Tasha started writing in her spare time about 15 years ago. She worked as a magazine sub-editor then, so her day job helped her to build confidence as a writer.
Tasha's first novel gained the interest of the late literary agent Ali Gunn. When Tasha met with her, Ali told her that her novel needed some rewriting but that it had great potential. Tasha was over the moon and set to work immediately improving it. Even though she didn't sign with Ali in the end, Tasha had already benefitted from some great advice – for which she’ll always be grateful – and went on to write another novel, Package Deal, which found a new agent soon after.
To cut a long story short, neither that agent nor the one after – despite their best efforts – were able to find a publisher for Tasha's books. In 10 years of trying to access the publishing world, Tasha kept getting invited in to stand on the welcome mat, but never made it to the sofa.
In 2012, having heard that self-publishing on Amazon was gathering popularity, Tasha decided to give it a shot. By this time she had three manuscripts all ready to go and had nothing to lose by putting them out there. There certainly wasn’t anything to be gained by letting them gather dust at home unread.
Slowly Tasha's books began to sell. She was amazed, as she wasn’t sure if she’d sell any at all being an unknown, but despite not knowing her marketing elbow from a hole in the ground, Tasha's books seemed to
find their audience, and self-publishing has far surpassed her expectations.
Now, two years later, Tasha has just brought out a fourth novel, Blown-Away Man, and a collection of short humorous stories for children, The Adventures of Fartella Gasratilova.
Blown-Away Man:
Brought up in a sleepy Lincolnshire village by unassuming parents,
Ed Sullivan has, since the age of eleven, been on a mission to live the fullest and most successful life he can.
Now 40, creative director at a renowned London ad agency and married with two young children, life has moved on and become a little too predictable for Ed’s liking. Bored, restless and starting to doubt his achievements, he finds himself wondering what his old school friends are up to now…
It’s not long before Ed sets off to Lincolnshire to meet a group of old classmates whom he hasn’t seen in almost 25 years. But the evening turns out to be more of a distraction than he’d intended, when one of his old friends makes a revelation that turns his world upside down.
‘Blown-Away Man is a touching tale of what can happen when your life turns out just as you wanted it to, but not as you needed it to. With each new revelation in this complex story, you find yourself caring a little more about the characters, resulting in a poignant and heart-felt read. A brilliant book.’ Dorothy Koomson, author of The Ice Cream Girls
Bibliography:
Package Deal, Hot Property, Pearls, Blown-Away Man, The Adventures of Fartella Gasratilova
Blog: http://tashaharrison.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TashaHarrison_
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TashaHarrisonWriter