Welcome to the website for Tara Hanks, author of The Mmm Girl and Wicked Baby.
When stars collide,1984
In 1983, an upcoming singer had just scored her first international hit, ‘Holiday’. Determined to be more than a one-hit wonder, she contacted Freddy DeMann, manager of the world’s most successful pop star – Michael Jackson. In fact, Jackson had recently hired a new manager, which left DeMann free to devote his attention to the lesser-known, but fiercely ambitious Madonna. Continue Reading »
Posted in Madonna, Music | Tagged Madonna, Michael Jackson | 1 Comment »
Ten To One is a new series in which I’ll be interviewing writers I admire. First up is David Marshall, author of The DD Group, an investigation into the death of Marilyn Monroe, and Life Among The Cannibals, which imagines how Marilyn’s life might have progressed had she survived beyond 1962.
Posted in Books, Marilyn Monroe | Tagged David Marshall, Life Among The Cannibals, Marilyn Monroe, San Francisco, The DD Group | Leave a Comment »
Photo by Sergio Serrano
‘Let’s talk straight,’ Jenna Glatzer writes in her new, illustrated biography. ‘Marilyn Monroe was a fibber.’ This is certainly debatable, and The Marilyn Monroe Treasures adds generously to that legend with a lavish design, classic and rare photographs, and most significantly a collection of memorabilia, in facsimile – all officially endorsed by Monroe’s estate. Continue Reading »
Posted in Books, Film, Marilyn Monroe | Tagged Jenna Glatzer, Marilyn Monroe | 3 Comments »
'Jean Genies' by Ken Martin
American Bombshells: Marilyn and Jean Harlow, my latest addition to the ‘Marilyn’s Heroes’ series, can now be read at Immortal Marilyn. While researching and writing the article, I was struck by the empathy Marilyn felt for Harlow and the string of coincidences and uncanny parallels between their lives.
Jean Harlow was the original ‘blonde bombshell’ and a gifted comedienne. Her films are quite hard to find but are worth tracking down on Amazon.com, and are regularly screened on TCM. For further reading, I can recommend David Stenn’s Bombshell (for his definitive text) and Eve Golden’s Platinum Girl (for the pictures.) And online, film historian Lisa Burks has created ‘The Platinum Page’, an excellent website and blog devoted to Harlow’s life and work.
In other news, I have decided to conduct a series of interviews with writers and other people who interest me. My first subject will be David Marshall, author of The DD Group and Life Among The Cannibals. So please do revisit soon or subscribe (see top of page) to keep up with future developments, and as always, thanks to my loyal readers for your support.
Posted in Film, History, Marilyn Monroe, Updates | Tagged Blonde Bombshell, Jean Harlow, Marilyn Monroe | 2 Comments »
Radio Reverb is Brighton’s alternative, a community radio station where people can express themselves, open up dialogues and set their own agendas about what’s important, interesting, funny, cool or arty in the city.
Today marked the launch of Writers’ Hub, a new hour-long literary programme devised, produced and presented by Amy Lynn Riley. The first show included interviews with local author Sue Eckstein and a feature on the City Reads project, as well as an extract from my novel, The Mmm Girl, read by Shannon Magness, and a new poem by me on the subject of festival, Music Reminds Us.
You can download my segment of the show here – hope you enjoy it!
Posted in Books, Brighton, The Mmm Girl, Updates, Writing | Tagged Amy Riley, Brighton, Radio Reverb, Tara Hanks, Writing | Leave a Comment »
Questions snagged from Faye L. Booth
1. Are you a “pantser” or a “plotter?” I plan ahead to a degree – I write outlines, chapter and scene breakdowns – but how I get there is up to how I feel as I write, and subject to change.
2. Detailed character sketches or “their character will be revealed to me as a I write”? Quite detailed, I write character profiles but I discover more when I get down to writing scenes.
3. Do you know your characters’ goals, motivations, and conflicts before you start writing or is that something else you discover only after you start writing? My books are fact-based, but in my current novel the information I have is more about the background, time and place. The people I’m writing about now are real but I know very little about them – sometimes just when they were born, married, died. So despite being densely researched, the mainstay of my work is instinct and imagination. Continue Reading »
Posted in Writing | Tagged Faye L. Booth, Tara Hanks, Writing | 1 Comment »
The DiMaggios, Boston, January 1955
Dom DiMaggio, former centre fielder for the Boston Red Sox, has died aged 92. Known as the ‘little professor’ because of his bespectacled appearance and short, skinny build, Dom played major league baseball for ten seasons. Continue Reading »
Posted in History, Marilyn Monroe | Tagged Baseball, Boston Red Sox, Dom DiMaggio, Joe DiMaggio, Marilyn Monroe | Leave a Comment »
Just a quick note to let you know that you can read my review of Ted Schwarz’s Marilyn Revealed in the latest issue of the Mad About Marilyn fanzine. You can also find it here.
And many thanks to all of you who read and comment on my articles – long may it continue!
Posted in Books, Marilyn Monroe, Updates | Tagged Mad About Marilyn, Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Revealed, Ted Schwarz | Leave a Comment »
Marilyn Monroe by Jack Cardiff
Jack Cardiff, the renowned cinematographer, has died aged 94. The son of music hall entertainers, he acted in silent movies as a child. His earliest credits behind the camera were on Wings Of The Morning (1937), the first Technicolor film made in Britain, and a series of public information films during World War II. Continue Reading »
Posted in Art and Photography, Film, Marilyn Monroe | Tagged Jack Cardiff, Marilyn Monroe, The Prince And The Showgirl | 2 Comments »
