Tahlia is an avid reader, an extremely casual high school teacher & an occasional mask-maker. She reads and writes urban fantasy for adults & young adults and likes to challenge readers to look more closely at the nature of their world, their mind and their perception. After creating and performing in Visual Theatre shows for 20 years, she is now a bone-fide expatriate of the performing arts. She lives in an Australian rainforest, is married with a teenage daughter and love cats, but she doesn’t have one because they eat native birds.

Website: http://tahlianewland.com
Twitter: TahliaNewland

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• A new story is on it’s way: check out the cover.
• Another 5 star review for Stalking Shadows: once again, a well-driven, well-plotted voyage through well-drawn, well-imagined worlds
• An AIA award for ‘Lethal Inheritance’
• Another 5 star review of ‘Stalking Shadows’ : A great story with love, jealousy, betrayal, battles, and hard lessons
• Most beautiful YA fantasy I’ve read in ages: ‘The Sweetest Dark’ by Shana Abé

adventure    alien monsters    beach    contemporary fantasy    dating    demons    earth spirits    emotional health    emotional intelligence    escape    escape from reality    free    ghosts    journey to enlightenment    love and compassion    magic    magical realism    meditation    metaphysics    mind power    mystical    new adult    nightclub    overcoming fear    perception    philosophical fiction    psychology    quest    romance    self development    short stories    sirens    swimming    urban fantasy    wisdom    working with emotions    young adult    young man   

• Victim of Shame: Why me, God? on Nov. 16, 2010
  
  This is a moving and thought provoking novel with a clear message for humanity. I hope that it becomes widely read especially in Christian and Moslem circles. Im going to give it an M award.(M for meaningful, moving, memorable etc ). http://tahlianewland.com/2010/11/17/introducing-the-m-awards-for-memorable-popular-fiction/
  
• She Smells the Dead on Nov. 16, 2010
  
  Different. I liked that about it, but it wasn't memorable in any way. Mind you, few books are. The ending annoyed me though. It was a stop, not an end. I think that everybook should be complete within itself. That's the only reason I didn't give it 4
  
• The Emerald Talisman on Jan. 01, 2011
  
  I read this one because I heard that the next in the series is very good, much better than this one, so I thought I'd start at the beginning of the series. The book improved enormously as the work went on which gives me enough of a reason to give Brenda another chance with the follow up book. The writing became more confident as the book went on. The ending was satisfying and left somewhere for the next book to go. The problems I saw with this one was the slow begining and the formula new boy at school interest. The protagonist was also a bit slow at getting that the bad boys were Vampires. Anything set in a modern day setting has to be post Twilight to be believable. Surely you'd be asking yourself about vampires as soon as you see human bite marks? The idea of another person 'completing' another is something I don't personally like in a story. I prefer the idea of two individuals complimenting each other. I don't mind that 'love' happens so quickly, though I know it annoyed others. Really it's just strong attraction, not love, and attraction is pretty instantaneous. I'm still going to give the next one a go, because I enjoyed it despite its flaws and think this author has potential.
  
• Intrinsical on April 18, 2011
  
  This book was refreshingly different from a lot of the YA books around. I really enjoyed the story and the characters. Some things were a bit confusing near the beginning, but that soon sorted itself out. By the end I was totally into it. The writing flowed more smoothly as the book progressed as well. I'll be looking out for more books by this author.
  
• Beautiful Demons (Peachville High Demons, #1) on June 29, 2011
  
  This is a a very short book, but it's good and I look forward to getting the rest in the series. The story is a bit like something else I've read but I can't think what it is. I enjoyed it a lot though.
  
