Author Crush Friday: Tara Kelly

GLITTER: For those who haven’t read your work yet, how would you describe your writing style?

TARA: Gritty with a healthy dose of humor. You can pretty much always count on misfit characters, a complicated romance, and a musical element.

GLITTER: What is the main plot of The Foxglove Killings?

TARA: Nova has lived in Emerald Cove her whole life. It’s a dying fishing town that now relies completely on tourism and the influx of wealthy summer residents, who locals call the “cakes”. The cakes look down on the locals, seeing them as uneducated and weird, and a some of them make Nova and her best friend Alex’s lives hell. Just as the cakes are returning to town for the summer, Alex, who always avoided trouble, starts acting like a different person–keeping secrets from Nova and picking fights with the cakes. Then one of the cakes goes missing.

When she turns up murdered, a foxglove in her mouth, a rumor goes around that Alex was the last person seen with her. As more evidence points toward Alex, everyone except Nova and her worst enemy, Jenika Shaw, starts to believe he did it. When Alex goes missing, it’s up to them to prove his innocence. But sometimes we only see what we want to…

GLITTER: How would you describe your characters in The Foxglove Killings? Who is your favorite character and why?

TARA: There is a big class divide in the town of Emerald Cove, and my characters reflect that. I would describe Nova, her friends, and other locals as tough and resilient. They haven’t had much handed to them in life, and they’re used to being looked down on, so they’ve learned to make the best of their situations. I’d say Jenika, Nova’s archenemy,  was my favorite character to write. She had so many hidden depths and layers to her, and quite honestly I found her fascinating.

GLITTER: What one book of yours would you love to see turned into a movie or TV show?

TARA: Can I say all of them? Sorry, I was a Film major who originally wanted to be a screenwriter–can’t help it. I’d love to see The Foxglove Killings as a movie, and my Amplified series as a TV show. I know I kind of cheated…

GLITTER: Who was your first book boyfriend?

TARA: Gilbert Blythe, all the way. Anne was kind of my hero in elementary school.

GLITTER: What genre do you prefer writing?

TARA: YA Contemporary and New Adult.

GLITTER: What one piece of advice could you give any teen going through difficult times now?

TARA: Think of something you really want to do and find a way to do it. I wanted to be a writer and a musician, so I threw myself into it. That was my light at the end of the tunnel. I really do feel my art helped me survive my teen years.

GLITTER: What are you currently working on?

TARA: A gritty “he said, she said” YA romance set in Vegas and inspired just a wee bit by Pump Up The Volume.