Her Life:

By the time she was in college at the University of Pennsylvania, Pierce was writing short stories, and on the advice of one her professors, she began writing a novel, a sword and sorcery tale. Once out of college, Pierce supported herself with jobs to pay the rent and continued writing her fantasy stories.

During this time, Tamora took a number of jobs, which included measuring and drawing scales of houses, reviewing martial arts movies for a magazine, reading manuscripts for Silhouette romances, tutoring high school students, and working as a tobacco farm laborer. She eventually moved in with her father and stepmother in Idaho and landed a job as a housemother in a group home for teen girls.

A turning point in her life came when she worked as a secretary and helped to start a radio comedy and production company while she was rewriting Alanna's story. It was there that she met her husband, Tim Liebe, an actor, video maker, and writer.

A woman with wide-ranging interests, Tamora continues to research in specific areas. "I am interested in medieval customs, life, and chivalry," she once said. "I study Japanese, Central Asian, and Arabic history and culture; wildlife and nature; crime; the American Civil War; and the conflicts between Islam and Christianity in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Occasionally I rescue hurt or homeless animals in a local park . . . visit schools as often as I can, and read, read, read."

Her Books:

The first novel focuses on Alanna's determination to avoid the expected fate of young women her age--life in a secluded convent. Instead, she cuts her hair, binds her breasts, and, as "Alan," changes identities with her brother and begins training to become a knight in the service of her country's king. During her grueling education, she becomes close friends with Prince Jonathan, who does not know that his favorite knight-in-training is, in fact, a young woman. Only during a battle in the forbidding Black City does the prince discover Alanna's true gender; on the pair's return to the palace he makes her his squire regardless.

In Pierce's second novel, the highly praised In the Hand of the Goddess, Alanna, now a squire, struggles to master the skills she will need to survive her test for knighthood in the Chamber of the Ordeal. She goes to war against a neighboring country and clashes repeatedly with Duke Roger, an urbane and devious mage who is determined to usurp the throne from his cousin, Prince Jonathan. Successful in her efforts to protect Jonathan despite the duke's attempts to get rid of her, she eventually decides to leave royal service and journey out into the world in search of further adventures.

Alanna is now on her own. With her servant Coram Smythesson and Faithful, her cat, she encounters a tribe of desert warriors called the Bazhir. Proving her worth in physical combat, she is accepted by the Bazhir and ultimately becomes their shaman, or wizard. Alanna broadens the outlook of these desert people, raising a few women of the tribe to an equal level with the men before moving on to other adventures.

In Lioness Rampant, the stubborn heroine has become legendary for her skills in battle and for her magical powers. Now she goes on a quest for the King of Tortall. Ascending to the Roof of the World after encountering numerous trials and challenges, she attempts to claim the Dominion Jewel, a precious stone said to give its bearer the power to do good. In addition to adventure, she also encounters love in the person of Liam, a warrior known far and wide as the Shang Dragon; however, his dislike of her magical powers makes their relationship a fragile one.

Alanna makes an appearance in the novel, but the new heroine is thirteen-year-old Daine, an orphaned teen who has an unexplained empathy with wild creatures and a second sense that allows her to foresee danger. In fact, she is in danger of reverting to a wild creature herself until the wizard Numair teaches her to control and channel her "wild magic." Daine then uses her powers to stop evil humans from coercing the newly arrived Immortals--dragons, griffins, spidrens, and Stormwings--to help them accomplish destructive purposes.

Wolf-Speaker continues the adventures of Daine as the fourteen year old and her mentor, the mage Numair, join a wolf pack that are at odds with humans. Men working for an evil wizard named Tristan have discovered opals in the wolves' hunting lands in Dunlath Valley. The scramble for the precious gems resulted in mine pollution and a destroyed ecosystem. Hunted by Stormwings controlled by Tristan, Daine and her companions must use all their powers, including shape changing, to stop the catastrophe. Wolf-Speaker "is a compulsively readable novel that teens won't be able to put down until the final battle is over and good triumphs.

Daine's companion, the irrepressible, incurably curious young dragon, Kitten, is appealing as a character, as is the resourceful marmoset, Zek, whom Daine rescues and takes under her wing. The climactic scenes in which Daine brings to life the bones of the long-dead dinosaurs and fellow creatures in the great natural history hall and leads them in the destruction of the castle and downfall of the emperor are truly riveting.

Daine and her mentor, Numair, are about to be killed when Daine's parents, both of whom are minor gods, sweep the pair up into their domain. Their lives are saved, but both Daine and Numair desperately want to return to mortal regions to help their country, Tortall, fight against the deadly foes introduced in the earlier volumes. The only way for them to do so is to seek the help of dragons, who owe Daine a favor for raising one of their young.

In Sandry's Book, "a rich and satisfying read," according to a Kirkus Reviews critic, Sandry, Daja, Briar, and Trisana--four young people from various walks of life--meet and become friends while living in a temple community. As the four protagonists overcome the negative aspects of their lives, they learn a variety of crafts as well as the use of their unique powers, including magic.

The action is brought forward in Tris's Book, in which Tris and the other mages try to protect Winding Circle Temple from a pirate attack after its defenses are weakened by an earthquake. Tris's Book focuses on the growing friendship among the young mages and their realization that their magical connections are beginning to seep into other facets of their lives. Individually, the mages are also struggling to control their powers, which come on in overwhelming surges when their possessors feel strong emotions.

The third book in the series, Daja's Book, features the outcast trader in a story in which she must face "danger and prejudice," according to Booklist's Sherman. "Pierce's magic and the customs and rituals of her world continue to fascinate," Sherman further remarked.

