Tanya Lisle

Creative on a health break

Category: General

  • Newsletter Ninja Review

    In my quest to do some personal and professional development this year, I’ve started looking into things like how to do more to treat writing and publishing like a business, and one of those things I need to work on is getting my newsletter ((Which you should definitely subscribe to! You’ll get a free book out of it right now!)) in order. Enter Newsletter Ninja by Tammi Labrecque.

    So I struggle a lot with my newsletter, as do a lot of other author folks I know. I don’t always know how to handle it, how I should think about it, and what exactly you do with it in general. This book was great to answer some of those questions that I’ve had.

    The book focuses a lot more on the philosophy of the mailing list. How to think of your list and your subscribers, and then taking that mindset and using it as a means of communication. It also gives a lot of interesting ideas for how to implement the ideas as well.

    Interestingly, it also uses some of the concepts in UX design ((I work as a programmer and UX dev, by the way)) like creating a specific user that you can then talk to, which I found particularly helpful to understand and, while it still hasn’t told me what I should be putting in the newsletter directly, it does help to guide what sort of content will go in there in the future.

    And, you know. Other super secret things. That you should subscribe to see.

    If you want to pick it up, Newsletter Ninja is on Amazon!

  • Dead Air is out!

    Dead Air is out now! Be sure to get your copy at your preferred ebook retailer or Amazon if you want paperback !

    Somehow, Harrison wasn’t dead. He wasn’t so sure about Max.

    Despite surviving his encounter with the newly reborn Luke, Harrison doesn’t have time to even process the loss of his boyfriend. The Harrish and Barrister Corporation, now under the control of the mysterious Doctor Gethen, has decided they must be brought back for further testing — permanently.  

    At least locked inside the walls of H&B, Harrison is safe from a resurrected Luke now hijacking Max’s body. Since coming back, Luke’s developed a desire to see Harrison dead, but there’s something  holding Luke back from finishing the job. It might be in his head, but Harrison swears he can still see just a glimmer of Max behind those eyes.

  • White Noise Infographic

    So apparently infographics are a thing! I’m currently working out how I can use them, and one of the first things I made was an infographic for White Noise. Enjoy!

  • More White Noise Trading Cards – Keepers Editions

    Since folks seemed to like the past bunch, here’s a few more trading cards I made! These are for the Keepers, all the ones who were from the first round of testing and have now been brought back to work for H&B.

  • White Noise Trading cards!

    I recently got it in my head to do some trading cards for various characters in White Noise, mostly because I thought it would be fun. And so I spent more time than I should have designing a card, looking for stock photos, and creating one for every character that is in the series. Well, the ones who do plot things, anyway.

    Here’s the main five! Let me know what you think. I’m thinking about what sort of things I can do with them.

  • If you’re looking for some swag

    I opened an Etsy shop!

    I started making some interesting items that are inspired by the books. I’ve only just begun, really, but do check out what’s there right now and see if you can find anything you like. And if you have seen any book quotes that you need on an item or a cover that needs to be made into a notebook, do let me know! After November, I’m planning to make even more.

    Even though that will absolutely miss Christmas. I am very good at this. 

  • Canzine in a week!

    I may be going pretty quiet for the month of November, but I will be taking a small break from incessant writing to be at Canzine on November 5th! I’ll be bringing the short story that inspired City Without Heroes, along with some other fun things, so be sure to come check it out! 

  • Thornebrooke for NaNoWriMo!

    The winner of the poll was Thornebrooke! I’m already deep into plotting and, as you can see, have come up with a cover concept. Thank you to everyone who voted for the book! I may be quiet during the next month, but be sure to check out the social medias to see what I’m up to. 

    And in the meantime, check out the playlist I’m working on for the book. At least, to listen to while I’m writing it. 

  • Static release!

    Static is officially out!

    Harrison’s boyfriend, Max, is missing. Again.

    Or, well, his ex-boyfriend, he thinks. His memory of the last week is fuzzy. It’s while his roommate, Ally, is trying to help him that they get the phone call; Max has gone missing, and Willow — who’s supposed to be catatonic and locked away — abducted him.

    Harrison sets out on a mission to find him, but he and his friends are placed under house arrest. Is it to keep them safe from Willow, or is Harrison being used for live bait? Trapped with the mysterious new Doctor Gethen who’s taken a keen interest in them, Harrison needs to make things right, find Willow, and get Max back.

    Be sure to get your copy now!

  • White Noise Book Club Questions

    I haven’t honestly ever paid much attention to the backs and fronts of books when I’ve been reading them. ((I honestly start and stop at the story itself and ignore the rest, including a lot of the bonus content)) A friend of mine pointed them out to me recently, and I thought it might be fun to come up with a few for White Noise. Let me know what you think and I may do more of these!

    1. Max is thrown into an unfamiliar situation with a group of people who already have a history and dynamic that was established before he got there. Have you ever been in a situation like this? How did you deal with it?
    2. A lot of information is told to Max and he accepts it more or less at face value for a long time. How could he have checked some of the information he was told? Would knowing have made a difference?
    3. Throughout the books, the characters stay in houses that are clearly normally inhabited. What do you think of them living in these houses without the knowledge of the actual owners? Do their circumstances change your opinion?
    4. Throughout the book, Max and Harrison establish a relationship that ends up being more than just friendship. Why would Harrison have not been more forthright about his feelings at the beginning?
    5. If you suddenly discovered you had super powers, what would you do with them?
    6. What character do you most identify with from White Noise? Why?
    7. Each of the characters deals with their situation differently. Who do you think has the best coping mechanism? Why?
    8. Each of the characters has a different power. Do you think their powers inform their personalities?
    9. It is revealed that Luke is not what he seems. Do you think Luke mislead the characters intentionally?
    10. In the end, Max forces Harrison to do something he did not want to do. Do you think the circumstances justified his actions? Do you think it is ever right to do this?