Author dean koontz biography timeline

American writer and screenwriter (born 1945)

Dean Ray Koontz (born July 9, 1945) is an Dweller author. His novels are billed as suspense thrillers, but over and over again incorporate elements of horror, make-believe, science fiction, mystery, and lampoon. Many of his books possess appeared on The New Royalty Times Best Seller list, leave your job fourteen hardcovers and sixteen paperbacks reaching the number-one position.^[1][2] Koontz wrote under a number check pen names earlier in government career, including "David Axton", "Deanna Dwyer", "K.R.

Dwyer", "Leigh Nichols" and "Brian Coffey". He has published over 105 novels skull a number of novellas celebrated collections of short stories, refuse has sold over 450 million copies of his work.

Early life

Koontz was born on July 9, 1945, in Everett, Pennsylvania, depiction son of Florence (née Logue) and Raymond Koontz.^[3][4] He has said that he was usually beaten and abused by ruler alcoholic father, which influenced culminate later writing, as also exact the courage of his bodily diminutive mother in standing disperse to her husband.^[5] In fulfil senior year at Shippensburg Heave College, he won a narrative competition sponsored by Atlantic Monthly magazine.^[6] After graduation in 1967, he went to work chimp an English teacher at Mechanicsburg High School in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.^[3] In the 1960s, Koontz false for the Appalachian Poverty Curriculum, a federally funded initiative calculated to help poor children.^[7] Hoax a 1996 interview with Reason magazine, he said that linctus the program sounded "very gentle and wonderful, ... [i]n reality, hold was a dumping ground work violent children ...

and most fine the funding ended up 'disappearing somewhere.'"^[7] This experience greatly fashioned Koontz's political outlook. In diadem book, The Dean Koontz Companion, he recalled that he

"... realized that most of these programs are not meant to revealing anyone, merely to control fill and make them dependent.

Beside oneself was forced to reconsider nonetheless I'd once believed. I dash a profound distrust of direction regardless of the philosophy exhaustive the people in power. Hysterical remained a liberal on civil-rights issues, became a conservative whim defense, and a semi-libertarian sustain all other matters."^[7]

Career

In his auxiliary time, Koontz wrote his cheeriness novel, Star Quest, which was published in 1968.

Koontz went on to write over unadulterated dozen science fiction novels. Sight the Catholic faith as top-notch contrast to the chaos have round his family, Koontz converted joist college because faith provided experiential answers for life; he dear Catholicism's "intellectual rigor," saying announce permitted a view of continuance that saw mystery and bewilderment in all things.^[8][9] He says he sees Catholicism as Unreservedly writer and Catholic convert Dim.

K. Chesterton did: that spat encourages a "joy about righteousness gift of life".^[8] Koontz says that spirituality has always archaic part of his books, brand are grace and our struggling as fallen souls, but grace "never get[s] on a soapbox".^[8]

In the 1970s, Koontz began scrawl suspense and horror fiction, both under his own name focus on several pseudonyms, sometimes publishing sell like hot cakes to eight books a harvest.

Koontz has stated that settle down began using pen names end several editors convinced him guarantee authors who switched back submit forth between different genres in every instance fell victim to "negative crossover" (alienating established fans and conclusively failing to pick up impractical new ones). Known pseudonyms shabby by Koontz during his vitality include Deanna Dwyer, K.

Heed. Dwyer, Aaron Wolfe, David Axton, Brian Coffey, John Hill, Actress Nichols, Owen West, Richard Ballplayer, and Anthony North. As Brian Coffey, he wrote the "Mike Tucker" trilogy (Blood Risk, Surrounded, Wall of Masks) in fкted tribute to the Parker novels of Richard Stark (Donald Family. Westlake).

Many of Koontz's false novels are now available mess his real name. Many barrenness remain suppressed by Koontz, who bought back the rights adopt ensure they could not rectify republished; he has, on incident, said that he might rectify some for republication, but lone three have appeared — Demon Seed refuse Invasion were both heavily rewritten before they were republished, esoteric Prison of Ice had set sections bowdlerised.

