Jeffrey Deaver, Author Biographies

Best Selling Novelist Jeffrey Wilds Deaver was born May 6,1950 near Chicago, Illinois

in Glen Ellen. Jeffrey’s dad was an advertising copywriter (hmm, does writing run in the family?) and his mom was a homemaker.

Even as a child, Jeffrey was interested in books and writing. He started his first book when he was only 11. He says that he has aways had a very vivid imagination.

Jeffrey earned a Bachelor of Literature degree at the University of Missouri. He worked as a journalist for a magazine before graduating from Fordham University of Law. While working in a large Wall Street law firm, Jeffrey began writing suspense novels. He started writing full time in 1990.

Jeffrey writes fast paced plot driven novels. His books are filled complex twists and surprises. He says that his goal in writing is for pure entertain value. He says,”My job is to scare people and I’ll do whatever it takes to grab them by the lapels in the first chapter and drag them through the book.

Jeffrey also writes poetry and has published collections of short stories. Jeffrey has won several awards for his novels as well as his short stories. Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie starred in the hit movie, “The Bone Collector,” based on Jeffrey’s first book in the Lincoln Rhyme novel series.

In July of 2003, Jeffrey appeared in the CBS daytime soap opera, As the World Turns, as a corrupt reporter. He says that instead of a cameo role, which he was expecting, he wound up doing real acting and some stunt work for three days.

Jeffrey makes his home in North Carolina where he and his partner, Madelyn, raise and show Briard dogs. They are actively involved in animal welfare charities. Jeffrey says, “I will never hurt a child or an animal in my books.”

Jeffrey has a younger sister, Julie Reece Deavers, who has published books for young adults.

Asked how his friends would describe him, Jeffrey says they would say he was generous,

funny and weird.

Books by Jeffrey Deaver:

Series:

Rune

Manhattan is My Beat (1988)

Death of a Blue Movie Star (1990)

Hard News (1991)

John Pellam

Shallow Graves (1992) (writing as William Jefferies)

Bloody River Blues (1993)

Hell’s Kitchen (2001)

Lincoln Rhyme

The Bone Collector (1997)

The Coffin Dancer (1998)

The Empty Chair (2000)

The Stone Monkey (2002)

The Vanished Man (A Lincoln Rhyme Novel) (2003)

The Twelfth Card (2005)

The Cold Moon (2006)

(2008)

Kathryn Dance

The Sleeping Doll (2007)

Roadside Crosses (2010)

Stand Alone Novels

Always a Thief (1988)

Voodoo (1988)

Mistress of Justice (1992)

The Lesson of Her Death (1993)

Praying for Sleep (1994)

Speaking in Tongues (1995)

A Maiden’s Grave (1995)

The Devil’s Teardrop: A Novel of the Last Night of the Century (1999)

The Blue Nowhere (2001)

Garden of Beasts : A Novel of Berlin 1936 (Deaver, Jeffrey) (2004)

The Chopin Manuscript: A Serial Killer (2007)

The Bodies Left Behind (2009)

The Burning Wire (2010)

Watchlist: A Serial Killer (2010)

Collections

Twisted: Collected Stories of Jeffery Deaver Vol. 1 (2003)

Nocturne: And Other Unabridged Twisted Stories (2004)

MORE TWISTED (COLLECTED STORIES, VOLUME 2) (2006)

Novellas

A Dish Served Cold (2006)

Fern Michaels, Author Biographies

Fern was born Mary Ruth Kovak in Hastings, Pennsylvania on April 3,1933 to Albert and Lucy Kovak. She says she was an avid reader at a young age. She especially enjoyed mysteries and adventure stories.

Fern Michaels is the pen name for Mary Ruth Kuczkir. She says that although Fern Michaels is not who she is but is what she does, she doesn’t mind people calling her Fern. So, we will call her Fern.

Fern and her husband, Michael married in 1952 and had five children. After moving to New Jersey, she decided with friend Roberta Anderson to try their hand at writing. That is when they adopted and wrote under the pseudonym Fern Michaels.

Mary Ruth and Roberta wrote 26 novels together. She divorced her husband, split with Roberta and won the legal rights to the Fern Michaels name in 1989.

