Tamera Alexander
Encyclopedia
Tamera Lynn Gattis Alexander (born 1961) is an American author of Christian fiction, who specializes in the inspirational romance genre. She is best known for her award-winning first series, the Fountain Creek Chronicles (2006–07).
, the daughter of an insurance company executive and a bank manager. As a child, Alexander enjoyed writing poetry and short stories, but never dreamed of some day writing fiction as a career. She attended and would later graduate high school from Greater Atlanta Christian School
in 1979. Early advisors led her to choose what was regarded as a more practical livelihood within the field of business—a discipline she began studying in 1979 while attending Harding University
. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in management in 1983.
, before accepting a position with Data Communications Corporation in Memphis, Tennessee
in 1984 as an entry-level customer service representative. Within three years, she had advanced through the company ranks and was managing a staff of 27 employees and supporting corporate clients such as Turner Broadcasting Systems (TBS), with a heavy traveling schedule. The arrival of her first child in 1987 and a new employment opportunity for her husband, led to a family relocation to Abilene, Texas
, also in 1987. A second child and another job opportunity for her husband resulted in another move in 1990, this time to Greeley, Colorado
where she began to experience the landscape and history of the Rocky Mountains
.
After her mother-in-law encouraged her to read a book by Janette Oke
in 1994, Alexander subsequently began to read every work of Christian fiction she could find and penned her first manuscript in 2000, a historical piece set in the 1870s Colorado Territory
and unofficially titled, As High as the Heavens. The manuscript made it all the way to the final review board with Bethany House Publishers before being rejected in 2002. Rejections from another publisher would follow, and although at first discouraged, she quickly returned to the drawing board, determined to apply the planning and analytical skills she had learned in business to studying the craft of writing. She began dissecting numerous novels in an attempt to better understand the recipe for success in historical Christian fiction/romance.
Her second completed manuscript, Rekindled, was contracted by Bethany House in 2004 and published in March 2006, where it quickly climbed to #8 on the Christian Booksellers Association CBA national best-sellers list in May 2006. The book was in its tenth printing as of February 2010.
Alexander's subsequent novels between 2006 and 2010 were each in the inspirational fiction genre and set in the Colorado Territory (circa latter 1800s) with the Rocky Mountains as a landscape backdrop. Her second novel, Revealed, climbed to #18 on the CBA national best-sellers list in March 2008. Remembered, the third novel in the Fountain Creek Chronicles series, recently went to a fifth printing (March 2009).
Alexander's second three-book series, Timber Ridge Reflections, was launched in May 2008 with the release of From a Distance. The book debuted on the ECPA national fiction best-seller list at #20 in July 2008 and peaked on Amazon.com at #30 for all titles in August 2010. The second title in the series, Beyond This Moment, was released in April 2009, and debuted at #10 on the ECPA May national fiction best-seller list and climbed to #7 in June. The title also debuted at #11 on the CBA national fiction best-sellers list for June 2009. It went to a second printing in June 2010.
In early 2008, Alexander was contracted by Thomas Nelson, Inc. to write the publisher's first historical romance novel for its "Women of Faith Fiction series." The Inheritance debuted at #1 as the top-selling Christian fiction romance title at Christian Book Distributors for March 2009 and also climbed to #15 and #11 on the CBA national best-sellers list for March and April 2009, respectively, appearing again at #19 in August 2009. The title also debuted at #17 on the ECPA national fiction best-seller list in April 2009. The Inheritance reappeared on the ECPA best-seller fiction list in January 2010 and the CBA best-seller fiction list in February 2010.
Alexander's third installment in the Timber Ridge Reflections series (Within My Heart) released August 2010 and had already climbed to the #1 bestseller spot in Fiction Romance at Christian Book Distributors by month's end. In addition, Within My Heart then climbed as high as #10 on the ECPA national best-seller fiction list for October 2010 and was later acclaimed as a finalist in both the RITA Awards (Romance Writers of America) and Christy Awards for best in the historical romance category.
Her next scheduled three-book series draws from Nashville's historic Belmont Mansion (Tennessee)
as its backdrop (1860s to 1870s post Civil War) and the first title (A Lasting Impression) released officially in late October 2011, with an initial print run of 60,000.
. They have two children, currently in their 20s.
Early life and education
Tamera Alexander grew up in Decatur, GeorgiaDecatur, Georgia
Decatur is a city in, and county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. With a population of 19,335 in the 2010 census, the city is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple zip codes in unincorporated DeKalb County bear the Decatur name...
, the daughter of an insurance company executive and a bank manager. As a child, Alexander enjoyed writing poetry and short stories, but never dreamed of some day writing fiction as a career. She attended and would later graduate high school from Greater Atlanta Christian School
Greater Atlanta Christian School
Greater Atlanta Christian School is a private school located in Norcross, Georgia.-History:Opening in 1967, Greater Atlanta Christian School was started by Jesse Long and had only 149 students on a two-lane rural road in Gwinnett County, Georgia, now known as Indian Trail Road. At first, buildings...
in 1979. Early advisors led her to choose what was regarded as a more practical livelihood within the field of business—a discipline she began studying in 1979 while attending Harding University
Harding University
Harding University is located in Searcy, Arkansas, in the United States, about north-east of Little Rock. It is a private liberal arts Christian university associated with the Churches of Christ. The university takes its name from James A...
. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in management in 1983.
Career
Upon graduation, she began her business career in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, before accepting a position with Data Communications Corporation in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
in 1984 as an entry-level customer service representative. Within three years, she had advanced through the company ranks and was managing a staff of 27 employees and supporting corporate clients such as Turner Broadcasting Systems (TBS), with a heavy traveling schedule. The arrival of her first child in 1987 and a new employment opportunity for her husband, led to a family relocation to Abilene, Texas
Abilene, Texas
Abilene is a city in Taylor and Jones counties in west central Texas. The population was 117,063 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2006 estimated population of 158,063. It is the county seat of Taylor County...
