| Interview with Terie Garrison |
First off, thanks so much for joining us for an up-close and personal interview for TeensReadToo.com!
My name is Jen, and I’ll be your server toda…oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time
out of your writing schedule—which I’m sure is busy!—and answering a few questions for your readers
and fans.
Let’s get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you
wanted to be a writer?
Fifth grade. Mr Knudsen taught us how to write limericks and gave us some time to each write one. I wrote
three. And he was so impressed with them that he showed them to some of the other teachers in our
building. That’s when I knew I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. Then in seventh grade, my English
teacher assigned The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. After reading that book, I knew I wanted to write books for
teenagers when I grew up. Which is kind of funny because I was only 12 at the time!
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
When I got to high school and found out I could take Journalism, well, I jumped on that gig right away. In
my junior and senior years, I was on the school newspaper staff. Also, the Journalism teacher started
offering a course in Magazine Writing my junior year, and I took that, too. So I was 16 when I started
sending queries off to magazines! My first article was published in Zoonooz Magazine a month before I
turned 18, although that was definitely a case of ‘who you know, not what you know.’
Over the next 20 years, I had a few articles published, and even a short story, but what I really wanted to
do was write novels for teenagers. Unfortunately, I didn’t exercise much discipline in those 20 years. But I
finally hunkered down and applied the seat of my trousers to the seat of a chair, focused on writing my
books, and now AutumnQuest is really a real, live book!
Oh, I’ve also been a technical writer for donkeys’ years and written hundreds of manuals. Might not
always be the most creative, and I swear to my boss that none of it is fiction (well, there was that time I
used Martian money in an example, but the boss knew and approved), but it’s a great way to earn a living
from writing.
Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one
thing about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?
AutumnQuest is the first book in my four-book series, The DragonSpawn Cycle. At its simplest, it’s about
fifteen-year-old Donavah’s quest to save her older brother from being executed. The book has magic,
and dragons, and the nasty Royal Guard. But there are more layers, too, as it turns out that much more is
at stake than just Breyard’s life. There is political intrigue, an ancient prophecy, and a mysterious threat
that no one has quite identified yet. You’ll have to read the rest of the books to find out how it all falls out.
One thing? Dragons aren’t enough? Okay, let’s see. How about...“get in on the ground floor of this
exciting new series that’s sure to shake the world”. No? Maybe we should just stick with dragons.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
I hate to be a living cliché, but it would have to be J.R.R. Tolkien and CS Lewis. I’ve been reading both
since I was a child, and their influence has had a profound effect on me both as a writer and as a person.
More recently, some of the current great fantasy writers who wield mighty pens are Robin Hobb, Carol
Berg, and Jennifer Fallon. These writers not only tell amazing stories, but are also remarkable craftsmen
in their use of language. I hope I’ve absorbed some of the fine storytelling skills of all of these writers.
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Spaghetti. (I used to be a long-distance cyclist.)
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Check my e-mail. Feed my cats. Check my e-mail.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise
me the most?
The fact that you couldn’t get into them. I’m a terrible clutterbug. But then, you know writers, so maybe
that wouldn’t surprise you at all.
Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If
you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?
Purple. (That answer should surprise all my friends....not!) It’s a color that looks good on everyone. I can
think of about eight different metaphors to follow that thought, but they’re all cheesy and sentimental.
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
Oh, dear. I didn’t watch many cartoons as a kid (I preferred to be in my room reading), and I don’t watch
them at all now. I’m afraid I can’t answer this question. Maybe we could poll the readers: “Based on what
you read in this interview, what cartoon character is most like Terie?” I think the answers would probably
scare me!
If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history,
where and when would it be—and why?
I’m absolutely fascinated with the ancient Celts, so I’d have to say Celtic Britain. Which isn’t to say I’d want
to stay there long, because I’m fundamentally a coward (not to mention lazy), and those were very, very
hard times. But I love the spirituality of the pre-Christian era in that part of the world. (Well, except for the
human sacrifice part.)
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
If I answer this question, will people still buy my books? My very favorite musician is David Bowie.
Incongruously, early 80s pop is what I listen to mostly....when I listen to music, which isn’t often. I usually
listen to audiobooks in the car...you know, that whole reading thing that I just can’t get away from. And I
don’t listen to music while writing; it’s too distracting.
Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie
you saw at the theater?
Antiques Roadshow is my favorite TV show. It’s the only thing I make an effort to watch regularly (not
counting the news), but since it airs on the same night that my RPG group plays, I don’t get to see it often.
Movies I watch over and over? The BBC mini-series version of Pride and Prejudice, Back to the Future,
and Harry Potter (Alan Rickman/Snape and Jason Isaacs/Lucius Malfoy...mmmm). Last movie at the
theater? Pirates of the Caribbean 2.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Get to know who you are...who you really are, not who others think you are...and be yourself.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
Obviously, there’s the rest of The DragonSpawn Cycle. The second book, WinterMaejic, is due for
release in Feb 2007. The third book is due out in Spring/Summer 2007 and the fourth one in Autumn
2007. The last two books don’t have their final titles yet, but you can probably guess they’ll be
SpringSomething and SummerSomething.
I’m not sure what project I’m going to work on next, once the SummerSomething book is finished. One I’d
like to work on is a contemporary story dealing with forced marriage. One of my best friends was forced
into a marriage at age 13. I ghostwrote an early version of her memoir, which is now being worked on by a
proper ghostwriter. The book’s been sold and is due for release in the UK in early 2008, a bit later in the
US. (I’ll be happy to tell you more about that when the time comes; it’s a spellbinding story.) The research
I did while working on that book ultimately gave me an idea for a story of my own.
There are a number of other projects I could also work on, including some fantasy books and a sort of
futuristic thing. I’m keeping all of those close to the chest right now.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
Why, it’s my pleasure. Thanks for having me!
My name is Jen, and I’ll be your server toda…oh, wait, wrong job! Anyway, thanks so much for taking time
out of your writing schedule—which I’m sure is busy!—and answering a few questions for your readers
and fans.
Let’s get some of the typical interview questions out of the way first. When did you first know that you
wanted to be a writer?
Fifth grade. Mr Knudsen taught us how to write limericks and gave us some time to each write one. I wrote
three. And he was so impressed with them that he showed them to some of the other teachers in our
building. That’s when I knew I wanted to be a writer when I grew up. Then in seventh grade, my English
teacher assigned The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. After reading that book, I knew I wanted to write books for
teenagers when I grew up. Which is kind of funny because I was only 12 at the time!
Can you tell us a little bit about your road to publishing?
When I got to high school and found out I could take Journalism, well, I jumped on that gig right away. In
my junior and senior years, I was on the school newspaper staff. Also, the Journalism teacher started
offering a course in Magazine Writing my junior year, and I took that, too. So I was 16 when I started
sending queries off to magazines! My first article was published in Zoonooz Magazine a month before I
turned 18, although that was definitely a case of ‘who you know, not what you know.’
Over the next 20 years, I had a few articles published, and even a short story, but what I really wanted to
do was write novels for teenagers. Unfortunately, I didn’t exercise much discipline in those 20 years. But I
finally hunkered down and applied the seat of my trousers to the seat of a chair, focused on writing my
books, and now AutumnQuest is really a real, live book!
Oh, I’ve also been a technical writer for donkeys’ years and written hundreds of manuals. Might not
always be the most creative, and I swear to my boss that none of it is fiction (well, there was that time I
used Martian money in an example, but the boss knew and approved), but it’s a great way to earn a living
from writing.
Tell us a little bit about either your latest or upcoming release. If you could only tell your readers one
thing about the story that had to convince us to buy the book, what would it be?
AutumnQuest is the first book in my four-book series, The DragonSpawn Cycle. At its simplest, it’s about
fifteen-year-old Donavah’s quest to save her older brother from being executed. The book has magic,
and dragons, and the nasty Royal Guard. But there are more layers, too, as it turns out that much more is
at stake than just Breyard’s life. There is political intrigue, an ancient prophecy, and a mysterious threat
that no one has quite identified yet. You’ll have to read the rest of the books to find out how it all falls out.
One thing? Dragons aren’t enough? Okay, let’s see. How about...“get in on the ground floor of this
exciting new series that’s sure to shake the world”. No? Maybe we should just stick with dragons.
What, or who, has been the greatest inspiration for your stories?