Fern then started writing on her own and what a prolific writer she has been. She says she has never had writer’s block.Most of her novels have made it to the New York Best Sellers list. She was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame in 1995.

Fern moved to South Carolina in 1997. She has several dogs and lives in a renovated 300 year old haunted plantation home outside of Charleston.

Her advice to aspiring writers: “Sit down and DO IT. Don’t listen to anyone but yourself. Believe in yourself and don’t give up. If you persevere, you will prevail. I am the living proof.”

Fern founded the Fern Michaels Foundation in 1990. This tax exempt charitable corporation each year grants two-four year scholarships for qualified students. Because she understands the plight of the single mother, she also helped open affordable rate child care centers for needy single moms.

Bibliography:

Series:

Captives

Captive Passions (1977)

Captive Embraces (1979)

Captive Splendors (1980)

Captive Secrets (1981)

Texas

Texas Rich (1985)

Texas Heat (1986)

Texas Fury (1989)

(1993)

Texas Trilogy (omnibus) (1991)

Sins

Sins of Omission (1989)

Sins of the Flesh (1990)

Vegas

Vegas Rich (1996)

Vegas Heat (1997)

Vegas Sunrise (1995)

Vegas Trilogy (omnibus) (2001)

Kentucky

Kentucky Rich (2001)

Kentucky Heat (2002)

Kentucky Sunrise (2002)

Sisterhood

Weekend Warriors (2001)

Payback (2004)

Vendetta (2004)

The Jury (2005)

Sweet Revenge (2006)

Lethal Justice (2006)

Free Fall (2006)

Hide and Seek (2007)

Hokus Pokus (2007)

Fast Track (2008)

Final Justice (2008)

Collateral Damage (The Sisterhood: Rules of the Game, Book 4) (2008)

(2009)

Razor Sharp (2009 )

Vanishing Act (2009)

Deadly Deals (2009)

Cisco

No Place Like Home (2002)

Family Blessings (2004)

Godmothers

The Scoop (The Godmothers) (2009)

Stand Alone Novels

Pride and Passion (1975)

Vixen in Velvet (1976)

Valentina (1978)

The Delta Ladies (1980)
Golden Lasso (1980)

Sea Gypsy (1980)

Captive Gypsy (1980)

Whisper My Name (1981)

Beyond Tomorrow (1981)

Paint Me Rainbows (1981)

Panda Bear is Critical (1982)

Night Star (1982)

Wild Honey (1982)

Tender Warrior (1982)

All She Can Be (1983)

Free Spirit (1983)

Cinders to Ashes (1984)

To Taste the Wine (1987)

For All Their Lives (1991)

Seasons of Her Life (1994)

To Have and to Hold (1994)

Desperate Measures (1994)

Serendipity (1994)

(1995)

Wish List (1995)

Yesterday (1995)

Whitefire (1997)

Sara’s Song (1998)

Finders Keepers (1998)

Celebration (1999)

Annie’s Rainbow (1999)

Split Second (1999)

The Guest List (2000)

Picture Perfect (2000)

What You Wish For (2000)

Listen to Your Heart (2000)

Charming Lily (2001)

Plain Jane (2001)

The Future Scrolls (2001)

Late Bloomer (2002)

About Face (2003)

Trading Places (2003)

Crown Jewel (2003)

The Real Deal (2004)

The Nosy Neighbor (2005)

Pretty Woman (2005)

Fool Me Once (2006)

Hey, Good Looking (2006)

The Marriage Game: A Novel (2007)

Up Close and Personal (12007)

Mr. and Mrs. Anonymous (2009)

Betrayal (2009)

(2010)

Game Over (2010)

John Sandford, Author Biographies

John Sandford (pseudonym for John Roswell Camp) was born on February 23, 1944 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa where he was also raised.

John graduated from University of Iowa with a degree in American Studies and went back in 1970-1971 to get a master’s degree in journalism. In 1966 John married Susan Lee Jones, also a student at the University of Iowa. They produced two children, Emily and Roswell. They moved to southern Minnesota in 1978. Susan died in 2007.

