Teresa Allen, JD, MA, BS
Writer, Webmaster

I.  Web Based Businesses:  book writing, hospitality, website sales, imports

At Present:  I am webmaster my own businesses:

yachthouse.com:  Yacht House B&B Inn, my hospitality business

writtenweb.com:  contains my novels, non-fiction books, books of poetry, other writings and photography

tarot-insight.com:  my tarot reading site featuring my book:  Tarot Letters to Fiji

ecotravel.net:  websites I maintain for travel businesses in Nepal and Africa

world-products.com:  websites I maintain for imports from Nepal and Africa.  I sell these products for a commission

arastar.org:  nonprofit site I maintain for an African Orphanage and an Animal Welfare Organization

My other website domains  

Previously:  After graduating from Law School in 1995, I developed and marketed websites for an import business and for a website hosting business called, 

Arastar Internet - Phoenix, Arizona 6/96 - 11/97 (subsidiary of Arastar World Products).  Using HTML, Publisher, Corel Draw, and Corel Photo Paint, I developed websites for local and international businesses.  I registered domains and hosted business websites in English, with some in French and Spanish.  I designed and integrated the Arastar network of websites for marketing purposes (See, for example, Arastarworld, a site presently inactive).  See my international agent program, below.

II.  Book Business:  I have 9 complete novels, 5 books of poems and over 10 nonfiction books I'm writing online.  During 2001 I plan to publish a portion of my books to sell through my websites and at the Yacht House Gift Shop. 

III.  Hospitality Business:  (See my book:  Being the Innkeeper Host at the Yacht House B&B Inn)

At Present:  Yacht House Bed & Breakfast Inn - Pensacola, Florida, since 5/99
Owner & Manager of this 10 room Inn.  I market the Inn locally and internationally and maintain the website -- www.yachthouse.com.  I direct all business plans for developing the Yacht House into a luxury resort/retreat with multiple business entities including the Yacht House Gift Shop, the Cyber Cat Cafe and office space for a travel agency.  (See Business Plans for the Yacht House)

IV.  Real Estate Development - Phoenix, Arizona, since 12/97  

At Present:
Co-owner of two rental properties in the greater Phoenix area; developed a distressed multi-structure rural property on 14 acres in Maricopa, Arizona into a successful multi-family rental property.  

Owner of 3 houses that are currently part of the Yacht House B&B and owner of 4 cottage rental units neighboring the Yacht House.  See Hospitality Business above.

V.  Importing:

At Present:  My imports will be for sale at the Yacht House Gift Shop and through my websites.   I believe in establishing long term business relationships built on trust, especially in global commerce.  I have been in business with the following associates for over five years:  world-products.com/nepal, world-products.com/westafrica, world-products.com/eastafrica

Previously: Arastar World Products Company - Phoenix, 4/95 - 11/97  Co-Founder, President and Chair of the Board.  I established, incorporated and maintained the corporate structure of this small import/export business.  (The company started out as Allen-Ellis Imports).

Juris Doctor, May 1994 Arizona State University College of Law - Tempe  (See my book:  Law School High)

• Director Environmental Moot Court, 93-94

• Vice President Environmental Law Society, 91-93

• Editor Moot Court Newsletter, 91-92

• Awards: Gallagher & Kennedy Scholarship, 4/93

• First summer break spent in Guatemala studying Spanish and handwriting the first draft to my novel Guardian of the Maya Tree

• Second summer break spent studying international law at Tel Aviv University.  I also traveled to Egypt and Jordan to conduct research for my novel Ten Years Past Cairo

• Favorite Law School Experiences:

  • "Indian Law," taught by Dr. Paul Bender, who served as Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States just after this class.     

  • Death Penalty Clinic  (See my novel:  And You Learn How to Kill)

  • Internship for the Florence Immigrants and Refugee Rights Project (outlined a novel concerning one of my Asylum cases.)

  • The Moot Court directors selected me as editor for the Moot Court Newsletter, first year

  • The handful of friends I made during Law School:  Kim Brown, esq, Hillary Sadler, esq, and Dr. Beverly Pollenitz

• Worst Law School Experiences:

  • Politics of the Environmental Law Society:  I was VP first year.  Twice I ran for president, but each time my competitor hauled in a dozen friends to elect him (first time) and then her (second time).  They wanted the kudos of being president of a club on their resumes.  I, on the other hand, would have loved to make environmental issues my legal cause.  But the tomfoolery of law school chased me from this pursuit.

  • Snobbery, Clicks, Cut- throat competitiveness.  I started out my first year cordially congratulating other 1Ls for their achievements, if I encountered them near my locker or in the hall.  One time, a young woman turned to see who had congratulated her for winning a Moot Court competition.  She quickly sized me up and turned away saying nothing, like I was a piece of scat.  Welcome to Law School.

