Back in 2015 I wrote a blog that began with the words, ‘Dear Pandora English fans, thank you for your patience…’

I want to reiterate that statement today, and follow it up with some rather excellent and long-awaited news. When I last blogged about Pandora English, it was about needing to find a new home for her series. Well, we found it.

 Pandora’s full story to date is being republished by Echo Publishing, and with gorgeous new covers Great Aunt Celia would surely appreciate. Pandora’s epic story told through The Blood Countess, The Spider Goddess, and The Skeleton Key, is coming to a bookstore near you, starting today. If it’s not on the shelves at your local bookstore, ask those lovely people behind the counter to order it in and it will be with you in a flash!

Happy republication date, Pandora.

And equally exciting, on March 3 the long-awaited fourth story in Pandora’s journey, The Cobra Queen, will finally be released. This series resurrection has been a labour of love for me as an author, and I so look forward to sharing this latest instalment with you all.

I always imagined Pandora and her world as an homage to classic mythology, old school horror tales and popular stories of the paranormal, but with a twist. Hers is a world where the witches aren’t always evil, and for that matter, neither are the fanged undead (though to be fair, they aren’t all that easy to live with either) and perhaps most importantly, the women aren’t relegated to the role of victim, love interest or innocent young girl who need saving. In Pandora’s world, women are powerful and complex, if not always good. They are villains and heroes, but never one dimensional. The publication of The Cobra Queen next month will mark 21 years and a lucky 13 books in my personal project to center women’s voices and experiences in my beloved genre fiction and non-fiction.

These are stories for everyone, but stories told differently. As an avid reader, and as a writer, I believe these differences in storytelling make them more exciting and important.

The Cobra Queen

In the months since Pandora English left the small town of Gretchenville to live with her mysterious great aunt in a supernatural Manhattan suburb, her whole world has been turned upside down.

Pandora has discovered she is the chosen one, the Seventh Daughter of a Seventh Daughter, and during the impending Revolution of the Dead, she alone will have the power to save all life as we know it. The Agitation is unfolding, building towards the Revolution, and Pandora can no longer deny the truth in these incredible prophecies. But what will she do when the moment comes? How can she stand against the army of the dead?

Pandora’s relationship to her spirit guide, Lieutenant Luke, is intensifying. She’s had to grapple with ghosts, vampires and necromancers. Now, with the Blue Moon approaching and a new exhibition opening at The Met, which celebrates an ancient female pharaoh done wrong in antiquity, powerful forces threaten to upend the balance of life and death. Pandora is given the chance to find out what happened to her parents all those years ago, but first she must put her own supernatural gifts to the test.

I hope you enjoy Pandora’s ongoing story. She is The Seventh, and though The Cobra Queen is landing seven years – yes, you read that right, seven – after her planned released date, there is no doubt the residents of Spektor, and the citizens of New York will notice her arrival. I hope you will, too.

Readers, I couldn’t do this without you.

x Tara 

Buy the series now at Booktopia, Dymocks, Angus and Robertson, Readings and more. Read an excerpt here.

Praise for the Pandora English series:

‘Packed with mystery, evil intentions and things that go bump in the night, Pandora’s world is breathtakingly addictive…Moss has created a world that is dark, Gothic, uniquely funny and often downright terrifying without an overt morbid feel. Pandora has fast become my favourite heroine and I can’t wait to see what danger she leads us into next.’

– Burn Bright Australia

‘The Skeleton Key is the third instalment in the ‘Pandora English’ series—paranormal adventure stories interwoven with elements of mythology and populated with handsome men, ghosts, witches, vampires and a colourful array of undead folk… The series is fun and makes some humorous swipes at the fashion and beauty industries.’ 

– Bookseller+Publisher magazine

‘[Moss] has fashioned an entertaining, original vampire tale. Orphan and aspiring writer Pandora English moves to her aunt’s gothic mansion in Manhattan and discovers a strange world in which Hollywood, high society and darker forces merge. In a word: macabre.’

– Gold Coast Bulletin

‘The book’s humour is broad…characters are well written. Pandora is infinitely more likeable than Bella… (The Blood Countess is an) amusing blend of horror and haute couture.’

– Australian Book Review

‘Moss’ writing style made this book a pleasure to read and set my imagination aflutter. Her reinterpretation of classic horror characters separates this book from the others in its genre keeping it fresh and exciting… I can’t wait for the next in the series.’

– W Channel Book Club Australia