We chat with author Tamara Moss about Five Voices, which follows five characters with four of them suspects, but all of them are hiding secrets and none of them can be trusted in this thrilling and addictive YA murder mystery.
Hi, Tamara! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m from Perth, WA. I was a primary school teacher for ten years, but I’m now writing full time. I have a BA in Asian Studies, which was partly the inspiration for my first published series, a middle grade fantasy starting with Lintang and the Pirate Queen.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I’ve always loved reading and writing!
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Oh gosh, no idea! Like I said, I’ve always loved reading. There’s no single book that stands out.
- The one that made you want to become an author: Again, no idea! I can’t remember not wanting to be an author. I did love the Teen Power Inc series by Emily Rodda, which is possibly what cemented my love of crime.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Illuminae by Jay Krisoff and Amie Kaufman changed the way I think about reading and writing.
Your latest novel, Five Voices, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Yikes, that’s a hard one. How about: Five podcaster friends, one murdered.
What can readers expect?
A gripping mystery with a lot of character depth and emotion.
Where did the inspiration for Five Voices come from?
I wanted to write a contemporary crime book where everyone had a secret, but was too intimidated by modern day forensics to ever try it. When my daughter was one month old, I decided it was a good time to have a go. I wrote the first draft in notebooks, with only my husband reading it, so there was no pressure.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I know Simone’s arc is a difficult one, but her story is very compelling. She starts in a horrendous place – I found I couldn’t rest properly until I wrote her ending.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
Lots of challenges! The answer is time, brainstorming, and just thinking. This book took me four years to write. There were gaps in between where I wrote other things, took workshops, grew as a writer. Whenever I came back to it, I was returning with fresh ideas and different perspectives. I would highly encourage other writers to give their manuscript time to percolate.
You co-authored The Escape Game with Marissa Meyer which released earlier this year and Five Voices marks your first YA solo novel! Can you share some insight into the timelines on working on these two novels and how you juggled the projects?
Luckily, because I’d already written Five Voices, it was a matter of editing, not writing a first draft, which is much easier. I gave several months at a time to each project, swapping back and forth over the years. The publishers were really good at working around each other too. Working around Marissa’s schedule was the difficult part – she has a bazillion books due out! I’m glad she’s excellent at time management.
What’s next for you?
The sequel to The Escape Game is called The Traitor Game and is out next April. I have a second solo YA contracted as well, which will hopefully be out next year.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up? Any you’ve read so far this year that you’ve enjoyed?
I’m currently reading Gone Guru by Nadine Browne, which I’m loving. As for ones I’m looking forward to, I literally have a TBR bookcase(!), but the ones that I’m eyeing now are Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Truths, Tess Woods’s The Cairo Bridal Shop, and Lynette Noni’s Shadow Reaper.
