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WORK TITLE: The Breathless
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://www.taragoedjenauthor.com/
CITY: Monterey
STATE: CA
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
RESEARCHER NOTES:
| LC control no.: | n 2017020714 |
|---|---|
| LCCN Permalink: | https://lccn.loc.gov/n2017020714 |
| HEADING: | Goedjen, Tara |
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| 005 | 20170414124346.0 |
| 008 | 170411n| azannaabn |n aaa |
| 010 | __ |a n 2017020714 |
| 040 | __ |a DLC |b eng |e rda |c DLC |
| 100 | 1_ |a Goedjen, Tara |
| 670 | __ |a The breathless, 2017: |b ECIP t.p. (Tara Goedjen) |
PERSONAL
Female.
EDUCATION:Iowa State University, B.S., 2004; University of Alabama, M.F.A., 2008; University of Wollongong, Ph.D., 2013.
ADDRESS
CAREER
University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Department of English, instructor, 2004-08; IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, Tuscaloosa, AL, assistant editor, 2006-07; University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, Faculty of Creative Arts, instructor, 2010-13; Momentum, Pan Macmillan Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, staff editor, 2012-15.
WRITINGS
Fiction published in periodicals, including Fairy Tale Review, New England Review, and Australian Overland.
SIDELIGHTS
Tara Goedjen made her debut as a novelist with The Breathless, a murder mystery with supernatural elements, aimed at young-adult readers. “With The Breathless, I was exploring the idea that places can be imprinted by the people who have come before,” she told Joyce Lamb in an interview for USA Today‘s Happy Ever After Blog. “If something terrible happens in a house, or something beautiful, I believe those feelings never really leave the place completely. Someone can come across those spaces years later and think, why do I have goose bumps? Places are powerful, and they hold memories and stories in them—and I try to tell those stories.”
In The Breathless, that place is Blue Gate Manor, a decaying mansion on the Alabama coast. A young woman, Roxanne “Ro” Cole, died there under mysterious circumstances a year before the novel’s action begins. Her boyfriend, Cage Shaw, was seen standing over her body, but he then disappeared. A year later, he wakes up in a hospital, with few memories except a fuzzy recollection of a motorcycle accident. He goes to Blue Gate, where he is surprised to learn that Ro is dead and that he is suspected of killing her. He maintains his innocence, and Ro’s younger sister, Mae, is inclined to believe him. As Mae investigates her sister’s death, she comes across an old journal that has been handed down through the Cole family, most recently belonging to Ro. It appears to contain magical spells. It also emerges that in the nineteenth century, a Cole ancestor had fallen in love with a woman with supernatural powers, including the ability to raise the dead.
Several critics found The Breathless an intriguing tale, with its characters, setting, and plot all meriting praise. “This book has wonderful, dark descriptions of place and time and engaging characters, especially lead character Mae,” related Karen Sykeny in Voice of Youth Advocates. In addition, “the story keeps readers turning the pages,” she said. Stephanie Estrada, reviewing online at Young Folks, noted that Goedjen has “created an eclectic set of characters full of southern sass and wit, perfect for the bayou backdrop.” The author, Estrada added, reveals the story “teasingly, leaving the reader playing the guessing game for the most part.” In Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Kate Quealy-Gainer thought certain details surrounding the journal are “murky and unsatisfying,” but she commended some aspects of the novel, saying: “Goedjen holds true to the gothic tradition, bringing together horror, romance, and tragedy in one creepy old house.” A Kirkus Reviews contributor observed that the setting “suits the creepy, ritualistic, magical elements of a plot that confuses at times but mostly weaves together by the ending twists.” Estrada recommended The Breathless to “anyone looking for a hightail hit and run mystery.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, November, 2017, Kate Quealy-Gainer, review of The Breathless, p. 117.
Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2017, review of The Breathless.
Voice of Youth Advocates, December, 2017, Karen Sykeny, review of The Breathless, p. 67.
ONLINE
AGNI Online, http://www.bu.edu/agni/ (May 26, 2018), brief biography.
