Tara Moss's Blog, page 7
February 1, 2013
Hate the way modern fashions treat your curves? Go retro.
Like a lot of women, I admire the style icons of the past –Veronica Lake, Lauren Bacall, Katharine Hepburn, Jane Russell, Monroe and Bardot. But though I have long preferred pre-loved furniture and decor, I never quite embraced the fashions of old. Mostly this was because, at six foot tall, nothing authentically vintage ever fitted me, and I had little idea of how to translate those lovely looks of the past into a modern life.Pandora English and her great aunt Celia wear vintage fashion throu...
December 26, 2012
Dear Barry O’Farrell, Please Keep Guns Out Of Our National Parks
Dear Hon. Barry O’Farrell, Premier of NSW,
As a mother who bushwalks regularly with a small child I request that you take immediate action to stop recreational shooting in our national parks. The risk of injury or death to park users like myself and my daughter is simply too high. Like many citizens, I am not comfortable walking through bush alongside armed hunters, and NSW – which has some of the most beautiful national parks in the world – will suffer from reduced tourism as a result of this...
December 16, 2012
My Top 10 Travels of 2012
The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. – Saint Augustine.
2012 was arguably the busiest year of my life, as I celebrated my daughter’s first birthday, returned to modelling for Jacqui E after a 13 year hiatus, and for the first time published two new novels in the same year as well as being published in several new countries and translations. Naturally this year involved a lot of travel, and we took every opportunity to travel together as a family and discover new c...
November 29, 2012
A Return to the Gothic for The Skeleton Key
My ninth novel,The Skeleton Key,officially hits stores today, as the third in my Pandora English paranormal or speculative fiction series. (Or as I prefer to call it, ‘weird fiction’, the term HP Lovecraft used.)
Pandora’s world is set in a contemporary, alternate New York inhabited by all manner of supernatural beings and figures from ancient mythology and folklore. It is a great pleasure to write, not least because it gives me an opportunity to channel my obsession with all things gothic and...
Cataract Gorge – Launceston’s Jewel
With its beautifully preserved nineteenth century architecture, excellent museums and plethora of good cafes and restaurants, Launceston was a highlight of our recent ten daytrip to Tasmania.
Cataract Gorgeis a popular tourist attraction and was easily the most spectacular walk in Launceston – not to mention one of the more memorable stops on our 10 day Tasmanian visit.Only about 15 minutes stroll from the city centre (or a 2 minute drive), the walk gives you the option of a full circuit – hik...
November 22, 2012
Why White Ribbon Day Matters
Sunday, November 25th isWhite Ribbon Dayand theUN International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.
Why does this day matter? In Australia,‘one woman is killed every week by a current or former partner. One in three women over the age of 15 report physical or sexual violence at some time in their lives. And domestic and family violence is the major cause of homelessness for women and their children, and a recognised form of child abuse.’
The Australian White Ribbon campaign websi...
November 17, 2012
Our Beautiful Meritocracy
We live in a meritocracy – a merits-based world untainted by biases and personal prejudices.
So when VIDAdecided to count the reviews in a number of important literary publications and discovered that male writers were up to 438% (see pie chart below) more likely to be reviewed than female writers in publications like The New York Review of Books, The Atlantic, Paris Review, The New Yorker, London Review of Books, Harper’s Magazine and others, we all knew, instinctively, that this could have n...
November 16, 2012
A Mother’s Fierceness
I was recently interviewed for The Sydney Morning Heraldand the resulting piece, A Mother’s Fierceness, ended up being published in ‘as told to’ style yesterday, without the interviewer’s questions included. (It was not actually an article I wrote, as some perceived it to be.) The topic appeared to hit a nerve with many parents.In the interview I spoke about the common stereotype that women become soft when they have children, and my belief that motherhood often has the direct opposite effect...
November 11, 2012
Port Arthur and The Island Of The Dead
Port Arthur, Tasmania, is a beautiful, terrible place.
Port Arthur’s history as a penal colony is dark, having been the destination for the ‘hardest’ of convicted British and Irish criminals. It operated between 1830 and 1877 as a harsh prison but its more recent past as a significant historical site also involves an unspeakably tragic massacre in 1996, which claimed the lives of 35 visitors and staff, only adding to the palpable feeling of brutality at what would otherwise be a deceivingly pi...
November 10, 2012
The Grand Canyon Walk
The Grand Canyon walk in the World Heritage-listedBlue MountainsNational Park, NSW, was first established in 1907. In my opinion, it is one of the best walks in Australia.
The track will take you down carved steps, past waterfalls (even under one), over bubbling creeks and through a variety of stunning natural terrain, including a small but dark open-ended cave (below). Thanks to the excellent recent maintenance work, the track itself has never been easier to follow, taking walkers across a nu...
