{"id":2215,"date":"2017-11-21T03:46:12","date_gmt":"2017-11-21T03:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tamaragrantham.com\/StagingSite\/?page_id=2215"},"modified":"2024-04-08T19:07:32","modified_gmt":"2024-04-08T08:37:32","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tamaragrantham.com\/StagingSite\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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About Tamara<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\"\"<\/a>The Short:<\/p>

Tamara Grantham is the author of more than a dozen books and novellas, including the multi-award winning Olive Kennedy: Fairy World MD series, and the #1 bestselling Twisted Ever After trilogy. Dreamthief, the first book of her Fairy World MD series, won first place for fantasy in INDIEFAB\u2019S Book of the Year Awards, and a first place RONE award for best New Adult Romance. The Witch’s Tower, the first book of her fairytale retelling series, launched as a #1 bestseller at both Amazon and Barnes and Noble.<\/p>

Tamara holds a Bachelor\u2019s degree in English. She has been a featured speaker at numerous writing conferences and comic cons.<\/p>

Born and raised in Texas, Tamara now lives with her husband and five children in Wichita, Kansas. She rarely has any free time, but when the stars align and she gets a moment to relax, she enjoys reading fantasy novels and watching every Star Wars or Star Trek movie ever made.<\/p>

Favorite Books: Childhood faves: The Narnia Chronicles by C.S. Lewis and The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander. As I got older, I enjoyed books by Terry Brooks and Terry Goodkind (the first few.) I also fell in love with Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy. Today, some of my favorite reads are The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher and The Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews. Oh–and Harry Potter. But who doesn’t love Harry Potter, right?<\/p>

Favorite Movies: All the Star Wars movies, Star Trek everything, A&E’s Pride and Prejudice, \u00a0and the new Thor movies.<\/p>

More About Me: The Long (And Probably More Info than you Ever Wanted to Know):<\/p>

I was born in a small Texas town. Growing up in a place where there’s not much to do, I spent a lot of time outdoors. Riding horses and helping my grandma in her garden were some of my favorite activities. I started coming up with stories at a very young age. Some I wrote down. Most I didn’t. When I finally attempted to write a novel, I got a few chapters in and quit. The story never went how I’d imagined. I got frustrated, felt like I wasn’t a very talented writer, or maybe writing just wasn’t my “calling” and so I stopped. This happened for years. I wrote a few short stories, one that got praised by my uncle Larry, who was an author, and his advice stayed with me. He told me to write a novel. I thought he was crazy.<\/p>

After graduating from high school, I went to college at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas where I studied English. It was also where I met my husband David. He was a fellow sci-fi\/fantasy lover. He says that on our first date–when he realized I loved Star Wars as much as him–was the moment he knew he wanted to marry me. I, however, was super insecure, and didn’t know if he’d ever ask me out for a second date. He’d told me he was moving to Reno to go to college with his sister. I thought he was cute and funny and pretty much perfect, but I didn’t think we had a future together. The night before he left for Reno, he asked me to wait for him. I did.<\/p>

Two months later, he came down to visit for the weekend. It was October, one of my favorite months. We’d just enjoyed a “romantic” date night at the local Haunted Hotel where we’d been chased by crazy men toting chainsaws. Afterwards, while we sat in my Dodge Neon parked in his driveway, he popped the question. He says he wishes he would have done something more creative, or at least have had a ring with him, but it didn’t matter to me. From my perspective, it was the best proposal in the world.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

We got married on March 16, 2002 in the Houston LDS Temple. He decided to do the med school thing. It started out okay while he studied for four years in Galveston, Texas, but when we moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma for his residency program, with his crazy long hours and me at home with three small kids, I sort of lost it. I needed some sort of outlet or I knew I wouldn’t make it.<\/p>

That’s when my uncle Larry’s words started nagging me again. Write a book. Finish a book. Another motivating factor happened when I read Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George. I loved the book and thought it was creative and entertaining, but at the end of the book, the author said she wrote the novel\u00a0while raising two young kids. How? I couldn’t even check my email with my kids around. How did she do it? And if she could, could I do it, too?<\/p>

I’d had so many stories floating around in my head, one in particular I wanted to write, but before I even started, I knew I had to have a detailed outline. I couldn’t do it the way I’d tried before. My story would never get where I wanted it to go; I would get frustrated and give up. On September 1, 2010, I wrote an 11 page outline for a story I called The Great American Fairytale. A month later, I finally fulfilled my promise to my now-deceased Uncle Larry. I finished a book.<\/p>

The Great American Fairytale, later named Forbidden, never got published. Neither did its sequel, Forgotten, or even the third book in the trilogy, Forgiven. But those books taught me so much, way more than I could ever include here. My husband was also\u00a0a huge supporter of my writing. Every Christmas, he bought me “How-to” books on writing. At first, I scoffed at the idea. I’d already written a book–why did\u00a0I need a book on how to write one? But writing a novel\u00a0goes way beyond grammar and typos–things like voice, point-of-view, adverbs and passive voice. Modifiers. Things that most readers don’t think about, but every author should know.<\/p>

In 2011, I started a book I’d been thinking about for a long time. I was still writing my Forbidden trilogy, but this new book just kept nagging me. And these lines…”I don’t believe in karma…”<\/p>

