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Greensborough writer finds way back in time
Will Jackson
09Jul08
Novelist Allison Lloyd says she was inspired to write by children Shu-Shu, 8, and Ming-En, 11. Picture: MARK FRECKER N02DV310
IF HER debut children's novel is half as much fun to read as it was to write, author Alison Lloyd will be on to a winner.
Set during the Han dynasty in China, Year of the Tiger is the story of two young boys thrown together after entering an archery tournament on the Great Wall.
Lloyd, of Greensborough, said she had a great time researching the book.
She learned all sorts of obscure facts about ancient China, such as how the Great Wall was built, how the military communicated without paper and what people ate.
"I had carrots in it to start with but had to change the reference to turnips when I found out they didn't have carrots back then," Lloyd said.
She even went to an archery competition at Yan Yean to get a feel for the atmosphere.
"They do it in dead silence and then there's the sound as they release the arrow a bit of a 'zing' noise," she said.
Lloyd's two sons were the inspiration to get started.
"They were both very keen on bows and arrows, especially when younger, but when I went to the library to try and find kids' stories about archery, there was one or two Robin Hood books and that was it," she said.
"So I decided to write my own children's novel about bows and arrows.
"The two main characters are boys from different ends of the social spectrum one's an aristocrat's son and the other an acrobat.
"They meet up and decide to join an archery competition and everything goes wrong."
Lloyd said she had been fascinated by Chinese culture since she started learning the language as a teenager.
She later studied at a Chinese university for two years before joining the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade working on Australia-China relations.
She quit the department after 14 years to concentrate on writing the book.
"When I was a child I wanted to be a novelist but then totally forgot about it and the desire only re-emerged a few years ago," she said.
"I've never done anything that was more satisfying."
* Year of the Tiger is out now through Puffin.
