The Biography and Works of Tui T. Sutherland
Tui T. Sutherland, is a children’s book author of several books (such as Wings of Fire, Avatars, Spirit Animals, etc.) and usually writes from 11:00 to 4:00 am instead of during the day. Some of the pen names she goes by are Heather Williams, Rob Kidd, Erin Hunter, etc. Tui t.’s inspiration for Wings of Fire, a 14 book long series about dragons, came from a short conversation with her agent. He asked her whether she liked dragons, and of course she said yes! It got her thinking about a story from the point of view of dragons instead of humans. She creatively wrote a story that is so smart, unique, realistic, and fun, I could believe it was a true story. Tui says she based one character, clay the mud-wing, off of her 4 yr old son. Age recommendations for her novels range from 8+ because they can be violent and have words younger children won’t understand. In high school, Tui was in theater and she basically worked backstage most of the time. She says she mostly liked it because a) it was fun b) she got to hang out in the dark with boys. In 1998, After she graduated from Williams College, Tui stopped theater and began fictional writing. Two years after her graduation, she wrote Monster Party and has continued writing ever since.
Tui t. Sutherland started off as a normal kid. She loved dogs and still does. Tui wanted to be a writer ever since she was a kid. She was born July 31 (41 years old) in Caracas, Venezuela and lived there with her parents, and her sister/best friend, Kari. She now lives in Boston Massachusetts with her husband, two hilarious sons, and her dog Sunshine.
In 2009, Tui appeared as a contestant on the game show Jeopardy!, becoming a champion on a two day streak, winning $46,200. Her mother, coming from New Zealand, named her after the tui bird, native to that country. The tui bird is a loud, medium sized bird that is coloured black. They have a blue, green, bronze iridescent sheen with white throat tufts. They represent fulfillment, confidence, spiritual harmony, and they act like messengers to the gods. Tui shares a birthday with harry potter (and is pretty proud of that). Tui T. Sutherland inspires kids to create stories in their heads, and put them on paper. Her creative twists and word play clearly tells a story and models ideas for readers.
