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Bar Yarns with Author ~ Anna Romer

Beer Yarns and beer Nuts welcomes Kim KellyI recently had the pleasure of speaking at Anna Romer’s book launch in Boonah (QLD) – the setting for her fictional town of Magpie Creek. Her debut novel is AMAZING! No wonder the Get Reading people included it in the 2013 50 Books You Can’t Put Down. It’s true!

anna romer (1)G’day Anna, come on in. Grab a pew. What can I get you to go with your beer nuts? (Shandy? Wine Spritzer? Pink Lemonade?)

Thanks Jenn, that pink lemonade sounds rather good.

 

Here’s a beer coaster, Anna. Would you mind jotting down the blurb for your book – Thornwood House – on the back?

When Audrey Kepler inherits an abandoned homestead in rural Queensland, she jumps at the chance to escape her loveless existence in the city and make a fresh start. In a dusty back room of the old house, she discovers the crumbling photo of a handsome World War Two medic – Samuel Riordan, the homestead’s former occupant – and soon finds herself becoming obsessed with him.

But as Audrey digs deeper into Samuel’s story, she thornwood_housediscovers he was accused of bashing to death a young woman on his return from the war in 1946. When she learns about other unexplained deaths in recent years – one of them a young woman with injuries echoing those of the first victim – she begins to suspect that the killer is still very much alive. And now Audrey, thanks to her need to uncover the past, has provided him with good reason to want to kill again.

Have you heard a good pub joke lately?

I know a fantastic joke but I need a piece of paper and a pencil to tell it! And the punch line is a cracker!!! Oh well. . .

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

In Spain they serve ‘caracoles’- tiny snails in their shells cooked in garlic and served by the handful – often just thrown onto the wooden tabletop, they go down a treat with ice cold Estrella Dorada (or even a feisty local beer). . .and since I’m partial to gastropods in general, I’d have to be a garlic ‘caracole’.

Ahh, that hit the spot. Let me slip a drink coaster under your glass while you tell us if you are a messy desker or tidy desker? (1 = “I am a neat nut case” and 10 = “What desk? Where? Is there a desk here somewhere?”)

I like everything in its place – a ‘2’. . . although midway through a project I tend to vanish under a pile of books and papers, only surfacing at intervals to go in search of my teapot.

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

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

Which do you choose?

I was a teen John Denver fan!!! Let me at ’em! “Drivin’ down the road I get a feeling’ that I should have been home yesterday, yesterdaaaaaay. . .’

Hmm, maybe stick to writing, Anna. 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.

  • ‘Super Massive Black Hole’ – Muse
  • ‘Lady Marmalade’ – LaBelle’s great classic
  • ‘Can You Get to That’ – Funkadelic  (Awesome!)

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

The girl in the corner is wearing granny undies and the elastic broke so she had to staple the waistband. . .?

(Thanks for the tip!)

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 hatchback, ‘the Crow’
  2. The bush (to run off into)
  3. My red kelpie Poppy (grrrrreat name, grrrrreat dog!)

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

8 (the number of infinity!)thornwood_house

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.

  • Webpage:   www.annaromer.com.au
  • About the book:  www.thornwoodhouse.com.au
  • Facebook:   AnnaRomerAuthor
  • Publisher:   Simon & Schuster (Aust) Publishers
  • Also check out:  Get Reading 2013 for Thornwood House

If you enjoyed this Bar Yarn, there are lots more to come. So you never miss a post, why not whack your email in the TELL ME! box above.

Just wait until you see who’s dropping by for a Bar Yarn next. Prepare to giggle.

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Bar Yarns w/ Gracie Macgregor & ‘Hearts on Hold’ Giveaway

Gracie Ed (2) I met Gracie at her Calypso Bar. Now here she is at Calingarry Crossing pub having a bar yarn and a …. warmed olive? Oh well … Find out about the Calypso Bar below, along with details of how to WIN a copy of Gracie’s novel Hearts on Hold.

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

I have recently discovered this amazing Swedish strawberry and lime cider: it’s the very essence of harvest time! Tall glass, lots of ice, please!

