Appearing in town for the first time in the COVID-19 affected 2020, Mr Arnott discussed how growing up in Launceston attributed to his unique way of storytelling, and how he arrives at the tales he chooses to tell.

According to Mr Arnott, his latest book The Rain Heron deliberately distances itself from his fantastical Tasmanian inspired Flames so that he, as a writer, is not pigeonholed as someone who only writes about Tasmania.

Still, in his cheeky and humble way, The Rain Heron is rich in Tasmanian symbolism.

"I had to write a new book and I knew that I still wanted to write about the natural world but I felt like I couldn't write about something set in Tasmania, at least not directly," Mr Arnott said as he addressed the National Book Council Tasmania.

"I was terrified of being pigeonholed as the weird, curly-haired guy from Tasmania who only writes about weird things happening in Tasmania.

"While some people might write directly about mining, deforestation or logging, I ended up creating a fake novel in the end, that hasn't really changed from the moment I wrote it."

The novel discusses much of what Mr Arnott's Tasmanian upbringing has led him to feel, and the imagery he conveys in the book could easily represent what one sees when they look along a rain-ravaged Tamar as they drive out of town.

Mr Arnott also revealed his next book will explicitly return to an Apple Isle setting.

"Right now I'm working on my third novel and it's set in Tasmania. It's set right around the corner in the Tamar Valley," he said.

"It's essentially based on a story my grandfather told me when I was growing up and I really look forward to writing it."