Terry Odell was born in Los Angeles and now makes her home in central Florida. An avid reader (her parents tell everyone they had to move from their first home because she finished the local library), she always wanted to "fix" stories so the characters did what she wanted, in books, television and the movies. Once she began writing, she found this wasn't always possible, as evidenced when the mystery she intended to write rapidly became a romance.
With her degree in Psychology from UCLA, she loves getting into the minds of her characters. When she's not writing, she's reading. She also volunteers for the Adult Literacy League, training new tutors, and serves as the administrative assistant for a scientific organization devoted to the study of marine mammals.
Terry is a member of RWA. Her manuscripts have won several awards, including the Suzannah and the Gotcha contests, and she has several published short stories. She used to do a lot of needlepoint, but ran out of wall space in the house, which undoubtedly steered her toward writing as a necessary creative outlet. She attributes much of her growth as a writer to her local critique group, the Pregnant Pigs.
