Fiona Tarr's Blog, page 2

2023 In Review

2023 will forever be a bitter sweet year for me personally.

The launch of the Opal Fields series in March ignited my dream of having an author career. This series took off from the moment book 1 – Her Buried Bones hit the ebook stores and has reached heights I never expected.

But not long after book 2 released, and book 3 was scheduled, my mum – a long time sufferer of Alzheimers – broke her hip, and took a downhill turn. Her passing in June created a snowball effect in our family.

October, my husband George’s father passed, then only a few weeks later, his wife, George’s mum was gone.

Then, as if three losses were not enough, the year was forever scared with the passing of our oldest brother-in-law on my husbands side, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. A triple hit for his entire family, especially his oldest sister.

But the resilience of the Aussie spirit battled on in our family.

Six trips back to SA to make preparations and grieve with family. The ongoing renovation project of our Queenslander. Three more books and a budding author career. The search to find our university attending son financially viable accommodation. All while running our Watersports business. It has certainly made life challenging.

But as I write this, I can feel a sense of peace finally falling on 2023 even thought the Christmas tree still isn’t up and we have one more flight to Adelaide tonight – which just got a 2hr delay.

With great challenges, comes change. To find balance, peace and security, decisions have to be made. These things don’t happen by accident – or at least not in my world.

So next year I’ll be semi-retiring from the family business. We’ll finish the renovation before winter (Oz time) and then travel more. See our family and friends more. Experience this beautiful country more.

But most of all, I’ll be writing more.

With the new series DS Dawn Grave or maybe just Detective Dawn Grave coming in 2024, I’m very optimistic about my writing career, and inevitably, your reading pleasure.

I could rattle off the achievements of the Opal Fields series this year, but if you follow me on Facebook, you’ve likely seen it all.

I could bombard you with pictures of our Queenslander renovation. But they’ve been in my newsletter and on Facebook all year.

So instead. I’m just going to give you a little gift. A deleted scene from Her Buried Bones. No catches, no sign ups. It’s only a small thing, and if you are in my readers group, you’ve likely already read it, but just in case.

Merry Christmas, or Happy Holidays – however you celebrate the season. May 2024 be full of joy, love, peace and purpose.

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Opal Fields Series – How Many Books?

I’ve been asked recently how many books are planned for the Opal Fields Series.

Since I’m what the industry affectionately calls a Panster, I am not one for major plot planning. So to begin with, I only had a basic idea of how many books I thought would work for the over arching plot of this series.

The plot surrounding Jenny’s missing cousin and the disappearance and death of Nick’s family at William Creek Station will find a final resolution in book 6….

Her Covered bones is scheduled for release in May 2024, but I have no doubt I will get it out to you much earlier. In fact, I’m nearly half way through my first draft. But, Amazon are very unforgiving for late pre-order releases and I also have a few plans I want to put into action before this last instalment comes out.

Is book 6 the end for Jenny Williams?

Of course not. Anyone who has read ahead to the Foxy Mystery series knows it isn’t. WARNING! Don’t read ahead unless you want some spoilers and can handle a little spice with your mystery.

I am planning on coming back to Jenny, but I have a new series mulling around my head based in Far North Queensland and I seriously can’t balance two different series and cast of characters at once. I admire authors who can, but I get too invested in my characters to be able to switch back and forth.

You’ll meet my new lead character in book 6 – Her Covered Bones and I’ll give you a few sneak peaks into her life in the not too distant future, so follow me here, or on social media or join my Readers Club to find out more.

Noosa Library Author Talk

Join me at the Noosa Library where I’ll be talking about the Opal Fields series and how it has launched my Indie Author career.

Maybe you have questions about my writing process or how I got started. Or you could be a budding author, just unsure where to get started or how.

I released my first book in 2014, but that book took me six years to write. Find out why, and what kept me going.

You’ll find event details on my Facebook page here. But if you want to come along, make sure you book in with the library here as places are limited.

I’d love to see you there. I even bought a brand new banner and some bookmarks for the event….

Opal Fields – Australian Crime Fiction Series by Fiona Tarr.

After nearly ten years and 16 books, I took a breather, and spent some time studying the mystery/crime fiction market to work out where I wanted to go with my writing next.

While writing the Foxy Mysteries series, I found myself enjoying the character of Detective Jenny Williams so much, that I decided quite early, that Jenny would need her own spin off series, I just wasn’t sure what market I wanted to aim for with the new series.