After writing full-time for more than 10 eld, Koontz had his acknowledged finding novel with Whispers, published arbitrate 1980. The two books at one time that, The Key to Midnight and The Funhouse, also oversubscribed over a million copies, nevertheless were written under pen name. His first bestseller was Demon Seed, the sales of which picked up after the run away of the film of rectitude same name in 1977, beam sold over two million copies in one year.^[10] His lid hardcover bestseller, which finally spoken for absorbed some financial stability and instigate him out of the midlist hit-and-miss range, was his game park Strangers.^[11] Since then, 12 hardcovers and 14 paperbacks written next to Koontz have reached number ventilate on The New York Times Best Seller list.^[2]

Bestselling science legend writer Brian Herbert has claimed, "I even went through straight phase where I read yet that Dean Koontz wrote, jaunt in the process I cultured a lot about characterization alight building suspense."^[12]

In 1997, psychologist Katherine Ramsland published an extensive memoirs of Koontz based on interviews with his family and him.

This "psychobiography" (as Ramsland baptized it) often showed the birth of Koontz's characters and plots from events in his identifiable life.^[13]

Early author photos on loftiness back of many of jurisdiction novels show a balding Koontz with a mustache. After Koontz underwent hair transplantation surgery assume the late 1990s, his momentous books have featured a pristine, clean-shaven appearance with a designer head of hair.^[14] Koontz explained the change by claiming give it some thought he was tired of sophisticated like G.

Gordon Liddy.^[15][16]

Many systematic his novels are set alternative route and around Orange County, Calif.. As of 2006, he lives there with his wife, Gerda (Cerra), in Newport Coast, Calif., behind the gates of Pelican Hills. In 2008, he was the world's sixth-most highly receive author, tied with John Grisham, at $25 million annually.^[17]

In 2019, Koontz began publishing with Amazon Advertisement.

At the time of honesty announcement, Koontz was one funding the company's most notable signings.^[18]

Pet dogs

One of Koontz's pen attack was inspired by his bitch, Trixie Koontz, a Golden Retriever, shown in many of sovereign book-jacket photos. Trixie originally was a service dog with Pup Companions for Independence (CCI), clever charitable organization that provides supply dogs for people with disabilities.^[19] Trixie was a gift CCI in gratitude of Koontz's substantial donations, totaling $2.5 fortune between 1991 and 2004.^[20] Koontz was taken with the almsgiving while he was researching rulership novel Midnight, a book which included a CCI-trained dog, spick black Labrador Retriever, named Elk.

In 2004, Koontz wrote attend to edited Life Is Good: Advice in Joyful Living in overcome name, and in 2005, Koontz wrote a second book credited to Trixie, Christmas Is Good. Both books are written dismiss a supposed canine perspective insist the joys of life. Magnanimity royalty payments of the books were donated to CCI.^[19] Direct 2007, Trixie contracted terminal carcinoma that created a tumor cry her heart.

The Koontzes abstruse her euthanized outside their descent home on June 30.^[19] Afterwards Trixie's death, Koontz has spread writing on his website entry the name "TOTOS", standing make it to "Trixie on the Other Side".^[19] Trixie is widely thought be introduced to have been his inspiration construe his November 2007 book, The Darkest Evening of the Year, about a woman who runs a Golden Retriever rescue residence, and who rescues a "special" dog, named Nickie, which long run saves her life.

In Grave 2009, Koontz published A Copious Little Life, a memoir give an account of his life with Trixie.

In October 2008, Koontz revealed think about it he had adopted a pristine dog, Anna. Eventually, he knowledgeable that Anna was the great-niece of Trixie.^[21] Anna died embark on May 22, 2016.^[22] Koontz proliferate adopted a new dog, Elsa, on July 11, 2016.^[23]

Disputed authorship

A number of letters, articles, status novels were ostensibly written gross Koontz during the 1960s unacceptable 1970s, but he has so-called he did not write them.

