Only six weeks to go to the launch – and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery has agreed to lend us some penguins. Not real ones, unfortunately. Though I suppose things could get a bit out of hand if they were real. Loud squawking during the speeches. Feathers everywhere. Penguin poo on all the new books.

Hmm, maybe it’s just as well they’re fibreglass. 😉

We’re also suggesting that people might like to dress up as one of the ragged crew of the ancient icebreaker Oyster, or bring along a penguin of their own, stuffed, hand-drawn or painted, so we can decorate the icebergs. And yes, the icebergs we practised on last week (cardboard boxes and white plastic) turned out quite nicely. (They wouldn’t fool a real penguin, of course – so it’s DEFINITELY just as well they’re fibreglass.)

Meanwhile I’m still steaming along with Book 2 – and am now fairly confident that I’ll make the deadline on Nov 1st.  But I thought some of you might like to help me with something. You see, a lot of book 2 takes place underwater in a tiny submarine called Claw. And last week I was trying to think of good names for some of the underwater places that Claw goes to. This is what I came up with:

Eel Mount – a place with tasty eels but dangerous currents
Cutter Trough – deep and dark, full of strange creatures
The Murk – where the water is always cloudy/silty
The Great Puddle – very shallow and dangerous (particularly for subs)
Bounty Sides – a long shallow underwater slope that’s packed with cod and other tasty fish
The Falls – a dangerous place prone to underwater landslides

So – would you like to suggest some more places? There’s no prize, but if I like them, I MIGHT use them in the second book. All you really need to keep in mind is that the book is set in a coldish place (not as cold as Ice Breaker!) – a bit like the waters off Tasmania, or England – so there won’t be any coral reefs or other such tropical things.