Best-selling author and Blue Mountains resident, Tara Moss may not have published any books this year, but that doesn’t mean she has been taking things easy.
At the moment she’s working on her eleventh novel, completing her doctorate studies and writing a non-fiction book. Add journalist, UNICEF ambassador, obsessive vintage shopper and most importantly mother to this long list of roles and you get a picture of what a standard week might look like for Tara.

This month she took a moment out of her busy life to fill Sydney Observer in on all of this, as well as give us some pointers about where to go next time we visit the Blue Mountains.

Why did you choose to settle down in the Blue Mountains?
The Blue Mountains very quickly became a part of my life in Australia from the time I first moved here from Canada, perhaps it’s a bit Canadian to me all the trees and the mountains and the cooler weather. But I think it goes beyond that. There’s something quite special about the place, especially for creative people and artists and writers. I think there’s a sense of creative energy up here that’s really helpful for one’s work.

How is living in the Blue Mountains different to living in Sydney?
I just think the Blue Mountains have a real character of their own and the people here are wonderful. A lot of us are a bit eccentric and I think that’s why I feel like we fit in really well. You canlive however you’d like to live in the Mountains; there aren’t so many rigid rules about the way you dress or the way you spend your time.

You published two books last year – ‘The Skeleton Key’ and ’Assassin’, but are yet to publish any this year. What are you working on at the moment?
I’m finishing the fourth book in my Pandora English paranormal series, ‘The Cobra Starship’, and also writing my first non-fiction book, which I’m keeping under wraps in terms of content at the moment. They should both be coming out next year, so 2014 will be another big publishing year for me!

So can you give us any hints as to what the non-fiction book you are writing will be about?
I can’t just yet. I’m going to wait until I get closer to the actual release of the book until I reveal what I’ve got in store, but I can say I’m really enjoying the writing process. It’s a challenging book to write and I look forward to sharing it.

Since 1999 you have published ten novels, all of which fall into the crime or paranormal genres. What draws you to this kind of subject matter?
I don’t think one necessarily makes a decision when they start writing about what areas they’ll write in but rather the stories. Crime stories and paranormal stories and stories of supernatural content, are the areas that have grabbed me, and the books that I felt wanted to be written. I’ve been reading crime for a long time, I’m a fan of a lot of crime authors, and so it has been natural for me to want to write in that genre. While in my paranormal series I was able to break away from that and imagine what might be possible but unproven, which was a lot of fun.

You’re also the UNICEF Australia Patron for Breastfeeding. Is this a hands-on role or more of a figurehead position?
I do like to be hands-on in my role; I’m very involved in terms of actually speaking to mothers and getting their message out. I also attend medical conferences so I’m across all of the issues and can write about them with accuracy. There’s a particular level of pressure and responsibility when discussing things like breastfeeding because unfortunately it’s such a divisive issue, and it has been misrepresented frequently. I think it’s important to have a really moderate and well-informed voice in the debate and I try to do that as much as I can.

So as an author, a mum, a writer, a student and a UNICEF advocate, what does a standard day for you entail?
I guess in reality there’s not standard day for me. Everyday is different. Next week for instance I’m quite involved with the Sydney Writer’s Festival, so I’ll be staying in hotels with my husband and little one. After that we’ll jump on our vintage caravan – we’re obsessive vintage caravan lovers – and drive down to Melbourne for work. Then we fly to Spain and we’ll be in Europe for two months while I launch my latest novel in Spanish, so really there’s no typical day for me!