I’m a big fan of Melinda Leigh, and to some degree, her writing buddy Kendra Elliot. But Melinda and I share a similar style, pace, mindset and our characters are strong, yet vulnerable female cops. So it was Melinda’s work that most inspired the new Opal Fields series.

Set in the mining town of Coober Pedy, in the dry, desolate outback of Australia, this story sprang to life.

I’m now three books in, with the 4th on preorder and I’m drafting book 5 – Her Lonely Bones. I can see this series lasting a while, but for those who have skipped ahead and read about Jenny in the Foxy Mysteries series, I realise I’ve kind of given out spoilers about Jenny’s future, so I hope you’ll all forgive me. But how she gets there is set to be an action packed thrill ride, so I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

Each new release of this series has outdone the last and for that, I’m very grateful to all the dedicated readers who have jumped into this series. Without you, writing wouldn’t be anywhere near as much fun.

If you’ve just started reading my books and you want to join my readers club, then click the banner above to join and get your free copy of Death Beneath the Covers. This is a mystery romance suspense series starter with a little more sizzle than Opal Fields, but if you like my writing and like a little slow burn hot romance, I think you’ll enjoy this book.

If you are interested in helping with the launch of my books, then I invite you to join my Advanced Reader Team. My team members get an advanced copy of each new release and usually review the book before it launches. Many also help me out with feedback on covers, blurbs, and share my books on social media, which is a huge help on launch week. If this sounds like fun, then click below to join the club.

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Foxy Mysteries Omnibus is Ready!

I’ve been working hard on the new Opal Fields series with 3 books currently running through the edit process but I’ve wanted to do a boxed set of the Foxy series for a while.

It’s now available on pre-order and I’m working on trying to figure out a way to do a paperback. That’s really hard because the book is currently over 1200 pages and print on demand services only allow 750-900 depending on which service I use.

A bit of a bummer because I usually like to have the paperback of any book out so readers can review it before the ebook goes live. Seems it might not be possible this time.

No matter. You still get all 5 books in one ebook and for a limited time, you get them all for only $2.99. That’s crazy right. You are probably wondering why I’m doing the boxed set so cheaply.

Well with this new series on the way, I wanted to get as many readers introduced to detective Jenny Williams.

This new series is all about Jenny, before she made detective and took the job with Jack in Adelaide. If you’ve only read book one in the Foxy series, you haven’t met Jenny yet. She takes over from Max as Jack’s partner in book 2.

The tall, outspoken auburn haired detective became a cop for personal reasons. But you’ll need to read the new Opal Fields series to find out more.

For now, why not pre-order the Foxy Mysteries Complete Collection 1-5 now! And get to know Jenny Williams. You’ll love her, I promise.

Currently only available on Kindle, but I’ll have it on all ebook platforms ready for the launch on the 7th February.

If you use Goodreads, you can add Foxy Mysteries Complete Collection to your bookshelf ‘to read’ here. It’s got one 5 star review already (thanks Steve).

If you follow me on Bookbubs, you’ll be advised when the book releases there too. I hope you get a chance to read it. If you do, I’d love to hear what you think. If you’ve already read the entire series, then why not review the new omnibus once it goes live.

And tell other readers what you thought in the comments below.

Book 5 Title Help!

After recently recovering from lens replacement surgery, I can finally get back to writing book 5 in the Foxy Mysteries Series. I’m more than half way through the first draft and should be ready to publish in June or July.

So….I need to name this baby and get it up for pre-order on Amazon (and other outlets for a limited time).

I’m just getting ready to start writing the blurb, but basically, for those of you who have read the series to date, you’ll know this book is about Jack’s ex girlfriend’s bones being recovered; sparking an investigation into her death.

There is a connection with South Africa, a rogue internet Youtuber crime fighter and of course the ongoing relationship back and forth between Liz and Jack, but I need to come up with a name. To do that, I need your help.

Which of these three do you like the sound of the most?

1. Dead Cold

2. Fatal Connection

3. Fatal Exchange

Of course, there is no guarantee one of these will make the cut, but if you have a favourite, just comment below.

In the meantime. I’m putting book 2 – Presumed Missing into a Kindle Countdown Deal, starting 8am on the 29th April. The deal will run until 12.AM on the 6th May, with the price increasing every two days. Starting at 99c, then $1.99, then $2.99 until it is back up to $3.99, so get in quick for the best price.

New Series Starter Coming Soon!

I’m working on a new novel that could be a new series starter. Set in Coober Pedy, central South Australian, this story will take readers back to before detective Jenny Williams got her promotion.

