Just who is Terrance Zepke?

“As soon as I learned how to read, I read everything I could get my hands on, especially southern literature, folklore, and mysteries. In junior high, I started writing whodunits and short stories with O. Henry endings, so I thought I might become a mystery writer. During my sophomore year of high school, I became interested in journalism and gave serious consideration to becoming a journalist or war correspondent. I studied Journalism at the University of Tennessee and later received a Master’s Degree in Mass Communications from the University of South Carolina. While I was working on my graduate degree, I realized that what I really wanted was to be a travel writer. Traveling to far away locales, learning about new places and people, and sharing these experiences through articles and photo essays, seemed like the perfect job.”

Zepke began her career as a freelance writer/photographer, specializing in adventure travel. Over the years, her photos and features have appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines. She has traveled extensively to every continent and lived all over the world, spending the most time in London, England; Oahu, Hawaii; and the Carolinas. “Like most travelers, I’ve had good and bad experiences. I’ve seen the sun set over the magnificent Taj Mahal, piranha-fished along the Amazon River, explored the Lost City of the Incas in South America’s Andes Mountains, taken an elephant safari through Nepal’s desolate Royal Chitwan National Park, survived Class V rapids and crazy river guides while whitewater rafting on West Virginia’s famed Gauley River, wandered the chaotic and unforgettable medinas of Fez, and petted a live, baby rhino while on safari in Kenya. Conversely, I’ve suffered terrible chigger bites, been stranded in Morocco, had the scare of a lifetime when a tiger circled my tent one night near Katmandu (It seemed like hours but I think it was only a few minutes), and learned how to drive a stick shift in Rome when the trains went on strike and I had to get back to Paris to catch a flight home.”

After booking her own travel arrangements (as well as those of friends, family, and acquaintances) for years, Zepke combined her passion for travel with her years of globetrotting to become a travel agent. “The sporadic pay of freelancing led me to it!” These days, Zepke is too busy writing to do more than book travel for family and friends. She has written more than a half dozen books pertaining to travel, as well as Carolinas’ history and folklore. The author has made many television appearances and is in demand as a speaker because of her superb knowledge and keen enthusiasm.

Award-winning writer/photographer Terrance Zepke still loves crisscrossing the globe, but she always comes back to the Carolinas and “...will always proudly call them home.” Zepke lives in central North Carolina and a small beach community in South Carolina. Her favorite activities include exploring historic sites, watersports, and being walked by her eighty-five pound Old English Sheepdog, Bandit. “