Ask the Author: Tara Moore
Answered Questions (6)
Tara Moore
I drink wine, copious amounts of it, and when the hangover has cleared I start to write something completely different, a poem, a short story, something in a completely different genre just to fire the imagination up again. Sometimes, I indulge in another creative activity, photography or digital art perhaps and gradually I find my way back to my book. One thing I don't do is stress. Sometimes we are blocked for a reason, grief, depression, a whole host of things and the brain needs time out to deal with them. Once these issues have been resolved, creativity will come flooding back.
Tara Moore
The sheer joy of taking an insubstantial idea and turning it into something concrete and entertaining. It was always my dream to be a writer and I feel truly privileged and blessed to have had that dream come true. Of course, connecting with my lovely readers and entertaining them too is the absolute icing on the cake.
Tara Moore
You may have heard it before, but it's a tried and tested goody, "Don't get it right, get it writ!" Quite simply, get the first draft down - that's the skeleton of the book. Once you have that, you can go back, flesh it out and perfect it. There is nothing more discouraging than the lack of progress caused by editing and re-editing the same piece over and over. Don't worry about the fine-tuning. There will be ample time for that when the book is written. You will feel much more motivated as you start to clock up the words, the paragraphs, the pages, and suddenly the finish line is in sight. Then, back you go and polish it. The difference is NOW you have a full book to work on and that is one mighty big incentive.
Tara Moore
I am currently working on two books, so if I get stuck on one I can work on the other. If I get stuck on both, I just go off and drink wine. The first is the next Jessica Wideacre book with the working title of Babyshoes and the second is a stand alone thriller, working title, Get Set, Kill! I'm very excited by both and the challenge presented by working simultaneously on two very different sets of characters. Both will be published in 2017. Watch this space!
Tara Moore
Oh Lordy, inspiration is absolutely everywhere and anything can spark a bout of 'what ifs'. My problem is not in finding inspiration, it's the worry that there will never be enough time in the world for me to write all the stories I want to write.
Tara Moore
Actually the main character, Jessica Wideacre, arrived well before the book - a good 10 years ago, in fact. She arrived, like many of my characters seemingly from the ether, fully formed and with a mind of her own. I knew very little about her other than that she was a cop and one hell of a feisty lady. I was at that time writing commercial women's fiction and Jessica didn't seem to fit well into that category. So, I filed her away in my mental filing cabinet with no idea of when or how she would emerge, but pretty certain that when the time was right out she'd pop. As time went by my writing was gradually taking a turn for the dark side ( both RSVP and Blue-Eyed Girl have more than their fair share of criminal activity) and I realised that, actually, it was a genre which fascinated me and in which I felt quite comfortable. Bang on cue, Jessica emerged from the filing cabinet, dusty and covered with spider webs, but otherwise unscathed. At pretty much the same time the idea for Fade To Dead came to me and I knew it had her name written all over it. However, I soon realised that Jessica would not be content with just one book and a series was needed if I was to fully explore her character. Right now, I have six more planned and, who knows, that may be just the tip of the iceberg.
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