• Vampyre Kisses (book 1 in the Last Witch Series) on July 19, 2011
  
  Vampyre Kisses: I enjoyed this book and if you like stories about vampires, werewolves and witches you probably will too. Vampyre Kisses is an enthralling story about a young woman named Faith, who seems content with her life, but deep down craves more excitement. Then a mysterious man named Trent enters her world and everything changes. Surprising to Faith, Trent is a green-eyed vampire from Ireland. She is even more amazed to find out that she is a witch, and the last of her kind. Faith learns that she is destined to restore her witch line and becomes more powerful as she gains confidence and knowledge, but danger lurks everywhere -- especially when unknown assailants steal the most important gems from the vampire master and werewolf royalty. Now surrounded by a world filled with mystifying vampires and werewolves, can Faith gain enough power to help her friends and rescue the stolen gems? Vampyre Kisses is a solid and interesting read and the blurb above explains the story very well. The plot moves along at a fine pace, gives us variety in the type of scenes and takes the reader smoothly from one scene to another. The main characters are likeable and their relationships and motivations are realistic and believable. I enjoyed watching Faith grow from someone who needed protection into someone who was capable of looking after herself. The affect this had on Trent and the adjustments he had to make in relation to her growing empowerment were very realistic and well handled. I liked the touch of humour in the growing relationship between the werewolf and the vamp and in the paranormal characters reactions to Faith’s input into their discussions. I also enjoyed the details of the training. I found this the most interesting and well written part of the book. It was good to see a character having to work hard to gain her skills. The story is not predictable, but neither is it surprising. The noteworthy aspects are the ‘mother from hell’ character, the nature of the witch’s training, and the fact that the vamps did actually sleep in coffins. I had a giggle at the reference to Trent refurbishing the padding for more comfort. He really is a lovely character. Morgan the vampire’s subjugate mother relationship with Faith also added an unusual and lovely touch. There are some problems with the writing that lowered my rating, but surprisingly didn’t mar my enjoyment a great deal. Near the beginning, two scenes are repeated twice, each time from a different point of view. The repetition is completely unnecessary, it adds nothing to the story and detracts from it by slowing it down. After that, however, the book improved a great deal and I found myself keen to see what happened next. The other problems are in misused words and basic copy editing mistakes. A couple of copyediting mistakes are forgivable, I know how easy it is for several readers to miss the same simple mistake eg leaving off the ing from thinking, but here I found a whole sentence repeated twice, which makes me wonder how many times the ms was checked before publication. More of a problem are the words that were constantly misused eg than was used instead of then, not just once or twice but as a regular thing. To each they’re own, is another example of this kind of misuse. I give the book 3 stars and look forward to seeing more from this writer in future, because there is definite potential there.
  
• Anathema (Causal Enchantment, #1) on July 26, 2011
  
  What a great book. I really enjoyed it. Well written, great characters I could relate to instantly, an interesting, unusual story and a good ending. I'm looking forward to the next in the series.
  
• Malakh on July 26, 2011
  
  This was a great book and I enjoyed it a lot. It's very short, but that's better than being longer than necessary for the story. I hope to see more from this author.
  
• Doodling on July 26, 2011
  
  Doodling is just 37 pages. A quick, fun read about a man who wants to get off the world because it’s spinning too fast. It strikes me as one of those mad ideas you get when an idle comment sets off a visual image, in this case probably someone shouting, ‘stop the world, I want to get off!’ The beauty here is that Gould has actually written this whimsical little book that speaks to the part of ourselves that wants to get away from our crazy world. If you want something light yet poignant, something that makes you look at people and the world through a different lense, then this is a good one. I recommend it for reading when you’re waiting for a doctor, a dentist, a lawyer or for that girl to show up for your date, anything. It’ll bring a smile to your face and a lightness to your heart.
  
• Meant to Be (The Saving Angels book 1) on Aug. 04, 2011
  
  Mmm. If you liked Halo, you'll probably like this book. I didn't and I'm sorry to say that I was very disappointed in this book after so many of my friends loved it. I can see why people might like it - idealised love can be intoxicating - but I felt it was very niave and in particular have the following concerns. If these things don't bother you, you may well love it. I feel that the theme of someone else completing you, of not being whole or able to cope without them is something that gives a very unhealthy message, especially to young people. A healthy love relationship is between two whole people. A woman does not need a man to complete her. This kind of dependancy on another person is not something we should encourage. It disempowers woman, and is the sort of attitude that woman's liberation sought to overcome back in the seventies. Sigh! Was it all for nothing? I know this is a fantasy, but really good fantasy illuminates reality and highlights truth, whereas the message here is that there is one perfect person for us out there, and this idea neither true nor helpful. Yes, when in the throws of first lust, it feels like that, but in this book this idea is virtually the whole theme. The truth is that lust is instantaneous but love isn't. The boy of our dreams is not real and if we keep looking for him, we'll be disappointed, or we'll marry the one we think is our ideal and at some point the reality hits with ground shaking results. Isn't this a better message for young people? Add to that, there are scenes that don't move the story forward and could have been cut entirely and the story moves so slowly that I was skimming large sections waiting to find out why these people were like this ie so debilitated when apart, and the answer when it comes wasn't very satisfying or believable. The main character was good, but the love interest was too perfect to be real. The bad guy was very one dimensional and I really couldn't see his motivation for what he was doing. There were also punctuation mistakes and a lot of the writing could have been much better. I congratulate the author on getting her work out there, but I would like to see the author try a more healthy theme.
  
