P e t r i l l o| 3Terry BrooksTerry Brooks is a currently seventy-five-year-old, male author offantasy.He has become accomplished in his field, and his up-bringing has influenced his writing style.r. Brooks was educated in Biblical !hristianity, and that worldview has influenced his self and his style, leading to relatable stories that have received much approbation."uthor Terry Brooks was born in #terling, $llinois in %&''. His creative ability could be seen when he was very young.Brooks found a creative outlet in imagining stories while playingin the nearby #innissippi Park.$n the fourth grade, Brooks began writing for school assignments and for pleasure, and from there his love of writing only grew.(uring high school, Brooks wrote stories of varying genres, including science fiction, )estern, fiction, and non-fiction.$t was in high school that r. Brooks was introduced to *. +. +. Tolkien,s -ord of the +ings."fter reading Tolkien,s work, Brooks fell in love with fantasy and shifted his focus to writing largely in that genre."fter high school, Brooks attended Hamilton !ollege of .ew /ork, where he received a bachelor,s degree in 0nglish literature."fter graduation, Brooks went on to study law at the#chool of -aw of )ashington and -ee 1niversity.There he studiedlaw by day and wrote by night.Terry finished his first novel P e t r i l l o| 4while still in law school and sent the manuscript to Ballentine Books to be considered for publication." r. -aster (el +ey wasvery interested in Brooks, book and became his mentor. $n %&22, Brooks, first novel was finally completed. 3ollowing this achievement, Brooks decided to 4uit his studies in law and becomea full-time author.He then completed his first trilogy and began to write a second set in the #innissippi Park in which he used to play.Brooks later married his wife, *udine, bought homes in #eattle and Hawaii, and went on to write over forty morenovels and short stories.Terry Brooks was raised in a !hristian home and grew up studying the Bible, but he never accepted !hrist as his -ord and #avior."lthough Brooks is not a born again !hristian, his worksseem to reflect a very theistic worldview.Brooks claims to be avery family-focused man and reflects this view through his characters, strong relationships with their families.He has said that he sees himself as a positive man, and because of this,he does not feature inappropriate things, like se5, and limits his usage of negative things, such as death, in his books.Brooks believes that both humans and his characters should live morally, help others, make sacrifices, and accept responsibility for their actions.Brooks, heroes are faced with great, difficult tasks in which they must overcome their weaknesses and even risk their own lives in order to help and save the lives of P e t r i l l o| 5others. The strength they need, though, is not gained through prayer and petition unto 6od.+ather, it comes through magic, support from family and friends, and their own inner beings.Brooks has said of his own worldview that 7People struggle, they persevere, there is a cost to their efforts, but in the end things work out. That,s 8ust who $ am9 :" !hat with "uthor Terry Brooks;.3inding strength in something other than 6od and getting what you want in the end are prevalent themes in many of Brooks, works and present a very naturalistic worldview.Terry Brooks writes about fantasy and adventure.He is inspired by writers !ooper, Burroughs, )ells, and 3aulkner.r. Brooks prefers writing long works over short stories because he finds short stories do not provide him with the length he finds necessary to fully present a character, setting, or adventure to a reader.Though almost all of Brooks, works are of the fantasy genre, Brooks e5plains that this single genre varies greatly in type.There is dark fantasy, light-hearted fantasy, and the mostcommonly known fantasy, the epic.Brooks, epic fantasies consistof four must-haves< a 4uest, a band of heroes, a battle of good versus evil, and the magic necessary to complete the 4uest.$n Brooks, stories, both magic and heritage affect the band of heroes as they overcome danger and try to complete their 4uest. $n creating a story of fantasy, Brooks creates an entire imaginary world. 0very detail of this imaginary world must be P e t r i l l o| 6thought up and consistent with the others, even if the particulardetail is not included in the story.This helps readers to feel that Brooks, made-up worlds are real.Brooks stated that 76ood fantasy mirrors reality, but doesn,t reflect an e5act image9 :Brooks;.Brooks not only tries to create a world as consistent as our own, but he also takes it upon himself to weave into his fantasy world issues he finds important.$n order for Brooks, works of fantasy to be accepted, the public must be willing to accept the impossible.Brooks has found that many people tend to think works of fantasy are childlike or unimportant in today,s world :7)hy $ )rite "bout 0lves9;.Brooks himself, though, finds fantasy to be 8ust as respectable as other works.He stated that 7successful fantasy re4uires the same basic components that all good fiction re4uires-a solid plot, interesting characters, an element of conflict, good pacing, and a dialogue that advances the story or reveals the characters9 :Brooks;.r. Brooks proved himself right as soon as he published his first novel, #word of #hannara.The book was immediately successful, becoming the first work of fiction to appear on the .ew /ork Times Trade Paperback Bestseller,s -ist.#word of #hannara stayed on the Bestseller,s -ist for five months.Brooks then continued his book, turning itinto a trilogy. The #hannara trilogy soon caught the eye of #tar )ars mastermind, 6eorge -ucas.r. -ucas was so impressed by P e t r i l l o| 7Brooks, writing ability that he asked him to write a book versionof his new movie.The #hannara series has also received recent acclaim.$n =>>2, )arner Brothers purchased the trilogy,s film rights.$n =>%=, #onar 0ntertainment purchased the trilogy,s T? rights and produced the series, The 0lfstones of #hannara, on T?.Today, Brooks has twelve million books in print, and eighteen of his books have appeared on the .ew /ork Times Bestseller,s -ist.Terry Brooks continues to write today@ he is currently working on his second and third books in The (efenders of #hannara trilogy. These books will continue the story the e5tremely popular #word of #hannara trilogy. r. Brooks, gift of writing wholesome, yet e5citing tales of fantasy is what has madehim so successful and popular with all age groups.P e t r i l l o| 8Bibliography7" !hat with "uthor Terry Brooks on the ABth "nniversary ofddddd#hannara.9 graspingforthewind.com.="ug.=>%=.)eb. %23eb.=>%B.7"uthor #potlight-Terry Brooks.9 TerryBrooks.com.n.d.)eb.=3ebyyyyy.=>%B.Brooks, Terry. 7)hy $ )rite "bout 0lves.9 "maCon#horts.com.n.d. yyyyy)eb.=3eb.=>%B.7Terry Brooks.9 3amousauthors.org.n.d.)eb.%D3eb.=>%B.