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Tracks of my tears

The old salty (with the old salty hair-do) and me 1984!
The old salty (with the old salty hair-do) and me 1987!

There’s nothing too new in waving my parents off on holidays. (Dad calls it “spending the kids’ inheritance”.) Mum and Dad are no strangers to travel, be it the European vacation or sailing the high seas P&O style. A few years back they’d had to cancel a cruise—their twelfth, to the magnificent Milford Sound in New Zealand—when mum fell ill. But the plan always was to make #12.

My Dad is an old salty from way back. He loves his boats, even building one, christening it Steel-Aweigh; we had so much fun as kids in boats of all sizes. No doubt Dad was glued to the TV today to watch the Naval Fleet Review (while I navel gazed over a plot hole in book 3!)

This Monday, as the journey begins by plane from Coffs Harbour, Dad will get to taste that salty air one more time.

And I’m tasting salt right now.

Salt from my tears.

You see, Dad will be alone this time. Mum, who some of you will know passed away in March this year, just missing out on the release of House for all Seasons, will now only ever be with him in spirit (and in the picture frame he has packed in his suitcase!!).

Bon voyage Dad. Safe travels. See you soon. (No doubt with a million bloody out-of-frame, out-of-focus, a-novella-attached-to-each-one photographs that we can all look at over and over and over!) Oh, and I intend tracking him on the P&O Sea Princess Cruise Cam incase he decides to do a I’M KING OF THE WOOOOOOOOOOOORLD!

This post is very timely as I have just written the dedication for my next book (out end March). Simmering Season will be dedicated to Dad, my moral compass who let me travel my own path through life–loving me no matter how I strayed, letting make my own choices–even when he didn’t understand.

This theme will feature throughout Simmering Season. I can’t wait to bring the story to you.

Speaking of photos…. A few from the old album to bore you with. (Yes, I take after my dad!)

Beauties onboard! Me at the helm (pity help us all!)
Beauties onboard! Me at the helm (pity help us all!)

 

More onboard fun.
More onboard fun.
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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.

 

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Imagine – House for all Seasons on the big screen!

movie dealWhat author doesn’t dream about having their novel made into a movie or an Australian mini-series?

I never considered this a possibility for House for all Seasons. I mean, why would they bother? We all know the ending – right? The ‘twist in the tale’ that people have been raving about is, well, it’s out there… Well before the first scene has been shot the cat is out of the proverbial bag and the horse has well and truly bolted.

It appears that knowing the ending of the story is not the death knell for a Hollywood blockbuster.

Case in point: Ryan Gosling (hubba, hubba) is tipped to play the lead character in the movie adaptation of M. L. Steadman’s The Light Between Oceans. Do we not know how that story ends? What would makes us want to spend money at the box office to see the film when we all know we are going to ball our eyes out as the credits roll?

Is it a Kleenex conspiracy perhaps?

No, it’s because we want to see characters we’ve fallen in love with, cried with, hoped for, laughed with come to life. It’s the characters. We want to fall in love all over again.

I’ve been discounting the movie dream all this time because I figured while Calingarry Crossing is a town keeping big secrets, the secrets in House for all Seasons are out. But if it’s about falling in love with the characters then I reckon my girls would be brilliant on the big screen.

What do you think? If you have a favourite character and an actress in mind to play her, let me know and I’ll pass it on. 😉

Ahhhh! Time to reignite the movie deal dream, perhaps.

Read more at Booktopia: http://blog.booktopia.com.au/2013/09/04/ryan-gosling-to-star-in-adaptation-of-the-light-between-oceans/