Terry Goodkind Biography
Terry Goodkind was born in 1948 and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. His
dyslexia caused him constant frustration in high school and he later dropped out
of college
His first novel, Wizard’s
First Rule (Tor Books, 1994) was sold at auction for six times more than
any other first fantasy novel. With a substantial first print run of
60,000 copies it went on to be a bestseller. Each subsequent book in the Sword of Truth
series has sold better than the one before and some twenty million copies of
books in the series have now been sold.
The saga of the Sword of Truth started growing in Goodkind’s mind during the
early 1990s while he was building his house in the forests of the
northeastern U.S. Before turning his hand to writing he was known for his
realistic marine and wildlife paintings.
"It started with the character of Kahlan, and grew from that seed," he
recalls. "It really became a haunting experience. As soon as I started
writing Wizard’s First Rule, I knew writing was my calling. I'd found
something to which I truly want to dedicate my life."
Goodkind also attended art
school in Omaha, Nebraska, where he pursued one of his many interests on the way to becoming a writer. Besides a
career in wildlife art, he has been a cabinet maker and violin maker, and he
has done restoration work on rare and exotic artifacts from around the world
— each with its own story to tell, he says.
While continuing to maintain the northeastern home he built with his own
hands, in recent years he and his wife, Jeri, have created a second home in
the desert Southwest, where he now spends the majority of his time.
Sword of Truth series order
- Wizard's First Rule (1994)
- Stone of Tears (1995)
- Blood of the Fold (1996)
- Temple of the Winds (1997)
- Soul of the Fire (1999)
- Faith of the Fallen (2000)
- The Pillars of Creation (2001)
- Naked Empire (2003)
- Chainfire (2005)
- Phantom (2006)
- Confessor (2007)
- Debt of Bones (2001, prequel novella)
This biography was last updated on 07/28/2011.
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