09 Tuesday Sep 2008
Posted in Marilyn Monroe, Updates
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At JFK’s birthday gala, May 1962
I am proud to be contributing to a new series on the Immortal Marilyn website. Twilight profiles each of the major players in the controversial events leading to the death of Marilyn Monroe in 1962. For my first piece I have chosen to write about Marilyn’s publicist and close friend, Pat Newcomb.
23 Saturday Aug 2008
Posted in Books, Film, Marilyn Monroe
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Anna Sten, Arthur Miller, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Johnny Hyde, Maria Schell, Marilyn Monroe, Natasha Lytess, The Brothers Karamazov
Photo by Milton Greene
The Brothers Karamazov, the last novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky, was published in 1880. It is a story of three brothers who become implicated in the murder of their corrupt father, also named Fyodor. Dmitri, his eldest son, is a soldier, mired in a life of debauched excess. Ivan is a student, much disturbed by the irrationality of the world, while Alexei, the youngest of the brothers, is an idealistic novice monk. Both Dmitri and his father, Fyodor, fight for the affections of Grushenka, a peasant girl who has risen to the dubious status of courtesan. And in a further twist, Ivan falls for Dmitri’s erstwhile fiancée, the proud and haughty Katerina. Continue reading
02 Saturday Aug 2008
Posted in Books, Fiction, Marilyn Monroe, The Mmm Girl, Updates
≈ Comments Off on ‘The Mmm Girl’ Featured At Magical Marilyn
‘The Mmm Girl shows Marilyn Monroe as rational and strong, though also fighting the sadness inside her…the real person, created and affected by the actual details of her life…Tara Hanks beautifully conveys Marilyn’s feelings of loneliness and being an outsider…her writing leaves room for the imagination…the last pages of the novel are simple, sad and heartbreaking’ — Magical Marilyn
A review of The Mmm Girl and an interview with me appears in the latest Magical Marilyn magazine. You can read it here.
06 Sunday Jul 2008
Posted in Books, Brighton, Marilyn Monroe, The Mmm Girl, Updates
≈ Comments Off on ABCtales Live In Brighton
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About ten years ago, I regularly read poems and short stories at the Caxton Arms in Brighton. Then when I started writing novels, the urge to perform dwindled. Just a few months after moving back to Brighton, I was asked to read at the ABCtales Evening at St Michael And All Angels’ church on July 5th, as part of the Clifton, Montpelier And Powis Festival. Seven Dials has long been my favourite area of Brighton, so I was very glad to return and be recognised on my home turf.
ABCtales was one of the first websites I searched for when, always the late developer, I discovered the internet way back in 2003. Editors Tony Cook and Mark Brown encouraged me from the start, and I regularly posted my draft chapters. ABCtales offers aspiring writers a chance to share and receive feedback on their work, and many of its eclectic membership have gone on to achieve publication and acclaim. Continue reading
16 Monday Jun 2008
Posted in Books, Film, Marilyn Monroe, Non-Fiction
In Marilyn Monroe’s case, a picture really is worth a thousand words. Some of the most sumptuous photography books have been graced by her luminous presence. Marilyn Monroe: Platinum Fox, by Cindy De La Hoz, is dedicated to Marilyn’s image and film career, rather than her private life. It is wonderfully designed in a vivid, retro style evoking the 1950s, the decade when Marilyn became the world’s sexiest cultural icon. Twentieth Century Fox was the studio where her career began and ended, and each of her productions, from bit parts to blockbusters, are covered in detail.
Some film stills and publicity shots included here have never been seen before. The text lacks some depth but is light and entertaining, with plot summaries, character profiles, snippets of dialogue and trivia from behind the scenes. The main drawback of the book is it doesn’t cover some of the great work Marilyn achieved outside her home studio, from early gems like The Asphalt Jungle to classics like Some Like It Hot. But it is still a great introduction to Marilyn’s meteoric career, and a testament to her extraordinary love affair with the camera.
Related books: Blonde Heat – The Sizzling Screen Career Of Marilyn Monroe by Richard Buskin; Marilyn At Twentieth Century Fox by Lawrence Crown.
Tara Hanks 
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