Love Will Tear Us Apart profile picture

Love Will Tear Us Apart

About Me

Some of you may know me as Tara Altebrando, but I was formerly Tara McCarthy, and published my debut novel, Love Will Tear Us Apart, under that name.

Love Will Tear Us Apart is a darkly comic story about an embittered indie rock fan and celebrity journalist who gets asked to write the biography of a pair of vapid Siamese twin pop stars. Here are some reviews:

"A strange, weirdly appealing novel . . . I think it's going to become some sort of cult classic. Everyone I've recommended it to has loved it."--Alex McAulay, author of Bad Girls

"Do not judge Love Will Tear Us Apart by its cover. When I picked up this novel, I assumed the fare would be light, considering the subject matter is Siamese twin pop stars and the indie rock journalist assigned to cover them. Tara McCarthy weaves the twins and the writer's relationship into a gripping read that is anything but bubblegum-flavored fiction, and is one of my favorite debut novels of the year."--Largehearted Boy*

"...witty and funny and ironic and self-consciously politically incorrect.... It's a really smart book, surprisingly so. The conjoined twin bit gives it some shock value, sure, but ... well, just read it. Trust me, you'll like it. And you'll probably picture Mary Kate and Ashley in the roles of Flora and Fauna, though unfortunately I doubt the Olsen sisters would ever star in something so edgy."--The Stamford Advocate

"My initial reaction to this plot was complete skepticism-why would anyone want to read about conjoined twins with preposterous names like Flora and Fauna who also just happen to be a popular singing sensation in the vein of Britney and Christina? [But] Love Will Tear Us Apart is spellbinding with its fourth-wall awareness of how ridiculous the L.A. lifestyle and the music industry can be."--Fresh Fiction

I hope you'll read the excerpt I've posted in my My Space blog and that you'll check out the book if you want to read more.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 12/08/2005
Band Website: www.sparkssisters.com
Band Members: Flora and Fauna Sparks—we girls are the main act and our band changes up the lineup a ton but we've had the honor of working with some really cool songwriters and muscians, like Nick Altebrando (of Dutch Kills), Mark McAdam, and Steve Dima...
Influences: Flora: Christina Aguillera, Celine Dion, Britney Spears, Michael Jackson, all the greats. Fauna: The Arcade Fire, Nick Cave, Belle and Sebastian, Eels, all sorts of cool stuff. I've only really just discovered indie rock! I feel like I've been born again...I mean, it's just incredible to me that there's all this music out there that I'd never heard before I was introduced to it by our biographer: Delgados, The Kinks, Sonic Youth, Badly Drawn Boy, Blur, Gorillaz, Bloc Party, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, New Order, The Smiths, ...I could go on forever!
Sounds Like:
Record Label: Unknown Major
Type of Label: Major

My Blog

Interview with Noria Jablonski, author of "Human Oddities"

I had the opportunity recently to ask a few question of the wonderful writer Noria Jablonski, about her stunning short story collection, "Human Oddities." She, in turn, asked me a few questions about ...
Posted by on Thu, 25 Jan 2007 08:46:00 GMT

Conjoined-twin rock stars flick

Hey everybody. I recently had the opportunity to review Brothers of the Heada brand spanking new and completely awesome film about conjoined twin rock stars. Here's the review:Brothers of the Head rev...
Posted by on Mon, 24 Jul 2006 12:22:00 GMT

I'm the Next Big Thing!

Check out this interview on Popgurls. They asked me 20 questions...some about Love Will Tear Us Apart, some about my YA novel, and some about random topics like spoon collecting and the Sisterhood of ...
Posted by on Tue, 18 Jul 2006 12:20:00 GMT

Where the idea for the book came from

Read my "Backstory" for Love Will Tear Us Apart here:Backstory
Posted by on Mon, 22 May 2006 15:31:00 GMT

Music that inspired the book...

Read about music that inspired Love Will Tear Us Apart here:Largehearted Boy Book Notes
Posted by on Mon, 22 May 2006 15:26:00 GMT

Excerpt from Love Will Tear Us Apart by Tara McCarthy

Chapter 1It was the assignment of a lifetime and I was sure I was going to blow it. I was being sent to Los Angeles to interview pop princesses Flora and Fauna Sparks about their most recent slew of G...
Posted by on Sat, 06 May 2006 11:32:00 GMT