Lian Tanner's Blog, page 5
September 13, 2019
Haunted Warriors giveaway!
So who’d like to win a copy of Haunted Warriors before it hits the shops? There are two copies up for grabs, and I’m opening this world-wide. You can leave a comment here, or head over to my author facebook page and leave a comment on the giveaway post there. Please make it clear that you’re entering the competition and not just saying hello!
The post Haunted Warriors giveaway! appeared first on Lian Tanner.
September 7, 2019
A new book in August 2020!
Five years ago, I bought three chooks, and named them Clara, Dolly and Floss (short for Florence). They were the sweetest creatures – unfortunately they weren’t very long-lived. Clara survived the longest – that’s her at the front, the one with the palest feathers. And now she is going to star in a new book, coming out in August 2020! Less than twelve months away!
It’s still middle grade – probably slightly younger than my trilogies – and it’s very different from anything I’ve written before, being more of a detective story than a fantasy. It’s probably the book that I’ve had the most fun writing, and I’m pretty sure it’ll be fun to read, too.
It doesn’t have a title yet – at least, not an official one – and I wasn’t at all sure if my publisher would like it, but she does. A lot. Here’s what she had to say about it:
“Clara might only be small and scruffy but her intelligence and resilience (especially in the face of her much pecked and picked on life), makes her a true champion. She’s brave and resourceful – wonderful qualities that make this story funny but also engaging at a very satisfying emotional level. In fact, I love the line that Lian is walking here – writing humour with heart – and it’s not just the humour and plot that work so well, but the rich subtext and characterisation that make this novel truly stand out.”
So, roll on August next year! I’ll keep you posted as I find out more.
In other news, the fascinating covers for the translations of Museum of Thieves keep coming. Here’s the Ukrainian one, which is wonderfully effective (and frightening). The Blessed Guardians look so dark and threatening, and Goldie is so small. But she’s got her aunt’s bluebird brooch, and hopefully she’ll find the courage she needs to get away.
P.S. I love how my name looks in Ukrainian.
The post A new book in August 2020! appeared first on Lian Tanner.
August 24, 2019
Harry does NOT like boarding school
I was in Sydney all last week, visiting schools for Book Week. When I go away, I usually leave Harry with a house sitter – or, if it’s just for a couple of days, my neighbours come in and feed him. But he’s been having a few health problems, so this time I decided to send him to boarding school (aka boarding kennels).
I knew he wouldn’t like it, but at least he’d be safe and well looked after.
I dropped him off on Sunday morning and flew to Sydney. By Wednesday I was missing him dreadfully, so I emailed the kennels to see if he’d settled in okay, and asked them to send me a photo. Chantelle answered my email. “Harry has settled in well,” she wrote. “He hasn’t been open to have a play with anyone else, but seems quite content to go outside and have a run on his own.”
A run? Harry?
She promised to send a photo later, so I waited impatiently – and this came through.
“Ahem,” I said. “That’s not my Harry. Mine is a cat, not a spaniel.”
She apologised, and got it right the second time. But look at him!
Poor wee boy, he really doesn’t like being away from home. When I picked him up on Saturday morning he prowled around the house staring suspiciously at everything, as if he was afraid that it might disappear again. Then he settled down on my lap and purred loudly. He has hardly let me out of his sight since.
I don’t think I can send him to boarding school again.
The post Harry does NOT like boarding school appeared first on Lian Tanner.
August 10, 2019
Ella and the Ocean is launched at last!
I was flicking through an old notebook from 1994 the day before yesterday, and found the very first note of the idea that eventually turned into my picture book, Ella and the Ocean. That’s 24 years ago! Some books take a very long time to cook.
The launch last Sunday was gorgeous, with friends, neighbours, relatives, and complete strangers helping us celebrate. Lyndon Riggall was a wonderfully warm-hearted MC;
Her Excellency the Governor, Kate Warner, launched Ella into the world with kindness and aplomb;
everyone got a boat stamp on their hand, and we ended with an enthusiastic hunt for paper boats by torchlight.
And now at last, after such a long journey, Ella is out in the world. You can buy her here, and find teachers’ notes here. If you see her somewhere, let me know!
The post Ella and the Ocean is launched at last! appeared first on Lian Tanner.
July 27, 2019
Pounce’s recipe for rat stew
When I go into schools, kids often ask me, ‘In your books, who is your favourite character?’ It’s an impossible question to answer, because I love them all, even the villains. Sometimes, especially the villains. But one of my longtime favourites is Pounce, who first appears in City of Lies (Keepers trilogy #1) and also plays a major part in Path of Beasts (Keepers trilogy #3).
Pounce is a street kid with a brutal history. He’s probably about thirteen or fourteen years old, and he trusts no one and cares for no one – except his much younger friend Mouse. And it’s this love for his friend that makes him such an important part of the story. He betrays people but he also saves them, almost despite himself.
When I was writing City of Lies, I came up with some bonus extras, and Pounce’s recipe for rat stew was one of them. It’s roughly based on the way young midshipmen in the British Navy used to catch and cook the ship’s rats when food was scarce. (Illustration by Melbourne artist Sebastian Ciaffaglione.)
‘What?’ said Pounce. ‘You ain’t never eaten rat stew? Well then, you got a treat comin’. Rats is not as sweet as rabbit, of course. But they is much better than cockroaches. The trick is to cook ’em right. ’Ere’s ’ow to do it.
‘First ya gotta catch yer rats. It ain’t easy, cos they is quick and clever, specially down ’ere in the sewers. But I got a special system, see, with a scrap of biscuit for bait, and a nice little noose. There’s times me and Mousie would’ve starved without that noose.