Tara Goedjen Website, https://www.taragoedjenauthor.com (May 26, 2018).
USA Today Happy Ever After Blog, https://happyeverafter.usatoday.com/ (October 10, 2017), Joyce Lamb, interview with Tara Goedjen.
Young Folks, https://www.theyoungfolks.com/ (October 20, 2017), Stephanie Estrada, review of The Breathless.
Tara Goedjen adores fairytales, mysteries, and ghost stories, and is the author of THE BREATHLESS, forthcoming 10/10/17 from Delacorte Press (Random House Children's Books).
Tara wrote her first story at age ten about children who disappeared at midnight, and she’s been writing ever since. Mostly raised in Alabama, she played college tennis in Iowa and then moved to Alaska and Australia before heading back to the continental US.
While completing grad school, Tara worked as a tennis coach, a yoga instructor, a university writing teacher, and as an editor for a publishing house. These days, when she’s not making up stories, she's probably going for a hike, staring at a to-do list, reading a novel, or eating all of California’s seasonal fruit.
For rights inquiries, please contact Tara's agent: Catherine Drayton with InkWell Management.
Tara Goedjen is a PhD candidate at the University of Wollongong in Australia, where she teaches creative writing. Her fiction has recently appeared in Fairy Tale Review, New England Review, and the Australian Overland, and is forthcoming in Kenyon Review Online. She has a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Alabama, and is currently at work on a novel.
AGNI has published the following work by Tara Goedjen:
•Absence of Oxygen in Town Creek
Tara Goedjen
Writer & Editor
Tara Goedjen University of Wollongong
Monterey, California 414 414 connections
Freelance editorial work for trade book publishers and private clients. I hold a PhD and an MFA in creative writing.
Experience
Tara Goedjen
Writer & Editor
Company Name Tara Goedjen
Dates Employed 2005 – Present Employment Duration 13 yrs
Momentum, Pan Macmillan Australia
Editor
Company Name Momentum, Pan Macmillan Australia
Dates Employed May 2012 – Mar 2015 Employment Duration 2 yrs 11 mos
Location Sydney, Australia
University of Wollongong
Instructor (Faculty of Creative Arts)
Company Name University of Wollongong
Dates Employed Jul 2010 – Sep 2013 Employment Duration 3 yrs 3 mos
Location New South Wales, Australia
University of Alabama
Instructor (Department of English)
Company Name University of Alabama
Dates Employed 2004 – 2008 Employment Duration 4 yrs
Location Tuscaloosa, Alabama Area
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Assistant Editor
Company Name IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Dates Employed 2006 – 2007 Employment Duration 1 yr
Location Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Education
University of Wollongong
University of Wollongong
Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Field Of Study Creative Arts
Dates attended or expected graduation 2010 – 2013
University of Alabama
University of Alabama
Degree Name Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.)
Field Of Study Creative Writing
Dates attended or expected graduation 2005 – 2008
Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Degree Name Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
Field Of Study Marketing
Dates attended or expected graduation 1999 – 2004
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Ashley Thomson
Ashley Thomson
Writer | Editor | Graduate Student
December 11, 2015, Ashley was a client of Tara’s
I worked with Tara during my time as the in-house Book Editor at Momentum, a digital imprint of Pan Macmillan Australia. In the year that I held that position, Tara was contracted on a freelance basis to perform copy and structural edits on a broad range of novel-length manuscripts for us. Her work was never anything less than totally exemplary: professional, thoughtful, detailed and incisive. Any manuscript would be lucky to have her.
Rachel L. Demeter
Rachel L. Demeter
Author, Writer & Editor
August 2, 2015, Rachel was a client of Tara’s
I was fortune to have Tara Goedjen assigned as my editor for my Momentum (Pan Macmillan Australia) publication.
Oftentimes, the editing process can be tedious and painful—yet with Tara, it was inspirational and an amazing learning experience. Her expertise and astute attention to detail not only elevated the quality of my manuscript to another level, but fueled my personal growth as an artist. This is the highest praise I can give an editor.
