I 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!

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 discovers 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!)

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

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