  • My internship for the legal division of Workers Compensation at the Arizona Corporation Commission:  The Women's Law Society had matched me with a "mentor" (a woman attorney) who convinced me to intern for her at the Corporation Commission.  At the time, I foresaw developing a valuable relationship with her (future reference) and learning about this pragmatic area of law.  Within a week, however, my mentor and I clearly didn't like each other.  And I had hundreds of hours left on this tedious internship.  Here was yet another catalyst for chasing me from a career in law toward my own business pursuits. 

  • first year, first semester, first final exam.  I nearly had a heart attack when some idiot (an administrator or professor) interrupted my first final exam in Torts to announce something about a missing exam booklet or some other "really important" occurrence.  It took everything I had to summon the courage to finish this exam.  

  • seeing my first semester grades!  It takes a special type of very focused wit, to excel in law school. At least I graduated average.

Master of Arts: English, June 1983 Portland State University Oregon

• Thesis:  A Survey of Computer-Assisted Instruction in English as a Second Language at the College or University Level
• Passed Exam in French as a second language
• Lectured in English, 1981-82
• Studied courses in Intercultural Communications, Portland State University 1980-82  See Dr. Milton Bennett and Dr. Janet Bennett

• Major:  Anthropology: physical anth., cultural anth., archaeology, linguistics 

• Minors:  Astronomy, French, Photography. I started my college career taking art courses at Portland Community College (From the confusion of a post draft Army I leaped into college, seeing no other direction to go but up)

• Languages Studied:  3 years French, 1 year German, 1 year Arabic

• Best courses and experiences:

  • Astronomy field study with Professor Walton.  Starting point of my being an amateur astronomer.  During this course I also met a Swede 20 years my senior.  I joined Lars and his 4 kids in Sweden and wrote the journal that is basis for my novel, Islands One Summer

  • Egyptology:  summer courses offered during the U. S. tour of King Tut.  I studied hieroglyphics and the history of ancient Egypt.  See my article Ancient Astronomy and my novel, Ten Years Past Cairo

  • Courses about World Religions:  Hinduism, Islam, Zen Buddhism

  • Photography course taught by Professor Walton.  this also became an avid hobby

At Present:  Establishing S Corporation for the Yacht House B&B, Florida 

Previously:

• Established profit and non-profit corporations, and limited liability companies for:  Arastar Internet, LLC;  Arastar World Products, Inc., Arastar Foundation, Inc., Flow From the Heart Foundation, Inc.

• Workers Compensation Internship, third year law school

• Refugee Rights Internship, second year law school

• Death Penalty Clinic:  third year law school. I helped write an appeal for a death row inmate, a man from the Reservation near my suburban home.  The central character in my novel, The Man from Saccaton.  is based on this Native American inmate. 

• Interviewed clients for the Homeless Legal Assistance Project, first year law school.  (See my novel, And You Learn How to Kill.  The story deals with the murder of three homeless people.)

• 1980-2:  Portland Community College:  taught English to non-literate SE Asian refugees
• 1981-2:  Portland State University -- college English as a Second Language
• 1983:  HUST Central China University of Science and Technology -- my most interesting teaching job and my first job overseas.  At HUST I taught English to a class of fluent English speaking science professors, and I taught Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) to the university's Chinese English Teachers.  All the Chinese people wore navy blue Mao suits or Army fatigues, at this time.  (See my book of poetry, By the Moongate:  Poems from China)

• 1983-4: Prince of Songkhla University (PSU), Thailand.  I taught classes from Linguistics to Creative Writing.  I also had access to the university's new computer lab where I worked on writing CAI programs in BASIC, with the help of some of the Science teachers.  The library at PSU was the "John F. Kennedy Library."  (See my novel, Moonbeams in Asia and my book of poetry, Echoes on a Rippling Pond:  Poems from Thailand)

• 1985:  Kuwait University  (See, Warrior Courageous: Gulf War Headlines)
• 1985-86 Boston YMCA:  Taught English: to Latin Americans (the most warm and affectionate 2 classes I've ever had); I also worked as a private instructor for Language Consultants, Wellesley.  My pupils included two Swiss engineers named Ronald and Roland -- they spoke perfect English but took advantage of their company's offer for private tutoring; and a Japanese diplomat, Mr. Yakamota, who allowed his wife to finish off his lessons; and a Russian Scientist who would belabor his troubles every time I greeted him with, "And how are you this evening, Mr. Ivar?" "Ah, wife has multiple sclerosis, my cousin, she break her leg, my back is not so good..."  I enjoyed both my jobs in the Boston area.  Except for the cold weather, frantic traffic and high cost of living -- living in the Boston area was awesome.

• Seminars or public talks:  " Computer- Assisted Instruction", China; "Teaching English as a Second Language", Portland Community College, Oregon; "The Tarot," "The Inca, Maya and Aztec Cultures", "Trip in Asia", at the Unitarian Universalist Church services and retreat workshop.  (Please note, part of my general business plan for the Yacht House is to have facilities to hold seminars.  I hope to organize and participate in seminars based on my book topics or businesses:  Tarot Cards, Amateur Astronomy, Web Based Business, Inn-keeping, to name a few ideas.)