THE BOOKWORM AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES

Jonathan Kellerman, Author Biographies

2010-03-22T05:00:00.001-07:00

Jonathan Seth Kellerman was born in New York City, New York on August 9,1949 but primarily grew up in Los Angeles, California. His parents were David and Sylvia Kellerman. Jonathan earned his B.A. in psychology from UCLA. He earned his Doctorate in Child Psychology from the University of Southern California when he was only 24 years old. To support himself while a student, he worked at the

Harlan Coben, Author Biographies

2010-03-16T05:00:00.003-07:00

Harlan Coben was only 26 years old when his first book, ‘Play Dead,’ was published. It was when he started writing his Myron Bolitar series that he won the prestigious Edgar Award and was recognized by the New York Best Sellers List. In 2008, his book, ‘Hold Tight,’ was his first novel to hit number one. Harlan Coben has won the Edgar Award, the Shamus Award and the Anthony Award. He has the

Linda Fairstein, Author Biographies

2010-03-10T11:07:00.002-07:00

Linda Fairstein is a Fellow of the American college of Trial Lawyers and for 30 years she ran the Sex Crimes Unit of the District Attorney’s Office in Manhattan. She left that office in 2002. During her tenure, she helped to prosecute several high profile and controversial cases including the Robert Chambers’ “Preppy Murder” case in 1986. Linda was born on May 5,1947 in Mount Vernon, New York.

British Author and Jockey, Dick Francis, Author Biographies

2010-03-03T05:00:00.011-07:00

There is a story that Dick Francis leaned how to ride a donkey at the tender age of five. He collected his “first riders fee” when his older brother bet him a sixpence that he could not jump a fence while sitting backward on the donkey. Dick (Richard) Francis was born on October 31, 1920, in the village of Lawreny, Pembrokeshire, Southwest Wales, the son of a Jockey and stable manager. As a

Catherine Coulter, Author Biographies

2010-02-25T05:00:00.009-07:00

Catherine Coulter has two distinct genres that she loves writing. If you enjoy romance, she writes both historical and contemporary romances. For those that like contemporary mysteries she writes some very intense FBI suspense novels with unexpected plot twists. She says that writing in such totally different genres keeps her from burn out. Catherine was born Jean Catherine Coulter on

Robert Crais, Author biographies

2010-02-19T05:00:00.004-07:00

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

Robert Ludlum, Author Biographies

2010-02-07T05:00:00.003-07:00

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

John Irving, Author Biographies

2010-02-01T05:00:00.003-07:00

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.

Margaret Millar, Author Biographies

2010-01-26T05:00:00.002-07:00

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

Dean Koontz, Author Biographies

2010-01-20T05:00:00.002-07:00

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

Faye Kellerman, Author Biographies

2010-01-08T05:00:00.005-07:00

Dr. Faye Kellerman was born Faye Mauder, in St. Louis, Missouri, on July 31, 1952, the oldest of six children. Most of her childhood was spent in Sherman Oaks, California. Faye’s mother, Anne Steinberg, haled from a very prominent family in St. Louis, MO. Faye’s father, Oscar Mauder, was a U.S. Army veteran and served in World War II. Faye says that as a young girl she mostly wrote plays even

Stuart Woods, Author Biographies

2010-01-02T08:00:00.002-07:00

Stuart Woods hales from Manchester, Georgia, being born on January 9, 1938. He says that his mother taught him to read before he ever entered school. He says he became a voracious reader and even tried writing a novel when he was nine. When he found out how hard it was, he gave up on the project. Stuart graduated from the University of Georgia with a BA in sociology in 1959. He says he

Michael Connelly, Author Biographies

2009-12-27T05:00:00.001-07:00

Michael Connelly was born on July 21, 1956, in Philadelphia and raised from the time he was 11 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He hales from a large family with him being the eldest child. Michael’s father was a property developer and his mother a homemaker. Michael says his parents encouraged all the children to be successful. Michael’s mother loved to read, especially mysteries. He read some

Mary Higgins Clark, Author Biographies

2009-12-18T05:00:00.001-07:00

Mary Theresa Eleanor Higgins was born in the Bronx on December 24, 1927. She was the only daughter of Irish immigrant, Luke Higgins and wife Nora. Her father died when Mary was only 11 years old. To help her struggling mother financially, Mary went to secretarial school after she graduated high school. She worked at an advertising agency for three years until she decided she wanted to travel.

James Patterson Author Biographies

2009-12-15T05:00:00.001-07:00

James Patterson was born on March 22, 1947 in Newburg, New York. He was one of three children born to father Charles Patterson, an insurance broker, and mother Isabel Patterson, a teacher and homemaker. James majored in English and earned his BA at Manhattan College in 1969 and his MA in English at Vanderbilt College in 1970.James took a job at the advertising firm, J. Walter Thompson, as a

Ken Follett, Author Biographies

2009-12-11T05:00:00.001-07:00

Ken Follett was born on June 5, 1949, in Cardiff, Wales. His father, Martin, a tax inspector, and his mother, Veenie, moved the family to London when he was 10 years old. He was raised in a strict Christian household. With little outside entertainment, he acquired an appreciation for books and storytelling. Ken earned a bachelors degree in philosophy from the University of London in 1970. (In

Dominick Dunne, Author Biographies

2009-12-05T05:00:00.005-07:00

Dominick (Nicky) Dunne was born in Hartford Connecticut on October 29, 1925. He haled from a wealthy Irish Catholic Family. Dominick was the second of six children. His mother was Dorothy Francis Dunne and his father was surgeon and hospital chief of staff, Dr. Richard Edwin Dunne. Dominick states that he always felt like an outsider in his own family. He was more interested in the arts and

Jeffrey Deaver, Author Biographies

2009-11-29T05:00:00.009-07:00

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

Fern Michaels, Author Biographies

2009-11-23T05:00:00.004-07:00

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

John Sandford, Author Biographies

2009-11-21T05:00:00.005-07:00

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.

Ross Macdonald, Author Biographies

2009-11-17T15:22:00.011-07:00

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

Tami Hoag, Author Biographies

2009-11-10T05:00:00.012-07:00

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

Lawrence Sanders, Author Biographies

2009-11-03T05:00:00.004-07:00

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 Indiana 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

Lee Child, Author Biographies

2009-10-17T05:00:00.004-07:00

Lee Child (pseudonym for Jim Grant) was born in 1954 in Coventry, England. When Lee was four years old, his parents moved the family to Handsworth Wood in Birmingham. He says that he was a tough guy in a tough neighborhood, growing large at a young age.Although Lee Child didn’t get the bug to write until he was 35 years old, he loved the library and was a voracious reader. He says there were

Alexander McCall Smith, Author Biographies

2009-10-12T05:00:00.006-07:00

Alexander McCall Smith (nicknamed Sandy) was born on August 24, 1948 in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia. Back then it was a British colony, and now is named Zimbabwe. His education was at Christian Brothers College. He moved to Scotland where he attended the University of Edinburgh to study law. He later moved to Botswana, Africa to help set up a law school and teach at the University of