Robert Crais, Author biographies

Robert Crais is serious and passionate about his writing. He has been called easygoing and affable with much charm and cool. He says it took him 15 years and many rejection notices later, to become ‘an overnight success.’

Robert Crais was born on June 20,1953, in Baton rouge, Louisiana. He hales from a long line of blue collar workers and police officers. He was trained as a mechanical engineer with dreams of being a writer.

For Robert Crais, Los Angeles has lived up to its promise of being ‘the city of dreams.’ He moved there in 1976,

to pursue a career writing. He got a job collaborating on television shows and pilots. Robert says of all the shows he worked on, Cagney and Lacey was his favorite.

While writing for television, Robert wrote two novels, both he recognizes, were terrible and unpublishable. Even so, he says that his disposition is more suited for writing novels. He left television in the mid 80’s to pursue writing full time.

Robert says the writers that inspired him the most in his teen years were the mystery masters, Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Ross Macdonald, Robert B. Parker and Archie Goodwin. He says he especially likes Raymond Chandler’s Marlowe character.

In his books, Robert hits on many of societies issues. He says, “Victimization ticks me off...When people are not allowed or are in some way prevented from achieving a fullness in their lives. Assholes piss me off.”

While the wit of his earlier books is still there, he has delved into the darker side with a greater degree of cynicism. Robert calls himself a method writer. He has said, “Thematically, again and again, my books are about people who are trying to be better than they have been.”

Robert likes to write short stories, and in fact, published a volume of short stories. These days, he says while he doesn’t rule out writing more short stories, because he writes very slow, he really doesn’t feel that he has enough time.

In 2005, Roberts book, Hostage, was made into a television movie starring Bruce Willis. Robert sold the film rights to his novel, ‘Demolition Angel,’ and is writing the screenplay. While he has worked on screenplays in the past, this is the first time he has adapted his own work.

At this point, Robert says he has no desire to sell the rights to his book series characters, Elvis Cole or Joe Pike.

Robert still likes to stay physically active and is an aerobatic pilot, gourmet cook and backpacker. He and his wife, Pat, share their home, in California, with several fat cats, in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Books by Robert Crais:

Series:

Elvis Cole:

(1987)

Stalking the Rainbow (1988)

Lullaby Town (1992)

Free Fall (1993)

Voodoo River (1995)

Sunset Express (1996)

Indigo Slam: An Elvis Cole Novel (1997)

L.A. Requiem (1999)

The Last Detective (2003)

The Forgotten Man (2005)

Chasing Darkness: An Elvis Cole Novel (Elvis Cole Novels) (2008)

Omnibus:

Three Great Novels 1: The Early Years (2001)

Three Great Novels 2: (2002)

Robert Crais CD Collection 3: Voodoo River, Sunset Express, Indigo Slam (Elvis Cole) (2005)

Joe Pike:

The Watchman (2007)

(2010)

Novels:

Demolition Angel (2000)

Hostage (2001)

(2006)

Short Stories:

Weigh Station (1982)

Robert Ludlum, Author Biographies

At an early age, Robert Ludlum started working on the Broadway stage as both an actor and, later on, a producer. He jokes that since the good actors were drafted in the armed forces, he had no trouble finding acting jobs. He also served in the U.S. Marines as a soldier, from 1945 through 1947.

Robert was a television star in the 1950s, starring in as many as 200 dramas. He was a producer at the North Jersey Playhouse in 1957 and opened the Playhouse-on-the-Mall in Paramus in 1960. It is estimated that he wrote 300 stage productions.

Robert Ludlum was born on May 25,1927, in New York City, New York, but spent most of his childhood in New Jersey. His father, George Hartford Ludlum, a business man, died when Robert was only seven years old.

Robert was educated both privately and at the Cheshire Academy, Connecticut. He participated in high school plays even though he really wanted to be a football quarterback.

Robert earned his B.A. in 1951, from Wesleyan University in Middleton Connecticut. Robert and actress, Mary Ryducha, married in 1951, and had three children. In the 1970s, they bought a farmhouse in Long Island and a second home in Florida.

Although Robert Ludlum was a ‘closet writer’ for many years, it wasn’t until he was 40 years old that, getting bored with show business, he started writing his first novel. To support his family during this time, he did voice overs.

Roberts first novel, ‘The Scarlatti Inheritance,’ was published in 1971, after ten rejections, and became an immediate best seller. He says everyone has a story to tell, so this novel was easy for him to write. The second novel was more difficult.

Robert writes violent, fast paced books. It is said of his writing, “He captures the imagination of his readers from the first pages and keeps them absorbed in the story.”

He died on March 12, 2001. A ghost writer has continued his work. This note appeared with ‘The Tristan Betrayal,’ “Since his death, the Estate of Robert Ludlum has worked with a carefully selected author and editor to prepare and edit this work for publication.”

