Tag: Escape Publishing

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Author Bar Yarns w/ Fiona Palmer

Fiona PalmerLook who I’ve RECRUITED!

Fiona Palmer has proven she’s a most versatile author with her first young adult novel quite a change from her highly-acclaimed rural romances, but from early reviews just as fabulous.

First, Fee, here is a beer coaster! Take a minute to jot down the blurb for your new book – The Recruit.

Jasmine Thomas is your normal seventeen-year-old girl. She dislikes the rich mean kids at her school but loves her two best friends, computer savvy Anna and popular, gorgeous Taylor. Her spare time is spent at The Ring, a boxing gym where she practically grew up learning karate, boxing and street fighting. So, yeah, she can kick some major butt.

Life seems pretty normal until Ryan Fletcher enters her gym. Mysterious, hot and plenty of bad boy charm. But she is not prepared for what she finds out about him and before too long she’s drawn into his adult world of secrets and lies. Just how far is she willing to go? And could this be the life fulfilling path she’d dreamed of?

(This is the first in the MTG Agencies series.)

Okay, well, don’t hold back. Come on in. Grab a pw. What can I get you to go The Recruit by Fiona Palmerwith your beer nuts? (Shandy? Wine Spritzer? Pink Lemonade?)

A bourbon and coke would be lovely thanks Jenn. Or a Lemon, Lime and Bitters if its before midday lol.

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

What is the difference between snot and broccoli….kids don’t eat broccoli. And oldie, one we always told as kids.

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

I love those BBQ noodles you get in the mix with nuts. Love the crunch.

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? (NB: 1 = “I am a neat nut case” and 10 = “What desk? Where? Is there a desk here somewhere?”) 

It’s around a four to five, I reckon. While sometimes when I’m writing it can go right up to an 8.

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?

Dishes for sure. Something I know I can do well lol

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. Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen
  2. In a pub, you must have some Jimmy Barnes!
  3. And if we were going to do some dancing, a boppy Katy Perry song.

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

This is like one of those maths questions or a really bad joke, neither which I’m good at.

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

Cracking nuts. (Maybe the barman lost his nut cracker??)

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 family!
  2. My fur family.
  3. My car.

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

73. It was my granddads racing number; my dad’s and also mine. I like to think its lucky.

Then I hope we can expect 73 great stories from you! Thank you for dropping by Calingarry Crossing pub, Fiona and congratulations on your continuing success.

Connect with Fiona Palmer and check out the trailer on her website and buy her book using these links:

https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/the-recruit/id852047890?mt=11

http://www.booktopia.com.au/ebooks/the-recruit-fiona-palmer/prod9780857991577.html

http://www.amazon.com.au/The-Recruit-Fiona-Palmer-ebook/dp/B00JD7EYTO

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Bar Yarns w/ author – Juliet Madison (giveaway)

Juliet MadisonIt’s the new year and I’m having a beer and a yarn with friend and author, Juliet Madison, who is getting exactly what she wished for – writing and publishing her magical stories.

First, Juliet, here is a beer coaster! Take a minute to jot down the blurb for your book.

THE JANUARY WISH:

When Dr Sylvia Greene makes an impromptu wish at the Tarrin’s Bay Wishing Festival, it’s the most out of character action she can think of. Hers is not a life of wishes. Hers is a controlled life of order, plans and preparation…of science and research and
diagnosis and treatment. But her past has been weighing on her mind, and decisions made long ago have far-reaching consequences.

A week later, the daughter she secretly gave up for adoption at sixteen arrives in Sylvia’s small coastal town with secrets that can’t be shared. Between feelings of guilt, gossip, and a growing attraction to an emotionally unavailable colleague, Sylvia’s well-ordered life 

TheJanuaryWishcoveris soon thrown into chaos. She is no longer alone, and for the first time she feels as if her world is open to possibilities.

They say be careful what you wish for, but, for Sylvia, the unexpected consequences may be just what the doctor ordered. 

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

Oooh let’s be girly and go for pink lemonade!

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

I’ll say a plate of various dips and crackers, to represent my versatility as I write in a few different genres 😉

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? (NB: 1 = “I am a neat nut case” and 10 = “What desk? Where? Is there a desk here somewhere?”)

A 9: I prefer to think of it as untidily organised. And anyway, I read some research that said people with messy desks are more creative, so I’m doing it on purpose 😉

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: Gangnam Style hands down. Washing dishes? No thanks!

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. Bon Jovi’s Livin’ on a Prayer
  2. The Time of My Life by, um, those two people who sang it…*googles, then finds pictures of Dirty Dancing, gets distracted and forgets what I’m supposed to be googling for*
  3. Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal.

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

The author was stalking the agent and the chicken was concerned for the agent’s welfare so crossed the road and followed them to make sure everything was okay.

