Deborah O'Brien Writer

Writing and Art

‘Florals in Terracotta Urn’ Acrylic gouache and impasto on canvas Deborah O’Brien (2001)

I’ve never been sure whether I’m an artist who also writes, or a writer who happens to paint. I’ve done both for as long as I can remember, probably from the time I could hold a pencil in my hand.

Read more at the Australian Rural Romance website

Another Bookish Trivia Quiz

TTM Book image

By popular demand, I've devised another trivia quiz for those who love literary minutiae.

Answers at the end.

1. Which novelist, born in 1828, wrote this famous first line?
“Happy families are all alike: every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
And can you name the novel?

2. Which of the following fictional detectives was not created by an Australian author?

A) Phryne Fisher

B) Jack Spratt

C) Cliff Hardy

D) Jack Irish

3. 'Tomorrow is Another Day' was one of the early, abandoned titles of which bestselling novel published in 1936?

4. This Australian novel was written in 1977 and made into a mini-series in 1982. It’s said to be one of the top 50 bestselling novels of all time. What is its title?

5. ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.’
This is the first line of which novel by Charles Dickens?

6. Nick Carraway is the narrator of which iconic American novel?

7. Which novelist, born Mary Ann Evans, said: ‘It’s never too late to be what you might have been’?

8. Before they became novelists, which career did the following authors have in common?
Marcus Clarke, Michael Robotham, Geraldine Brooks, Susan Duncan

9. Which of these houses does not appear in a Jane Austen novel?

A) Thrushcross Grange

B) Netherfield

C) Donwell Abbey

D) Pemberley

10. 'Schindler's List' is the film made by Steven Spielberg from Thomas Keneally’s Booker Prize-winning novel. But what is the title of the book?

11. Name the classic Ray Bradbury novel about the burning of books, which was made into a film by François Truffaut in 1966.

12.Which of these fictional detectives was created by novelist Peter Robinson?

A) DCI Jane Tennison

B) DCI John Barnaby

C) DCI Alan Banks

D) DCS Christopher Foyle

ANSWERS

1.Leo Tolstoy, 'Anna Karenina

2. B) Jack Spratt created by Jasper Fforde

3. 'Gone with the Wind

4. 'The Thorn Birds'

5. 'A Tale of Two Cities'

6. 'The Great Gatsby'

7. George Eliot

8. Journalism

9. A) Thrushcross Grange, the home of the Lintons, from 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Brontё

10. 'Schindler's Ark'

11. 'Fahrenheit 451'

12. C) DCI Alan Banks

Deborah O’Brien
First written for Random House website June 2015

'The Trivia Man' Blog Tour

Kirsty People 420

While I was off doing book talks, Kevin Dwyer, my Trivia Man, was away on his own trip - a blog tour visiting nine different websites!

Many thanks to the following book bloggers who invited Kevin into their respective domains.

You can read each of the reviews by clicking on the link.

June 8 Annie Seaton Romance

June 9: Duffy the Writer blog

June 11: Araneus 1 - Terry R. Barca

June 12: Sweet Little Pretties

June 14: J. F. Gibson

June 16: Starts at 60

June 17: The Bookshelf Gargoyle

June 20: Booklover Book Reviews

June 22: Luvz Alkemy

And here's my interview with J.F. Gibson about my relationship with Kevin Dwyer and my own connection with trivia and quizzes, plus some practical tips for aspiring writers.

Launching ‘The Trivia Man’

Meet The Trivia Man 420

What a great time we had yesterday launching ‘The Trivia Man’ at Hurstville City Library. Thank you to everyone who attended, and special thanks to those who sent or brought flowers. A big thank you to the lovely Sue, head of adult collections at the library, and events coordinator Julieanne for their hospitality and all the work that went into organising things, including the yummy morning tea. I’m also grateful to the delightful Janet Grundy, who has supplied and sold books so graciously at all three of my Hurstville events.

Launch crowd big cropped

Mary Anne and Johns flowers cropped

On the eve of the Queen’s Birthday long weekend and amid an outbreak of flu that has hit so many people, it was wonderful to see such a big crowd. I was thrilled to catch up with singer, songwriter and life coach, Lindsay Drummond, whom I first met when she performed a song she had written about Rose Scott at the eponymous Women Writers’ Festival last year. Lindsay came all the way from the Southern Highlands and here’s a quirky coincidence for you - she’s a much-in-demand trivia host in the Goulburn area. It was also great to catch up with some colleagues from Sydney Tech High where I taught many years ago. And some of my lovely painting friends were present too (below).

Painting friends cropped

In my talk I discussed the inspirations for ‘The Trivia Man’, my dalliance with Kevin Dwyer which turned into a long-term relationship (four and a half years and counting) and my own connection with trivia and quizzes. I also threw in some trivia questions, all deftly answered by the audience. They, in turn, posed some interesting questions of me – What is it about this fascination our society seems to have with trivia? Is Kevin based on anyone you know? (Yes, me! Or at least, the nerdy quiz kid side of my personality.) Was it cathartic to write the story? And many more.

Tom Deb cropped 7171 Read about the rest of my book tour here.