• Shadow Demons (Peachville High Demons, #4) on Aug. 20, 2011
  
  This is a great series and this book is the best.
  
• Bitter Demons (Peachville High Demons, #3) on Aug. 20, 2011
  
  Another terrific book in the series. I recommend the series for all who like YA fantasy.
  
• Inner Demons (Peachville High Demons, #2) on Aug. 20, 2011
  
  This is even better than the first in the series and the first one was excellent. Highly recommended.
  
• Hush Money (Talent Chronicles) on Oct. 21, 2011
  
  I just loved this. It was the perfect read for me, not too heavy, not too light, a great story, good characterisation and a stunning ending, what more could you want?
  
• Henrietta The Dragon Slayer (a young adult epic fantasy adventure) (The Five Kingdoms #1) on Oct. 24, 2011
  
  This is a great book and a wonderful addition to the ya fantasy market. Henrietta is a tough cookie and a delightful character, but what is really great about this book is the way she develops as a person through the story. A nice cast of supporting characters too, all growing as the story progresses. The interactions between them are very well done. Definitely one to read if you like this genre. The story is refreshingly different to a lot of others around too.
  
• Thin Air on Nov. 05, 2011
  
  When I first started reading this, I thought it was very young, fluffy clouds stuff, but the further into the book I went the more mature it became and it turned into a very good book. The author's talent is in her characters and the way they interact. She introduces us to a wonderful bunch of friends and I loved every one of them. I did find the antagonist a little one sided though. It made me wonder why a great guy like Daniel would bother with a bitch like her. The other downside was how much the elemental already knew about the human realm, we needed to see that she had observed them at some stage for her to understand all the things she seemed to understand. Some things happened to easily for the protagonist too, but the ending was fabulous. Definitely worth a read and I encourage you all to support this great new indie author.
  
• Bone Dressing on Nov. 05, 2011
  
  There’s a lot of good things here, great characters, imagination and a different story, but it’s way overwritten and the story gets confused amongst all the words. ‘Less is more’ is a phrase coined for a good reason. We don’t need the same thing said in several different ways. The wonderful snarky sarcasm of the main character gets tiring and there is too much internal dialogue. We have pages of description for how gorgeous the love interest is, how much they love each other and how terrible she feels when the nasty thing happens when a couple of paragraphs would do. Such writing becomes melodramatic, and can make the reader loose connection with the character. I began to skim large sections but I still wanted to read to the end which shows what a good story it is. Many people have written great reviews of this book and it has a lot to recommend it for die hard romance readers who like a lot of angst & descriptions of how sexy someone is. I would read more of this author if I can be assured that her next book won’t have the same faults. She just needs to tighten up the writing. If excessive words don’t bother you, then for the price give it a go.
  
• Voidhawk on Nov. 27, 2011
  
  Voidhawk’s world is a combination of star ship science fiction and fantasy with swords, elves, magic, pirates and sailing ships that look like those of the seventeenth century but sail the void between stars using solar winds and surrounded by an air bubble. I really liked the image of sailing ships in space and enjoyed the mad mix of elements. The story is about a guy called Dexter who gets his own ship and sets off to seek his fortune. The book didn’t hook me immediately because the plot suffers from a lack of a clear antagonist to give it an overall direction and cohesion, rather it is a series of adventures through which Dexter finds his crew. However, what the book loses in a wandering plot, it gains in the characters. Once I got to know Dexter, I didn’t want to leave him. Dexter is what I call a noble character, a tough but good man with firm principles that include compassion and equality for all, and his character has a positive affect on the rest of the crew who are a motley lot that he picks up from various terrible situations. Once the romance kicks in, the plot has more direction to hold it together and it takes us deeper into Dexter and Jenna’s characters, all good stuff that made the initial plot weakness fade into insignificance. The major issue I had with this book was the head-hopping, jumping from one person’s thoughts to another’s without warning. It made for a very rough ride and most of it was completely unnecessary. We didn’t need to know what every person on the crew was thinking. We could have had Dexter and Jenna’s as the main point of views and the occasional chunk from one or two of the others when absolutely necessary. As it was, the constant popping in and out of different people’s thoughts kept pulling me out of the story. If that doesn’t bother you, and the world and characters appeal, then definitely read this one.
  
