Moss, Tara 1973-

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Moss, Tara 1973-

PERSONAL:

Born 1973, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada; gained Australian dual citizenship, 1996. Education: Australian College of Journalism, diploma, 1997.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Agent—Mitch Kaplan, Kaplan Stahler Gumer Braun Literary Agency, 8383 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 923, Beverly Hills, CA 90211.

CAREER:

Model, television host, and writer. Model, 1987—. Host or guest host of television programs, including CBC-TV Canada's Tara's Sydney Tour, for the Sydney Olympic Games, 2000, Network Seven Australia's The Great Outdoors, 2001, Network Ten Australia's Good News Week Debate, "That Fashion Is a Joke" segment, 2001, MTV Canada's Select, 2002, National Geographic Channel's National Geographic Presents, 2005, National Geographic Channel's Tara Moss Investigates, 2006, and National Geographic Channel's Tara Moss Investigates: Outbreak, 2006. Also serves as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, an ambassador for the YMCA and Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children, and as a master of ceremonies for various events.

MEMBER:

International Thriller Writers Association, Sisters In Crime, New South Wales Writers Centre, Phillip Island Auto Racing Club, Women's International Motorcycling Association (Victoria, Australia, branch), Girls Ride Out.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Scarlet Stiletto Young Writers Award, 1998; Selwa Anthony Sassy Award, 1999, for best novel, for Fetish, and 2006, for ongoing success, for Hit.

WRITINGS:

Fetish, HarperCollins (Pymble, New South Wales, Australia), 1999.

Split, HarperCollins (Pymble, New South Wales, Australia), 2002.

Covet, HarperCollins (Pymble, New South Wales, Australia), 2004.

Hit, HarperCollins (Pymble, New South Wales, Australia), 2006.

Contributor of short stories and articles to periodicals, including Australian, Vogue, Australian Style, Australian Women's Weekly, Sun Herald, Daily Telegraph, Woman's Day, New Idea, NW, and Elle.

SIDELIGHTS:

Tara Moss is a writer, model, and television program host. At six feet tall and only fourteen years old, Moss began her career as a model. The career has taken her from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, to New York, Turkey, and all over Europe. Keeping her Canadian citizenship, Moss became a resident of Australia in 1996. As a television personality she has hosted shows on Australian and Canadian television, as well as a mystery investigation series on the National Geographic Channel. Moss published her first novel, Fetish, in 1999.

Fetish tells the story of Makedde Vanderwall, a Canadian model who goes to Australia to do a show. When Mak arrives, she finds that her good friend has been murdered. The police investigation, led by Senior Sergeant Andrew Flynn, is going nowhere. Mak decides to investigate on her own. Writing in Best Reviews, Harriet Klausner noted that "Moss writes an intriguing thriller that will hook her audience." A reviewer in Curled Up with a Good Book thought that the novel's "effectiveness and potential are undeniable." In a Romantic Times Online review, Jill M. Smith concluded: "Creepy and suspenseful, this story teems with characters that are edgy, conflicted, and none too trusting."

Moss's second novel, Split, finds Mak back in Vancouver pursuing a degree in forensics. Mak's new boyfriend, a campus security guard, begins acting strangely when a serial killer kills women on campus. Klausner, writing in the Midwest Book Review, called Mak "a spunky, assertive person who readers will care about as she tries to get over the trauma that still haunts her." A contributor to Publishers Weekly thought that readers "should be sucked in by this sexy, smart thriller." In a New Mystery Reader review, Stephanie Padilla concluded: "Filled with engaging and realistic characters, remarkably fast-paced plotting, and a non-stop feast of delicious anticipation, this is a treat you won't want to miss."

In Moss's third novel, Covet, Mak is back in Australia to testify at the trial of Ed Brown, the man who kidnapped and tortured her in Fetish. She is reunited with Flynn, but they are still having difficulties coping with the past. Brown manages to go free and begins to stalk Mak once again, but this time, without Flynn to save her. Writing in the Midwest Book Review, Gloria Feit called the novel "page-turning and suspenseful, and thoroughly enjoyable." Sabrina Marino, reviewing the novel in Fresh Fiction, noted that "it's fast-paced, but more so about Makedde's relationship with Andy than escaping a serial killer." Susan Mobley in the Romantic Times Online wrote that "the suspense is taut, and those who like reality in their mysteries … will find it here."