Her passion was evident throughout the entire process—and I felt as though she truly understood my characters and every subtle nuance of my story. Her editing style complemented my writing so perfectly . . . I never felt like she was intruding on my author’s voice, and the suggestions she made were consistently sharp and on point. Her literary knowledge, efficiency, responsiveness, enthusiasm, and courteous attitude impressed and moved me beyond words. I can say, without a doubt, that my manuscript would have never achieved the same quality and depth without Tara’s dedication. I am very appreciative of her hard work and determination, and I cannot recommend her services enough.
Tara Goedjen is a remarkably talented editor and a gift to all writers.
Sophie Masson
Sophie Masson
Independent Writing and Editing Professional
January 29, 2015, Tara worked with Sophie in the same group
I worked with Tara on my book with Momentum, and greatly enjoyed it. Tara is a fantastic editor and publishing project director whose passion for books, literary skills, knowledge of the industry, efficiency, courtesy and understanding help to get the very best both out of manuscripts and authors. I highly recommend her to any prospective employer.
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Exclusive Q&A: Authors Adriana Mather and Tara Goedjen Know All About Ghost Stories. . .
It's Halloween season and we are totally crushing on Haunting the Deep by Adriana Mather and The Breathless by Tara Goedjen, two creepy tales full of ghosts, witches, and twists that will chill you to the bone.
We sat down with both authors to learn more about their inspirations, writing process, and of course, their favorite Halloween costumes.
1. What was your favorite Halloween costume as a teenager?
Adriana: A banana! The costume was HUGE. I could barely walk in it. But now I have a dog named Banana, so it holds a special place in my heart.
Tara: My favorite costume ever was for a Mad Max–themed party.
2. What is your favorite scary movie?
Adriana: First, let me say that scary movies are SCARY, and I try to avoid them so that I don’t add to my already long list of absurd fears. But if I had to choose, I would say The Shining. (It continues to be a mystery to me how I love to write spooky books considering how easily I get scared. #IConfuseMyself)
Tara: The Shining, hands down.
3. What is your favorite fall treat?
Adriana: Pumpkin pie and anything that involves coffee and whipped cream.
Tara: I once lived in Alaska, where I was cold nearly all the time. It always felt like fall or winter to me, and there was always the smell of a fire and crispness in the air. Anyway, there was a little shop there named Kaladi Brothers Coffee, which had the perfect selection of tea and coffee and hot chocolate, and I still remember how happy walking through those doors made me.
4. What inspires your writing?
Adriana: Old creepy stories, family history, travel, and dreams.
Tara: Usually ideas come to me because of a place I’ve visited, and something about it calls to me. Sometimes it’s as specific as a tale about the place’s history or as fleeting as the way the streetlight hits a house on a dark lane. I have a very vivid imagination, and I’ve always been a daydreamer. I have a tendency to think of what-if scenarios everywhere I go, and they’re usually panicky. Like, how would I survive if this bus drove off the bridge? Or what would happen if a bee stung my neck and I couldn’t breathe?
5. Do you have any unique writing habits? What is your process like?
Adriana: I write in bed. Someone once compared me to the grandparents in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. And I thought, yes, that is the most apt comparison I’ve ever gotten.
The most important thing I do while writing, though, is give it my time. I know that sounds obvious, but it makes all the difference. I will write for weeks (sometimes months) on end, from when I get up until I’m exhausted. The story just takes over my life, and until it’s on paper, it’s hard for me to focus on anything else.
Tara: For me, it’s best to stay with a story as much as possible while I’m drafting. To write for long stretches, every day, until I’ve written “the end.” It’s a breakneck pace that would be impossible to keep up without burning out. But if I could have my preference, that’s the way I’d work on every book. A full-on, concentrated effort for a few months to get the arc of the narrative down.
