Edna Buchanan joined the Miami Herald in 1973, working the police beat. And she was good at it. She won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 for her reporting.
By the late 1980s, she had turned to fiction writing, The real life stories she had covered became the raw material for her fiction.
And it turned out she was really good at that, too. Many of her books became best sellers, and a couple were turned into movies.
Get your copy of Edna Buchanan’s book
But she also wrote several nonfiction books, including one in 1992 called Never Let Them See You Cry. That’s when she and I had one of our several conversations over the years.
So here now, from 1992, Edna Buchanan
Edna Buchanan is 85 now, and still lives in Florida.
Since her college days in the early 1960s Rita Mae Brown has been an advocate for the LGBTQ community. Long before it was known by that shorthand descriptor..
She was also active in the anti-war movement, the feminist cause, and the lesbian liberation effort.
She holds two doctorates, in literature and political science.
Get your copy of Rita Mae Brown’s book
But she is also widely known for her fiction, her “cozy” mysteries as well as her standalone novels. Her book Rubyfruit Jungle, published in 1973, has become a literary classic.
I met her in 1993, when we had the first of what would be many conversations in the years that followed. We talked about her novel Venus Envy, the story of a young woman who makes one of those life choices that changes everything – and not always for the better,
Susan Ford was 17 when her father, Gerald Ford, became the nation’s 38th president, and she moved into the White House.
The youngest of the Fords’ children, and the only daughter, Susan acclimated to her new surroundings, absorbing details about the history and protocols of the First Family’s home.
And years later, she drew upon that intimate insider’s knowledge to write fiction, a mystery set in the White House, complete with scandal and intrigue. .
Susan Ford at 17
In a nod to her real life profession, and that of her book’s main character, Ford called her book Double Exposure.
And alongside all the elements of a good, page-turning mystery Ford gave her readers some delectable tidbits about the White House and its mysteries.
Get your copy of Susan Ford’s book
So here now, from 2002, Susan Ford.
Susan Ford will be 67 in July. She lives in Texas.
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
Some inspirational words from Lionel Richie, and a chance encounter with a group of ladies with red hats, led to the first novel by actor, comedian, and writer Damon Wayans.
From his early years in movies (as the banana man in “Beverly Hills Cop”) to his days on TV’s “In Living Color,” as characters like Homey D. Clown, Wayans has proven his comedic abilities in many ways. And his novel Red Hats demonstrated his keen ability to create memorable, if sometimes irascible, characters.
Our conversation about his book was a little more sedate than his TV sketches.
So here now, from 2010, Damon Wayans.
Damon Wayans is 63 now, and is reportedly working on a new project with ABC.
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.
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.
Over the last three decades, millions of people around the world have enjoyed a series of novels about a fictional amateur bounty hunter from New Jersey named Stephanie Plum.
Stephanie is the creation of writer Janet Evanovich. In the 1980s, she was a stay-at-home mom, but when her kids were nearing the age at which they would be leaving for college, she decided to try something new — like, writing.
She started out as a romance writer, and achieved considerable success in that genre.
But after several years, she realized that what she liked best about writing was the action sequences in her books, and their humor.
So in 1994, Evanovich wrote her first mystery, a book called One For the Money . It introduced Stephanie Plum and her offbeat circle of friends and family.
It was an almost instant hit, and gave rise to a series that continues to this day. There are now 30 books in the Stephanie Plum series.
And this is where it all began. So here now, from 1994, my interview with the newly published Janet Evanovich.
Janet Evanovich celebrated her 80th birthady in April. Her most recent Stephanie Plum book, the 30th in the series, was published this year.
Our recognition of Pride Month continues, with a look back at an interview with one of the most prominent African American and LGBTQ authors of contemporary literature.
E. Lynn Harris quit his job as a computer salesman in 1990 to begin a full-time writing career. His first novel, invisible life, won widespread acclaim. He followed up with Just As I Am, and that was when I firstmet and interviewed him. We subsequently had several interviews.
In fact, over the next two decades, Harris had 10 consecutive New York times. Best-selling books.
A funny thing happened on the way to Ron McLarty’s career as a famous novelist.
He became a very successful actor first .
If you’re a fan of TV series such as Law & Order, The Practice, Judging Amy, or Spenser for Hire, you’ll recognize Ron McLarty.9. Often cast as a police detective or a judge, McLarty has had a long and successful career as a character actor.
But when I met him in 2005, it was on the occasion of his first published novel, The Memory of Running. And it turns out that’s what he wanted to do all along.
