The Arts: Tasha Alexander Story By Pam Horne Photographs by Wolf Hoffman For an aspiring writer, it’s a good day when a literary agent is willing to pitch your manuscript as a solid and credible work, worthy of publication in the genre of historical suspense.   When that work is recognized for its value and snatched up by a respected New York publishing house, it’s an even better day. It is an altogether different matter, however, when a new, young novelist is sought out by Harper Collins to write the companion book for a national movie project. That is a great day. Author, wife and mother Tasha Alexander has experienced all of the above in the short span of 36 months. Usually, it is the author pursuing the publisher. The tables turned this year when Tasha’s notoriety as an ascending writer of historical fiction landed her a book deal she couldn’t refuse. She was asked to craft a companion book to coincide with the release of a major motion picture documenting Britain’s royal family in the early 16th century. The Golden Age, the sequel to Elizabeth, will debut this fall in theaters across North America. While Alexander spent the better part of last spring launching her latest Harper Collins release A Poisoned Season, she also was burning the midnight oil finishing a manuscript that had to pass muster with Hollywood. Writing is an indoor sport, and this young mother worked feverishly from her home office in Franklin’s McKay’s Mill, churning out yet another book for Harper Collins, this time for its Harper Entertainment imprint. The final product is The Golden Age, A Novel of Queen Elizabeth. It will arrive in bookstores this fall, set to coincide with the movie’s release. It doesn’t get much better than working on a novel, the characters of which are being portrayed on the silver screen by co-stars Cate Blanchett and Clive Owen. Or, then again maybe it does. Anne Hawkins, a New York literary agent, has worked in the book industry for years. Her experience says that Alexander is an author to watch closely. “I think that Tasha is in this for the long haul,” Hawkins says. “That’s been proved … A Poisoned Season has been very, very well received. I see no reason that she just can’t keep on going. This is beautiful work. The quality of her craft is so high that people will want to continue to read her work.” Hawkins stopped short of comparing her client to other writers. Instead, she insists that in the case of talented writers “every author is unique.” Apparently, when success reigns upon you as it has Alexander, you need Starbuck’s chai tea lattes keep you going. Often, the novelist will spend long days sitting in the comfy chairs of Starbuck’s at Five Points in downtown Franklin with laptop in hand, while designing intricate scenes. “It’s hard to write a novel without the benefit of some chai tea,” quips Alexander. The seeds of her success were planted during the early years of her young son Alexander’s life (hence the choice for her literary penname). This swashbuckling eight-year-old, nicknamed Xander, has been a true inspiration, says his mother, who is most proud of the family life she has enjoyed in Franklin. “I wrote And Only to Deceive while Xander was just a baby,” the author says. “We were renting part of an old historic row house in New Haven, Conn. Matt had just begun his postdoctorate work. He was offered an NIH (National Institute of Health) two-year fellowship at Yale.” While Matt was working and Xander was napping, Tasha took to the computer, even if it was just for a quick, 20-minute interval, before he awoke. Meanwhile, Matt’s career progressed when he was offered a position in Nashville at Vanderbilt as a professor at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. One of the couple’s earliest trips abroad proved to be the perfect locale for some fieldwork that ultimately spurred Alexander’s first novel. These travels were interspersed with long hours of historic research. “We went to Paris on our honeymoon,” Alexander recalls. “When I go to Europe I like to stay in just one place and study a city. We just wandered aimlessly through the streets of Paris for two weeks.” If you haven’t picked up a copy of one of her books, And Only to Deceive or A Poisoned Season, you’ll be delighted by the experiences of Lady Emily Ashton, a young Victorian socialite living in London, doomed to premature mourning after the unexpected death of her extremely wealthy husband, a man she really never knew. Much to her mother’s chagrin, Lady Ashton is perfectly determined to contradict the staid behavior expected of young ladies in Victorian society, stepping beyond the acceptable confines of rigid domesticity from time to time. Alexander has created a heroine who represents how an independent woman might have coped with the social limitations imposed upon 19th century women. “I really wanted to be careful not to make her a 21st century woman,” Alexander explains. “To us (Lady Ashton’s mother) seems completely overbearing but in fact in that time period, to be a woman alone and unprotected, that was not necessarily a safe lifestyle.” Asked what advice she could give to the young writer, Alexander offers a one-word answer – read. “I would tell them to read all the time, everything you can get your hands on,” she says. “I think writing is such a pursuit that comes through reading. You need to be writing what you love to read. There are absolutely things that need to be taught … I hadn’t seriously written anything (before creating And Only to Deceive).” Alexander grew up in South Bend, Indiana, and chose to attend the University of Notre Dame. Had she pressed on for another collegiate experience, she might never have crossed paths with Matt Tyska, her traveling soul mate and partner in parenthood. Today, Matt and Xander accompany her to book signings and literary festivals when they can. This couple couldn’t have selected more opposite career choices. As an assistant professor for cell and development biology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Matt focuses his time training future physicians on the value and power of the cell. It was indeed his career that enabled the two to travel abroad early in their marriage when Matt was asked to present a paper to the International Society of Heart Research, which was gathering at Rhodes in Greece. When the conference recessed for five days, the newlyweds found time to take a side trip to Santorini, an ancient island destroyed by volcanic eruption. “Basically because the island collapsed there are these spectacular cliffs. It is a great archaeological site. I found this little hotel situated on the cliff. It was away from the bustle of the city. We walked the paths on those cliffs together,” she shares. And years later, Alexander would recount her steps with Matt as she wrote the story of a young British lady who journeys the globe following her hunches. When you read these novels, pay close attention to the travels of Lady Ashton. You will become closely acquainted with her creator and Franklin resident: Tasha Alexander, a.k.a., Xander’s mom, Matt’s wife and friend to many.