The best part of immersing yourself in the world and its characters is when they begin to seep into everyday reality. Sometimes, when you’re working on a project, you start to hear it echo back at you. For example, you might be reading about a particular legend that is really obscure, and then your neighbor will bring it up out of the blue the next day. These are the uncanny coincidences that happen when you’re always carrying a project with you in the back of your mind. But, of course, what really gets the work done is sitting down in front of a computer and just doing it.
I used to be able to write before my day job and after I got home, but now that I have an eight-month-old daughter, it’s all about snatching whatever free minutes I can find and writing as much as I can. In an ideal world, my process would always include a lot of time and a cup of coffee (and some chocolate)!
6. What is your all-time favorite book or author?
Adriana: ONE BOOK? I worry about picking a favorite, because I don’t want the other books to get their feelings hurt. But how about the books that had the biggest impact on me as a child/teen? Anne of Green Gables, The Color Purple, The Little Prince, Siddhartha, and Slaughterhouse-Five.
Tara: Beloved by Toni Morrison. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. A recent favorite is The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black.
7. What is the last book you read?
Adriana: I’m currently reading A Poison Dark and Drowning by Jessica Cluess.
Tara: I just came across The Girl from the Well by Rin Chupeco. I thought it was absolutely stunning—just like Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova, which I’m currently reading. (I’m on the last chapter as we speak!) And I can’t wait to get my hands on Amanda Searcy’s debut, The Truth Beneath the Lies.
8. What is your favorite show to binge-watch?
Adriana: It’s a tie between Gilmore Girls and The Office—they always makes me laugh.
Tara: Stranger Things and Game of Thrones.
9. What is a fun fact about you that your readers might not know?
Adriana: I used to ask my father to break open the stones in our driveway when I was a kid because I wanted to know what was inside them. And even now, if I find a pretty rock, I’ll bring it home with me.
Tara: This is the year that I became a mom. Watching my daughter learn something new about the world every day has been incredible, and I already know that there’s so much for me to learn from her. She puts a new perspective on the world for me. For example, the other day I brought in a cactus and set it down near her bouncer. (Don’t worry; it wasn’t close enough for her to touch.) The next thing I knew, she had turned toward it and was babbling away, as if she expected it to talk back to her. And who knows, maybe it did!
10. What is the one thing you want readers to know about your new books?
Adriana: The mystery in Haunting the Deep was inspired by an old letter I found in my grandmother’s desk, which recounted the story of how my relatives survived the Titanic.
Tara: The Breathless is the book I wrote for my younger self. I moved around a lot when I was a kid, and I turned to books when I was feeling lonely or when I didn’t know anyone at a new school. Books were my friends back then, and they still are. I’ve always loved stories that are exceptionally strange, like Stephen King novels, and books that are poetic and tragic and powerful, like anything by Toni Morrison. My favorite stories are the ones that have a little magic in them, a glimpse of life beyond the one we’ve come to know.
The Breathless is what I would have wanted to read when I was younger—a book about being resilient, about wanting there to be something more to the world than what the eye can see, and longing to change the future for the better, no matter what hand the world has dealt us or what mistakes we’ve made in our past.
Haunting the Deep
Haunting the Deep
By Adriana Mather
The Titanic meets the delicious horror of Ransom Riggs and the sass of Mean Girls in this follow-up to the #1 New York Times bestseller How to Hang a Witch, in which a contemporary teen finds herself a passenger on the famous “ship of dreams”—a story made all the more fascinating because the author’s own relatives survived the doomed voyage.
Samantha Mather knew her ...
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The Breathless
The Breathless
By Tara Goedjen
For fans of the dark family secrets of We Were Liars and the page-turning suspense of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, The Breathless is a haunting tale of deeply buried secrets, forbidden love, and how far some will go to bring back what’s long dead.
No one knows what really happened on the beach where Roxanne Cole’s body was found, but her boyfriend, Cage, took off that night and ha...
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Quoted in Sidelights: “This book has wonderful, dark descriptions of place and time and engaging characters, especially lead character Mae,” related Karen Sykeny in Voice of Youth Advocates. In addition, “the story keeps readers turning the pages,”
Goedjen, Tara. The Breathless
Karen Sykeny
Voice of Youth Advocates.
