Ted Fearson

Children’s books

Ted Fearson lives in Wisconsin and frequently visits Door County, a magical tourist area in the state and the setting for many of his books. Ted was a special needs teacher for 20 years and has worked with many children to help them manage the social stresses of school. He also helped train teachers who were working on getting their teaching license on the job. Ted has a husband and two grown children of his own, so he’s dealt with a lot of different kids with different personalities. Ted’s original inspiration for the Bea Series books came from the “Bee Angel” a homemade, beloved, (but sort of “unique”) Christmas ornament.

Books by Ted Fearson

Bea Yourself

April 2025

My Story

I started writing in 2020 when the covid lockdown started. I have been writing most of my life and always had ideas for stories and books, but I finally took it seriously in 2020 when I was in the house and had more time to focus on writing.

Genre

“I write children’s books and middle grade books because it was my favorite type of books to read with classes and my own children. Even though I no longer teach, and my own children are grown, I still enjoy reading kid’s books.”

What have you learned?

“I needed to accept there were certain details I had to leave out of my books because they made the books to long and slowed down the story. This was difficult for my because I created very elaborate backstories for my characters. I realized I don’t need to include them all in the story to say what I want to say.”

Inspiration

“The inspiration for my current books come from simple things. I often take small ideas I enjoy and think through a story line to use them. Often as I work through the story line I find that my original inspiration becomes less prominent as I work.

One example of this is my “Bea” series, which originally started out as a story I always wanted to write about a homemade Christmas ornament, and the final story evolved from there.”

Favorite Authors

“My favorite authors came from the books I read as a child and books I read to my children. I love the Frog and Toad series by Arnold Lobel, because they made my son laugh out loud when I read them to him as a young child.

My daughter’s favorite bedtime story was Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes. It shows how you should love the things about yourself that are unique.

As a child I loved Beverly Cleary’s books about Ramona. I loved how they used humor and realistic situations. I loved how they were told from Ramona’s perspective.

The Little House, by Virginia Lee Burton is also a favorite. It shows how love can save things.

As a young adult I read most of Agatha Christie’s books. I love the attention to detail and character backstories she provides.”

What I love about writing

“I love the actual process of coming up with the ideas and working out the storylines. I love discussing them with my spouse as I write.”