Okay, well, here’s a beer coaster. How about a beer coaster blurb for Hearts on Hold?

The strongest sunshine casts the darkest shadows…HOH

Cate Boyd is searching for a place where nobody knows her name. The sleepy Maltese village of Xlendi offers privacy, anonymity, and the serene life she craves, far from her former world. But her peace is shattered when monolithic development company Vena announces its plans to level her village, and threatens to expose Cate’s secrets if she stands in its way. The arrival of seductive, nosy professor Brandon Blackshaw seems too coincidental for comfort — especially when she discovers that Vena is his research partner. As the pressure mounts, Cate must decide which is more important: her hard-won privacy, or the future of her beloved Xlendi.

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

A footballer walks into a bar. You’d have thought he’d have seen it.

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

Sadly, I can’t “do” nuts, or I end up doing a run to the nearest hospital. It gets pretty ugly. Instead, I’ll be perfectly content with a lovely bowl of mixed olives – warmed, if you wouldn’t mind. I don’t want much, do I?!

Ahh, that beer hit the spot. Let me slip a drink coaster under your glass while you tell us: are you a messy desker or tidy desker? (NB: 1 = “I am a neat nut case” and 10 = “What desk? Where? Is there a desk here somewhere?”) Are you game to post a working space picture right now?

Gracie's DeskSure. Happy to post a picture of my desk. It’s not where I work, though, because it’s got a bit of other stuff on it at the moment. I wouldn’t necessarily call it messy. “Messy” seems like such a pejorative term. I think my desk is… industrious. Really? You’re really going to make me rate it? Ok. I’m a 1. Just not where my desk is concerned.

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?

Can I have the drinks before I have to sing for my supper? John Denver all the way, baby. Why should my poor little Mazda be the only one to suffer?

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. (FYI- Links to You Tube clip)

  1. Merry Clayton’s “Yes” from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack:
  2. The Finns’ “Anything Can Happen”
  3. Wendy Matthews’ “If Only I Could”

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

It doesn’t matter. The author’s going to have the best story about what happened next.

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

Keeping a tight grip on its (bank)notes?

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. Choc-coated coffee beans. They’re sometimes the only things that keep me sitting at the space-which-is-not-my-desk pounding on my keyboard. Until I have to      get up to refill the bowl. Then all procrastination bets are off.
  2. My iPad. I do not like Macs as a rule (heresy, I know), but I do love my iPad.
  3. My gorgeous teenaged son. I’ve left him until last in the list just so he doesn’t get too embarrassed. Or too full of himself. He’s already far too confident in his ability to get me to do pretty much whatever he wants!

Shhh! The last race of the day is on the TAB screen and I reckon I’ve picked a winner. I browse the race guide with the jockey colours influencing my bet. When browsing a bookshop, what influences you? (Order this list: Author. Cover design. Title. Tagline/blurb. First chapter. Last page!)

  1. Author
  2. Author
  3. Author
  4. Tagline/blurb
  5. Tagline/blurb
  6. Author. I have no memory for titles, I rarely notice covers and I NEVER read first or last pages before I can sit down and read the book from go-to-whoa.

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

Your lucky number is: 7. No, 8! No! 3! Sorry, I’m not being greedy. I used to be indecisive but now I’m not so sure.

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.

Jenn, thanks for asking, and thanks for inviting me along to the harvest, I’ve had terrific fun!

Readers can find me in these places:

Website & The Calypso Bar!:  www.graciemacgregor.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GracieMacgregorAuthor

Twitter: @graciewrites

Escape Publishing: http://www.escapepublishing.com.au/product/9780857990594

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/GracieMacgregor

BOOK GIVEAWAY TIME!

Jenn, I’d love to give away a copy of “Hearts on Hold” (epub format or PDF) to your choice of the best answer to this question:  One of the least-recognised benefits of choc-coated coffee beans is …

Okay folks, over to you. You have about two weeks. Gracie and i will still be in the bar so we may need a nudge!

