Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Follow to get new release updates and improved recommendations
About Tara K. Ross
Customers Also Bought Items By
Are you an author?
Help us improve our Author Pages by updating your bibliography and submitting a new or current image and biography.
Author Updates
-
-
-
Blog postWelcome back to the first deep dive into the revision process. Today we are starting with a step that I never used to complete, but like many failed recipe attempts, I've learned it's ESSENTIAL! (Be sure to check back to my first post: Revise your Story in Four Essential Steps (The Cupcake Method) for an overview of all the steps I'll be covering. )
STEP ONE (READ THE RECIPE AND GATHER ALL THE INGREDIENTS):
My dad is an excellent cook, and he has drilled into my head this ide -
Blog postWoohoo! You completed a messy first draft during NaNoWriMo or over whatever time frame you needed (no judging here). Congratulations! The biggest hurdle has been reached
... or has it?
Under the sound advice of professional authors and editors everywhere, you have full permission to let that manuscript rest, but perhaps that rest period has become a few months....or even a few years?
Again, no judging, but we can't let our heart stories make it this far and then colle -
Blog postThe birds are returning from the south. Warmer days are ahead.
Have you ever heard the phrase, "In like a lion, out like a lamb" to describe March? My daughter said to me last week, "don't worry mom, the lamb is coming." I needed to look up this saying to understand her meaning. She knows winters are tough for me. She knows gentler weather will help reignite my creative spirit. She is wise beyond her years.
Today a woodpecker landed on what I assumed would -
Blog postEvery December, I make an attempt to update my Good Reads profile to include all of the books I've read over the course of the year. (Secret Tip: make sure you add a start or end date for each book that you read to make sure they show up on your year at a glance.)
After an hour or so, I had a nice list of all the books I've read in 2021 (I'm stll adding as I remember them!). Among this list, I pulled out my favorite five star reviews for your reading pleasure. You'll also notice a shi -
Blog postYes, this blog is called, "Hope Prose", and no I do not write poetry myself, but I LOVE poetry and the emotional release it can provide. I recently had the joy of chatting through email with a lovely FADE TO WHITE reader, and I found out she writes poetry. She was gracious enough to share one of her poems, and after reading it I begged her to allow me to share it here.
Mental illness is something I want to be normalized within our community, whether that is through conversat -
Blog postAt long last, you’ve written those two glorious words at the end of your manuscript *cue Glee-inspired jazz hands*. You then went back through your already gorgeous prose and rewrote the majority of it, except for that one heavenly-inspired chapter. No sentence has been left unscathed by your Find and Replace tool and your ellipses are finally under control. Phew! You have read your story aloud, had alpha, beta and momma readers, and crafted the perfect query letter. #MSWL, Query shark, and T
-
Blog postWriting Brave in a Fearful Time This past week, I took some time out of my three and a half jobs/commitments to indulge in one of my other passions - acting goofy on a camera! I was honored to be selected by Epic! Books to participate in their Epic! Live Facebook series. You can check out all of the Epic! Live videos,, HERE, including:
Episode 15: Be the Superhero of Your Own Epic! Story
Take your child’s biggest fears, add in their favorite superhero or heroine’s story, and -
Blog postFor the past week, I have been waking up with numb arms...like lead weights attached to my torso. Because I have the horrible default habit of assuming the worst, I automatically assumed I had a fast-moving neurological condition.
Fortunately for me, I’m married to a very practical and rational physiotherapist. He took one look at my home work station, and his ergo-meter exploded with disapproval. After an informal assessment, he recognized that my numbness was more likely due to ons -
Blog postWhen I found out my family would be in social isolation for a minimum of 14 days, the first thing I did was enter into a state of disorganized chaos. I read through way to many COVID-19 cancellation emails, proceeded to harass my lovely publisher about the great unknown future of the book world, obsessed over my social media feed, attempted three different writing projects, and proceeded to cry with my many looming deadlines. I then, within a completely irrational state decided to Pinterest h
-
Blog postThe final week of Advent has come and gone, and I have no guilt over posting late on this week’s theme of love. I had a Martha moment two days before Christmas, but with some prayer and quiet time, Mary won. I spent the past week resting in God’s peace, joy, hope, and love with no guilt over deadlines, priorities or must-do’s. I’ve had a chance to fight off a nasty cold ( I hope) and am excited about diving into edits in January for book two. All good reasons to be late.
