About the Author

TERRI FARLEY has always loved books, horses and wild places. One of those wild places was inner city Los Angeles where she taught high school English and Journalism before moving to Nevada. Now she rides and hikes the range researching books that have made her an award-winning author and an advocate for the West’s wildlife—especially wild horses.

FARLEY is the author of the Phantom Stallion adventure series (HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Audible) which has sold over 2 million copies worldwide. Seven Tears Into the Sea (Simon and Schuster) a contemporary Celtic fantasy, was nominated as a YALSA best book.  Wild At Heart: Mustangs and the Young People Fighting to Save Them (Houghton-Mifflin)  a work of nonfiction has been honored as a Junior Library Guild selection, 2015 winner of the Sterling North Heritage Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature and has been honored by the National Science Teachers Association and commended by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

New Books!  The Phantom Stallion’s Family STEM picture book series is Is available from Simon & Schuster now! Horse Girl: How Velma Bronn Johnston Became Wild Horse Annie and Outsmarted the Mustang Killers of the West a biography, is available for pre-order before publication by the University of Nevada Press in September 2026. 

FARLEY has testified in Federal Court on humane and public access issues relating to public lands and inhumane treatment of wild horses. FARLEY lives in an old house with her family, which includes her husband, an elderly goldfish named Fluffy and her dog, Willow.  In true collie fashion, Willow rescued the youngest member of the Farley family, an orphaned kitten named Tamarack.

Terri believes enthusiasm for reading is contagious & she is happy to be a carrier!

Watch Terri talk to baby wild horses!

Favorite Things

Yoga: outdoors if possible, but I’ll settle for online in my living room if temperatures are below freezing

My dog Willow & cat Tamarack: Learn more below!

Advocacy for Wild Horses: I learn as much about wild horses as I can — first hand on the range and through the writings and recordings of credible sources — and then write it up before sharing via social media and my books. People can’t care if they don’t know.

Mexican & Plant-Based cooking: I love making tamales, but I’m better at enchiladas.

Tending my garden (even weeding) just after dawn on summer mornings, accompanied by a cup of coffee, dogs, and a good book to take into the shade after the sun gets too hot.

Reading! Books are a huge part of my life. I usually have about 3 books going (not counting the ones taking shape in my imagination). I listen to an audiobook while I drive, have a fun non-fiction book on my kitchen table and a mystery next to my bed. Of course my husband is as reading-obsessed as I am & that’s a good thing for both of us!

Willow’s Rescue

Tamarack, Tami for short, is the newest member of the Farley household and the way she got here is quite a story.

In 2021, at the height of the Tamarack wildfire (we had heavy wood smoke & falling ash, but didn’t have to evacuate) Willow, my farm-reared and super-obedient Scotch Collie refused to come when she was called. That was totally out of character, but she did bark back at me. A lot.

I followed Willow’s barks and found her on the adjoining property, beside a tiny kitten. The kitty’s closed eyes and umbilical cord told me she was newborn. I waited for over an hour, in case the kitten’s mother returned. By then, the kitten was cold and it was dusk, the time when coyotes and bears are in my  neighborhood. There was no sign of Mama Cat, so I brought baby inside to warm her. The Humane Society (experts at rescuing orphans) was closed, so my husband rushed to buy cat milk replacer and a feeding syringe.

I fed the kitten slowly and often and she was still alive at dawn. Then, I drove her to the Nevada Humane Society. I turned her over to them (it’s called a “Good Samaritan surrender”), giving her the name Tamarack and indicated we REALLY wanted to adopt her if she survived.

She did! Now Tami is back where she was born and she’s best buddies with Willow, her rescuer.

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