I’m told.

If you were a tree (or animal) what kind of tree (animal) would you be?

A Kangaroo of course! Did you know that Kangaroos can’t move backwards? So I’m taking a leaf out of their book and marching forward, armed with keyboard and dreams.

(Oh my gosh, that is the cutest analogy. But, did you also know the kangaroo can survive without drinking for months. That does not sound at all like you! And while I was searching…. Did you know when European explorers first saw these strange hopping animals they asked a native Australian (Aborigine) what they were called.
He replied “kangaroo” meaning “I don’t understand” your question.
The explorers thought this was the animal’s name, and that’s how the kangaroo got its name. Well, according to Wiki!)

Now for the big question… Why did the chicken cross the road?

I’m going to answer that one with a question of my own:

Q: Why did the chicken cross the road halfway?

A: She wanted to lay it on the line.

(Told you she was cheeky.)Fly Away Peta_200x300_dpi72

About you …

Your turning point: when was that point in your life that you realized that being an author was no longer going to be just a dream but a reality and a career?

When I got the email from Eternal Press to say Fly Away Peta had been accepted for publishing. I remember thinking wow! I CAN write and someone actually wants to publish it! It was like opening the floodgates…

(And Harlequin Escape has just opened another gate in the dam wall!)

What is the hardest part of writing for you?

Juggling work, family and writing time. I’ll get on a roll with a story and won’t want to stop. Lucky I have a hubby who loves to cook otherwise we’d eat Vegemite sandwiches every night.

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

I had to ask hubby for the answer to this question. His answer was: Don’t Burn the Dinner, Honey!

(Your hubby is a gorgeous man in so many ways.)

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

Q: Who will be playing Jamie Caruso in the movie?

A: Hugh Jackman…and I’ll be directing 🙂

(Saw a rather lovely casting couch on eBay the other day!)

Fun stuff …

What does your protagonist think about you? Would he or she want to hang out with you, the author, his/her creator.

Oh, I think we could have a lot of fun together. We often share the same sense of humour or likes and dislikes. We definitely share the same attitude! She doesn’t have a choice really…I’m in her head 🙂

If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional, with whom would it be?

I’m happy with where I’m at right now having fun, making my dreams come true.

(And with a dinner-cooking hubby who wouldn’t be!)

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

I’d drag out the Singstar from under the bed and karaoke for you. Did you bring your earplugs?

(Ha! Read my ‘About’ page and hand me that hairbrush!)

What food would you be?

Now there’s a tough one! Well, I was going to say Tipsy Tart but I’m really more of a crispy roast potato – crunchy on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside.

(A Tipsy Tart reminds me of that conference, Juanita 😉

What was the best thing before sliced bread?

My aunt’s farm coffee: freshly ground, brewed in an old-fashioned coffee pot on the stove and strained through a cloth filter. It put hair on your teeth and warmed your belly after a cold swim in the dam.

Name 5 uses for a stapler that has no staple pins.

Oooohh! Um…(counting off on fingers)

  1. A hammer to knock pins into my cork board?
  2. Use it like a meat mallet to tenderize steaks?
  3. A cockroach squisher! Eww…that awful crunchy noise they make when you flatten them.
  4. Ah! A missile to launch up at the pantry shelf where I’ve hidden my chocolates to knock them off. Not if I’ve been squishing cockroaches with it, though.
  5. Maybe I should go over to Big W and buy some staples for it… 🙂

How weird are you? Rate yourself on a scale of 1 (not) to 10 (very).

11

Blurb and Giveaway for Fly Away Peta

The time has come to face her worst fear and the clock is ticking…

Peta Johnson will go to extreme lengths to protect her daughter Bella. When Bella is kidnapped, the search for her takes Peta back to the small Australian country town of Williams, a place she’d vowed never to return to. The town where her dreams were shattered and her nightmare began. Back to the place she’d been destined to meet two very powerful, yet very different men. One would break her heart, the other would destroy her soul. Both would change her life forever.

The search for Bella brings them together. Secrets and lies keep them apart. Can Jamie and Peta renew their love in the face of danger or will he let her fly away again?

For more on Juanita and her very busy writing life.

Website: http://www.kees2create.com.au

Eternal Press: http://www.eternalpress.biz/book.php?isbn=9781615727087

Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=fly+Away+Peta

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Juanita-Kees-Author-Page/119574648138202

 

I asked Juanita if she wanted to do a giveaway…

Yes! I love giving things away…anyone want a husband and two kids? They’re house-trained. No…no takers? Darn!

Okay, one lucky commenter will go into the draw to win a signed copy of Fly Away Peta. All you have to do is tell me what you’d use a stapleless stapler for, or simply leave a comment.

Thank you for a wonderful interview. What fun questions. Another Fluffy Duck, Jenn?

(I thought you’d never ask! You husband doubles beautifully as a cabana boy too. Cheers!)

The winning comment will be announced here next Wednesday 16 January 2013 and by email.

WINNER: Whoops! A bit late – sorry. the winner is Tina Marie Clarke. Thank you coming home to the country and meeting Juanita on Author Harvest.