, also in 1987. A second child and another job opportunity for her husband resulted in another move in 1990, this time to Greeley, Colorado
Greeley, Colorado
The City of Greeley is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Weld County, Colorado, United States. Greeley is located in the region known as Northern Colorado. Greeley is situated north-northeast of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. According to the...
where she began to experience the landscape and history of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
.
After her mother-in-law encouraged her to read a book by Janette Oke
Janette Oke
Janette Oke is a Canadian author and pioneer of inspirational fiction. Her books are often set in a pioneer time period and centered around female protagonists...
in 1994, Alexander subsequently began to read every work of Christian fiction she could find and penned her first manuscript in 2000, a historical piece set in the 1870s Colorado Territory
Colorado Territory
The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado....
and unofficially titled, As High as the Heavens. The manuscript made it all the way to the final review board with Bethany House Publishers before being rejected in 2002. Rejections from another publisher would follow, and although at first discouraged, she quickly returned to the drawing board, determined to apply the planning and analytical skills she had learned in business to studying the craft of writing. She began dissecting numerous novels in an attempt to better understand the recipe for success in historical Christian fiction/romance.
Her second completed manuscript, Rekindled, was contracted by Bethany House in 2004 and published in March 2006, where it quickly climbed to #8 on the Christian Booksellers Association CBA national best-sellers list in May 2006. The book was in its tenth printing as of February 2010.
Alexander's subsequent novels between 2006 and 2010 were each in the inspirational fiction genre and set in the Colorado Territory (circa latter 1800s) with the Rocky Mountains as a landscape backdrop. Her second novel, Revealed, climbed to #18 on the CBA national best-sellers list in March 2008. Remembered, the third novel in the Fountain Creek Chronicles series, recently went to a fifth printing (March 2009).
Alexander's second three-book series, Timber Ridge Reflections, was launched in May 2008 with the release of From a Distance. The book debuted on the ECPA national fiction best-seller list at #20 in July 2008 and peaked on Amazon.com at #30 for all titles in August 2010. The second title in the series, Beyond This Moment, was released in April 2009, and debuted at #10 on the ECPA May national fiction best-seller list and climbed to #7 in June. The title also debuted at #11 on the CBA national fiction best-sellers list for June 2009. It went to a second printing in June 2010.
In early 2008, Alexander was contracted by Thomas Nelson, Inc. to write the publisher's first historical romance novel for its "Women of Faith Fiction series." The Inheritance debuted at #1 as the top-selling Christian fiction romance title at Christian Book Distributors for March 2009 and also climbed to #15 and #11 on the CBA national best-sellers list for March and April 2009, respectively, appearing again at #19 in August 2009. The title also debuted at #17 on the ECPA national fiction best-seller list in April 2009. The Inheritance reappeared on the ECPA best-seller fiction list in January 2010 and the CBA best-seller fiction list in February 2010.
Alexander's third installment in the Timber Ridge Reflections series (Within My Heart) released August 2010 and had already climbed to the #1 bestseller spot in Fiction Romance at Christian Book Distributors by month's end. In addition, Within My Heart then climbed as high as #10 on the ECPA national best-seller fiction list for October 2010 and was later acclaimed as a finalist in both the RITA Awards (Romance Writers of America) and Christy Awards for best in the historical romance category.
Her next scheduled three-book series draws from Nashville's historic Belmont Mansion (Tennessee)
Belmont Mansion (Tennessee)
Belmont Mansion, also known as Acklen Hall, and originally known as Belle Monte, Belle Mont or Belmont, is a historic mansion located in Nashville, Tennessee on the campus of Belmont University that today functions as a museum....
as its backdrop (1860s to 1870s post Civil War) and the first title (A Lasting Impression) released officially in late October 2011, with an initial print run of 60,000.
Marriage and children
Tamera and Joe Alexander live in Brentwood, TennesseeBrentwood, Tennessee
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 23,445 people, 7,693 households, and 6,808 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 7,889 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.63% European American, 1.89% African American,...
. They have two children, currently in their 20s.
Published works
- Fountain Creek Chronicles
- Rekindled (Bethany House, 2006), ISBN 0-7642-0108-5
- Revealed (Bethany House, 2006), ISBN 0-7862-9426-4
- Remembered (Bethany House, 2007), ISBN 0-7642-0110-7
- Fountain Creek Chronicles Omnibus (Bethany House, 2009), ISBN 0-7642-0736-9
- Timber Ridge Reflections
- From a Distance (Bethany House, 2008), ISBN 0-7642-0389-4
- Beyond This Moment (Bethany House, 2009), ISBN 0-7642-0389-4
- Within My Heart (Bethany House, 2010), ISBN 0-7642-0391-6
- The Inheritance (Thomas Nelson, 2009), ISBN 1-59554-632-4
- Belmont Mansion Series
- A Lasting Impression (Bethany House, 2011), ISBN 0-7642-0622-2
Awards
- Library Journal Top 5-Best Inspirational Book), 2006
- Reviewers' Choice Award Finalist - Best Inspirational, 2006
- RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance, 2007
- HOLT Medallion Award of Merit, 2007 & 2008
- Christy Award for Best Romance, 2008
- American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year Finalist, 2009
- Christy Award for Best Historical Romance, 2009
- Christy Award Double Finalist for Best Historical Romance, 2010
- HOLT Medallion Award, 2010
- RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance, 2010
- Christy Award Finalist for Best Historical Romance, 2011
- Rita Award Finalist for Best Inspirational Romance, 2011
- National Readers' Choice Awards Finalist for Best Inspirational, 2011