‘When you’ve caught two or three rats and killed ’em, ya gotta skin ’em and clean out their guts. Ya know ’ow to do that, don’t ya? Course ya do. Everyone knows that!
‘So once you’ve got ’em skinned and cleaned, ya cut ’em into bits and roll ’em in flour. Next ya need some bacon fat. Best place to find that is the rubbish bin out behind a butcher shop. Or sometimes ya can beg some from one of the street stalls.
‘If ya can’t find bacon fat, go down to the wharves and nick some of the slush that the sailors use to grease their masts. But don’t forget to pick the splinters out of it.
‘Now heat up the fat in a tin can over the fire. Chuck in some onion if you’ve got it. Drop in the bits of rat and stir ’em with a stick till they is nice and brown and crispy on the outside, and the smell is makin’ ya dribble.
‘Then chuck in a couple of carrots and some water – not too much! Stir it with yer stick until the water’s just bubblin’, then bang a lid on top of the tin, move it to the edge of the fire so it don’t boil too hard, and sit back with yer hands on yer belly like a fat old lord until the rats is cooked.
‘Then eat ’em. Yum.’
The post Pounce’s recipe for rat stew appeared first on Lian Tanner.
July 6, 2019
An invitation to the launch of Ella and the Ocean
where the earth was as dry as old bones
and it hadn’t rained
for years
and years
and years.
It’s four weeks and a day until the release of ‘Ella and the Ocean’, my first picture book, and on Sunday August 4 at 10.30 am we’re having a launch to celebrate. If you’re in Hobart, come along to the Hobart Bookshop in Salamanca Place, where the governor, Kate Warner, will be doing the honours.
Small children are welcome, of course, and we’ll be having a paper boat hunt for their entertainment. 
Ella is gloriously illustrated by Jonathan Bentley. You can find more of his books here and here.
The post An invitation to the launch of Ella and the Ocean appeared first on Lian Tanner.
June 29, 2019
Icebreaker covers
I’m going down to Bruny Island for a couple of days, leaving later this morning, and while I’m there I’m going to visit the local primary school. It’s a very small school, and their senior class is currently reading Icebreaker – which information sent me looking up the original covers of the series, painted by Sebastian Ciaffaglione.
I still utterly love these covers.
They capture the characters so beautifully.
And they each have all sorts of interesting things happening in the background that you don’t notice until you look more closely.
The post Icebreaker covers appeared first on Lian Tanner.
June 22, 2019
When a manuscript starts to look like a book
The editing process for a novel is long and slow. But there are some really exciting moments in it, and one of the best is receiving First Pages from my editor.
This is where the book has been laid out in its final design. There are always a few things missing, like the acknowledgements page. And it’s not bound – it’s just a pile of loose pages held together with a rubber band and without a cover. But at last, after all the work and all the frustration and hair tearing, it looks like a real book.
So last week I received the First Pages for Secret Guardians, the third and last book in the Rogues trilogy. My job this week is to read through the story once again and see if I want to make any small changes. I’ll also get questions from the proofreader, so there will be a few things to sort out there.
But for now I’m just loving the way it looks, and being wildly impressed by how much a good designer contributes to a book.
The post When a manuscript starts to look like a book appeared first on Lian Tanner.
June 8, 2019
Why stories are so important #2
When I was eighteen, some friends and I went to the drive-in to watch the Steven Spielberg movie Duel. It was Spielberg’s second movie, so his name didn’t mean a lot at the time, especially to four blissfully ignorant young Tasmanians.
Duel is the story of a man on a business trip who is tormented and chased and threatened by an ancient truck. Really of course it’s the driver, but because you never see him the truck itself becomes the antagonist.
It was the perfect movie to watch at the drive-in – if you wanted to be frightened out of your wits. Which I was. It was the first and last time that I have ever voluntarily gone to see a horror movie.
When we read or watch or listen to a story, the same areas of our brain light up as if we were actually experiencing what’s happening. Scientists suggest that this is one of the reasons why stories became so important in the evolution of humans. They gave us the chance to imagine the future, to test out situations without having to put ourselves in them.
This was pretty important stuff in a dangerous prehistoric world.
But it continues to be important today, even for people whose surroundings aren’t so perilous. Stories scare us, they entertain us, and they bring us joy. But most of all, they open our minds and hearts to other possibilities.
“We are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories.” — Jonathan Gottschall, The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human
The post Why stories are so important #2 appeared first on Lian Tanner.
June 1, 2019
Books are fun
Back in 2010 I was invited to New Delhi to take part in the Bookaroo Festival of Children’s Literature. It took place over four or five days, and there were flags and banners, and people telling stories under trees, and busloads of excited kids.
There were authors from all over the world, most of them as excited as the children. And the organisers were passionate about literacy and passionate about books.
But the overall sense of the whole festival, as soon as you walked into the park, was ‘books are fun’. ‘Books are exciting.’ ‘Reading will take you to amazing places.’
Last Tuesday I visited a grade 5 class at Lauderdale primary, which is my local school. And I came away thinking about what my main aim is when I go into schools.
Just like the Bookaroo Festival, whether I’m giving an author talk or a workshop, my number one aim is for the kids to have fun. For them to experience the breathless delight of reading or listening to an exciting story, and the thrill of making their own.
My number two aim is to give them some writing skills – which also transfers into reading skills. But fun comes first.
The post Books are fun appeared first on Lian Tanner.
