The Cobra Queen

A Pandora English Novel

Moving to Manhattan is never simple for a normal girl, and as Pandora English is discovering, she's not exactly as normal as she thought.

Pandora's new life is a far cry from her humble upbringing in sleepy Gretchenville (population 3999). By day she works as an assistant at a New York fashion magazine in trendy Soho. By night she lives with her Great Aunt Celia in a rambling NeoGothic Victorian mansion in Spektor - a suburb of Manhattan that isn't on any maps. But her new home not showing up on GPS is just the start of the weird. Her great aunt is suspiciously young for her years, and hangs out with a mysterious man named Deus, who has some rather unusual habits and abilities. Pandora isn't even sure he's a man. Her new neighbours are rather a mixed lot - some have fangs and aren't afraid to use them. And though she is dating a perfectly lovely young man considered to be one of the most eligible bachelors in New York, Pandora also has a crush on someone much older. Hundreds of years older. Lieutenant Luke, despite dying in the American Civil War, is livelier than you'd expect, and considerably more beautiful than any spirit guide has a right to be.

Somehow, despite all this, Pandora is beginning to get the hang of her new life. What's more, she is starting to discover powers she never knew existed, much less thought she possessed. This new life seems, somehow, to be what she was destined for. Had her late parents known what she was? If so, why had no one told her? And exactly what did it mean to be 'The Seventh'?

When Pandora is called to a magazine shoot at the MET Museum's Temple of Dendur for the new Egyptian inspired collections, Pandora is struck by a dark foreboding. Perhaps it is the mention of Isis and Osiris, gods of resurrection and the afterlife? She can't shake the feeling that supernatural trouble is stirring again. An ancient Egyptian queen with terrible power is set to manifest in New York. Will this bring the world one step closer to the apocalyptic Revolution of The Dead, when the dead will rise and take over the world of the living? Can Pandora and her paranormal allies can stop her? The much anticipated fourth novel in Tara Moss' bestselling Pandora English series sees Pandora face her greatest paranormal challenge yet.

Tara Moss is an author, novelist, documentary maker and presenter, speaker and human rights advocate. Since 1999 she has written 11 bestselling books, published in 19 countries and 13 languages, including the acclaimed Mak Vanderwall crime fiction series and the Pandora English paranormal series. Her first non-fiction book, the critically acclaimed The Fictional Woman, was published in 2014 and became a number one national non-fiction bestseller, and her iconic cover design, featuring her face labeled with 'fictions' or stereotypes about women won Best Non-Fiction Book Design. She is a PhD Candidate at the University of Sydney, and has earned her private investigator credentials (Cert III) from the Australian Security Academy.

The Cobra Queen
Echo
Author: Tara Moss
RRP: $29.99

Interview with Tara Moss

Question: What inspired the fourth novel in the Pandora English series, The Cobra Queen?

Tara Moss: Throughout the past two decades I have focused on centering the stories, histories and experiences of women and girls, and my Pandora English series is no different. In this book I focus on an ancient Egyptian queen wronged in antiquity. As a historical figure, I have been fascinated with her for years. (I'll let the readers discover who it is in their own time.) And of course my main character of Pandora is the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, the one who comes every 7 generations, or 150 years, and she is only just beginning to discover her power and purpose, as the crucial time nears.


Question: Can you talk us through your writing procedure? Do you set daily word count goals?

Tara Moss: I am disciplined, but I am not a routine-oriented person. I aim for 1000 words a day, but routines rarely work out in reality and some days I manage 0 words and other days I manage thousands. Life tends to intervene, I find. My advice is: Set goals, go for it, but try not to be too hard on yourself if things don't work out. You aren't alone.

Question: What's a typical day like, for you, currently?

Tara Moss: As you might have guessed from the answer above, there are few truly 'typical' days in my life. Sometimes I am at home writing, sometimes I am travelling on book tour, or researching, studying, taking a much needed break with my family in one of our vintage caravans. Each day brings something different. I have a personal motto that life is too short to live the same day twice.


Question: What's next for Pandora and yourself?

Tara Moss: Pandora has her hands full with the Cobra Queen and her role as the chosen one, and for my part, I am working on my 14th book, which will be a follow up to Dead Man Switch/The War Widow, a noir historical novel set in 1940s Australia.


Interview by Brooke Hunter

The Cobra Queen 
Echo
Author: Tara Moss
RRP: $29.99