40.5 (Dec. 2017): p67. From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2017 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC http://www.voya.com
Full Text:
Goedjen, Tara. The Breathless. Delacorte/ Penguin Random House, October 2017. 368p. $17.99. 978-1-5247-1476-5.
4Q * 4P * S * NA
This mysterious and suspenseful gothic tale quickly introduces readers to Mae Cole who is grieving her older sister's mysterious sudden death a year earlier. When her sisters boyfriend, Cage, who disappeared the day of Roxanne's death, returns with no memory, events start to unfold which force Mae to investigate her family's history, including the eerie family estate, Blue Gate Manor. Mae finds a little green book containing spells and names of initiates, including her grandfather and Roxanne. This discovery makes Mae desperate for the truth about her sister's death, but she is not sure who she can trust. The narrative also flashes back to events over a hundred years earlier. The past events and powers that Mae cannot understand culminate in the solution of a fantastic mystery.
This book has wonderful, dark descriptions of place and time and engaging characters, especially lead character Mae. Her relationships with the various characters in the story are complex and interesting. The story keeps readers turning the pages to discover who is good and who is evil and what choices Mae will make. This title is full of witchcraft and creepy settings with a mystery to solve, and it is definitely worth purchasing, especially where horror and mystery fiction is popular.--Karen Sykeny.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Sykeny, Karen. "Goedjen, Tara. The Breathless." Voice of Youth Advocates, Dec. 2017, p. 67.
Book Review Index Plus, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A522759465 /GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS&xid=34f75385. Accessed 19 Apr. 2018.
1 of 3 4/19/18, 9:47 PM
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MA...
Gale Document Number: GALE|A522759465
2 of 3 4/19/18, 9:47 PM
Quoted in Sidelights: “suits the creepy, ritualistic, magical elements of a plot that confuses at times but mostly weaves together by the ending twists.”
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MA...
Goedjen, Tara: THE BREATHLESS
Kirkus Reviews.
(Aug. 15, 2017): From Book Review Index Plus. COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Goedjen, Tara THE BREATHLESS Delacorte (Children's Fiction) $17.99 10, 10 ISBN: 978-1-5247-1476-5
A Southern gothic about family secrets and a dead sister.Nearly a year ago Cage Shaw fled after being spotted over the dead body of his girlfriend, Ro Cole. Ro's artistic younger sister, Mae, still doesn't know what really happened--though she suspects it was more than it appeared to be after finding an old family-heirloom journal that was most recently Ro's. In it is such disturbing content as the "Ritual for a Raising," other apparent spells, and cryptic notes, some written by Ro herself. Meanwhile, Cage wakes in a hospital with vague memories of a motorcycle crash and makes his way back to the decaying Cole home, Blue Gate, where he's shocked to learn that a year has passed, Ro is dead, and he is a pariah. He says he's innocent, and Mae finds herself believing him. In between Mae's investigation of Ro's secrets and Cage's attempts to figure out what's happened over the past year, the text jumps back into Cole family history, to 1859, when Grady Cole falls for a magic-using outsider with the ability to raise the dead. The modern-time romance is light, as both of Mae's potential love interests are hung up on Ro, and the setting--the derelict estate on the Alabama coast--suits the creepy, ritualistic, magical elements of a plot that confuses at times but mostly weaves together by the ending twists. All characters are white. A plot-heavy saga. (Paranormal romance. 12-18)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Goedjen, Tara: THE BREATHLESS." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Aug. 2017. Book Review Index Plus,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A500364708/GPS?u=schlager&sid=GPS& xid=61a5cf62. Accessed 19 Apr. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A500364708
3 of 3 4/19/18, 9:47 PM
Quoted in Sidelights: “With The Breathless, I was exploring the idea that places can be imprinted by the people who have come before,” she told Joyce Lamb in an interview for USA Today‘s Happy Ever After Web log. “If something terrible happens in a house, or something beautiful, I believe those feelings never really leave the place completely. Someone can come across those spaces years later and think, why do I have goose bumps? Places are powerful, and they hold memories and stories in them — and I try to tell those stories.”
