FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Elyse Marshall
Associate Publicist
HarperCollins Publishers
1350 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10019-4703
e-mail: elyse.marshall@harpercollins.com
phone: 212-261-6793

About TERRI FARLEY
A Cowgirl at Heart . . .

Terri Farley is truly a cowgirl at heart. She has always loved horses. Growing up in Los Angeles and San José, California didn't keep her from saving her allowance for rides at nearby stables. After college, Farley taught Reading in an inner-city high school in Los Angeles, where she learned animal stories could touch even the most shielded hearts.

When marriage took her to northern Nevada, home to many of the nation's wild horses, Terri waited only days before knocking at the office door of Velma Johnston, initiator of the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act, to whom she'd written childhood letters which began, "Dear Wild Horse Annie."

After a warm welcome by "Annie" and Dawn Lappin, current godmother to the West's wild horses, Terri became a more active wild horse advocate. While finishing her Master's degree and starting a family, Terri wrote magazine articles on wild horses and other subjects, which put her in the saddle. While following wild horse round-ups and cattle drives, Terri learned a few buckaroo skills. Though she can't rope a steer, she makes pretty good campfire biscuits. As part of a Pony Express reenactment, she carried mail across the high desert on a headstrong white Polish Arab. They both survived and the mail pouch made it to Sacramento.

THE PHANTOM STALLION is Terri's first series for young adults. She loves full-time writing but longs for the classroom and compensates by making school visits, sometimes accompanied by an adopted wild horse.

When she's not writing or researching the West's wild horses, Terri Farley enjoys visiting classes from K-12 and talking with colleagues at state, regional, and national conferences of teachers and librarians. Young author festivals are her favorites. Terri's workshop topics are wide-ranging and flexible. "Hooked on Horses" is an informal talk filled with stories and audience interaction. Also featured in the presentation is "Wild Ones". This original film shows mustangs in the wild, as well as examples of their capture and adoption. "Idea Factory" is a creative writing workshop that uses left/right brain techniques to supplement the rigors of classroom writing. Small groups and hands-on participation lead to writing confidence with games such as "I See By My Outfit" and "Slug Salad."