Spending summer down under with Liane Moriarty...plus a book giveaway

The weather here in Chi-town has been unusually chilly this summer.  Since I prefer cooler temps for running, this hasn't been a problem for me. However, not everyone shares my love of summertime highs in the high 60s/low 70s.

Though the US, along with other countries around the globe, is currently experiencing summertime, today's CLC guest is in the middle of a rather cold winter.  That's right, author Liane Moriarty lives in Australia, but that's not stopping her from celebrating the summertime season with us.

Liane hasn't always been a full-time writer.  She's had a variety of careers including a stint in marketing and advertising.  Liane is now a full-time author.  In addition to writing a children's series, she has written six novels.  One of those novels is the soon to be released, Big Little Lies. Thanks to Putnam (Penguin), we have FIVE copies for some lucky US readers!

So please join me in giving Liane a warm CLC welcome!

What makes summertime in Australia unique and special?
(First let me say I forgive you for making me think about summer when it’s FREEZING here in Sydney.) I decided to outsource this question, as I think only an outsider can say what’s unique about Australian summers, so I asked some expat friends from the UK. They rhapsodized for ten minutes straight about the beauty and wonder of our long Australian summers. “You Australians do everything outdoors in summer,” they said. “It’s such an outdoor lifestyle!” I felt proud as if I was personally responsible for our outdoor lifestyle (even though my husband has been known to say, “Put down that book and come outside!”). Then my friends began to chuckle at the elaborateness of our BBQs and picnics: the food, the equipment, the tablecloths, and I still felt proud but kind of embarrassed about the tablecloths.

Which book do you feel best embodies summertime?
The first book that came to mind was an Australian classic I read as a child called Ash Road by Ivan Southall. It was written in 1966, the year I was born, and it’s about a group of children who accidentally start a bushfire. I don’t remember much about the story except that it was completely gripping and terrifying and just thinking of it makes me smell summer in Australia.

The one thing I do during the summertime that I don’t do any other time of the year is:
Allow my morning-person husband to drag me and the children out of our beds early on a Sunday morning for a trip to the beach. “You’ll thank me!” he says, chirpily, annoyingly, but he’s right, it’s always worth it.

My favorite summertime guilty pleasure is:
The second almond croissant for breakfast on the beach. (I don’t feel guilty about the first one. I had to get up so early for it!)

I know it’s summertime when:
I can’t touch the steering wheel in my car because it’s so hot.

Favorite summertime food:
Mangoes



Thanks to Liane for visiting with us and to Putnam for sharing her book with our readers.

~Introduction and interview by Tracey Meyers.

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


US only. Giveaway ends July 29th at midnight EST.