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Tara Ellis

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Tara Ellis

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Member Since
January 2014


With over 50 published books across ten genres, author Tara Ellis is best known for her heart-pounding post-apocalyptic and thriller series. A heavy dose of mystery often underscores her character-driven plots, heralding back to what fueled her desire to tell stories from an early age.

A certified firefighter in the state of Washington, Tara volunteered as a FF/EMT for over eight years. She also responded as a support officer, worked as an emergency room technician, was a 911 dispatcher, and taught life-saving techniques to the public and first responders. As an author of thriller and survival stories, she draws upon her personal experience throughout her storytelling.

Tara lives in the gorgeous Cascade Mountains of Washington State. When not
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Popular Answered Questions

Tara Ellis Hi Janna!

First, thank you for the question. It's one that I actually think about quite a bit.

I am finding the indie-publishing world a mixed bag of am…more
Hi Janna!

First, thank you for the question. It's one that I actually think about quite a bit.

I am finding the indie-publishing world a mixed bag of amazing opportunity that was never available to me before, and a whole lot of frustration. Last year alone, I am told there were over 250,000 self-published books. How do you compete with that? Well...any way you can!

I am still learning the ropes of social media and I believe that my books are slowly being found by the right audience, but it is a hard process.

Yes, I have thought often of trying traditional publishing, but now that my books have been out as self-published, it makes it even harder. I have only solicited one agent in the past two years that I have been working on my trilogy, so I obviously haven't tried very hard. However, I might get serious about it in the next year, depending on what happens with sales.(less)
Tara Ellis Nick, I apologize for taking so long, I didn't realize I had a pending question.

First, thank you for taking the time to ask!

I've always been an avid …more
Nick, I apologize for taking so long, I didn't realize I had a pending question.

First, thank you for taking the time to ask!

I've always been an avid reader and have read just about every existing genre, but I was sucked into YA, first-person with the Hunger Games trilogy. There are plenty of good examples out there, but there's something about the writing style of Suzanne Collins that grabbed me.

It's been a life-long dream of mine to be a writer and I started and (nearly completed) several manuscripts. However, I never attempted first-person and I was intrigued by it. It is a challenge, but I absolutely love the connection with the main character you can achieve with this style.

At the time that I started outlining Bloodline, my daughter was thirteen, which was one of the major, compelling reasons for my choice of Young Adult (I do consider it a valid genre) other than adult or contemporary. It was important to me that as she was asking to read it, that it would be appropriate for her. That's hard to do. Bloodline is definitely a Young Adult story, but I consider it a clean read, something that there isn't a whole lot of.

SO...to answer your question, I would say that the biggest reason is because I personally enjoy the fast pace of the genre and also because I wanted something my own kids (and their friends) would find entertaining.(less)
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More books by Tara Ellis…

New Release! The 6th Extinction is now a complete series!

Critical Mass is live! Get all three books in eBook or paperback format. Audio is available for First Impact, with the other two soon to be released!

GET IT NOW!

On the precipice of annihilation, the fate of humanity hangs in the balance.

With the Earth in ruins from three catastrophic impacts, surviving the fallout was only the beginning. Unleashed from its celestial vector, the Prometheus P

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Published on October 05, 2025 12:06
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More series by Tara Ellis…
The Light We Lost
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by Kyla Stone (Goodreads Author)
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A Homestead for C...
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First Impact
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Tara’s Recent Updates

Echo of Fear by Tara Meyers
" The main characters are Chris and Kyle. Chris is a cop on vacation and Kyle is an undercover CIA agent. They both end up on the same small island because of a hurricane. Kyle is trying to keep everyone safe until he can get the bad guys off the isla" Read more of this review »
First Impact by Tara Ellis
"Riveting

I have to know what comes next! Ellis’s writing is tense and her characters so relatable, even though they’re smart enough to know astronomy and calculate math in their heads on the fly. This book riveted me from the start and didn’t let me g" Read more of this review »
Critical Mass by Tara Ellis
" I'm so glad you've enjoyed the series! The audiobook for Critical Mass will be out later this month! :) ...more "
Critical Mass by Tara Ellis
"Great series. Listened to the first two books, 3rd not available yet. I am glad I read the 3rd book."
Existential Threat by Tara Ellis
"When I read the description for Existential Threat I was so excited, it looked exactly like my cup of tea. Then I saw it was book 2 in a series. So, I went ahead and purchased book one and binged it in a day, then went on to the audiobook for this on" Read more of this review »
Tara Ellis liked a quote
After the Crash by Tara Ellis
“you never truly control the chaos…you manage it. You take steps and actions to keep it contained and prevent it from taking over, because once it does, it’s almost impossible to reel it back in.”
Tara Ellis
Tara Ellis liked a quote
Existential Threat by Tara Ellis
“without grief and loss, a person would fail to form bonds or meaningful relationships—the very things that give them the will to continue and keep fighting.”
Tara Ellis
Tara Ellis is now following
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Tara Ellis is currently reading
The Light We Lost by Kyla Stone
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Tara Ellis is currently reading
A Homestead for Christmas by Tara Meyers
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Quotes by Tara Ellis  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“One of our greatest flaws is having too much confidence in understanding that which we really don’t comprehend.”
Tara Ellis, After the Crash: After the Crash Book 1:

“you never truly control the chaos…you manage it. You take steps and actions to keep it contained and prevent it from taking over, because once it does, it’s almost impossible to reel it back in.”
Tara Ellis, After the Crash: The Complete Series:

“Her mother gave her strict instructions to follow the school phone policy and not use it until after the final bell rings. If she violates the rules and the phone is taken away, she won’t get any sympathy from her parents.”
Tara Ellis, The Heiress of Covington Ranch

Topics Mentioning This Author

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YAholics Anonymous!: Nominate August's Group Read! 33 28 Jul 15, 2014 11:56AM  
Never Too Old For...: Read 4 Review #207 - Bloodline (Forgotten Origins #1) (Closed) 64 75 Oct 31, 2014 07:52PM  
Cozy Mysteries : This topic has been closed to new comments. Title and Author Game, Round 2 15570 1206 Mar 21, 2016 09:15AM  
The Seasonal Read...: This topic has been closed to new comments. Spring Challenge 2016: Completed Tasks:PLEASE DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS THREAD 2923 526 May 31, 2016 09:02PM  
Pro-Active Destru...: * Free Kindle Books 1176 631 Mar 11, 2017 02:18AM  
Cozy Mysteries : This topic has been closed to new comments. Mystery ABC's, Round 3 13220 636 Apr 24, 2017 10:00AM  
Fiction Fanatics: March POINTS Challenge 29 32 Apr 01, 2018 08:58PM  
“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.”
John Muir

“Her mother gave her strict instructions to follow the school phone policy and not use it until after the final bell rings. If she violates the rules and the phone is taken away, she won’t get any sympathy from her parents.”
Tara Ellis, The Heiress of Covington Ranch

“One of our greatest flaws is having too much confidence in understanding that which we really don’t comprehend.”
Tara Ellis, After the Crash: After the Crash Book 1:

“without grief and loss, a person would fail to form bonds or meaningful relationships—the very things that give them the will to continue and keep fighting.”
Tara Ellis, Existential Threat: A Post-Apocalyptic Survival Thriller

“you never truly control the chaos…you manage it. You take steps and actions to keep it contained and prevent it from taking over, because once it does, it’s almost impossible to reel it back in.”
Tara Ellis, After the Crash: The Complete Series:

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