Terry Overton Interview Published on: 02, Sep 2021

I was born in Shreveport, LA where my mother’s parents lived. I grew up in Ft. Worth, Texas, and lived there until I graduated from Arlington Heights High School and went to college.

I moved to the Rio Grande Valley in 2000 and began a job at Pan American University in Edinburg. In 2007, I began working at the University of Texas-Brownsville. I retired from working in the UT System in 2016 and began writing Christian books.

First, I enjoyed being a teen in the 60s! It was a different era. But in the seventh grade, I began working with children with disabilities. My grandmother worked as a swim instructor at a camp for children with disabilities. From that point, my time was consumed with volunteering in various clubs and groups in Ft. Worth with the focus of helping those with disabilities. In high school, with the help of my parents, I started a Sunday School class for children in Ft. Worth with disabilities. My dad drove a van all over town, one provided to us by a car dealership, to pick up children for Sunday School. It was such fun for me as a teen to work with these kids once each week.

The most instrumental people in my family who mentored me in my education and profession of working with those who had disabilities were my mom, dad, grandmother, and an uncle who also worked at the camp for children with disabilities. My family includes my parents, brothers and sisters, husband, two children, seven grandchildren, and a great-granddaughter on the way!

People who inspired me in my writing include my own children, grandchildren, and my husband as well as the earlier influence of my parents, grandmother, and uncle.

In high school as I worked in volunteer activities with those who had disabilities, I knew I wanted to be a teacher and work in special education. After teaching for a few years, I went on to earn a master’s degree and became a diagnostician and worked in assessment of individuals to determine their school needs. From there, I decided to teach at the university level which required the Ed.D. And, in that capacity, I began writing for publication of academic research. It was also at that time I went for a post-doc in School Psychology, and then finally a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology.

Each role had so many moments of blessings and enjoyment. But my favorite part of working at the university level, whether a professor or a dean, was mentoring younger undergraduates in college, adults in graduate school and even mentoring new assistant professors. Those were the most fulfilling roles and I continue to be in touch with many of those people now after retirement.

My earliest writing experiences happened in the fourth grade when I wrote a funny short story and won a blue ribbon. At that point, my teacher asked me to go to a summer writing class for those who showed some level of promise in writing. The cost for the summer class was twenty dollars which might as well have been two thousand! It was not something my family could afford.

My first attempts at writing and getting published in special education happened when I was teaching public school. I began writing educational resource material for teachers in the classroom through J. Weston Walch Publishers. I had a few publications with that publisher for several years. These were for use in special education classrooms.

During my first year as an assistant professor, I quickly learned I needed to write articles for publication in professional journals. I wrote a few journal articles, but most of my writing during my early years as an assistant professor was for a textbook in assessment. The textbook, “Assessing Learners with Special Needs: An Applied Approach,” was published in 1990. It is now going into the 9th edition. My motivation for writing this textbook was simple: I couldn’t find one that I thought would fit for my teaching style and my students’ level of learning. I wanted a book that covered graduate topics at an undergraduate level. I needed a more applied textbook, one that teachers would continue to use once they were in their own classrooms. There was nothing like that on the market at that time.

For a short time, my husband and I moved ten hours away from the Texas border area. I missed the border location and the people I had come to know and love for so many years. Seeing the current events on the news about the border, I knew most people in the United States, did not really know or understand the situation along the border. This motivated me to write a book about the border. Once I began writing it, I felt it was missing something significant.

Sitting in church one Sunday I heard the message that Christians should be ambassadors for Christ. “That’s it!” I thought. “How can I use this book on the border to provide a more Christian view about the situation?”

The sound bites on the news showed two very simplistic views. One: don’t let anyone in our country; two: let everyone in. Both sides were right and both sides were wrong. This was my motivation to write the book. I wanted people to think about the situation through a Christian Worldview. I wanted others to see the depth of the problem and think for themselves rather than listen to only one side or the other. In other words, people need to see “Both Sides of the Border.” Using fictional characters and a real-life type of plot based on news events, the story ended up being what I wanted it to be: on that would make others think.

Here are ten” writing nuggets:”

1. Don’t stop trying.
2. Write something meaningful.
3. Not everyone will love your work. That is okay.
4. All rejections are learning experiences and we all have them. Then we move forward.
5. Writing is a gift but no matter how talented you are, you must work hard at it.
6. If your attitude each day isn’t one of, “Today I get to write,” then you need to take a break. Take it.
7. The biggest mistake you will make is sending in a work before it is truly finished. Write it again. And maybe another time. Then it will be ready.
8. Not all writers are manic readers. If you spend more time writing than reading others’ works, that is a good thing. You will develop your own voice.
9. The longer you live, the more you will understand the world. Your writing depth may increase with your years.
10. Write not only what you know but more importantly write what you feel.

I am one of those writers who never seems to run out of ideas. I am also blessed with the “characters in my head.” Sometimes these characters of a book wake me up at 3:00 AM. If they do, I must get up and write at that very moment because my mind has worked something out. It is an adventure to see where the characters will take me in the process.

Charlottes’ Web and A Christmas Carol are two of my all-time favorites.

It is a chance to be outside and enjoy God’s blessings with friends whom you laugh with and enjoy in recreational activity. It is a time to get in much needed exercise—a writer’s life has plenty of opportunities for sitting. Exercise and healthy eating are vital.

A school psychologist has many roles in education. Both children and teachers need to feel supported. Teaching and learning happen better when self-esteem and confidence are intact. The role expanded in recent years because so many parents need help with struggling children. My last years as a school psychologist, we were training school systems how to respond in active shooter scenarios. Our world has changed.

The most fun thing about being a professor is being with so many wonderful students and other faculty members. All the while, a professor can research and keep learning in their own interest areas. Just a wonderful job.

I have two Christmas books, middle grade and younger, coming out soon. I am awaiting a pre-order date for those two books. Following that, I have six other middle grade readers in process, different stages, at my publisher’s offices. In addition, two adult novels are in different stages. One has been through all edits, the second one just under contract as of last week.

I have also been blessed to be part of a collaborative work for a “Chronic Illness Devotional.” That will be out perhaps in a year.

I have enjoyed the experience. Although I had several publications out before my debut novel, I had not used any resources such as AllAuthor for my earlier works. It has been helpful for marketing and making new connections.