Tamera Lynn Gattis Alexander (born August 8, 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).
Biography
Early life and education
Tamera Alexander grew up in
Decatur, Georgia
Decatur is a city in, and the county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, which is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 census, the municipality is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple ZIP Codes in ...
, 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 is a private Christian school located in Norcross, Georgia, United States.
Notable alumni
* Micah Abernathy, NFL Free Safety for the Atlanta Falcons
* Sherill Baker, former WNBA player
* Cindy Brogdon, 1976 ...
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 is a private university with its main campus in Searcy, Arkansas. It is the largest private university in Arkansas. Established in 1924, the institution offers undergraduate, graduate, and pre-professional programs. The uni ...
. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in management in 1983.
Career
Upon graduation, she began her business career in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, before accepting a position with Data Communications Corporation in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
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 a 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 ( ) is a city in Taylor and Jones Counties in Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan statis ...
, 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 is the home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Weld County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,795 at the 2020 United States Census, an increase of 17.12% since the 2010 ...
where she began to experience the landscape and history of the
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
.
After her mother-in-law encouraged her to read a book by
Janette Oke
Janette Oke (née Steeves; born February 18, 1935) (pronounced "oak") is a Canadian author of inspirational fiction. Her books are often set in a pioneer era and centered on female protagonists. Her first novel, ''Love Comes Softly'', was publish ...
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
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.
The territory was organized in the w ...
and unofficially titled, ''As High as the Heavens''. The manuscript made it all the way to the final review board wit 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 (formerly known as the Christian Booksellers Association), subtitled "The Association for Christian Retail since 1950", is a trade association that was established in 1950.
History
The association was first organized by 219 Christian booksto ...
br>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 th ECPA national fiction best-seller list at #20 i 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 th ECPA May national fiction best-seller list and climbed to #7 in June. The title also debuted at #11 on th national fiction best-sellers list for June 2009. It went to a second printing in June 2010.
In early 2008, Alexander was contracted b 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 a Christian Book Distributors for March 2009 and also climbed to #15 and #11 on th national best-sellers list for March and April 2009, respectively, appearing again at #19 in August 2009. The title also debuted at #17 on th ECPA national fiction best-seller list i 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 two series, each scheduled for three-books, draw from Nashville's historic mansions as backdrops (1860s to 1870s post Civil War). The
Belmont Mansion (Tennessee)
Belmont Mansion, also known as Acklen Hall, and originally known as Belle Monte, Belle Mont or Belmont, is a Plantation house in the Southern United States, historic mansion located in Nashville, Tennessee. It was built by Joseph Alexander Smith ...
series launched in late October 2011 with release of the first title (A Lasting Impression). The title debuted at #13 on th ECPA national fiction best-seller list, December 2011, and reappeared most recently at #19 on the CBA best-seller fiction list (August 2012). The
Belle Meade Plantation
Belle Meade Historic Site and Winery, located in Belle Meade, Tennessee, is a historic mansion that is now operated as an attraction, museum, winery, and onsite restaurant together with outbuildings on its 30 acres of property. In the late 19th ...
series launched in November 2012, with release of the first title (To Whisper Her Name), which debuted as a USA Today best-seller and climbed as high as #5 on Amazon.com. The second installment in the Belmont series (A Beauty So Rare) is set for release in May 2014.