Tara K. Harper
Encyclopedia
Tara K. Harper is an American science fiction
author whose works include the Wolfwalker series.
. Her father had worked in a nuclear lab analyzing radioactive cloud samples from Russian atomic test blasts; her mother had been a uranium
buyer. Her first electronic toy was an oscilloscope
. Between a father who was a meteorologist, woodworker, luthier
, and otherwise jack-of-all-trades, and a mother who was an accomplished horsewoman, seamstress, musician, and community activist, Harper had a difficult time choosing between life goals. She did know by the time she was eleven that she would become an astronaut
, a stunt person, or a science writer. However, her interests continue to range from fencing
to forensics
. She is a violinist and composer who also studies voice, paints in oils, sculpts in stone, and collects dryer lint. She plays the dulcimer
that her father built; and plays blues
and folk guitar, even though she can never find her favorite pick.
. She worked nights in a cannery, fished to feed her cat, and lived in a filbert orchard while studying physics, mathematics, and journalism. Uncertain as to whether she should pursue a career in physics, music, writing or space science, she attended the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. At the same time, she served an internship as science journalist on The World newspaper (Coos Bay, Oregon).
In 1984, Harper graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Science. She returned to northwest Oregon and immediately took a job with a company in R&D high-tech, test and measurement. This allowed her to make enough money to support her personal research in engineering, genetics, virology, and other disciplines. Her fiction writing was, at that time, a hobby.
(an imprint of Random House
) six months later, and she saw Wolfwalker published in 1990. The novel was an immediate best-seller, and Harper's career moved quickly forward.
Currently, Harper is the author of nine science-fiction novels, including the best-selling and critically acclaimed Wolfwalker series and Cat Scratch series, as well as other stories. Her work is available internationally in a variety of languages and as books on tape. Two of her novels, Cat Scratch Fever and Wolf's Bane, were nominated for the Oregon Book Awards. She has also received numerous awards for science writing, has been Guest of Honor at several conventions, and was nominated in 1999 to a University of Oregon inaugural Hall of Achievement. In late 1999, she was a guest speaker at the Library of Congress
, in Washington, D.C..
Professionally, Harper has worked for over 20 years as a science editor and writer in fields as diverse as software engineering, high-speed microwave (satellite, not kitchen appliances) wafer communications, superconductor and microprocessor technology, medical sciences, genetics, and herpetology. It is this continuing background in R&D medical science, high-tech, forensics, and other disciplines that Harper credits with being the inspiration for the science in her fiction novels.
Harper credits the realism of the action in her novels to a lifetime of competition and participation in outdoor and athletic activities. She attributes her overall success as a novelist to a diverse academic background; extensive experience in fending off wild and feral animals; a continuing involvement in science; and in-depth experiments in drowning. Other activities have included archery, shooting, rock-climbing, waterpolo, soccer, sailing, scuba diving, fencing, and martial arts. In the latter two fields, she competed nationally and internationally. Active in community service, Harper currently teaches creative writing for an alternative school, trains youth in wilderness skills, and serves on the board of directors for a youth treatment center.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
author whose works include the Wolfwalker series.
Early life
Harper was raised in northwest OregonOregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. Her father had worked in a nuclear lab analyzing radioactive cloud samples from Russian atomic test blasts; her mother had been a uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
buyer. Her first electronic toy was an oscilloscope
Oscilloscope
An oscilloscope is a type of electronic test instrument that allows observation of constantly varying signal voltages, usually as a two-dimensional graph of one or more electrical potential differences using the vertical or 'Y' axis, plotted as a function of time,...
. Between a father who was a meteorologist, woodworker, luthier
Luthier
A luthier is someone who makes or repairs lutes and other string instruments. In the United States, the term is used interchangeably with a term for the specialty of each maker, such as violinmaker, guitar maker, lute maker, etc...
, and otherwise jack-of-all-trades, and a mother who was an accomplished horsewoman, seamstress, musician, and community activist, Harper had a difficult time choosing between life goals. She did know by the time she was eleven that she would become an astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
, a stunt person, or a science writer. However, her interests continue to range from fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
to forensics
Forensics
Forensic science is the application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to a legal system. This may be in relation to a crime or a civil action...
. She is a violinist and composer who also studies voice, paints in oils, sculpts in stone, and collects dryer lint. She plays the dulcimer
Appalachian dulcimer
The Appalachian dulcimer is a fretted string instrument of the zither family, typically with three or four strings. It is native to the Appalachian region of the United States...
that her father built; and plays blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and folk guitar, even though she can never find her favorite pick.
Education
In 1979, Harper won a journalism honor and a communications scholarship, and enrolled at the University of OregonUniversity of Oregon
-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...
. She worked nights in a cannery, fished to feed her cat, and lived in a filbert orchard while studying physics, mathematics, and journalism. Uncertain as to whether she should pursue a career in physics, music, writing or space science, she attended the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. At the same time, she served an internship as science journalist on The World newspaper (Coos Bay, Oregon).
In 1984, Harper graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Science. She returned to northwest Oregon and immediately took a job with a company in R&D high-tech, test and measurement. This allowed her to make enough money to support her personal research in engineering, genetics, virology, and other disciplines. Her fiction writing was, at that time, a hobby.
Writing
By the end of 1988, Harper had completed four science-fiction novels. Under forcible pressure from a friend, she sought an agent. Her first novel was accepted at Del Rey BooksDel Rey Books
Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn since 1998, by Bertelsmann AG. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It specializes in science fiction and fantasy...
(an imprint of Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
) six months later, and she saw Wolfwalker published in 1990. The novel was an immediate best-seller, and Harper's career moved quickly forward.
Currently, Harper is the author of nine science-fiction novels, including the best-selling and critically acclaimed Wolfwalker series and Cat Scratch series, as well as other stories. Her work is available internationally in a variety of languages and as books on tape. Two of her novels, Cat Scratch Fever and Wolf's Bane, were nominated for the Oregon Book Awards. She has also received numerous awards for science writing, has been Guest of Honor at several conventions, and was nominated in 1999 to a University of Oregon inaugural Hall of Achievement. In late 1999, she was a guest speaker at the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
, in Washington, D.C..
Professionally, Harper has worked for over 20 years as a science editor and writer in fields as diverse as software engineering, high-speed microwave (satellite, not kitchen appliances) wafer communications, superconductor and microprocessor technology, medical sciences, genetics, and herpetology. It is this continuing background in R&D medical science, high-tech, forensics, and other disciplines that Harper credits with being the inspiration for the science in her fiction novels.
Harper credits the realism of the action in her novels to a lifetime of competition and participation in outdoor and athletic activities. She attributes her overall success as a novelist to a diverse academic background; extensive experience in fending off wild and feral animals; a continuing involvement in science; and in-depth experiments in drowning. Other activities have included archery, shooting, rock-climbing, waterpolo, soccer, sailing, scuba diving, fencing, and martial arts. In the latter two fields, she competed nationally and internationally. Active in community service, Harper currently teaches creative writing for an alternative school, trains youth in wilderness skills, and serves on the board of directors for a youth treatment center.