Hi Readers,

I usually post In My Inbox on my TUMBLR account – located here – POST 1, POST 2, POST 3 etc. But I thought I’d try something different and post them on my blog as well. Here’s some of emails I’ve gotten recently and my responses.

LETTER ONE FROM AARON THE STUDENT:

Hi Terah, my name is Aaron. For my American Literature class in school I have to do an author study. I chose to do my study on you because I LOVE your Courtlight, and the Crown Service series! For my author study I have to include a 1 to 2 page biography on the authors life. In order to get full points I have to try to find interesting information that is hard to find on the internet, so I thought I would try to ask you. I can’t wait to start your third series. Just saying I read a lot of fantasy books, and I think you have written my favorite fantasy series. I hope you have the time to reply to me. I would definitely like to put some things in my biography that you think should go into it. Thank you in advance if you reply, and for giving me a series that I can actually read in my free time! Normally I don’t actually do that because I don’t like reading a lot, so I really love your books! Can’t wait for your future books!

ANSWER FROM TERAH

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The easiest thing I’ve found about writing is coming up with the ideas themselves. The stories flood my mind like glimpses of a past life. A girl climbing the rigging of a sailing ship on the high seas one day…and a boy hiding from his dragon contemporaries in a dark alley the next.

I started writing fantasy as a way to combat boredom living overseas as a humanitarian in East Africa. Fantasy was my choice of genre because it’s all I read as a child and teen. My favorite books always took me to new worlds, so it only made sense that when writing I escaped back into those same unique realms.

Building on that desire to write, I wanted to see if people were interested in reading what I had to say. When I first published a book about young mages in an academy, I had to do a lot of studying of my own. I didn’t know what it meant to be an author, much less my own publisher. I had to reach out and make contacts with editors, artists, and book formatters.

I had to budget both my time in making this hobby (at the time) of mine worthwhile, but also see what I wanted to invest financially in the process. After two months of edits, proofing, and formatting I was able to put my first book up on Amazon. Luckily it wasn’t my last and from then I just kept writing what I loved.

What I’ve learned about being a writer is that it’s a lot of hard work and takes a lot of dedication, but when you get it right, and you’ll know when you do, it’s worth it. So my life lesson would be to stay true to yourself and never give up. You never know what you’ll find on the other side of the page after all.

As for my favorite animal…I’ve always been partial to Siberian tigers. They’re beautiful and ferocious. You asked me if there is anywhere in the world that I’ve loved to go see. I’ve been to many continents and countries, but one that I’ve yet to see to is Russia. I’d love to go to St. Petersburg and tour the old Tsarist palaces just to revel in the history of imperial family.

LETTER TWO FROM LINDA THE LIBRARIAN:

We would love to have this series in our collection for our YA’s but I’m having trouble locating all of the books in print format. Please help.

ANSWER FROM TERAH:

LETTER THREE FROM DIANNA:

Just a quick line to tell you Thank you for your generosity for Across The Arid Seas. I hope you have a tremendously joyful Christmas or whatever you celebrate, and make sure to tell everyone how you feel about them. Life is a mystery and we must take advantage of every moment to appreciate those who are important to us as tomorrow is unknown. Thanks again, Dianna

ANSWER FROM TERAH:

Aww, that’s so sweet of you! Thank YOU so much for being a reader and Happy Holidays as well!