To end off th -
Blog postThis week's blog post for #AdventforAuthors is all about JOY.
Sometimes in the days leading up to Christmas, we forget to slow down and spend time appreciating the small moments of joy within the bustle. Reading is one of those small joys for me. Ironically a change in my work schedule, which has resulted in an hour-long commute, has provided the perfect opportunity to indulge in more books than usual. Audiobooks that is. Same, same right?
Last summer, I saved a number of tit -
Blog postThis week's blog post for #Advent for Authors is all about PEACE.
(And yes, I have peacefully neglected to stay on schedule with Advent, but I will get there before the big day. Plus, I found the perfect book to showcase for this week, even though I technically missed it. )
I listened to Stephanie Morrill’s novel “Within These Lines” last month during my commute and I almost got into an accident due to it’s addictive and attention- encompassing storyline:
What it's abo -
Blog postFor December, I am reviving my book review blog posts with a four-part #AdventforAuthors book review series.
There are seasons for writing. Seasons for reading. And seasons for giving. I want to make December a season for giving back.
Advent, in Latin, means “Coming”. For some Christians, the four Sundays leading up to Christmas are used to celebrate the coming of Jesus into the world. Often, an evergreen wreath is used to symbolizes eternal life and four candles are lit leadi -
Blog postThis has been a month of building belief. Belief in what I’m passionate about, but also belief in things beyond my cozy niche in the world. I think most people are told as a child to believe in themselves, great things can be accomplished by those who try. But what does that really build? Perseverance, individuality, resiliency? Maybe. But what about self-reliance, competitiveness, and selfishness? Are those attractive outcomes to your belief? Is that your measure of success? I don't want the
-
Blog postATTENTION: Want to listen to this post instead? Click Here!
Last month I listened to the audiobook version of Fawkes by Nadine Brandes. I had approximately 22 hours of driving over four days, and this seemed like the perfect way to read this much-loved and talked about fantastical retelling of the story of Guy Fawkes. I was so inspired by the narration, and my new microphone that I decided to do an all audio-focused review! (You can read it below or listen to it here)
So I’ll -
Blog postSo this just happened. Rebekah Black and I chatted over skype maybe two months ago about this crazy idea of connecting readers of Christian YA books across countries, years and time zones and the next thing you know we have a podcast!
https://video.wixstatic.com/video/a1b73d_1e3a782da1be4a7b8c2dec7eb2fb6e8f/720p/mp4/file.mp4 l'm still in shock at how quickly this came together once we started moving. Even though the idea has been in the back of my mind for over a year, we decided to di -
Blog postThis month's read kept me up way past my bedtime. I was warned not to read it at night and failed to heed this advice. But, despite the nightmares, it was still so worth it.
The Delusion sucks you into the world of Owen Edmond by the end of the first page and doesn’t let go of you until the dramatic conclusion. Laura Gallier not only leaves cliff hangers at the end of each chapter, but even within scenes. I was gripped with curiosity, fear and a need for answers.
I first locat -
Blog postBet you can come up with countless excuses for why you shouldn’t do something life altering. Bet there is a chorus of supporters out there sharing woes for why it can’t be done.
That’s a pipe dream. It’s ok to get rejected. Ground your expectations in today’s reality. Be reasonable. Life isn’t a freezer full of mint-chocolate chip ice cream. Okay, maybe that last one is only specific to my life.
But here is what bombards us:
1) A culture that markets consumption in ever -
Blog postI have exciting news. I am officially a published author, one year ahead of schedule!
Slight caveat...it's for a short story with a foreign press. But, this is still amaze-balls. Why?
1) You can read Searching for Spotlights, for FREE along with a host of other touching and city inspired stories at Wells Street Journal.
2) This is your first chance to read my young adult (YA) fiction! I want to know what you think. Seriously. What do you like/not like? Speak now before -
Blog postSo I ventured out of my sweet spot of clean-contemporary-with-a dash-of-fantasy YA novels, to take on a thriller. Now fair warning, I don't read thrillers. This was an experiment for me to read outside of my usual bubble. And it was a fruitful venture indeed.
The Color of Lies: by C.J. Lyons
What is it about:
Ella Cleary has a unique condition called synesthesia, as does the rest of her surviving family. She can read the mood of others through the aura of colour that u
Titles By Tara K. Ross
