Dean Koontz: Suspense, Horror, and 500 Million Book Sales

Most authors would be very, very happy if their books sold half a million copies.
Most would be thrilled if their books sold one or two million or five million or ten.

But Dean Koontz has sold 500 million books since his first one was published in 1968.

A master of suspense thrillers, with some horror thrown in, Koontz never fails to satisfy readers. His books routinely appear on major bestseller lists.

I’ve interviewed him several times, including our 2004 conversation about his thriller Life Get your copy of Dean Koontz’s bookExpectancy. What’s terrifying about the storyline is how ordinary his protagonist is, except for the deadly things that could happen to him

So here now from 2004 http://Get your copy of Dean Koontz’s bookDean Koontz.

Dean Koontz will be 79 years old in July.Get your copy of Dean Koontz’s book

Amber Tamblyn on Her Poetry, Her Family, and Her Creative Journey

Photo by Jerry Avenaim

Some might say that Amber Tamblyn was born to be an entertainer.

Her father is veteran actor-dancer Russ Tambllyn. Her mother is a singer and a teacher, and her grandfather was in vaudeville.

From the age of 12, when she joined the cast of TV’s “General Hospital,” Amber Tamblyn’s talent has made her a popular and award-winning actress. But she is also well known for her writing, especially her poetry.

Get your copy of Amber Tamblyn’s book

She has actually published seven books, including the 2009 collection Bang Ditto. It was while she was on tour promoting that book that i had a chance to meet her – and to hear what really matters to her in her creative life.

Amber Tamblyn will be 41 in May. Her latest movie role was in “You Hurt My Feelings” in 2023.

So here now, from 2009, Amber Tamblyn.

Zane: The Theologian’s Daughter Who Rocked the Erotica World

As the saying goes, sex sells.Books about sex can sell very well, if they are well written. And in the early 2000s a powerful new voice in erotica emerged, and dominated bestseller lists.

She wrote under the pseudonym Zane. Her short erotic stories attracted a loyal following on the Internet, inspiring her to self-publish The Sex Chronicles Before long, she had a book deal with Simon and Schuster.

I met Zane in 2004, when she had just published her novel Nervous. And this soft spoken theologian’s daughter had a lot to say about writing, and publishing.

So here now, from 2004, Zane.

Zane – real name: Kristina Roberts – is about 57 now, She published Strebor Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster, publishing as many as 60 books a year.


You may also like these episodes:


Sister Souljah

bell hooks


Buy Books / Media from Amazon

As an Amazon Associate, Now I’ve Heard Everything earns from qualifying purchases.

Howard Fast’s Journey through the Red Scare

The Red Scare that engulfed the U.S. in the years immediately after World War II ruined many careers, and any affiliation with the Communist Party was enough to get you blacklisted.

So it was that popular novelist Howard fast found himself suddenly a pariah because of his membership in the Communist Party USA.

A contentious appearance before the house Un=American Activities Committee in 1950 resulted in a three month prison sentence for contempt of Congress. But it was while serving his sentence that Howard Fast began working on the novel that would turn out to be his most famous work: Spartacus.

By the end of the decade, Fast’s blacklist was over, And he departed from the Communist Party, disenchanted with its leadership.

In 1990 Fast published a memoir called Being Red. And that’s when I have a chance to meet him.

So here now, from 1990, Howard fast

Howard fast died in 2003. He was 88.


You may also like these episodes:


Harry Hay

William Kunstler


Buy Books / Media from Amazon

As an Amazon Associate, Now I’ve Heard Everything earns from qualifying purchases.

Revolutionizing Femininity: Germaine Greer’s Pioneering Ideas

In the early 1970s many women had two books on their shelves: The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan and The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer.

That was the then-31-year-old’s first book and virtually overnight turned her into an international celebrity A leader of the feminist movement

Her ideas about femininity, Male-female relationships, and marriage You find those things For millions of readers

In the years that followed Greer was a prolific writer of essays and books Many of those essays were collected in a 1987 volume which she entitled The Madwoman’s Underclothes. And that’s when I had a chance to spend a few minutes with this iconic figure.

So here now, from 1987, Germaine Greer

Today, January 29, is Germaine Greer’s 85th birthday. She divides her time between England and Australia .


