Books and Yarns
Writing was probably the one thing that saved me from going off the rails.
I'd hit middle age and had over 200 jobs none of which had got me anywhere. Then one day I started to write stuff down and I not only enjoyed it, but it helped me make sense of a life full of misadventure and reckless behaviour. It gave me a direction, and over the years I've now sold thousands of books, not because I'm any good, but because everyone likes a good yarn, especially those ones where everything goes wrong no matter how hard you try, and it's always funny when it's someone else!
Anyway, I've got lots of those ones...
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Audiobook
The Good The Bad... and the Nomadic
Duration 5.5 Hours
Great Yarns in the life and times of a bloke that never quite settled down, slightly reckless and financially irresponsible, Phil O'Brien is a modern-day nomad. Enjoy the character's the misadventures and the laughs jam packed into a unique bunch of yarns.
Out Now!
A collection of the best yarns from Phil 'Brien's previous bestselling books ''101 Adventures that got me absolutely nowhere'' volume 1 and 2 , and ''The Minor successes of a Bloke that never had a real lot of luck''
A ''must have'' collection, one of the all time great books of raw Australiana. Very colourful and entertaining, a unique bunch of tales from the life and times of Outback Raconteur Phil O'Brien
E Book
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You can always find someone to have a Beer with
I didn't write that blurb just in case you think I'm blowing my own horn, I pinched it off the net...
Out Now!
Paperbacks
Sorry these books are out of print or temporarily out of stock, but they often come up on E Bay if you're interested, or maybe at your local library. But the above E Book and Audio Book contain a selection of the best yarns picked out from all my books seen below.
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Talking about Books
The Today Show channel 9
Rona's Roadshow
The humble Yarn
Back before TV or the Internet or even now in remote parts of Outback Australia where there's no reception the entertainment is the campfire. People sitting around at night telling yarns or maybe if there's a guitar around someone might bash out a tune. A bloke that tells a good yarn is like a rock star out bush and not only is a good yarn entertaining but it's a way of sharing news or events, similar to Google.
Terry Baldwin has me hanging on every word
Terry Baldwin is the perfect example of someone that can really tell a good yarn. In this interview he not only talks history of his early life, but he incorporates colourful yarns as well, so by the end of the story he's created a perfect window into those wild early days. This is a real skill and he had me hanging on every word. [From the documentary Places Pubs and People]
Big Roger cashed his chips in a while back but here's one of his best yarns that's destined to live on.
In the transport hall of fame now in Alice Springs, Roger was a really unique colourful Northern Territory character who'd give you the shirt off his back.
Hamish and Andy's True Story Series on Channel 9
Took a yarn from the campfire all the way to National TV, a great experience, and Hamish and Andy were top blokes.
A pretty dramatic yarn about my romantic interaction with a Kangaroo whilst drunk on the back of a speeding Toyota. Pretty horrific, it could have happened to anyone ... but it didn't.
As usual it had to happen to me !
From my audiobook 'The Good the Bad and the Nomadic'
Working at the V8 Supercars in Darwin as the roving reporter, unfortunately i didn't know anything about motorsports! Just talk about tyres they reckoned, before i could say i didn't know anything about the tyres the camera guy reckoned 'Action' and so here i am making up a story on the spot, just trying to sound professional, not sure if i fooled anyone!
Phil O'Brien, Jimmy Barnes and the croc that nearly killed the cameraman