What Happens When You Write a Murder Mystery with Marissa Meyer?
(Hint: Chaos and Genius 🧩 )
Welcome 👋
Welcome to my first newsletter! I’m Tamara Moss, an author in Perth, Western Australia (Whadjuk Nyoongar boodjar). I write all kinds of things for children, YA, and adults.
🗞️ In this Newsletter
Ever wondered how two writers—one in Perth, one in the US—co-write a murder mystery about an escape room reality show? The result is a rollercoaster of puzzles, plotting, and a LOT of Zoom calls.
How parenting a young child while writing murder mysteries actually works.
Exclusive: My hot take on the books and podcasts you need in your life right now (trust me, you’ll want to bookmark these).
Oh, and there’s a brain-twisting puzzle to solve at the end because… why not?
My Publishing Journey 📚
The Lintang series kicked off my publishing career:
Then came my adult books under the pen name Tamara M Bailey:
Next will be my YA murder mystery (out spring 2026), co-written with superstar Marissa Meyer:
The Escape Game is a murder mystery set on an escape room reality show. You can find out more about our writing process in part one of our interview below, as well as this Publisher’s Weekly article.
You can also hear Marissa and I talk about it on Marissa’s podcast The Happy Writer.
What I’m Working On Now
In 2022, when my daughter was a month old, I began writing an adult murder mystery. I used a pen and notebook, because it was easier to do it with one hand while I held my baby with the other.
Two-and-a-half years later, Marissa’s sent me notes from her beta read and I’m about to make a bunch of edits before sending it out to the world. Meanwhile, I’ve just beta read her upcoming novel The House Saphir (SO good).
Then we’re diving into the first draft of book two of The Escape Game!
Interview with Marissa Meyer and Tamara Moss Part 1
How did you come up with the idea?
Tamara: A brief pitch for The Escape Game: escape room reality show murder mystery. Basically, it’s Hollywood, contestants, puzzles, codes, and murder. This was so hard to write, but so much fun.
Marissa: Tamara and I have been beta readers for decades, and we’d always wanted to co-write a book together. But it was never the right time, and we never had the right premise. Then one day, I was at an art-heist-themed escape room with my family when I thought, “What if we unlocked one of these props and there was a dead body inside?” I was immediately smitten with the idea of a murder mystery set in an escape room, but I was also intimidated by the concept. (Tamara’s not lying, it was both very hard and very fun to write!) So I knew right away that I would love to have a cowriter, and I knew just who to ask…
Tamara: Interestingly, the original plan we came up with is now the premise for book 2 (title still to be announced). As we were working on the outline, we realised we had to go back and tell the story of how our four main characters met… and The Escape Game was born.
What was it like co-writing a book?
Tamara: Great! Being in different time zones meant we were continuously drafting, day and night. Marissa’s big on outlining, so we knew where the book was going, and could skip ahead if need be. We initially took a point of view each (two characters per author), but by the time revisions and edits came through, we’d both worked thoroughly on each character.
Marissa: I think there are also books that just benefit from having two brains trying to tackle the big conundrums and come up with solutions, and this was definitely one of those books. There are a lot of moving pieces, with a cold case murder mystery and numerous suspects, the drama of the reality TV competition, the puzzles within the escape rooms, and the puzzles intended to lead to the murderer. When we got stuck or overwhelmed, it was so great to be able to have a zoom call and work our way through it together.
For the second half of this interview, sign up to Marissa’s newsletter (scroll to the bottom of her home page.
Recommendations
The Justice of Kings by Richard Swan
I’m currently reading the third in the Empire of the Wolf series and it is, honestly, bliss. You can sink into this world the way you would sink into a cosy armchair by a crackling fireplace. The Justice of Kings was my top read for 2024. It’s about a small law enforcement team travelling to the outer reaches of the empire to maintain justice… while in the background, the empire begins to fall. From the cover and the first few pages, it seems very male-dominated, but I was thrilled to realise the point of view is a woman, and as the series goes on, more women make their way to the forefront. Political betrayals, death magic, monsters, adventure… did I mention bliss? Be warned, though – it gets gory.
The Shit No One Tells You About Writing Podcast
If you’re an author and you’re not on this, get on it. Their Books with Hooks section is invaluable. It’s two agents and an author breaking down submissions (query letters and the first five pages). The show not only teaches you how to correctly construct a query letter, but I’ve learnt so much about interiority from listening to hours and hours of them discussing where authors can dig deeper into their characters in the first five pages.
Wine Bars
I went to my first wine bar ever recently. Can’t believe it’s taken me so long to try one! The lovely YA author Kate Emery took me to Vincent Wine. Not only did I get to try a delicious red, but I had a fresh crab tart and we shared a cheese board. A fab way to spend a Friday night! (Side note: I was late because my toddler thought it would be fun to hide naked under a bucket (pretending to be the Ghost Basket from Bluey) instead of getting in the bath.)
Epiphany
A snippet of wisdom that’s helped me become a better writer.
Going back to my recommended podcast, The Shit No One Tells You About Writing, here’s something I’ve picked up from all their talk on interiority. Think about a major theme of the book you’re currently writing (e.g. love, death, spirituality, justice, freedom), and consider how the characters in your book relate to this theme. For example, my current WiP is a murder mystery, so I’ve spent time thinking about how each of my pov characters have experienced death. Have they known someone who’s died? What was the funeral like? Do they believe in an afterlife? How does their prior experience differ from the current one?
A simple exercise, but it’s been useful for understanding my characters better.
Puzzle
Solve this cryptic clue (5 letters):
Karl’s confused about these birds.
Answer next month. (Or in the comments section, if someone figures it out and shares it before then.)
I love Marissa Meyer and all of her books, so I’m really looking forward to reading this one! I’ll also be sure to look into some of your suggestions!