You may also like these episodes:


Betty Friedan

Gloria Steinem


Buy Books / Media from Amazon

As an Amazon Associate, Now I’ve Heard Everything earns from qualifying purchases.

Neil Gaiman’s Literary Multiverse

British born Neil Gaiman is nothing if not prolific and versatile. He’s written short stories, novels, screenplays, poetry, even comic books and graphic novels.

And his fiction has won an entire trophy case full of major awards.

As a child, Gaiman started reading at age 4, and devoured books throughout his youth.

I met him in the fall of 2006 when he published a book of short fiction called Fragile Things.

So here now, from 2006, Neil Gaiman.

Neil Gaiman is 63. He lives in Wisconsin and Massachusetts.


You may also like these episodes:


Salman Rushdie

Gregory Maguire


Buy Books / Media from Amazon

As an Amazon Associate, Now I’ve Heard Everything earns from qualifying purchases.

From Political Thrillers to Christmas Romance: David Baldacci’s Uncommon Bestseller

Author David Baldacci is best known for Suspenseful political thrillers. But about 20 years ago he was inspired to write a very different kind of book.

It was a book inspired by his own experience on a long train trip

The Christmas Train is about a writer, not unlike Baldacci, who takes a train trip that will change his life. Hallmark turned it into a TV movie in 2017 starring Dermot Mulroney.

If you like Christmas, if you like trains, this may be just the book for you to read over the holidays.

So here now, from 2002, David Baldacci.

David Baldacci is 63, and lives in Virginia. He has written nearly four dozen books for adults and several for young readers.


You may also like these episodes:


Sidney Sheldon

Jodi Picoult


Buy Books / Media from Amazon

As an Amazon Associate, Now I’ve Heard Everything earns from qualifying purchases.

The Magic of Tomie dePaola: A Conversation

If you’ve had young children in your house anytime in the past 50 years, or if perhaps you were the young child, you know the work of children’s book author Tomie dePaola.

He turned a childhood fascination with drawing into a career in which he produced over 260 children’s books.

One of my interviews with dePaola occurred over 30 years ago, around this time of year, as we talked about his book called Jingle the Christmas Clown.

And he had some fascinating insights into what it takes to create a memorable children’s book.

So here now from 1992 Tomie dePaola

Tomie dePaola died in 2020. He was 85.


You may also like these episodes:


Stan & Jan Berenstain

Berke Breathed


Buy Books / Media from Amazon

As an Amazon Associate, Now I’ve Heard Everything earns from qualifying purchases.

Author Stephenie Meyer’s ‘Twilight’ Insights

Photo by Gage Skidmore

(Originally posted here in 2020)

When I was a kid, all my friends and I were into The Twilight Zone, the Rod Serling TV series.

But in the later 2000s, another “twilight” captured the world’s imagination: the “Twilight” series of novels by Stephenie Meyer.

Four, in all, chronicling the stories of teenager Bella, vampire Edward. and werewolf Jacob.

The third book in the series, “Eclipse,” was published in 2007. And that’s when I met the author — who, as you’ll hear, was still getting accustomed to the fact she had become more popular, book-sales-wise, than J.K. Rowling.

Here now, from 2007, Stephenie Meyer.

Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” books have been turned into popular movies. And her books continue to sell tens of millions of copies worldwide.


You may also like these episodes:


Anne Rice

Isaac Asimov


Buy Books / Media from Amazon

As an Amazon Associate, Now I’ve Heard Everything earns from qualifying purchases.

Sister Souljah’s Tale of Urban Life

From her earliest days growing up in New York City and later in New Jersey, Sister Souljah was an activist.

Surrounded by the poverty and despair of an urban neighborhood, Sister Souljah made it her mission to try to change things.

She became a strong voice for change, through writing, film, and music.

In 1999,she wrote her first novel, a book called The Coldest Winter Ever. And that’s when I met her.

So here now, from 1999. Sister Souljah.

Sister Souljah will be 60 next month.


You may also like these episodes:


bell hooks

Alice Walker


Buy Books / Media from Amazon

As an Amazon Associate, Now I’ve Heard Everything earns from qualifying purchases.