“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
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 …
A: 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.
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.
- I’ve been getting into a 1920s theme with the book I’m writing so Ain’t Misbehavin’
- Dancing Queen – Abba
- 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?
- My laptop (self explanatory)
- My kids and hubby (also self explanatory)
- 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 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 follow her on Facebook.
It’s great to be taking part in this blog hop on The Writing Process in which different writers answer the same questions about their writing process.
Helene Young
Zena Shapter