Constable Williams takes a placement in the dry, isolated opal mining town of Coober Pedy. Is she chasing a promotion, or is there a more personal reason for joining the all male team and tolerating the stiflingly hot climate?

I plan on using this book as a free offering to my fans and mailing list sign ups, so if you’re already in the club and getting my newsletters, you’ll get a copy automatically in the next few months.

While I finish off this book, I’m aware that since I put the Foxy Mysteries series into Kindle Unlimited, I’ve had nothing to offer my club sign ups, so I created a little Aussie Slang dictionary that ties in with the Foxy Mysteries series and will also cross over with this new novel. I’m aware that not everyone understand the Aussie colloquialisms that have their roots in our English heritage, but they are still widely used here, even if it’s just for a laugh sometimes.

This new book will be a mystery romance, with a little less sizzle than the Foxy Mysteries, yet still have the passionate, bold, strong, female lead and feature the social issues you’ve come to expect from my writing.

Here is an image of Coober Pedy I think I might use on the cover. Excuse the watermarks as I’m still undecided and haven’t yet purchased the image.

If you are keen to read my Aussie Slang Dictionary, why not join the club. Just click the banner above or the button below to sign up.

Sign Up Here!

Twisted Vendetta Coming Soon!

I’m just getting Twisted Vendetta, book 4 in the Foxy Mysteries ready for release. The final draft has gone off to my editor and we are in the process of developing the cover – fun times.

To celebrate. I’ve put book one on sale for 99c and I’ve added the entire series to date to Kindle Unlimited – meaning if you are a member, you can read for free.

I have two more books planned in this series, but I’ve also started on a novella – spin off about detective Williams before she made detective – due out in a month or so. This book will be offered free to my newsletter signs ups and to all my existing readers as a thank you for following my writing. If you haven’t subscribed to my newsletter yet, don’t miss out on this novella, set in the Australian bush Opal Mining Capital Coober Pedy. Join up here.

2022 is going to be a busy writing year with the finish of Foxy Mysteries and lots of new and exciting mystery romance reads coming out. In the meantime, check out book 1 – Death Beneath the Covers for only 99c or free on KU.

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Deadly Deceit and NaNoWriMo

I’ve finalised the release date for the third book in the Foxy Mystery series. Drum roll……. Deadly Deceit will release in paperback and on all ebook platforms on the 1st December.

It’s loaded up all ready to go and I know, I could release it early, but I need time to get book 4 ready. I’m planning on finishing the first draft during NaNoWriMo. Don’t ask me how to pronounce it but lots of authors participate in this event. Personally, I’ve never taken part, mainly because I’m usually way too busy (it’s summer here in Australia) and I still might be, but I’m going to try and keep my head down and my fingers typing to finish the challenge.

I’m watching the pre-orders for Deadly Deceit tick over and its so inspiring. It just makes me want to write more. If you haven’t grabbed your pre-order copy, then click below.

Why Adelaide? Why a high-class Escort?

I can answer the first question easily. I used to live in the southern suburbs of Adelaide and grew up attending ballet classes in North Adelaide, playing games at the arcades on Hindley Street and eventually starting my first full-time job in Rundle Mall in Adelaide.

Setting the Foxy Mysteries series in Sydney just didn’t feel right for me. I’ve only been there a few times and I just wasn’t comfortable I could relax and let my imagination reach it’s full potential if I set the story in the harbour city. The bayside area and the Adelaide city scape was the only feasible option for me.

Why a high-class escort? Well your guess is as good as mine. I have no idea where Lillian Fox came from. Maybe she’s a product of my alter-ego. Maybe she simply emerged from the grass roots of this story. Rising from a time when women sold their bodies for money and were degraded by people of all walks of life, to a time now, where such a career is considered empowering by some.

Whatever the reason, Liz, aka Lillian, was born from my imagination. She is a strong, yet vulnerable woman who doesn’t let go of anything that is important to her.

Book 2 – Presumed Missing sees Liz go from full-time escort to part-time detective. She finds a new thrill she didn’t entirely expect. But in true Liz style, she also discovers trouble that could get her killed. Will Jack be there to save her this time?

Presumed Missing will be released on the 15th September. It’s getting great early review on Goodreads. I’ve kept the pre-order price at $2.99 so if you are keen to continue with Liz’s adventures, then grab your copy now.

Haven’t read book 1 yet? No problem. I’m dropping the price on Death Beneath the Covers to 99c for a limited time only. If you want to get started on this mystery, slow burning romantic suspense series, then get started now.