When Tavi wrote this debut about four female roadies who take a break to spend time at a Tuscan villa where each examines her life, she based them on women she knew from her time as a lighting specialist touring around the country with rock stars like Norah Jones. It was only after the book was complete that she realized she should run the characters by their real-life counterparts (luckily they were both flattered and helpful). We also discuss how the last year felt like a crash course in marketing and how hiring outside paid help, from editors to publicists, can be tricky.

Tavi Taylor Black settled in the Northwest after circumnavigating the United States, from Maine to New York, Florida to Texas. For over fourteen years she worked as a lighting technician, production assistant and tour manager. In 2008 Tavi earned an MFA in creative writing from Lesley University in Boston. Tavi's debut novel Where Are We Tomorrow? was a finalist in several contests, including the 2021 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and the 2021 NYC Big Book Award. Her next novel, a historical fiction set in coastal Maine, is set to be published in January 2023. Tavi hosts a writing podcast, The Personal Element, where she and co-host Christine Junge read personal essays and talk about what makes them so good.

To learn more about Tavi, click here.