After a tour in the U.S. Army in 1968 John worked as a journalist on various publications. He was named as finalist to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1980 for his study of the Native Americans of Minnesota and North Dakota. He actually won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 for a series of articles about the farm crisis in the Midwest.

After burn-out from working the crime beat for twenty years, he was published as an author of two nonfiction books and many books of fiction. He still dabbles in journalism now and again.

John does extensive traveling for book tours. While not traveling, he can be found at his homes in Minnesota. He has many varied interests including archaeology, fishing, hunting, karate (has a black belt), and photography amongst other things. He once canoed solo from the mouth of the Mississippi in Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.

John has been involved in archaeology digs in Beth Shean in Israel and Tel Rehov near the Sea of Galilee. He was a the photographer and major financial backer.

John Sandford is world renowned for his Prey series, Kidd series, and Virgil Flowers series. He wrote three stand alone books of fiction, Dead Watch, Dark of the Moon, and Night Crew.
He has also published two books of nonfiction, “The Eye and the Heart” and “Plastic Surgery”.

Books by John Sandford:

The prey Series:
Rules of Prey (1989)
Shadow Prey (1990)
Eyes of Prey (1991)
Silent Prey (1992)
Winter Prey (1993)
Night Prey (1994)
Mind Prey (1995)
Sudden Prey (1996)
Secret Prey (1998)
Certain Prey (1999)
Easy Prey (2000)
Chosen Prey (2001)
Mortal Prey (2002)
Naked Prey (2003)
Hidden Prey (2004)
Broken Prey (2005)
Invisible Prey (2007)
Phantom Prey (2008)
Wicked Prey(2009)
(2010)

The Kidd Series:
1989)
The Empress File (1991)
The Devil’s Code (2000)
The Hanged Man’s Song (2003)

The Virgil Flowers Series:
Dark of the Moon (2007)
Heat Lightening (2008)
Rough Country (Virgil Flowers)(2009)

Stand Alone Novels:
(1997)
Dead Watch (2006)

Nonfiction:
The Eye of the Heart
Plastic Surgery

Ross Macdonald, Author Biographies

Ross Macdonald is the pseudonym for Kenneth Millar. He was born on December 13, 1915 in Los Gatos California. His father, John Macdonald Millar, was a sometimes newspaper editor, poet and athlete, and his mother, Anne (Moyer) Millar, was a nurse. Sometime after moving the family to Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, when Ross was about four years old, his father abandoned the family.

While he was growing up, Ross and his mother lived off and on with various relatives. Ross, even though academically inclined, was a troubled youth. He drank and smoked too much, fought with classmates, was a petty thief and enjoyed the pool hall and gambling.

Ross’s father left an insurance policy that was enough to see him through four years at the University of Western Ontario where he obtained a teaching certificate. He also attended the University of Toronto for a year. He received an assistant teaching post at the University of Michigan where he also finished his schooling. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a PHD in Literature.

Ross Macdonald met Margaret Sturm, another aspiring author, while in high school. They reconnected and married in 1938. Their only daughter, Linda, died in 1970.

Ross joined the U.S Navy during WWII and was stationed in the Pacific off the coast of southern California. When Margaret came to visit him, she fell in love with the area and made the beautiful seaside town of Santa Barbara their home.

Ross Macdonald places his protagonist, the philosophic rough edged private detective, Lew Archer, in Santa Barbara, but changed the name to Santa Theresa. Many years later another mystery writer, Sue Grafton, did the same thing with her character, female private detective Kinsey Millhone. Sue Grafton wrote an introduction for the book, "Ross Macdonald, a Biography," by Tom Nolan.

Ross started his writing career under his given name. His wife was to become prominent as a suspense writer under the name Margaret Millar, so he started writing under the name John Ross Macdonald. Later he shortened it to Ross Macdonald because of possible confusion with another author, John D. Macdonald.

Although Ross earned good reviews throughout his writing career, it wasn’t until the publishing of “The Goodbye Look” in 1969 that he became a best selling author in the United States as well as in Europe. In 1973 The Mystery Writers of America named him Grand Master.

In 1981, Ross Macdonald was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. He died in Santa Barbara on July 11, 1983.

