Lian Tanner's Blog, page 19
August 4, 2014
The ‘Sunker’s Deep’ cover is here!
This is to keep you entertained while I ponder the competition entries. 
The cover for Book 2: Sunker’s Deep is here at last. What do you think?
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August 3, 2014
Only a few more hours to get your entry in …
The competition will be closing shortly, folks. Midnight tonight, I reckon is a good time. And I’m hoping to get at least ONE more entry by then. (Yes Io, I’m looking at you!)
I admit to being a bit disappointed at how few entries we got. However the small numbers have been made up for by the very excellent quality, so it’s not all bad. And it means that those who DID enter have more chance of winning a prize!
So, this week, along with pressing on with Book 3 (it’s going dreadfully slowly and I’m a bit worried about meeting my deadline) I shall sit down and go over the entries very very carefully. Then I’ll pick a winner or two. I’m thinking I might have one winner for people who’ve done a video, and another for people who’ve done a storyboard. Sound fair?
I reckon it’ll be next weekend before I put up the winners. So if you’ve entered, keep your fingers crossed (which might make writing difficult, but it’s in a good cause) and you might just be a winner!
July 19, 2014
Extension to competition deadline
I’ve decided to extend the deadline for the competition to Sunday August 3rd. So if you didn’t think you’d have enough time to enter, you’ve now got a couple more weeks.
We’ve had three entries so far, and the standard is high! It’s pretty exciting seeing what people are coming up with and wondering what else is going to arrive in my inbox. And then, of course, I have to judge them, which is the hardest part – for me, at least.
Meanwhile I’m working away at the first draft of Fetcher, trying to make sense of WHY people do the things they do. It’s not always straightforward – sometimes people say they’re doing something for a reason, but you know they’ve got another secret reason underneath. Aaah, secrets! That’s what this series is all about!
Not much news this week, so Harry has requested that I post some supermodel pictures of him from his most recent photo shoot. He claims that he was advertising bedding for a well-known department store – I’m not at all sure that he’s telling the truth! Judge for yourselves.
Oops! Tried to upload the pics and couldn’t. I’ve just had an upgrade on the technicals, so looks as if there’s a bit of a bug in it. I shall email my WordPress expert and see if he can fix it. Stay tuned – hopefully Harry’s photos will turn up some time during the week.
July 12, 2014
The public face of writing
An early start this morning, as I’m off to teach a workshop on ‘The public face of writing’. There was a time when authors sat at home and wrote, and when they finished their manuscript they sent it off to the publisher, and some time later the publisher sent them a royalty cheque. Oh, maybe they did an occasional reading, but nothing like what is expected these days.
And that’s a problem for many authors, because we tend to be a quiet breed. Not all of us, of course, but I’d guess that there are more introverts among the writer population than in the general population. A lot of us actually like sitting at home alone, with our stories running through our heads.
For me, it’s a bit of a mix. I love the solitude – just me, Harry and the chooks for days at a time – and find it hard to write without it. But at the same time it’s fun to do the occasional concert or school visit, just to remind myself that there are other humans in the world. And when it comes to public speaking, I have the perfect background – as a teacher and an actor. I remember when I was at uni, I was absolutely terrified of speaking in public – even in something not terribly public like a tutorial, my hands and my voice would tremble.
Ha! Three years of teaching knocked that out of me very effectively. And later, drama school and acting taught me all sorts of interesting skills that have come in handy. Hence today’s workshop. It’s the first time I’ve taught this topic, so have no idea how it will go.
The chooks have had an exciting week. Up until three days ago, they’ve been using two different nests, mainly because Floss is a contrary sort of bird and doesn’t like laying in the nest I provided. And Clara is heavily under Floss’s influence, so she followed along to the new nest which was in the middle of a bush (to make it harder for me to pinch their eggs). Dolly – loyal sensible Dolly – continues to lay in the original nest. Anyway, a few days ago, something attacked Clara and ate her egg. A cat? A rat? She was in an awful bother, and no wonder. The next night, the fake plastic egg disappeared too. Hopefully whoever pinched it will conclude that all future eggs will also be plastic and it’s not worth going after them. Meanwhile Clara has returned to the original nest.
Now off to make my porridge!
July 5, 2014
The first two entries!
We have had the first two entries for the competition! I’m amazed that Rose (11) and Racquel (14) got them in so quickly, but also very pleased, as I always have this niggling worry that maybe no one will enter, and I’ll be left clutching the prizes and looking around in a pathetic sort of way, saying, ‘Hello? Is anyone out there? Anyone?’
I originally said that I’d put up the entries as they came in, but I have decided that’s a bit unfair, because people who haven’t done theirs yet might get ideas from the people who have.
So you’re going to have to wait.
What else has been happening? Well, I was sick for a week – nothing serious, just a cold, but I lost my voice and sounded as if I was about 95, and I took the week off from writing to sit by the fire with Harry snoozing on my lap and a pile of books to read. Now I’m back at work (with a pile of handkerchiefs beside me), and the experimental draft of Fetcher has turned into the first draft – which means I’ve stopped flailing around and it’s starting to feel a bit more like a book. Lots of problems to solve still, and I still don’t know how it ends, which is a bit scary, but I’m feeling happier about it.
I’m putting aside a bit of time every day for drawing. When I was learning to write I did it every day, and it seems to make a huge difference. Not straight away, but in the long run, so I am trusting that my drawing will also improve if I just keep doing it. And besides, I’m really enjoying it. It’s a nice break from writing because it seems to use a different part of the brain (a bit like gardening).
Meanwhile the map for Book 2: Sunker’s Deep has received the Sebastian Ciaffaglione treatment and looks terrific. (I’m going to have to draw a map for Fetcher at some stage, but not yet.)
And I am in the middle of preparing a workshop for next Sunday, on the topic of ‘The public face of writing’. I rather like running workshops, but hate preparing them. This one is for the Tasmanian Writers’ Centre, and is to do with the fact that it is no longer enough to just write books – you now have to go out and talk to audiences about them. For many authors, this is a trial, as we tend to be an introverted bunch. I’m lucky, as my background in teaching and acting was perfect preparation for talking to large groups of people, but many authors have no idea where to start. Hence the workshop!
And the shortest day has been and gone, which means the days are getting longer (and colder), Harry is spending most of his time curled up on my bed, the bulbs are coming up in the garden, and the chooks aren’t laying quite as well. No sign of moulting yet, though.
I’m rambling on a bit. Better stop, so I can finish preparing the workshop.