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

It’s for all those people who ate too many beer nuts and their pants ripped open so the stapler is to put their pants back together again. Quite resourceful of the pub to think of providing such a courtesy.

(Am starting to see a pattern develop in my Bar Yarns. Authors don’t sew!)

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. iPhone
  2. Family
  3. My imagination

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

Your lucky number is: 4 (Did I win?)

(YES! You just won $1 million fictional dollars because everyone’s a winner in a fictional pub, Juliet!)

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.

– Visit Juliet online at her website, blog, facebook, Goodreads, and twitter.

– Buy THE JANUARY WISH from all good ebook retailers:

Amazon – Amazon UK – Amazon Aus – iTunes/iBookstore – Kobo – B&N/Nook – GooglePlay – BigW ebooks – Booktopia – JB HiFi – ebooks.com – All Romance ebooks

– WIN STUFF! Throughout the month of January, Juliet is running a giveaway for a $25 Amazon gift card and a beautiful coastal photographic print (see photo). All you have to do is enter via Juliet’s Rafflecopter form here: Rafflecopter giveaway

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 here. Simmering 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.

Happy New Year everyone!

 

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Bar Yarns w/ Author – Nora James

Nora James

I asked Nora James to drop into Calingarry Crossing pub for a bitova yarn because I was both captivated and intrigued by her new release’s cover and title – Dark Oil. (Isn’t it a great cover? Look at those eyes.)

So, first up, Nora, here’s a beer coaster. Take a minute to jot down the blurb for your book.

 In DARK OIL  lawyer Lara Beckham is sent to Africa to save her company’s multi-million dollar investment and she’s devastated at leaving husband Tim behind. But what can she do? She’s needed on the other side of the world to fight corruption in a country of rolling sand dunes and roaming camels.

On her return, however, it becomes clear that Tim has had plenty of company while she was away. Now, on top of dealing with a complicated legal system, an African coup and a marriage beyond saving, Lara has one more ball to juggle: her effortlessly seductive co-worker, Jack Norton, is joining her on the job… and he oozes trouble.

Now, grab a pew. What can I get you to go with your beer nuts? (Shandy? Nora James coverWine Spritzer? Pink Lemonade?)

How about a Shandy-Wine Spritzer-Pink Lemonade cocktail?

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

A plate of Spanish tapas because life should be colourful, extraordinary and full of flavour.

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? (NB: 1 = “I am a neat nut case” and 10 = “What desk? Where? Is there a desk here somewhere?”)

Depending on the day I’d score a 1 or a 10. I tidy up on a regular basis and then, as I fall into the world of my story and my characters, my desk becomes a plane, a desert, a park in Paris in my mind, and so I take no notice of the accumulating mess. A few days later, perhaps because I finish a chapter or we are threatened with visitors, I come back to Earth and wonder what’s happened to my desk. I eventually find it somewhere under the research, the pile of books waiting to be read, notes to self, notes to others and more notes to self.

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?

Dance Gangnam Style to Take me Home Country Roads. It kinda goes together, the horsey movements and the song about the country, doesn’t it? I definitely wouldn’t do the dishes – I do enough of those at home.

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. Sweet Thing by Keith Urban ‘cause I like to imagine he’s talking about me.
  2. Whisper Your Name by Harry Connick Jr. I just love that voice.
  3. The Cold Mountain soundtrack. There’s nothing like a bit of banjo in a country pub.

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

Well, that’s easy. The chicken crossed the road first. The starving author spotted it and followed, hoping to catch lunch. The agent saw the author and thought “hey, that person’s going places. I’d better catch her before another agent does.”

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

It’s waiting for another stapler to be placed next to it. Not any other stapler, mind you. It’s waiting for The One. Because even staplers need love.

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 family (including my pets) for pretty obvious reasons.
  2. Food. You know how people sometimes say it’d be great to be able to take a pill and not worry about eating? For me that would be one of the worst forms of progress.
  3. Lip gloss or lip balm. I hate dry lips!

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

Your lucky number is: the winning number. It goes something like this:

–        Monday night:

“And the winner is… number 309.”

“What? That’s incredible! That’s my lucky number. I don’t know how I didn’t get it tonight.”

–        Tuesday night:

“And the winner is… number 15.”

“What? That’s incredible! Fifteen’s my lucky number. I don’t know how I didn’t get it tonight.”

–        Wednesday night:

You get the picture.

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.

You can find out more about me and Dark Oil at: www.norajames.com.au (Check out that fabulous review by top reviewer Jeannie Zelos while you’re there.)

Or find me on Escape Publishing’s website:

I’m also on Facebook

Thanks for dropping into Calingarry Crossing pub, Nora, and all the best with Dark Oil.

Beer Yarns and beer Nuts welcomes Kim KellyHope you enjoyed this Bar Yarn.