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Author Bar Yarns w/ Juanita Kees (book giveaway)

Writer, editor and cleaning fairy! Juanita Kees is one of the nicest people I know (in this photo with the other nicest person I know). She is also a busy woman: novelist, editor, communications expert, cleaning fairy (according to her bio) and – obviously – pirate maiden! (Not sure what that’s about. Too much Pink Lemonade maybe?)Juanita Kees

Since you’re giving away a book, Juanita, come on in. Grab a pew. What can I get you and your nautical friend to go with your beer nuts? (Shandy? Wine Spritzer? Pink Lemonade?)

Oooh! Can we start with the Pink Lemonade and work our way through the list?

(Why, yes, Juanita, we can!)

Hey, did you hear the one about … Give us your best bar joke.

Well, I’d like to tell you the one about Mickey and Minnie but I’ll keep it clean…

Q: What comes with the new Divorced Barbie doll?

A: All Ken’s stuff.

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

I’m a bit of a nutter too but I guess I mostly resemble tapas – a little bit of this, a taste of that, can be served cold or hot *winks*

Ahh, that beer hit the spot. Let me slip a drink coaster under your glass while you tell us: are you a messy desker or tidy desker? ie 1 = “I am a neat nut case” and 10 = “What desk? Where? Is there a desk here somewhere?”

It can get messy in here, but mostly I’m a neat freak. If my desk is too cluttered I can’t think clearly and then my brain gets cluttered and it’s all downhill from there.

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?

Wash dishes?? Are you crazy, Jenn? Don’t answer that, it was rhetorical. Have you Fly Away Peta_mockup01seen me dance? No amount of alcohol would help my coordination, so I guess it would have to be John Denver. Bring your earplugs, I love Karaoke.

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 while we talk about your fun novel – Under The Hood.

  1. Macarena!! (because I’m uncoordinated)
  2. The chicken dance
  3. Walk like an Egyptian

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

The chicken of course! The author and the agent would be too busy talking contracts to notice. 🙂

There’s a stapler on the bar. Tell me what it’s doing there while I flick through your amazing blog.

To staple the contract the chicken just signed with the agent. Who could turn down a chicken who can survive crossing the road to a pub?

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 dog
  2. My books
  3. My laptop

Shhh! The last race of the day is on the TAB screen and I reckon I’ve picked a winner. I browse the race guide with the jockey colours influencing my bet. When browsing a bookshop, what influences you?

  1. Title
  2. Cover design
  3. Author
  4. Tag line/blurb
  5. First Chapter
  6. Last page

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

Your lucky number is: 7

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

Pop over and visit my website at http://www.juanitakees.com I’d love to see you there. Read all about my work in progress starring the hunky detective Mark Johnson where he continues to investigate the case he works on in Under the Hood. You’ll find him pretty hard to resist!

 

FLY AWAY PETA

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 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.

UNDER THE HOOD

When Scott Devin buys a struggling car dealership in a semi-rural area in Western Australia, the last person he expects to see in charge is a stilletto-wearing, mini-skirted foreperson. Exactly the distraction a struggling, male-dominated workshop doesn’t need! But there’s more to TJ Stevens than meets the eye.

 TJ Stevens has two major goals in life: to preserve her grandfather’s heritage and protect the program – and she’ll go to any lengths to do it. Scott Devin’s presence is a threat to everything she’s worked hard to achieve, so keeping him at arms-length shouldn’t be a problem…or would it?

On the Web:             http://www.juanitakees.com

Buy Links:      

Edible Delights

Under the Hood

Fly Away Peta

GIVEAWAY: Now closed. Juanita is giving away a signed print copy of Fly Away Peta to one lucky reader who can tell us what they like most about Romance novels.

You have two weeks (from post date). Comment away to win Fly Away Peta. (It’s a great read.) Winner announced here. Oh Karen Stalker! Your name keeps popping up. You are the winner. Thank you everyone for joining Juanita and me. Cheers!

There are some amazing authors dropping into the pub for a yarn over coming months. Make sure you don’t miss a post. Subscribe/Follow these posts.