Ask the Author: Tara Moss
Answered Questions (19)
Tara Moss
Thank you for your question, Tez. No, there is no plan for a book of the podcast investigation.
Tara Moss
Dear David, Thank you for your question. I love immersing myself in the 1940s political, social and material culture, watching film noir, footage of the time and documentaries, wearing 1940s vintage, walking the grounds of the buildings that feature in the books, and speaking to the fading few who were there at the time and have first-hand knowledge of WW2 and the aftermath. There is rich history to draw on, with amazing personal stories.
Information overload is truly the world of the historical fiction author! There are so many layers of information, and threads to follow. I try to remain aware of which threads emerge as the most important and resonant, and follow those. It can be a surprisingly organic process.
Best wishes, Tara
Information overload is truly the world of the historical fiction author! There are so many layers of information, and threads to follow. I try to remain aware of which threads emerge as the most important and resonant, and follow those. It can be a surprisingly organic process.
Best wishes, Tara
Tara Moss
Dear Jocelyn, Thank you so much for your interest in my Pandora series. The follow up to The Cobra Queen isn't slated yet, but I can't wait to get it out to the public. Watch this space. Best wishes and gratitude, Tara
Tara Moss
Dear Davida,
Thank you for your question, and your thoughtful review of my first Billie Walker novel. I'm so pleased you enjoyed The War Widow! I am writing the next novel now, so more adventures for Billie are coming, and you will see a return of a number of the characters from the first book. We don't have a release date yet for book 2, but I have commitment from publishers in Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand and Germany, so we will be able to keep you posted as dates become available.
Best wishes and happy reading, Tara
Thank you for your question, and your thoughtful review of my first Billie Walker novel. I'm so pleased you enjoyed The War Widow! I am writing the next novel now, so more adventures for Billie are coming, and you will see a return of a number of the characters from the first book. We don't have a release date yet for book 2, but I have commitment from publishers in Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand and Germany, so we will be able to keep you posted as dates become available.
Best wishes and happy reading, Tara
Tara Moss
I would travel to Billie Walker's 1946 Sydney to have a champagne cocktail with her and Sam Baker, perhaps in the basement alcove at Daking House.
Tara Moss
Don’t write it right, just write it and then make it right later. If you tie yourself in knots about what you’ll write, anxious to make each word perfect as you go, you will never finish your book. You may never even start it. Take your time, know you can write, research and plan that book, yes, but then do it. Write. Let that story out. Get writing today and remember that you can and will edit your work later, many times over. That’s what being an author is.
Tara Moss
Dear Alysha,
Thank you for your question. Initial ideas can develop quietly for some years before I put my hand to writing that particular story or non-fiction project, but once I have set my mind to writing it, 18 months is my average. I have written and published 13 books in 21 years now, giving that rough average, from initial plotting to deadline, however, all stories are different, and some books have taken about a year while others have taken fully three years. The vast differences are in the story and subject matter, the research needed for it, and the ways in which life likes to intervene - and you can never discount that.
Enjoy the page, Tara
Thank you for your question. Initial ideas can develop quietly for some years before I put my hand to writing that particular story or non-fiction project, but once I have set my mind to writing it, 18 months is my average. I have written and published 13 books in 21 years now, giving that rough average, from initial plotting to deadline, however, all stories are different, and some books have taken about a year while others have taken fully three years. The vast differences are in the story and subject matter, the research needed for it, and the ways in which life likes to intervene - and you can never discount that.
Enjoy the page, Tara
Tara Moss
Thank you. I really went down the rabbit-hole of research for my first Billie Walker adventure Dead Man Switch/The War Widow. 1946 was a fascinating time in Sydney, and there are many real life crimes and characters I couldn't include in her first story, but may add to future books. I am currently writing the next in her series, set in early 1947. I hope you enjoy it.
Tara Moss
Dear Janine, Thank you for your kind comments and for your question. I use the terms 'Good goddess!' and 'Great Hera!' in this novel - and in fact in all of my current fiction including my Pandora English series - to feminize the common phrase 'Good god!' etc. This works better with the philosophy and focus of my characters and stories and is a great tradition that can be found in other author's works, including the early 1940s comics of Wonder Woman, of which I am a devotee. Happy reading, Tara
Tara Moss
My latest novel, Dead Man Switch, (to be published in USA/Can as The War Widow in May 2020) stems from my life-long fascination with WW2 and the immediate post-war period, the strong women of the era and my own family history, having listened to stories from my Oma and Opa who survived the Nazi work camps. From film noir heroines and hardboiled fiction to 1940s fashion, design and historical accounts, this is a time that continues to draw me in. I wanted to write a 1940s private eye story with a twist and a stand out heroine. That heroine became my new fictional protagonist, the stylish, staunchly feminist, champagne swilling, fast talking and fast-driving Billie Walker. She is a woman of the era, a woman of grit and yet different from any woman I could find in my beloved hardboiled crime fiction. Not a victim. Not a fatal woman.
I hope you enjoy the ride.
I hope you enjoy the ride.
Tara Moss
Write. Start writing today. Start writing right now. Don’t write it right, just write it –and then make it right later. Give yourself the mental freedom to enjoy the process, because the process of writing is a long one.
Tara Moss
At the back of The Fictional Woman I list a number of books as suggested feminist reading. All of those books have had an influence on me, and I'd add a few that have been released since, including We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Tara Moss
Dear Aria, I have twice shared the Sydney Opera House stage with Germaine Greer: https://taramoss.com/gallery/#foobox-...
Tara Moss
The Cobra Queen will be published in March, and the previous three novels in my Pandora English series will be re-released soon with Echo and Bonnier UK. Happy reading x
Tara Moss
My next book has been written, and will be published in Sept 2019. Details to come... Happy reading. x
Tara Moss
Thank you, Manda. Enjoy the ride x Tara
Tara Moss
Hi Adelise,
Yes, I have two fiction books I am working on at the moment, and I expect they will be published in the next two years.
Best wishes,
Tara
Yes, I have two fiction books I am working on at the moment, and I expect they will be published in the next two years.
Best wishes,
Tara
Tara Moss
I have just completed my 11th book, Speaking Out - a 21st Century Handbook for Women and Girls, which comes out soon. This book arrived directly from questions I was asked by hundreds of women and girls after The Fictional Woman came out - 'How can I tell my story? How do you deal with the trolls? How do you approach research? Public speaking? Writing a blog or essay? Overcoming nerves?’
Worldwide, less than one out of every four people we hear from or about in the media is female, and women are vastly outnumbered in parliament and in positions of power. Speaking Out aims to not only illuminate this issue but encourage women’s greater participation in public life and provide a guide for possible solutions to various issues and obstacles, of the kind I have personally experienced but have also seen many hundreds of other women experience. The book involves a frank discussion of what women might expect when speaking out, and how they can deal with it.
Worldwide, less than one out of every four people we hear from or about in the media is female, and women are vastly outnumbered in parliament and in positions of power. Speaking Out aims to not only illuminate this issue but encourage women’s greater participation in public life and provide a guide for possible solutions to various issues and obstacles, of the kind I have personally experienced but have also seen many hundreds of other women experience. The book involves a frank discussion of what women might expect when speaking out, and how they can deal with it.
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