I hate to be a living cliché, but it would have to be J.R.R. Tolkien and CS Lewis. I’ve been reading both
since I was a child, and their influence has had a profound effect on me both as a writer and as a person.
More recently, some of the current great fantasy writers who wield mighty pens are Robin Hobb, Carol
Berg, and Jennifer Fallon. These writers not only tell amazing stories, but are also remarkable craftsmen
in their use of language. I hope I’ve absorbed some of the fine storytelling skills of all of these writers.
Now for some fun facts. What’s your greatest comfort food?
Spaghetti. (I used to be a long-distance cyclist.)
What are the first three things you do when you wake up in the morning?
Check my e-mail. Feed my cats. Check my e-mail.
If I came to your house and looked in your closet/attic/basement, what’s the one thing that would surprise
me the most?
The fact that you couldn’t get into them. I’m a terrible clutterbug. But then, you know writers, so maybe
that wouldn’t surprise you at all.
Everyone asks the question about “if you could be a tree, which tree would you be?” so I want to know: If
you could be a color, which color would it be, and why?
Purple. (That answer should surprise all my friends....not!) It’s a color that looks good on everyone. I can
think of about eight different metaphors to follow that thought, but they’re all cheesy and sentimental.
Who is your favorite cartoon character? Which cartoon character is most like you?
Oh, dear. I didn’t watch many cartoons as a kid (I preferred to be in my room reading), and I don’t watch
them at all now. I’m afraid I can’t answer this question. Maybe we could poll the readers: “Based on what
you read in this interview, what cartoon character is most like Terie?” I think the answers would probably
scare me!
If you could beam yourself to anywhere in the world (“Beam me up, Scotty!”), during any time in history,
where and when would it be—and why?
I’m absolutely fascinated with the ancient Celts, so I’d have to say Celtic Britain. Which isn’t to say I’d want
to stay there long, because I’m fundamentally a coward (not to mention lazy), and those were very, very
hard times. But I love the spirituality of the pre-Christian era in that part of the world. (Well, except for the
human sacrifice part.)
So what’s your favorite type of music to listen to? Favorite musical artists? Do you listen to music while
you’re writing?
If I answer this question, will people still buy my books? My very favorite musician is David Bowie.
Incongruously, early 80s pop is what I listen to mostly....when I listen to music, which isn’t often. I usually
listen to audiobooks in the car...you know, that whole reading thing that I just can’t get away from. And I
don’t listen to music while writing; it’s too distracting.
Do you have any favorite T.V. shows? Movies you watch over and over again? What was the last movie
you saw at the theater?
Antiques Roadshow is my favorite TV show. It’s the only thing I make an effort to watch regularly (not
counting the news), but since it airs on the same night that my RPG group plays, I don’t get to see it often.
Movies I watch over and over? The BBC mini-series version of Pride and Prejudice, Back to the Future,
and Harry Potter (Alan Rickman/Snape and Jason Isaacs/Lucius Malfoy...mmmm). Last movie at the
theater? Pirates of the Caribbean 2.
You have the chance to give one piece of advice to your teen readers. What would it be?
Get to know who you are...who you really are, not who others think you are...and be yourself.
One last question. What stories can we look forward to from you in the future?
Obviously, there’s the rest of The DragonSpawn Cycle. The second book, WinterMaejic, is due for
release in Feb 2007. The third book is due out in Spring/Summer 2007 and the fourth one in Autumn
2007. The last two books don’t have their final titles yet, but you can probably guess they’ll be
SpringSomething and SummerSomething.
I’m not sure what project I’m going to work on next, once the SummerSomething book is finished. One I’d
like to work on is a contemporary story dealing with forced marriage. One of my best friends was forced
into a marriage at age 13. I ghostwrote an early version of her memoir, which is now being worked on by a
proper ghostwriter. The book’s been sold and is due for release in the UK in early 2008, a bit later in the
US. (I’ll be happy to tell you more about that when the time comes; it’s a spellbinding story.) The research
I did while working on that book ultimately gave me an idea for a story of my own.
There are a number of other projects I could also work on, including some fantasy books and a sort of
futuristic thing. I’m keeping all of those close to the chest right now.
Again, thanks so much for joining us at TeensReadToo.com!
Why, it’s my pleasure. Thanks for having me!