Books by Ross Macdonald:

Series: Chet Gordon (as Kenneth Millar)
The Dark Tunnel (1944)
Trouble Follows Me (1946)

Lew Archer
The Moving Target (1949)
The Drowning Pool (1950)
The Way Some People Die (1951)
The Ivory Grin (1952)
Find a Victim (1954)
The Barbarous Coast (1956)
The Doomsters (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard) (1958)
(1959)
The Wycherly Woman (1961)
The Zebra-Striped Hearse (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard) (1962)
The Chill (1964)
The Far Side of the Dollar (1965)
Black Money (1966)
The Instant Enemy (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard) (1968)
The Goodbye Look (1969)
(The Underground Man (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard) (1971)
Sleeping Beauty (1973)
(1976)
The Name is Archer (1955)
Archer in Hollywood (omnibus) (1967)
Lew Archer, Private Investigator 1977)

Omnibus:
Archer at Large (1970)
The Lew Archer Volume One (1993)
The Lew Archer Volume Two (1994)
The Lew Archer Volume Three (1997)

Stand Alone Novels:
Blue City (1947) (As Kenneth Millar)
The Three Roads (1948)
Meet Me at the Morgue (1954)
The Ferguson Affair (1960)
Archer in Jeopardy (1979)

Collections:
Strangers in Town: Three Newly Discovered Mysteries (2001)

Tami Hoag, Author Biographies

Tami Hoag was born Tami Mikkelson on January 20, 1959 and spent her adolescence in a small town of about a 1,000 people and no stoplights, in southeastern Minnesota. Her father was an insurance agent. She graduated high school and married her high school sweetheart, Daniel Hoag. She wanted to go to college, but it never happened.

As a child Tami was a “typical horse-crazy little girl.” After begging for a horse, her parents bought her a Shetland pony named Dan. Tami says “Dan taught me responsibility, compassion and sportsmanship.” Today, Tami owns several horses, is a skilled equestrian and competes professionally.

Tami Hoag began her career writing romantic comedy and became one of the “Divas,” along with Eileen Dreyer, Elizabeth Grayson and Kimberly Cates. Tami says, “No matter what may change in our careers or in our personal lives, the Divas remain a constant source of support for each other.” Tami often acknowledges them in her books.

Later Tami Hoag started writing suspense. Tami says that she likes the complexity of characters and being able to explore the darker side of human minds. She said there was a gradual progression. She would put small amounts of suspense in her romance books. Then she went into more complex, deeper stories.

After 20 romance novels Tami had five best selling suspense novels. In fact those five novels appeared on the New York Times Best Sellers List in 20 months!

Tami says she has a vast reference library, books and videos, on law enforcement and procedures. She says she prefers hands on research such as interviewing people and absorbing their job cultures and attitudes.

Tami says that she has a lot of varying interests. She loves psychology, law, music and interior design. She says, “…which makes being a writer the perfect job because I get to take a turn being anything I want via a character.”

Tami and her husband make their home on a 70 acre horse farm in Charlottesville, Virginia. They own several horses and a variety of pets. They also have a home in Los Angeles, California. Tami says her husband, after working 17 years as a computer programmer, now works for her taking care of the business stuff. They have no children.

In an interview for Expanded Books, Megan Hinder says of Tami Hoag’s psychological thrillers, “Her books captivate readers with crisp writing, fascinating characters and lightening paced action. They keep readers on the edge of their seats from beginning to end.”

Books by Tami Hoag:

Series: Hennessy
The Trouble with J.J. (1988)
Magic (1990)

Quaid Horses
Rumor Has It (1988)
Man of Her Dreams (1989)
Tempestuous (1990)

Rainbow Chasers
(1990)
Keeping Company (1990)
Reilly’s Return (1990)

Doucett
The Restless Heart (1991)
Lucky's Lady (Doucet)(1992)
Cry Wolf (1993)

Deer Lake
Night Sins (1995)
Guilty as Sin (1996)

Kovac/Liska
Ashes to Ashes (1999)
Dust to Dust(2000)
Prior Bad Acts (2006)

Elena Estes
Dark Horse (2002)
(2007)

Stand Alone Novels:
McKnight in Shining Armor (1988)
Mismatch (1989)
Straight from the Heart (1989)
Sarah’s Sin (1991)
Heart of Dixie (1991)
Still Waters (1992)
Taken by Storm (1992)
The Last White Knight (1992)
Dark Paradise (1994)
A Thin Dark Line(1997)
Kill the Messenger (2004)
(2009)

Lawrence Sanders, Author Biographies

Best selling American author, Lawrence Sanders was born on March 15, 1920 in Brooklyn, New York but grew up in the Midwest. He attended Wabash College in In

diana and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in journalism in 1940. After moving back to New York, Lawrence enlisted in the United States Marine Corp and served from 1943 to 1946.