Books by Robert Ludlum:

Series:

Road To:

The Road to Gandolfo (1975) (as Michael Shepherd)

The Road to Omaha (1992)

Matarese Dynasty:

(1979)

The Matarese Countdown (1997)

Bourne:

The Bourne Identity (Bourne Trilogy, Book 1) (1980)

The Bourne Supremacy (1986)

The Bourne Ultimatum (1990)

The Bourne Legacy (2004) (w/Eric Van Lustbader)

The Bourne Betrayal (2007) (w/Eric Van Lustbader)

The Bourne Sanction (2008) (w/Eric Van Lustbader)

Robert Ludlum's (TM) The Bourne Deception (2009) (w/Eric Van Lustbader)

The Bourne Objective (2010) (w/Eric Van Lustbader)

The Bourne Reality (2011) ( w/Eric Van Lustbader)

The Bourne Trilogy (omnibus) (2003)

The Second Bourne Trilogy (omnibus) (2009) (w/Eric Van Lustbader)

Covert-One

The Hades Factor (2000) (w/Gayle Lynds)

The Cassandra Compact (2001) (w/Phillip Shelby)

The Paris Option (2002) (w/Gayle Lynds)

Robert Ludlum's The Altman Code: A Covert-One Novel (2003) (w/Gayle Lynds)

The Lazarus Vendetta (2004) (w/Patrick Larkin)

The Moscow Vector (2005) (w/Keith Farrell, Patrick Larkin)

The Arctic Event (2007) (w/James H. Cobb)

The Infinity Affair (2009) (w/James H. Cobbs)

Stand Alone Novels:

The Scarlatti Inheritance (1970)

The Osterman Weekend (1972)

The Matlock Paper (1973)

Trevayne (1973) (as Jonathan Ryder)

The Cry of the Halidon (1974) (as Jonathan Ryder)

The Rhinemann Exchange (1974) (as Jonathan Ryder)

The Gemini Contenders (1976)

The Chancellor Manuscript (1977)

The Holcroft Covenant (1978)

The Parsifal Mosaic (1982)

The Aquitaine Progression (1984)

The Icarus Agenda (1988)

The Scorpio Illusion (1993)

The Apocalypse Watch (1995)

The Prometheus Deception (2000)

The Sigma Protocol (2001)

The Janson Directive (2002)

The Tristan Betrayal (2003)

The Amber Warning (2005)

(2006)

John Irving, Author Biographies

John Irving was born John Wallace Blunt, Jr., on March 2, 1942, in Exeter, New Hampshire. His father was serving as an airman stationed in the Pacific. John never did meet his father.

John’s parents were divorced when he was only two years old. When his mother married Colin Irving in 1948, Colin adopted John. His mother changed his name to John Winslow Irving. Winslow was her maiden name.

John lived with his grandmother, in a large old house, until he was six years old when his mother remarried. When he was growing up, he was a moody and aloof child and that house provided many places where he could get off by himself. He said that no adult would talk to him about his father. So, in his mind, he demonized his father.

John says that it was when he was almost 40 years old and in the process of a divorce from his first wife, that his mother gave him a packet of letters that his father had written in 1943. This is when he found out that his dad had wanted contact with him. By this time his father had already died.

John had his first novel, ‘Setting Free the Bees,’ published when he was only 26 years old. In 1972, after his second

novel was published, he was appointed Writer-in-Residence at the University of Iowa. While there John received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.

It was in 1976 that he moved to Massachusetts to become Assistant Professor of English at Mount Holyoke College. He served as Writer-in-Residence at the Bread Loaf Writers Conference.

It wasn’t until 1978, when ‘The World According to Garp,’ was published, that John Irving was catapulted onto the ‘Best Seller’ realm. All his books since then have been best sellers. His later works have been compared to the work of Charles Dickens.

It has been said that John often uses the literary technique of a story within a story and he uses it masterfully. A few his novels have a character who is a writer. John Irving is considered one of the best novelists in modern literature. He is a master storyteller and comic genius of our age.

John had been active in wrestling while he was growing up and in college. In the 1980s, he coached wresting at prep schools all while he continued his writing.

In 1999, John wrote the screenplay for his novel, ‘Cider House Rules,’ and ultimately won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Since then he has continued to adapt his works into motion pictures.

John is known for is strong opinions and is anticensorship. John says, “If you feel so strongly about what’s on television, don’t have one. If you feel so strongly about people having abortions, don’t have one. But, we are a country that likes to be punitive. We want to restrict. It is a kind of religious fervor run amok.”

In 1987, John Irving John married his literary agent, Janet Turnbull. They live in Toronto and Southern Vermont. John has two sons.