• Tes-Nin's Elbows on Nov. 27, 2011
  
  An entertaining, tongue in cheek fantasy about an orc killer with a large hammer and a g-string that collects sand, an evil rat wizard complete with a tiny purple cape and pointy hat, and a curse that gives Tes-Nin’s elbows a nasty case of RSI. Even in this short work, Silver Bowen creates a unique world that comes alive with a delightful combination of drama and humour. One small warning for the punctuation sensitive - Silver does have a strange way with commas.
  
• Tes-Nin's Elbows on Nov. 27, 2011
  
  An entertaining, tongue in cheek fantasy about an orc killer with a large hammer and a g-string that collects sand, an evil rat wizard complete with a tiny purple cape and pointy hat, and a curse that gives Tes-Nin’s elbows a nasty case of RSI. Even in this short work, Silver Bowen creates a unique world that comes alive with a delightful combination of drama and humour. One small warning for the punctuation sensitive - Silver does have a strange way with commas.
  
• The Corpse Cat (Darkworld) on Nov. 27, 2011
  
  This short story shows that Misti Wolanski can write about unusual things and shape them into an interesting story, in this instance a shape shifter escaping from a murderous necromancer. It’s a good story, except that the exact nature of the cat, how they got into the cell and why the necromancer wants her are unclear. The story is also quite dark, which is great if you like your stories that way. The excerpt from Destiny’s Kiss caught my interest enough for me to check that novel out further. I think if you like dark fantasy, you’d like Misti’s work.
  
• Love's Labours Won on Dec. 07, 2011
  
  I don't agree with Jodi about this being well crafted. There is potential there in the story, but it needs more work. With so many well written and edited books waiting for me to read I couldn't find a reason to finish this one.
  
• Spirits Of Glory on May 17, 2012
  
  Spirits of Glory is a highly imaginative story set on another planet after the population of half the planet has been whisked away by the Southern Gods, never to be seen again. The author placed the novel in the dystopian genre but since it doesn’t have the repressive society of a dystopian world, it is more correctly post-apocalyptic and since it is about another planet it is also science fiction, yet it is mystery that drives the book. Many of the new breed of Indie books are excitingly cross genre and unique in style, this is one of them. Spirits of Glory is written in a haunting style about a dreamlike world where spirits and gods are a reality and time fractures at unexpected moments. The imagery of abandoned cities set amongst tracts of barren land is stark and beautiful, and the characters and their relationships are fascinating, leaving the reader with a distinctive flavour that is hard to describe, perhaps something like fine wine. Blurb: One morning, the people of the North woke up and the people of the South were gone. That’s the first thing every child learns on the colony world of Jigsaw. But for one girl, knowing about The Disappearance is not enough. Hawkeye wants to know why. Her curiosity won't let her refuse a journey to the Forbidden Cities, even though she's going into more danger than she can imagine. The Neighbours appeared on the planet Jigsaw soon after the people of the South disappeared. Hawkeye thinks there might be some relationship between the two events, but no one knows where the neighbours live or where they came from and they clearly aren’t human because though human in form their skin comes in a multitude of hues and they have their own language. For some reason, unknown until the clever ending, a group of Neighbours come to take Hawkeye to the far south where they plan to consult with the Southern Gods. Accompanying them is a group of scavengers, evil minded men whose only desire is to steal the mysterious artefacts left behind after the Disappearance. Their nature contrasts starkly with the purity and tenderness of the Neighbours, and Hawkeye, pretty but a cripple, finds herself dependant on the Neighbours for protection. The tension between the two groups pervades the book and comes to a head at the end. Throw conversations with strange gods and beautifully described fractures in time into this mix and you have something totally original. If you like something different, read this. I give it 5 stars and a place on the Awesome Indies listing.
  
