History professor pens fantasy empire by night

Terry Maggert, 46, may be an unassuming professor by day, teaching students young and old about history at Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin. But by night he is working by the glow of his laptop in Portland on his growing urban fantasy writing empire.

“I had always written, but I never had any desire to write novels because I wasn’t disciplined — I wasn’t an adult is what it comes down to,” he says.

But that changed when Maggert’s first child was born six years ago. Finally, the Portland resident felt like a real adult, and one who was faced with suddenly sleepless nights. Cue the nighttime writing sessions.

“When my kid was little and we would be up late in the middle of the night, feeding him and what not, I started writing,” he says. “Now 400,000 words into it, here we are.”

Maggert first moved to the area in 1996 to care for his terminally ill mother. After she died, he decided to do something different...