Books by John Irving:

Novels:

Setting Free the Beas (1968)

The Water-Method Man (1972)

The 154-Pound Marriage (1974)

(1974)

The Hotel New Hampshire (19810

(1985)

A Prayer for Owen Meany (Modern Library) (1988)

A Son of the Circus (1994)

A Widow for One Year (1998)

(2001)

Until I Find You (2005)

Last Night in Twisted River: A Novel (2009)

Omnibus:

3 by Irving (1980)

Three Complete Novels (1995)

Collections:

Trying to Save Piggy Sneed (1993)

Picture Books:

A Sound Like Someone Trying Not to Make a Sound (2004)

Non Fiction:

The Imaginary Girlfriend (Ballantine Reader's Circle) (1996)

My Movie Business: A Memoir (1999)

Margaret Millar, Author Biographies

Margaret Millar was born Margaret Ellis Sturm on February 5, 1915, in Kitchner, Ontario. She was educated there and in Toronto where she studied the classics.

Margaret met Kenneth Millar, another aspiring writer, while in high school. They reconnected In college and married in 1938. Their only daughter, Linda, died in 1970.

Margaret said she began publishing under her married name, Margaret Millar, because of the title of her first book (Worm, Sturm). While she was to become a prominent suspense writer, her books were never big sellers. She was a very private person and abhorred interviews.

After Margaret’s husband published a couple of books under his own name, he changed to the pseudonym, John Ross Macdonald then to

Ross Macdonald.

Margaret’s husband 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 they made the beautiful seaside town of Santa Barbara their home.

Santa Barbara shows up consistently in Margaret’s books, but is often named San Felicia or San Felice. Many years later another prominent mystery writer, Sue Grafton, did the same thing with her character, female private detective Kinsey Millhone, naming the town Santa Theresa.

Between 1945 and 1946, Margaret worked at Warner Brothers as a screenwriter. It was during this time that Warner Brothers bought the option on her book, ‘The Iron Gate,’ but it never was produced. During the 1960s, two of Margaret’s novels were adapted for the television series, ‘Alfred Hitchcock Presents.’

It’s been said of Margaret’s work, “Her novels are prized for their psychological penetration of the hearts and minds of murderers.” Margaret also wrote a non fiction book about the birds and animals she observed. Along with her husband, she founded a chapter of the Audubon Society.

Margaret was presented the prestigious Edgar Award by the Mystery writers of America in1955 for Best Novel, for ‘A Beast in View.’ In 1965, she was named Woman of the Year by ‘Los Angeles Times.’ She was also awarded the Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America in 1982 and the Derrick Murdoch Award in 1986.

Margaret died of a heart attack on March 26, 1994, at her home in Santa Barbara. One of her favorite quotes was, “Life is something that happens to you while you are making other plans.” Unfortunately, very few of her books are still in print.

Books by Margaret Millar:

Novels:

The Invisible Worm (1941)

The Devil Loves Me (1942)

The Weak-Eyed Bat (1942)

Wall of Eyes (1943)

(1944)

Taste of Fears (1945)

The Iron Gate (1945)

Experiment in Springtime (1947)

It’s All in the Family (1948)

The Cannibal Heart (1949)

Do Evil in Return (1950)

Rose’s Last Summer (1952)

Vanish in an Instant (1952)

Wives and Lovers (1954)

Beast in View (1955)

The Soft Talkers (1957)

The Listening Walls (1959)

A Stranger in My Grave (1969)

(1962)

The Friend (1964)

Beyond This Point Are Monsters (1970)

The Friend (1974)

Ask For Me Tomorrow (1976)

(1979)

Mermaid (1981)

Banshee (1983)

Spider Webs (1986)

Omnibus:

An Air That Kills / Do Evil in Return (Stark House Mystery Classics) (2006)

Non Fiction:

The Birds and the Beasts Were There (1968)

Short Stories:

The Couple Next Door: Collected Short Mysteries (Lost Classics) (1954)

Radiant Flower of the Divine Heavens (1998)

The Couple Next Door: Collected Short Mysteries (2004)

Dean Koontz, Author Biographies

Dean Ray Koontz came into this world on July 9, 1945, in Bedford, Pennsylvania. He says his family was very poor and his father was a mean drunk and womanizer. The home they lived in was a shack with four small rooms and a tar paper roof.

In 1967, Dean graduated from Shippensburg University with a degree in English. He married Gerda, his high school sweetheart the same year. They decided not to have children.

Dean took a job with the Appalachian Poverty Program, tutoring and counseling underprivileged children. His love of writing was always with him, so he continued to write after work and the weekends. His first published work, “Star Quest,” was a science fiction novel.

Dean had worked for about 18 months as a high school English teacher when his wife, Gerda, made him a proposition. She got a job in a shoe factory and offered to support the family for five years so that he could concentrate on his writing career. After the five years, Gerda quit her job and tends to the business side of Dean’s writing.

