Tara Moss Tara Moss i(A13336 works by)
Born: Established: 1973 Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia,
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Canada,
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Americas,
;
Gender: Female
Arrived in Australia: 26 Jan 1996
Heritage: Canadian
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BiographyHistory

Born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia, Moss began writing gruesome 'Stephen King-inspired' stories for her classmates when she was only ten. She began modelling at age 14, but did not remain in the profession for long. Moss became a resident of Australia in 1996, and holds dual Canadian/Australian citizenship.

In 1997, Moss earned a Diploma from the Australian College of Journalism, and her writing has appeared in many Australian magazines, including ELLE, Australian Style, the Australian Women's Weekly, Woman's Day, New Idea, NW, the Daily Telegraph, and the Sun Herald. Her writing has included a year-long true-crime column called Noir in Australian Style magazine, which chronicled her 'hands-on' research into forensic psychology, criminal investigation, ballistics, pistol shooting and surveillance.

Her novels include a series of six crime novels featuring private investigator Makedde Vanderwall and a paranormal mystery trilogy featuring Pandora English.

She has enjoyed a career as a top fashion model and has hosted the crime documentary series Tara Moss Investigates on the National Geographic Channel in the United Kingdom. She has also hosted National Geographic Presents in Australia and New Zealand, acted as an MTV Canada guest host, and participated as a panelist on popular Australian programmes such as The Panel, Beauty and the Beast, and Canada's Viewpoint. Moss is a popular public speaker, having conducted hundreds of talks and accepted 'MC' roles at writers' festivals, schools, universities and corporate events.

In addition to her crime and fantasy-horror novels, Moss has also written feminist non-fiction, including Speaking Out (2016), a guide to women speaking in the public sphere, and The Fictional Woman (2016), a blend of memoir and social commentary that examined the social role and expectations of women.

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • Other works include:

    Speaking Out : A 21st Century Handbook for Women and Girls (HarperCollins 2016)

  • Voted number 41 in the Booktopia Top 50 Favourite Australian Authors for 2018

Personal Awards

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Dead Man Switch The War Widow Sydney South : HarperCollins Australia , 2019 16576572 2019 single work novel detective historical fiction

'World War II has left Billie Walker a widow, but she's determined not to rely on any man for her future so she re-opens her late father's detective agency.

'Billie's bread and butter is tailing cheating husbands - it's easy, pays the bills and she has a knack for it. But her latest case, the disappearance of a young man, is not proving straightforward ...

'Soon Billie is up to her stylish collar in bad men, and not just the cheating kind - these are the murdering kind. Smugglers. Players. Gangsters. Billie and her loyal assistant must pit their wits against the underworld of Sydney and find the young man before it's too late.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

2020 shortlisted The Danger Prize
2020 longlisted Davitt Award Best Adult Crime Novel
y separately published work icon Assassin South Sydney area : HarperCollins Australia , 2012 Z1885823 2012 single work novel crime detective 'How far would you go for revenge? For survival? Former model turned forensic psychologist and PI Mak Vanderwall is missing, presumed dead in Paris. By hiring a hit man to kill her, the powerful and corrupt Cavanagh family aimed to silence her for good. But after narrowly escaping death, Mak has taken over her would-be killer′s world. She is very much alive. And transformed ... Back in Sydney Mak′s former flame, criminal profiler Andy Flynn is on the trail of a vicious rapist and murderer with possible ties to the infamous ′Stiletto Killer′. He may have struck before and will certainly do so again. And while Andy struggles to cope in a world without Mak, little does he realise she is on her way back. And this time she′s ready to make her own justice.' Source: http://www.harpercollins.com.au/ (Sighted 10/09/2012).
2013 longlisted Davitt Award Best Adult Crime Novel
y separately published work icon The Spider Goddess Sydney : Macmillan (Pan Macmillan Australia) , 2011 Z1828111 2011 single work novel horror mystery

'It’s been two months since Pandora English left her small hometown to live with her mysterious great-aunt in a haunted mansion in Spektor, the fog-wreathed suburb of Manhattan that doesn’t appear on any map. With the help of her great-aunt and the beautiful, but dead, Lieutenant Luke, Pandora is beginning to understand the significance of the Lucasta family heritage her late mother kept secret from her. Pandora is heir to a great gift – a gift that comes with a frightening responsibility. And when a new designer arrives in town, Pandora soon discovers that this designer’s ambitions extend far beyond taking over the fashion world, one knit at a time…'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

2012 shortlisted Davitt Award Best Young Adult Book
Last amended 1 Feb 2018 12:15:10
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