While visiting family in Tennessee, I sat down at my laptop and wrote those words. That book became Dreamthief. As I’m writing this today, Dreamthief has won several\u00a0awards, including first place for fantasy in Foreword Review’s INDIEFAB awards, and received a RONE award for best New Adult Romance.<\/p>

My journey isn’t over. What I didn’t mention is that I’ve suffered with depression throughout my life. When I started writing, it gave me something to focus on. It helped me overcome what had become a dark place in my life. When people ask me, “How do you write while raising\u00a0five kids?” My answer, “I don’t know how I would raise five kids without writing.”<\/p>

I still have a long way to go. Some days I get frustrated because my books just aren’t selling well enough, or I get a bad review, or I can’t figure out this social media marketing thing, but I’ve already decided I will never give up. The moment I quit is the moment I fail. I also hope my story can help inspire others.<\/p>

For more info on how I got published, you can read this blog post,\u00a0My Road to Finding a Publisher.<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Awards<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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July 2022<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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THE NOT-SO-CHOSEN ONE\u00a0 won third place in the competitive NEST Contest.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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THE NOT-SO-CHOSEN ONE was a finalist in the REALM AWARDS, a competitive contest with over 400 entries!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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THE NOT-SO-CHOSEN ONE earned the best published YA novel of 2022 at the OWFI annual awards.<\/p>

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NEVER CALL ME VAMPIRE won best published adult book of the 2021 OWFI awards.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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NEVER CALL ME VAMPIRE was a finalist for a RONE award.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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May 2020<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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THE WITCH\u2019S TOWER won best young adult book at the 2020 book awards for OWFI.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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The 7th Lie\u00a0<\/em>won first place in the OWFI\u2019s annual awards for best unpublished young adult fiction manuscript.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Dreamthief, book one of the Fairy World MD series, has won two prestigious awards. It took first place in the New Adult Romance category for the RONE awards. To learn more, visit\u00a0InD\u2019tale\u2019s 2016 RONE awards page.<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Dreamthief also won a gold medal in Foreword Reviews\u2019 INDIEFAB book of the year award. To learn more about this prestigious award, please visit\u00a0Foreword\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Mental Health<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Tamara Grantham is dedicating 5% of all book sales to promote mental health awareness.<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>

Author Tamara Grantham is giving 5% of all print and eBook sales to AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.)<\/p>

Every book sale will benefit awareness of mental health and the prevention of suicide. To learn more, please visit ASFP.org<\/a>.<\/p>

How can you help?<\/strong> Simply purchase any book by Tamara Grantham. Your purchase will go directly to supporting mental health awareness.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Q and A with the author about mental health:<\/strong><\/p>

Q: Why do you donate to mental health awareness?<\/p>

A: Mental health is a subject that’s very personal to me. I’ve watched family members struggle, and I’ve also battled depression throughout my life. I was lucky enough to find treatment, but I realize that there are many more people who need help. If I can help just one person find peace and overcome mental health struggles, then giving back is worth it.<\/p>

Q: How has writing helped with mental health?<\/p>

Writing is my creative outlet. It helps me escape the daily pressures of life, and it helps me feel fulfilled. I have a goal to write 1,000 words (about 4 pages) every weekday. Reaching my daily writing goal helps me feel accomplished.<\/p>

Q: What is your advice for someone struggling with mental health issues?<\/p>

A: This is a two-part answer. First, remember you’re not alone. There are so many people who feel the same way. In my darkest times, one thing that kept me down was the idea that I was suffering alone. That no one understood me. But if I could’ve only realized that I wasn’t alone, and that there are millions of people out there who were suffering the same as me, maybe I would’ve sought out treatment sooner.<\/p>

Second, seek out a professional help. Consider therapy or prescription medication. It may take some time to find the right medications and dosages. I had to suffer through a few weeks of nausea and fatigue to finally see any relief, but I’m glad I persisted and stayed on my medication, because it made a world of difference.<\/p>

However, everyone’s experiences are different, and finding the proper treatment takes patience. Don’t be afraid to talk to others and seek out professional help.<\/p>

Resources for mental health assistance:<\/strong><\/p>

National Suicide Prevention Help Line\u00a0DIAL 988<\/strong><\/p>

Mental Health and Mesothelioma<\/a><\/p>

Lifeline (suicidepreventionlifeline.org)<\/a><\/p>

Wannatalkaboutit.com<\/a><\/p>

Get Immediate Help | MentalHealth.gov<\/a><\/p>

https:\/\/www.betterhelp.com\/<\/a><\/p>

Boca Recovery Center<\/a><\/p>

The Recover Village Palmer Lake<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

About Tamara The Short: Tamara Grantham is the author of more than a dozen books and novellas, including the multi-award winning Olive Kennedy: Fairy World MD series, and the #1 bestselling Twisted Ever After trilogy. Dreamthief, the first book of her Fairy World MD series, won first place for fantasy in INDIEFAB\u2019S Book of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":32,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_theme","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2215","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamaragrantham.com\/StagingSite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamaragrantham.com\/StagingSite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamaragrantham.com\/StagingSite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamaragrantham.com\/StagingSite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tamaragrantham.com\/StagingSite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2215"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/tamaragrantham.com\/StagingSite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3583,"href":"https:\/\/tamaragrantham.com\/StagingSite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2215\/revisions\/3583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tamaragrantham.com\/StagingSite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}