Interview: Tara Goedjen, author of ‘The Breathless’
By: Joyce Lamb | October 10, 2017 12:01 am
Tara Goedjen (Photo: Katherine Kendall)
Joyce: Welcome to HEA, Tara! Please tell us a bit about your new release, The Breathless.
Tara: The Breathless is a Young Adult Gothic mystery. Seventeen-year-old Roxanne Cole is adored by all, but she has a secret. When she suddenly dies, everyone points the finger at Ro’s boyfriend, outsider Cage Shaw. No one believes him when he swears he can’t remember what happened. But then Ro’s sister discovers something in the Cole house that might let them reverse fate … if they’re willing to go through with it. The Breathless is a book about second chances, and what we’ll do for the ones we love.
Joyce: What inspires your book ideas?
Tara: My book ideas usually come from my obsessions, or from history and legends. When I was a kid, I loved reading about the Bermuda Triangle and alien abductions and unsolved mysteries … anything that got my imagination going and made me think about the world in a different way.
With The Breathless, I was exploring the idea that places can be imprinted by the people who have come before. If something terrible happens in a house, or something beautiful, I believe those feelings never really leave the place completely. Someone can come across those spaces years later and think, why do I have goose bumps? Places are powerful, and they hold memories and stories in them — and I try to tell those stories.
Joyce: Is there anything interesting that’s happened to you while doing research for a book?
Tara: While I was writing The Breathless, I found myself at a crossroads at one point. I couldn’t decide whether to ground the story in realism and explore the dynamics of the South, or move the book into a more supernatural territory. I was living in Australia at the time, and in order to give myself some space to think, I went for a walk on a beach. The beach was completely empty, and it was a foggy day, so I felt very alone. And as I was walking along the shore, all of a sudden I saw that some words were written in the sand ahead of me, in huge block letters. And they said GHOST WRITER. It made me smile, because that was the answer I was looking for. Go more supernatural — have fun with the book like you want to.
Joyce: Do you write by the seat of your pants, or do you carefully plot your stories?
Tara: I’m a little bit of a pantser and a plotter. To me, the best part of having an outline is being able to veer away from it when inspired. Surprising myself with an unexpected twist or direction in a scene might mean that I have to rethink the outline, but it usually feels like it has more breath and life that way.
Joyce: Would you like to share a favorite moment from your writing career?
Tara: One of my favorite eye-opening moments was the very first time I got a story published. I’d sent it out to magazines and received a ridiculous amount of standard rejections back in the mail. And then one day a journal I admired picked it up and eventually nominated it for a Pushcart Prize. That was the first time I realized that it’s impossible to please everyone with your writing. What one person loves for its lyricism and atmosphere might be what another person dislikes. The right people will hopefully find your book no matter what, and they’re the audience you’re writing for.
Joyce: Is there a TV show that you’ve recently binge-watched?
Tara: The Americans and a Russian miniseries called Ekaterina, about Catherine the Great. I’ll also be binge-watching season two of Stranger Things when it’s out!
Joyce: What’s your favorite snack and/or beverage while you’re writing?
Tara: Oh, that’s easy. Chocolate and a latte. But not just any chocolate — I have a fixation with Lindt sea-salt dark chocolate. The width, the texture, the taste — it’s perfection. 🙂
Joyce: What are you working on now?
Tara: Right now I’m working on a sci-fi novel set in the California desert. I love playing with the desert setting — there’s so much legend and lore surrounding the military bases there. I can’t go into too many details at this point, but basically I wanted to write a story about finding strength during a time of struggle, when the fate of the entire world hangs in the balance.
Joyce: Do you have anything to add?
Tara: For more about me or my book, please find me on Instagram! Thanks for the interview!
Joyce: Thanks, Tara!
