by Lian Tanner
But how could she do those things without the raashk? How could she do them without the Wind’s Blessing?
The ghosts wandered away, weeping.
‘I will not weep,’ muttered Sooli, though her heart ached terribly. ‘I will never weep. One day soon I will escape from this place. I will track down the raashk and the Wind’s Blessing, and take them back. And whoever has stolen them will be very, very sorry …’
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Deep appreciation as always to the fine people at Allen & Unwin, who I swear have to be the nicest publishers in the world to work with. Particular thanks to Kate Whitfield, my keen-eyed editor, and Susannah Chambers, my publisher, who nudge me so gracefully towards the right decisions.
This is the first time I’ve worked with illustrator Sher Rill Ng, and I love the cover she has created. She has captured the characters beautifully, and Joanna Hunt made the final production spectacular.
The book wouldn’t be what it is without the talents of Peter Matheson, dramaturg extraordinaire. And my life and career wouldn’t be what they are without my excellent agent Margaret Connolly, who takes all the boring stuff off my shoulders and leaves me to get on with the writing.
Thanks to fellow author Michael Pryor for showing me his spectacular walking stick, which became the inspiration for Lord Rump’s cane.
And finally, this book came about in part because I read an article on food tasters in a magazine in a physiotherapist’s waiting room. So, many thanks to Sue, the receptionist who noticed my interest and said, ‘Why don’t you take that magazine home with you?’
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lian Tanner has been dynamited while scuba diving and arrested while busking. She once spent a week in the jungles of Papua New Guinea, hunting for a Japanese soldier left over from the Second World War. She likes secrets, old bones, and animals that are not what they seem. Nowadays she lives by the beach in southern Tasmania with a large fluffy tomcat called Harry-le-beau.
