About the Author
Terri Todosey
Born in Ontario, Canada, I grew up during a time before cell phones and internet. A time when touch-tag and playing hide-and-go-seek in the ravine was common place and our parents standing outside the front door and hollering, “Dinner!” was our only signal to head home. Trips to the library were a weekly event where I would quietly but quickly make my way to the children's section to look for the latest Dr. Seuss or Curious George book. One of the first early readers that made an impact on me was 'Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang' by Mordecai Richler. But it wasn't until my older sister Carolyn strode into my room one day and tossed me Tolkien's book, 'The Hobbit'. My love for good fantasy books was evident at the age of eleven when I wrote and won a speech about Hobbits in grade six. But it wasn't just good books that stretched my imagination. I'll always remember that cold snowy day in December when our parents took the three of us siblings (Caroyln, my younger brother Lee and myself) to go and visit Santa Claus. At the grand old age of eight I felt too old for such a thing, but seeing my older sister Carolyn stoked about it, I figured it was an outing I too could endure. Little did I know she was in on the mysterious adventure my parents had concocted. We arrived at a theatre, which confused my brother and I, when they pointed to a B-Rate movie poster displayed in the front lobby titled 'Santa Goes to Mars'. My dad smiled mischeviously and said, "We fooled you. We aren't seeing Santa, but a movie starring him.' Even at that age it looked cheesy but it was better than lining up to sit on Santa's lap. We got popcorn and drinks and the three of us sat in the dark theatre between our mom and dad. I know it's hard to believe such B-rate movies were shown in the theatre, but we didn't have Netflix or DVD's or even videos back then. When the curtains opened and the orchestral song bellowed out with text that read, 'A long time ago in a galaxy far far away...' I looked at my dad with a huge smile from ear to ear, knowing this was no B-rate Santa movie. George Lucas and his film 'Star Wars - A New Hope', pulled me away into a distant galaxy. Another great film that tickled my mind was 'Back to the Future' by Robert Zemeckis. The whole idea of travelling through time was mind stretching. Little did I know I would go on to meet Robert one day when my daughter would have a part in one of his films. She went on to become a Gemini award winning actress and is one of my closest partners when it comes to our creative endeavors. But it wasn't until I was stuck on set with her during long days of filming, that I took the time to settle in to writing my own fantasy books and my debut novel titled Myth was born in 2017.
"Each creative outlet is fodder for the next."
Yes I'm a writer because I write, but I would likely say I'm an artist at heart, working in many genres to express my creativity. Thinking about it, I notice that each creative outlet is fodder for the next. I write to put into words the fantastical worlds, creatures and stories I imagine, whereas when I sculp, I poke and prod at the clay while imagining a character’s personality in order to go deeper to develop them. After some time and by what would seem a miraculous feat, I'm always astonished to find one of my characters is there on my sculpting table looking back at me.
Whether spending time in nature, hiking the boreal forests, kayaking the lake at my cottage, drawing, painting, sculpting or playing the piano in my Ontario home, I have a notebook and pencil at the ready to jot down inspired thoughts and ideas. I don’t trust my aging mind to remember the brilliance when it strikes me, so I have a system whereby I carry a notebook and pencil almost everywhere I go. You’d laugh if you saw all the pretty notebooks I’ve filled over the years with sketches and point form scenes. They litter nearly every room in my home.
Music is another active and important part of my creative process. Having learned piano at an early age, I developed a strong appreciation for a diverse collection of music. You can actually go and download a playlist that inspired my writings called, ‘Myth & Troth’ as well as 'Writing' on my youtube music channel ‘Terri Todosey’. It’s amazing how a song can conjure up a full scene in my head, like a movie that I watch play out and then I simply write it down.
For weekly adventures and musings, you can follow me on my Instagram and Facebook accounts under TreeToadBooks or Mythnovel.