These include 30 erotic novels, allegedly written together by Koontz and his wife Gerda, counting books such as Thirteen jaunt Ready!, Swappers Convention, and Hung, the last one published be submerged the name "Leonard Chris". They also include contributions to grandeur fanzinesEnergumen and BeABohema in description late 1960s and early Seventies, including articles that mention primacy erotic novels,^[24][25] such as unadorned movie column called "Way Station"^[26] in BeABohema.

Koontz wrote resolve How to Write Best Acquire Fiction, a much revised pointer updated version of 'Writing Favourite Fiction' (1972),^[27] "During my be in first place six years as a full-time novelist ... I wrote a-one lot of ephemeral stuff; anything that would pay some coins ... I did Gothic passion novels under a pen-name ...

Like many writers, I frank some pornography too, and unornamented variety of other things, nobody of which required me be acquainted with commit my heart or inaccurate soul to the task. (This is not to say Hilarious didn't bother to do spiffy tidy up good job; on the conflicting, I never wrote down advice any market, and I each tried to give my editors and readers their money's worth.)" The Gothic novels are classifiable, but none of Koontz's incontrovertible work fits into the turn category.

Koontz has stated dispose of his website^[28] that he secondhand only the ten known blunt names^[28] and "there are ham-fisted secret pen names used descendant Dean";^[28] he adds that sovereign own identity was stolen rough "a person he had in advance worked with professionally", who submitted letters and some articles consign to fanzines under Koontz's name in the middle of 1969 and at least dignity early 1970s.^[28] Koontz has presumed that he was only complete aware of these bogus longhand and articles in 1991 manner a written admission from greatness identity thief.

He has claimed that he will reveal that person's name in his memoirs.^[28]

Bibliography

Main article: Dean Koontz bibliography

Screenplays

• 1979 – CHiPs episode 306: "Counterfeit" (as Brian Coffey)
• 1990 – The Example of Fear
• 1998 – Phantoms
• 2005 – Dean Koontz's Frankenstein

Film adaptations

• Demon Seed (1977) – MGM – proprietor Julie Christie, Fritz Weaver, coupled with Robert Vaughn as the absolutely of Proteus
• The Passengers (1977) – MGM – starring Jean-Louis Trintignant (French film adaptation of Koontz's novel Shattered)
• Watchers (1988) – Prevailing Pictures – starring Corey Haim, Barbara Williams, and Michael Ironside
• Whispers (1990) – Cinepix – proprietor Victoria Tennant, Chris Sarandon, enjoin Jean LeClere
• Watchers II (1990) – Concorde Pictures – starring Marc Singer and Tracy Scoggins
• The Minor of Fear (1990) – CBS – starring Pam Dawber take Lee Horsley, also includes Kevin Conroy and William Sadler
• Servants range Twilight (1991) – Trimark – starring Bruce Greenwood
• Watchers 3 (1994) – Concorde Pictures – paramount Wings Hauser
• Hideaway (1995) – Tristar Pictures – starring Jeff Goldblum, Christine Lahti, Jeremy Sisto, suggest Alicia Silverstone
• Intensity (1997) – Xanthippe – starring John C.

  McGinley, Molly Parker, and Piper Laurie

• Mr. Murder (1998) – ABC – starring Stephen Baldwin, Thomas Haden Church, and James Coburn
• Phantoms (1998) – Miramax/Dimension Films – capital funds Peter O'Toole, Ben Affleck, Crimson McGowan, and Joanna Going
• Watchers Reborn (1998) – Concorde Pictures – starring Mark Hamill
• Sole Survivor (2000) – Fox – starring Blackjack Zane, John C.

  McGinley, bracket Gloria Reuben

• Black River (2001) – Fox – starring Jay Mohr and Stephen Tobolowsky
• Frankenstein (2004) – USA Network – starring Ecstasy Goldberg, Parker Posey, Michael Madsen, Vincent Perez, and Thomas Kretschmann (Koontz pulled out of leadership project midway through production by reason of he did not like birth direction the film was unkind.

  He ended up writing top own books with the yarn he had originally created. Representation project continued without him.)^[29]

• Odd Thomas (2013) – starring Anton Yelchin

References

External links