Dean has also written under these pseudonyms: W. H. Allan, David Axton, Brian Coffey, Deanna Dwyer, K.R. Dwyer, John Hill, Aaron Wolf, Leigh Nichols, Anthony North, Richard Paige and Owen West. He says he did this because publishers convinced him that because he was writing in different genres, he could wind up alienating his audience.

Dean had written several science fiction books before he tried his hand at suspense thrillers. He says, “...even the most beautifully decorated, serene welcoming room contains a stunning array of fearsome weapons if one has even the most latent talent for Homicide.” Dean has also written graphic novels, short stories, non fiction and picture books. Some of his books were inspired by his beloved golden retriever, Trixie.

Dean has been called ‘a masterful writer and a quirky character.’ He’s a writer who has the uncanny ability to turn a safe and comfortable world into one of pure horror.

Most of Dean’s novels are set in and around Los Angeles. Several of his books have been made into films, and there is talk of the novel, “Odd Thomas,” being made into a television mini series.

Dean, and Gerda, make their home in southern California.

Books by Dean Koontz:

Series:

Tucker: (as Brian Coffey)

Blood Risk (1973)

Surrounded (1974)

The Wall of Masks (1975)

Moonlight Bay:

Fear Nothing (1997)

Seize the Night (1998)

Odd Thomas:

Odd Thomas (2003)

(2005)

Brother Odd (2006)

Odd Hours (2008)

In Odd We Trust (2008) (with Queenie Chan)

Stand Alone Novels:

Star Quest (1968)

The Fall of the Dream Machine (1969)

Fear That Man (1969)

Anti-man (1970)

Beastchild (1970)

The Dark Symphony (1970)

Hell’s Gate (1970)

The Crimson Witch (1971)

Demon Child (1971) (as Deanna Dwyer)

Legacy of Terror (1971) (as Deanna Dwyer)

A Darkness in My Soul (1972)

The Flesh in the Furnace (1972)

Starblood (1972)

Warlock (1972)

Children of the Storm (1972) (as Deanna Dwyer)

The Dark of the Summer (1972) (as Deanna Dwyer)

Chase (1972) (as KR Dwyer)

Dance With the Devil (1972) (as Deanna Dwyer)

The Haunted Earth (1973) (as Deanna Dwyer)

A Werewolf Among Us (1973)

Hanging on (1973)

Demon Seed (1973)

Shattered (1973)

After the Last Race (1974)

Dragonfly (1974) (as KR Dwyer)

Nightmare Journey (1975)

Invasion (1975) (as Aaron Wolfe)

The Long Sleep (1975) (as John Hill)

Night Chills (1976)

Prisoner of Ice (1976) (as David Axton)

Time Thieves (1977)

The Vision (1977)

The Face of Fear (1977) (as KR Dwyer)

The Key to Midnight (1979) (as Leigh Nichols)

Whispers (1980)

The Voice of the Night (1980) (as Brian Coffey)

The funhouse (1980) (as Owen West)

The Eyes of Darkness (1981) (as Leigh Nichols)

The Mask (1981) (Owen West)

The House of Thunder (1982) (as Leigh Nichols)

Darkness Comes (1983)

Phantoms (1983)

The Servants of Twilight (1984) (as Leigh Nichols)

The Door to September (1985) (as Richard Paige)

1985)

Strangers (1986)

Watchers (1987)

Shadow Fires (1987) (as Leigh Nichols)

Lightening (1988)

Oddkins (1988)

Midnight (1989)

The Bad Place (1989)

Cold Fire (1991)

Hideaway (1991)

Dragon Tears (1992)

Mr Murder (1993)

Winter Moon 1993)

Dark Rivers of the Heart (1994)

Intensity (1995)

Tick Tock (1995)

Santa's Twin(1996)

Sole Survivor (1997)

False Memory (1999)

From the Corner of His Eye (2000)

One Door Away From Heaven (2001)

By the Light of the Moon (2002)

The Face (2003)

Life Expectancy (2004)

The Taking (2004)

Robot Santa: The Further Adventures of Santa’s Twin (2004)

Velocity (2005)

The Husband (2006)

The Good Guy (2007)

The Darkest Evening of the Year (2007)

Your Heart Belongs to Me: A Novel (2008)
Relentless: A Novel (2009)

(2009)

Picture Books:

Trixie, Who is Dragon (2009)

Trixie and Jinx (2010)

Graphic Novels:

Trapped (1993) (with Ed Gorman)

Nevermore (2009) (with Keith Champagne)

Non Fiction:

How to Write Best Selling Fiction (1981)

Writing Popular Fiction (1992)

Bliss to You: Trixie’s Guide to a Happy Life (2008) (with Trixie Koontz)

A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog (2009)

Christmas Is Good: Trixie's Guide to a Happy Holiday