After many years of traveling and working in international broadcasting, I now live in the alpine region of Australia with my partner, two kids, three cats, and two dogs. We have five acres, above the snowline, and finding ways to be sustainable, especially in winter, is quite a challenge. I am a dual UK/Australian citizen and Scotland and Australia feature heavily in my books.
My media work allowed me to travel to some phenomenal places, and experience amazing cultures. I speak Indonesian, but I regret not paying more attention in French. I use a lot of my experience working in other cultures in my books, trying to create a more inclusive world. But what really motivates me is watching my kids’ generation and wondering how they would do things differently if given the chance to rebuild the world. Would politics, religion, and legal systems play the same roles they do today?
My first degrees were in English Literature and History, but by the end of my Masters, I was completely burned out. But my love for literature and history never waned, and I have always loved visiting ancient sites, with a particular passion for mythology and Celtic archaeology, especially stone circles.
In 2018, I became quite sick, and after a week of watching Netflix, bored senseless, I realized there wasn’t going to be a better time. So I started writing Project Hemisphere, the now five-time award-winning first in the Antipodes series and never stopped. The main impetus for me was the bushfires in Australia, where we were evacuated from our homes several times and quite literally watched the world around us burning. It was impossible not to feel that the world was ending when you were packing up your kids, your pets, and your life, wondering if it was the last time you would see your home. I remember listening to students in my community fighting with politicians who kept saying, “Climate change wasn’t a thing,” and wondering if my generation had messed it up and if my kids’ generation would get it right if they had the chance. That was when I realized that I was a dystopian writer – not in a doom and gloom way, but in that “what would we do differently” way. What parts of our current society would we keep and what would we do differently? I love posing philosophical questions and grappling with alternate perspectives.
Finding time to write is my biggest challenge. After leaving broadcasting, mostly to be home more for my family, I changed sectors, and I am now the CEO of a multi-million dollar not-for-profit organization. The lack of travel motivation was an epic fail, as I travel just as much now, but I love my job, making a difference in the world. I also have two neurodiverse sons, so autism and mental health themes run throughout my books. It was important to me to normalize the conversation about mental health. We all struggle at times, and I knew that it was important to reflect these themes in my characters. It doesn’t define who they are but affects their decision-making.
When I write, I research everything! Plants, engineering and scientific concepts, medical conditions, and all sorts of random things. Ideas for books, sub-plots, or spin-offs often come to me while I am driving. I drive a lot for work, and I replay scenes in my head as I drive, looking for plotholes, considering a situation from another character’s perspective. In the early days, I found myself constantly pulling over to take notes to record new ideas, so I ended up installing a voice-to-text app on my phone so I could take notes while I was driving.
The Latitude series was a spin-off of the Antipodes series, as I wanted to see how the original characters’ children would do things differently. Each generation challenges their parents, so I was keen to see the original settlers as the established ones and what their children would do differently.
This year I committed to travel and attend international book signings – a long way from Australia. I started with Ages of Pages in New Zealand in April, followed by Authors at the Armouries in the UK in June.
I am headed back to New Zealand in 2025, and Scotland in 2026 – my second home. Every time I return, I never want to leave. There is something about the place that calls to me. Once my kids leave home, I can see myself moving back to the Scottish Outer Hebrides, living with a few cats in a tiny cottage near the standing stones of Callanish, which feature heavily in the Antipodes and Latitude series. Spending my days reading, writing and pottering around my garden. Of course, my coffee machine would need to come with me. Coffee, cheese, and a wee dram of whisky at night are essential.
Later this year, I am attending signings in Lexington, Pittsburgh, and Louisville, and I can’t wait to meet my US audience as well as other authors. Writing is a team sport and I love how the author community supports each other. Details of all of my signing events are listed on my website – www.tssimons.com – come along and meet me!
Tanya
TS Simons