In Briar's Book, the young mage-in-training and his teacher must combine magic to battle a deadly plague threatening Summersea. "An entirely satisfying, carefully crafted fantasy," concluded Sherman in yet another Booklist review.

Keladry (known as Kel) is the first girl to take advantage of the decree that permits girls to train for the knighthood. The only thing that can stop her is Lord Wyldon, the training master of pages and squires. He does not think girls should be knights and puts her on probation for one year. It is a trial period that no male page has to endure and one that separates the friendly Kel even more from her fellow trainees. But Kel is not someone to underestimate. . . .

Kel's hardships continue as she fights the prejudices that come with being a girl while maintaining the rigorous training of a page. Kel's skills aren't the only thing that are developing. Her feelings for her best friend Neal are also changing...in a very uncomfortable way. Luckily Kel has some new allies, including an ugly but lovable dog and an abused young woman to whom she teaches self-defense.

At the age of 14 and standing 5 foot 10, Keladry of Mindelan is a squire. A squire serves and learns from a seasoned knight for four years, then faces a final test. That final test is the Ordeal, which takes place in a magical room called the Chamber. There, a squire encounters the parts of him or herself that the Chamber deems to be the most difficult to face - be they fears, failings, or unrepented wicked deeds. Does Kel have what it takes to survive?

Keladry of Mindelan has finally achieved her life-long dream of being a knight. But it’s not turning out as she imagined at all. With the land of Tortall at war with the Scanrans, she has been assigned to oversee a refugee camp. But Kel has had a vision in the Chamber–a vision of the man behind the horrific battle machines that her fellow knights and friends are now fighting without her. She is torn between a duty she has sworn and a quest that she feels could turn the tide of the war. . . .

With Magic Steps, the first volume in "The Circle Opens" series, Pierce takes readers back to the four young mages of "Circle of Magic." This quartet of novels picks up four years after the events of "Circle of Magic," and has a new twist: the mages of Winding Circle discover and train a younger teen with an unrealized magical talent, just as happened to them earlier. Magic Steps features Sandry, and now this "stitch witch" takes on a student of her own in a "fast-paced, engrossing read, sure to satisfy fantasy fans," according to Booklist's Shelle Rosenfeld.

Street Magic continues the adventures with young Briar leaving Winding Circle with his teacher Rosethorn to spread magical plant lore to people in distant areas. On his venture, he meets young Evvy, a street urchin, who is unknowingly the possessor of strong magical abilities which Briar helps to cultivate. Eva Mitnick, reviewing the book in School Library Journal, found it to be a "solid addition to this enthralling series."

Daja and Frostpine expect to spend some peaceful weeks with old friends in Namorn. But things begin to go awry as soon as they arrive. First Daja discovers that their hosts' twin daughters are mages. Then mysterious fires begin to blaze across the frigid city. Daja works with Bennat Ladradun, to locate what seems to be a serial arsonist. Daja's magic saves the city from going up in flames, but nothing and nobody can save her the disappointment of learning that the arsonist is someone close to her own heart.

Visiting Thalios, 14-year-old student mage Tris is fascinated by the city's beautiful architecture and its glass-blowing arts. She meets Kethlun Warder, a journeyman glass-blower mage with rare, uncontrolled powers of lightning magic and the ability to create glass balls that reveal brutal murders. As a weather mage in training, Tris becomes Keth's teacher, and the two, working with investigator mage Dema, pool their powers to stop the crimes.

Alianne, daughter of Alanna (Alanna: The First Adventure ), is ready to create her own legend. Aly, 16, longs to follow in her father's footsteps as a spy, but her parents refuse to allow it. Annoyed, she sails off in her boat, only to be captured by pirates and sold into slavery, fortunately to kindly Duke Balitang. She meets Kyprioth, the Trickster, and strikes a bargain: if Aly keeps the Duke and his family safe for the summer, Kyprioth will return her to her family and persuade her parents to let her be a spy.

Aly’s adventure continues. . . . No longer a slave, Alanna’s daughter is now spying as part of an underground rebellion against the colonial rulers of the Copper Isles. The people in the rebellion believe that a prophecy in which a new queen will rise up to take the throne is about to be realized. Aly is busy keeping the potential teenage queen and her younger siblings safe, while also keeping her in the dark about her future. But Aly, who is usually adept at anticipating danger and changes, is in for a few nasty surprises.

(The first book in the Circle Reforged series)

For many years, Sandry's cousin, the Empress of Namorn, has pressed her to visit. But Sandry prefers to stay with her own family in Emelan. Now, as is her right, the Empress has insisted. Sandry will not travel with a group of warriors -- that would only insult the Empress. She will travel with her friends from Winding Circle: Daja, Briar, and Tris. But the four young mages haven't been together in some time, and their friendship isn't what it used to be. Since they left Winding Circle, each has seen magic manipulated in ways -- both good and bad -- that they could not have imagined.

(The first book in the Tortall series)

Tamora Pierce begins a new Tortall trilogy introducing Beka Cooper, an amazing young woman who lived 200 years before Pierce's popular Alanna character. For the first time, Pierce employs first-person narration in a novel, bringing readers even closer to a character that they will love for her unusual talents and tough personality. Beka Cooper is a rookie with the law-enforcing Provost's Guard, and she's been assigned to the Lower City. It's a tough beat that's about to get tougher, as Beka's limited ability to communicate with the dead clues her in to an underworld conspiracy. Someone close to Beka is using dark magic to profit from the Lower City's criminal enterprises--and the result is a crime wave the likes of which the Provost's Guard has never seen before.