Tamar Myers was born and raised in the Belgian Congo (now just the
Congo). Her parents were missionaries to a tribe which, at that time,
were known as headhunters and used human skulls for drinking cups. Hers
was the first white family ever to peacefully coexist with the tribe, and
Tamar grew up fluent in the local trade language. Because of her pale
blue eyes, Tamars nickname was Ugly Eyes.
Tamar grew up eating elephant, hippopotamus and even monkey. She
attended a boarding school that was two days away by truck, and sometimes it
was necessary to wade through crocodile infested waters to reach it.
Other dangers she encountered as a child were cobras, deadly green mambas, and
the voracious armies of driver ants that ate every animal (and human) that
didnt get out of their way.
In 1960 the Congo, which had been a Belgian colony, became an
independent nation. There followed a period of retribution (for heinous
crimes committed against the Congolese by the Belgians) in which many Whites
were killed. Tamar and her family fled the Congo, but returned a year
later. By then a number of civil wars were raging, and the familys
residence was often in the line of fire. In 1964, after living through
three years of war, the family returned to the United States permanently.
Tamar was sixteen when her family settled in America, and she immediately
underwent severe culture shock. She didnt know how to dial a
telephone, cross a street at a stoplight, or use a vending machine. She
lucked out, however, by meeting her husband, Jeffrey, on her first day in an
American high school. They literally bumped heads while he was leaving,
and she entering, the Civics classroom.
In college Tamar began to submit novels for publication, but it took
twenty-three years for her to get published. Persistence paid off,
however, because Tamar is now the author of two ongoing mystery series.
One is set in Pennsylvania and features Magdalena Yoder, an Amish-Mennonite
sleuth who runs a bed and breakfast in the mythical town of Hernia. The
other is set in the Carolinas and centers around the adventures of Abigail
Timberlake, the proud owner of a Charlotte (and later Charleston) antique
store, the Den of Antiquity.
Tamar now calls Charlotte, NC home. She lives with her husband, plus a Basenji
dog named Pagan, a Bengal cat named Nkashama, and an orange tabby rescue
cat named Dumpster Boy. She and her husband are of the Jewish faith, the
animals are not.
Tamar enjoys gardening (she is a Master Gardner), bonsai, travel, painting
and, of course, reading. She loves Thai and Indian food, and antique
jewelry. She plans to visit Machu Pichu in the near future.
She is currently working on her 30th novel.
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