• Spirits Of Glory on May 17, 2012
  
  Spirits of Glory is a highly imaginative story set on another planet after the population of half the planet has been whisked away by the Southern Gods, never to be seen again. The author placed the novel in the dystopian genre but since it doesn’t have the repressive society of a dystopian world, it is more correctly post-apocalyptic and since it is about another planet it is also science fiction, yet it is mystery that drives the book. Many of the new breed of Indie books are excitingly cross genre and unique in style, this is one of them. Spirits of Glory is written in a haunting style about a dreamlike world where spirits and gods are a reality and time fractures at unexpected moments. The imagery of abandoned cities set amongst tracts of barren land is stark and beautiful, and the characters and their relationships are fascinating, leaving the reader with a distinctive flavour that is hard to describe, perhaps something like fine wine. Blurb: One morning, the people of the North woke up and the people of the South were gone. That’s the first thing every child learns on the colony world of Jigsaw. But for one girl, knowing about The Disappearance is not enough. Hawkeye wants to know why. Her curiosity won't let her refuse a journey to the Forbidden Cities, even though she's going into more danger than she can imagine. The Neighbours appeared on the planet Jigsaw soon after the people of the South disappeared. Hawkeye thinks there might be some relationship between the two events, but no one knows where the neighbours live or where they came from and they clearly aren’t human because though human in form their skin comes in a multitude of hues and they have their own language. For some reason, unknown until the clever ending, a group of Neighbours come to take Hawkeye to the far south where they plan to consult with the Southern Gods. Accompanying them is a group of scavengers, evil minded men whose only desire is to steal the mysterious artefacts left behind after the Disappearance. Their nature contrasts starkly with the purity and tenderness of the Neighbours, and Hawkeye, pretty but a cripple, finds herself dependant on the Neighbours for protection. The tension between the two groups pervades the book and comes to a head at the end. Throw conversations with strange gods and beautifully described fractures in time into this mix and you have something totally original. If you like something different, read this. I give it 5 stars and a place on the Awesome Indies listing.
  
• Ed Undead: The Chronicles of a Teenage Zombie on May 17, 2012
  
  As expected, zombies populate this book, complete with rotting flesh, sunken eyes and mindless shuffling gait. They’re not my favourite characters, but if you like zombies, you’ll like Ed Undead. It’s a strong story that never bores, and Ed, the 16 year old almost Zombie, shows us what true courage is. The story is set in a post apocalyptic world, where a plague has turned most of the population into zombies whose only concern is finding some living flesh to tear into to satiate their hunger. Ed has the virus but hasn’t turned into a zombie – yet. He hopes he never will and aims to find someone with a cure, if there is one, before the virus takes him over the edge. The living dead are after him and he and his girlfriend, Lisa Jane are running and fighting for their survival. They team up with a mother and her child, and for a short while with Ed’s rival from school. Lisa sends him off when he shows himself too cowardly to help her out of a sticky situation. Throughout the story, Ed has flashbacks to life as it was and these are very well handled. He faces zombies that were once people he knew and the remains of others who became their food. It’s gruesome stuff, but the writing keeps a good balance between description of the details and not over doing the horror. His grief as he recalls what he has lost is real and moving. The author called it a paranormal romance, but I’d call it urban fantasy. Ed and his girlfriend are in love, but that doesn’t make it a romance. This is more action based than character and relationship based, and the main issue is escaping the zombies and the strange ‘boss’ that some of them refer to, rather than overcoming obstacles to a relationship as in a romance. Regardless of what genre you stick it in, it’s a good yarn and I think boys in particular would like it. The two main characters are strong, but I would have liked to have got to know the mother and daughter better, and Sam Ed’s little sister seemed a bit silly for a ten year old. I think her character could be developed further. I give it 4 stars and a place in the Awesome Indies listing. Ed and Lisa are great characters to spend time with, even if it is in a zombie infested town.
  
• Swallow the Moon on May 20, 2012
  
  This is an excellent book, well written and a unique idea in a genre already overflowing with ideas. The plot moved along at a good pace, leading to a very satisfying ending. I enjoyed spending time with the characters and look forward to more from this author. Go Indies!