Lawrence took a variety of jobs including writing and editing for various magazines, including Science and Mechanic. Several of his short stories mysteries were published in Swank Magazine in 1968-1969.

In 1970, at the age of 50, Lawrence Sanders first novel, The Anderson Tapes, was published and won The Edgar Award for best first mystery novel. This award is a highly coveted and the most prestigious award given out by the Mystery Writers Association.

Lawrence Sanders went on to write fiction full time. With the Anderson Tapes, we are introduced to Edward X. Delaney, a tough New York Investigator. Other Lawrence Sanders series characters are Archy McNally, Timothy Cone and Peter Tangent. Then there are the Commandment protagonists, Dora Conti, Samuel Todd and Joshua Bigg.

Besides his series, Mr. Sanders wrote 15 stand alone novels before publishing his memoirs, The Sins of Lawrence Sanders in 1984.

Lawrence Sanders died in Pompano Beach, Florida on February 7, 1998. There was some controversy concerning his Archy McNally Series. Who actually wrote the first books? Did Sanders and Vincent Lardo write the books together? Was Vincent Lardo the true author? Or, was he (as claimed) commissioned by Lawrence Sanderís estate to continue the writing.

Books by Lawrence Sanders:

Series:

Edward S. Delaney

The Anderson Tapes (1970)

The First Deadly Sin (The Deadly Sins Novels)(1973)

The Second Daily Sin (1973)

The Third Deadly Sin (1981)

The Fourth Deadly Sin (1985)

Peter Tangent

The Tangent Factor (1976)

The Tangent Objective (1976)

Commandment

The Sixth Commandment (1978)

The Tenth Commandment (1980)

The Eighth Commandment (1986)

The Seventh Commandment (1991)

Timothy Cone

(1987)

Timothy's Game (1988)

Archy McNally

McNallyís Secret (1991)

McNally's Caper (Archy McNally Novels)

McNally's Luck (1992)

McNallyís Risk (1993) (With Vincent Lardo)(1994)

McNallyís Trial (1995)

McNallyís Puzzle (1996)

McNallyís Gamble (1997) (With Vincent Lardo)

McNallyís Dilemma (1999) (With Vincent Lardo)

McNallyís Folly (2000) (With Vincent Lardo)

(2001) (With Vincent Lardo)

McNallyís Alibi (2002) (With Vincent Lardo)

McNallyís Dare (2003) (With Vincent Lardo)

2004) (With Vincent Lardo)

McNallyís Files (Novella) (2006)

Novels The Pleasures of Helen (1971)

Love Songs (1972)

The Tomorrow File (1975)

The Marlow Chronicles (1977)

Caper (1980) (written as Leslie Andress)

The Dark Summer (1980) (written as Mark Upton)

The Case of Lucy Bending (1982)

The Seduction of Peter S.

The Passion of Molly T. (1984)

The Loves of Harry Dancer (1985)

The Dream Lover (1986)

Tales of the Wolf (1986)

Capital Crimes (1989)

Stolen Blessings (1990)

Sullivanís Sting (1990)

Private Pleasures (1993)

Guilty Pleasures (1998)

Non Fiction

The Sins of Lawrence Sanders (1984)

Short Stories:

Published in Swank Magazine

Manhattan after Dark

The Rogue Man

The Bloody Triangle

The Man Who Didnít Come Back

The Woman in the Lake

The String of Blues

The Case of the Purloined Princess

Death of a Model

The Girl in the Office

The Curse of the Upper Classes

The Ice Gang

An Introduction to Murder

The Case of the Missing Nude