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Biography

According to his publisher, Dean Koontz is one of the five or six most popular writers in the world. The author of more than 60 novels, he has had several books reach the No. 1 spot on the New York Times bestseller lists for both hardcover and paperback. His books have sold more than 200 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 33 languages. Although he has written in most popular genres under many different names, Koontz currently writes "suspense fiction" -- page-turning stories with tightly constructed, good-versus-evil plots that combine the styles of horror, science fiction, and romance. His novels often depict violence and the macabre, but Koontz shuns the label of "horror writer," explaining that "too many current horror novels are misanthropic and senselessly bleak... We live in a time of marvels, not a time of disaster." Because of this optimistic view of life, his heroes and heroines most often emerge battered but victorious over the evil forces that try to spell their doom.

Koontz freely admits that much of his early work was not of the highest quality. Inexperience combined with low book advances forced him to churn out title after title to remain afloat. Whispers, published in 1980, marked a turning point and signaled his breakout from genre fiction into mainstream success. The story revolves around Bruno Frye's obsession with Hollywood screenwriter Hilary Thomas, who must somehow find the strength to fend off his psychopathic intentions. According to one reviewer, "Frye ranks as one of the most original psychological aberrations in horror fiction."

Known in the industry as a consummate professional and a genuinely nice guy, Koontz clearly cares about his craft. He normally allows only complete and unabridged audio versions of his books, for example, but when abridged versions are produced, he insists on personally making any cuts that are needed. And he is known to have revised several of his early books, including a science fiction novel that he rewrote to more than double the original length, without using a single sentence from the original.

Good to Know Koontz wrote his first stories at age eight. "I'd write them, draw little covers and staple the edge, and I'd put tape over the staples so nobody hurt their fingers, and sell them for a nickel to relatives. Of course, they were bought under duress."

After teaching English in a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, high school for a couple of years in the late '60s, Koontz was offered a deal by wife Gerda. "I'll support you for five years," she told him, "and if you can't make it as a writer in that time, you'll never make it." By the end of five years, Koontz was doing well enough to allow Gerda to quit her job and begin working full time as his business manager. He now reportedly commands nearly $6 million per book.

Married for more than 30 years, Koontz and his wife typically work between 60 and 70 hours a week. For years, they have been eating dinner at the same restaurant five nights a week. They employ two assistants, but often answer their own phones. Their personal library includes over 50,000 books, arranged alphabetically by author.

Koontz has never appeared on Today, Good Morning America, or any of the other East Coast programs normally frequented by authors, partially because he doesn't fly and partially due to an aversion to publicity. He spends no time online and granted his first extensive magazine interview relatively recently -- to Rolling Stone in 1998.

Thousands of fans write to Koontz each year asking where they can get a copy of The Book of Counted Sorrows, frequently mentioned in his books as the source of verse used in his stories. Turns out the book didn't exist, until Koontz created it as an e-book in 2001.