About The Breathless:
No one knows what really happened on the beach where Roxanne Cole’s body was found, but her boyfriend, Cage, took off that night and hasn’t been seen since. Until now. One year—almost to the day—from Ro’s death, when he knocks on the door of Blue Gate Manor and asks where she is.
Cage has no memory of the past twelve months. According to him, Ro was alive only the day before. Ro’s sister Mae wouldn’t believe him, except that something’s not right. Nothing’s been right in the house since Ro died.
And then Mae finds the little green book. The one hidden in Ro’s room. It’s filled with secrets—dangerous secrets—about her family, and about Ro. And if what it says is true, then maybe, just maybe, Ro isn’t lost forever.
And maybe there are secrets so dark, they should never see the light of day.
Connect with Tara on Twitter @TaraGoedjen.
Quoted in Sidelights: “murky and unsatisfying,” but she commended some aspects of the novel, saying: “Goedjen holds true to the gothic tradition, bringing together horror, romance, and tragedy in one creepy old house.”
From: Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Volume 71, Number 3, From: Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Volume 71, Number 3, November 2017
p. 117 |
p. 117 |
Reviewed by
Kate Quealy-Gainer, Assistant Editor
Goedjen, Tara The Breathless. Delacorte, 2017 [368p]
Library ed. ISBN 978-1-5247-1477-2 $20.99
Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-5247-1476-5 $17.99
E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-5247-1478-9 $10.99
Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 8-12
In the year since her sister Roxanne’s death, Mae Cole has quietly mourned, while her father seeks Cage, Roxanne’s boyfriend and alleged murderer, to kill him. It’s a lucky break for Cage, then, that Mae answers the door when he shows up on the steps of the Coles’ decaying family manor, looking for Roxanne. His sudden appearance and his insistence that he has no memory of Roxanne’s death or the year since gives at least some substance to Mae’s belief that her sister’s untimely demise might have been due to Roxanne’s obsession with an old family spellbook. Focus shifts between Mae and Cage, while interspersed portions told by an unseen and likely ghostly narrator chronicle the creation of the spellbook over a century before Roxanne gets her hands on it. Goedjen holds true to the gothic tradition, bringing together horror, romance, and tragedy in one creepy old house, and the Cole family manor certainly makes an appealingly macabre setting. A nasty neighbor and his relationship to Mae’s sister are unnecessarily distracting, though, and the details of the magic surrounding the spellbook are murky and unsatisfying. There’s no ambiguity in the bittersweet ending, however, and it’s one that will leave readers heartbroken and haunted as Mae and Cage find peace in two different but poignant ways.
Copyright © 2017 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
Quoted in Sidelights: “created an eclectic set of characters full of southern sass and wit, perfect for the bayou backdrop.” The author, Estrada added, reveals the story “teasingly, leaving the reader playing the guessing game for the most part.”
"anyone looking for a hightail hit and run mystery.”
Book Review: THE BREATHLESS by Tara Goedjen
STEPHANIE ESTRADA OCTOBER 20, 2017
This book came just in perfect time for the start of October and all the fun there is to be had leading up to what has to be the best holidays ever (Halloween, duh)! While there are so many already-classic novels to be read during this month, The Breathless offered a refreshing viewpoint for a hauntingly mysterious thriller.
Tara Goedjen created an eclectic set of characters full of southern sass and wit, perfect for the bayou backdrop. Fittingly, as being set in the deep South might insinuate, tainted pasts and controversial futures are focused on. While some subjects in this novel might seem touchy, they added to what made an interesting backdrop for what might typically be considered a horror/thriller piece.
Secrets and lies come together slow and teasingly, leaving the reader playing the guessing game for the most part, which made reading a fun experience. While confusing at times, taking a moment to try and piece together different elements and characters in the story made for a fun activity. Suspicions fill-up most of the text and leave readers in the dark to put together their own assumptions in a tongue-in-cheek fashion.
Anyone looking for a hightail hit and run mystery murder will love the hauntingly romantic elements of this gothic thriller set in the South.
Find The Breathless on shelves October 10th, 2017 wherever books are sold.