Tamora Pierce was born in western Pennsylvania in 1954. She has lived in various states across America, and now lives in Manhattan with her actor/filmmaker husband Tim Liebe and their two cats Barnacle Bill and Lioness.
A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, she studied social work, film and psychology. She has been a freelance editor and manuscript reader, a reviewer of martial arts movies, a housemother in a group home, a literary agent’s assistant, head writer for a radio production company, and an investment banking secretary!
Tamora began to write when she was 11, at her father’s suggestion—after he had listened to her making up stories as she washed the dishes. She gets her ideas in three ways. First are the ideas that come to her when she is watching a TV program or reading a magazine. Second are those that come from past obsessions such as the Crusades, the Middle Ages, myths and legends. Her third source of inspiration is people: her friends often help her to come up with fresh angles for a story.
Characters are Tamora’s favourite part of storytelling. Tamora says, ‘I never know what they’ll do next!”
Tamora leads a very busy life. “It’s a hectic life between deadlines, but it has its rewards: books, for one, travelling to new places, and getting letters which tell me my books made a difference to someone.”
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