Lian Tanner's Blog, page 20

Submarines (and more about the chooks)

Some of you may know that parts of the second book in the Hidden series, Sunker’s Deep, are set on a tiny submersible called Claw. So a big part of writing it has been research, because I know Nothing At All about submarines and submersibles. Well – I didn’t when I started. Now I know...

Beaconsfield festival and more on Sunker’s Deep

Last weekend I went up to Beaconsfield in northern Tasmania for the first Beaconsfield Festival of Golden Words. The name comes from the fact that Beaconsfield used to be a gold mining town – well, still is, though the mine is closed at the moment. The town is where two miners (Brant Webb and Todd...

Holidays, Aurealis and Chook Report Cards

Well, I’m on holiday. I handed in the revisions for Sunker’s Deep a week ago, and decided to take two weeks off before I started in on Book 3, which has a working title of Fetcher. So last week I – um – pottered. That’s what I do on holidays. I don’t particularly like going...

Bookplates for the Hidden series

I’m in the process of getting some new bookplates made for the new series. I love the Keepers bookplates (and if you don’t have at least one yet, go here to see what they’re like and order them), but I also thought it’d be good to have ones with Mister Smoke and Missus Slink on...

New year, new chooks

My niece Megan came to stay the other night, on her way down to Bruny Island to visit her sister. While she was here, we got out the photos of me and my brothers when we were kids, and laughed at the bathers we used to wear, and how my father used to line us...

Merry Christmas!

I’ve been a bit lazy about updating this blog recently – partly because I haven’t had anything to say, which is as good a reason as any for keeping my mouth shut. Also, after the great excitement of the release and launch of Ice Breaker, I needed to hide for a bit. But now I...

A title for Book 2

After lots of to-ing and fro-ing and yes-ing and no-ing, we at last have a title for the second book in the Hidden series. SUNKER’S DEEP. What do you think? I liked it as soon as I saw it, and I like it more and more as time goes on. And it’s HUGE relief to...

The Hobart launch of ‘Ice Breaker’

What you need for a good book launch is a group of extraordinary people – creative, hard-working and clever. (It helps if they have theatrical experience.) And that’s what I had. An hour before the launch started, the Founders Room was bustling with people building icebergs out of cardboard boxes and white plastic, other people...

It’s ‘Ice Breaker’ publication day!

Yes, my dears, ‘Ice Breaker’ is now officially in the shops – in Australia and New Zealand, at least. Which is pretty exciting. Have you seen it anywhere? Have you read it yet? If you have, come and tell us what you thought. Here’s what Elena said about it (she’s one of the girls who...

Three weeks to go!

I’m getting nervous. And excited. Two really good things happened this week. Firstly, my author copies of Ice Breaker arrived – and they look beeeauuuutiful! Such a gorgeous cover (I may have said this before )! It’s always so exciting when a new book arrives. I spent an afternoon driving around Hobart handing out copies...