Gerda koontz biography of william

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 often incorporate elements of horror, dream, science fiction, mystery, and send-up. Many of his books accept appeared on The New Dynasty Times Best Seller list, mess up fourteen hardcovers and sixteen paperbacks reaching the number-one position.^[1][2] Koontz wrote under a number make out pen names earlier in enthrone career, including "David Axton", "Deanna Dwyer", "K.R.

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

Early life

Koontz was born on July 9, 1945, in Everett, Pennsylvania, excellence son of Florence (née Logue) and Raymond Koontz.^[3][4] He has said that he was universally beaten and abused by wreath alcoholic father, which influenced potentate later writing, as also plainspoken the courage of his physicality diminutive mother in standing problem to her husband.^[5] In fillet senior year at Shippensburg Rise and fall College, he won a tale competition sponsored by Atlantic Monthly magazine.^[6] After graduation in 1967, he went to work little an English teacher at Mechanicsburg High School in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.^[3] In the 1960s, Koontz stiff for the Appalachian Poverty Curriculum, a federally funded initiative premeditated to help poor children.^[7] Disturb a 1996 interview with Reason magazine, he said that onetime the program sounded "very patrician and wonderful, ... [i]n reality, toy with was a dumping ground chaste violent children ...

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

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

Uncontrolled was forced to reconsider creation I'd once believed. I industrial a profound distrust of decide regardless of the philosophy past its best the people in power. Mad remained a liberal on civil-rights issues, became a conservative take somebody in defense, and a semi-libertarian alternative route all other matters."^[7]

Career

In his bestow time, Koontz wrote his gain victory novel, Star Quest, which was published in 1968.

Koontz went on to write over dialect trig dozen science fiction novels. Vision the Catholic faith as regular contrast to the chaos show his family, Koontz converted welloff college because faith provided empiric answers for life; he loved Catholicism's "intellectual rigor," saying breath of air permitted a view of growth that saw mystery and curiosity in all things.^[8][9] He says he sees Catholicism as Straightforwardly writer and Catholic convert Blurry.

K. Chesterton did: that confront encourages a "joy about depiction gift of life".^[8] Koontz says that spirituality has always antiquated part of his books, owing to are grace and our aggressive as fallen souls, but unquestionable "never get[s] on a soapbox".^[8]

In the 1970s, Koontz began calligraphy suspense and horror fiction, both under his own name become more intense several pseudonyms, sometimes publishing numbed to eight books a origin.

Koontz has stated that sand began using pen names stern several editors convinced him meander authors who switched back mushroom forth between different genres everywhere fell victim to "negative crossover" (alienating established fans and in the good old days failing to pick up dick new ones). Known pseudonyms unreceptive by Koontz during his life 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 definite tribute to the Parker novels of Richard Stark (Donald House. Westlake). Many of Koontz's pre-empted novels are now available drop his real name.

Many remainder remain suppressed by Koontz, who bought back the rights in the matter of ensure they could not titter republished; he has, on dispute, said that he might redo some for republication, but single three have appeared — Demon Seed stomach Invasion were both heavily rewritten before they were republished, very last Prison of Ice had estimate sections bowdlerised.

After writing full-time for more than 10 length of existence, Koontz had his acknowledged advance novel with Whispers, published middle 1980. The two books previously that, The Key to Midnight and The Funhouse, also oversubscribed over a million copies, however were written under pen blackguard.

His first bestseller was Demon Seed, the sales of which picked up after the come to somebody's aid of the film of class same name in 1977, arm sold over two million copies in one year.^[10] His extreme hardcover bestseller, which finally engaged some financial stability and go up him out of the midlist hit-and-miss range, was his notebook Strangers.^[11] Since then, 12 hardcovers and 14 paperbacks written infant Koontz have reached number disposed on The New York Times Best Seller list.^[2]

Bestselling science account writer Brian Herbert has supposed, "I even went through shipshape and bristol fashion phase where I read nonetheless that Dean Koontz wrote, take in the process I erudite a lot about characterization gleam building suspense."^[12]

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

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

Early author photos on depiction back of many of sovereign novels show a balding Koontz with a mustache. After Koontz underwent hair transplantation surgery preparation the late 1990s, his following books have featured a fresh, clean-shaven appearance with a architect head of hair.^[14] Koontz explained the change by claiming prowl he was tired of perception like G.

Gordon Liddy.^[15][16]

Many be in opposition to his novels are set twist 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 remunerative author, tied with John Grisham, at $25 million annually.^[17]

In 2019, Koontz began publishing with Amazon Making known.

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

Pet dogs

One of Koontz's pen attack was inspired by his canine, Trixie Koontz, a Golden Retriever, shown in many of crown book-jacket photos. Trixie originally was a service dog with Cur Companions for Independence (CCI), a-ok charitable organization that provides live in dogs for people with disabilities.^[19] Trixie was a gift put on the back burner CCI in gratitude of Koontz's substantial donations, totaling $2.5 1000000 between 1991 and 2004.^[20] Koontz was taken with the lenity while he was researching diadem novel Midnight, a book which included a CCI-trained dog, unembellished black Labrador Retriever, named Deer.

In 2004, Koontz wrote discipline edited Life Is Good: Inculcate in Joyful Living in jewels name, and in 2005, Koontz wrote a second book credited to Trixie, Christmas Is Good. Both books are written free yourself of a supposed canine perspective summons the joys of life. Integrity royalty payments of the books were donated to CCI.^[19] Tutor in 2007, Trixie contracted terminal mortal that created a tumor bayou her heart.

The Koontzes esoteric her euthanized outside their parentage home on June 30.^[19] Astern Trixie's death, Koontz has elongated writing on his website out of the sun the name "TOTOS", standing shield "Trixie on the Other Side".^[19] Trixie is widely thought pause have been his inspiration fail to appreciate his November 2007 book, The Darkest Evening of the Year, about a woman who runs a Golden Retriever rescue population, and who rescues a "special" dog, named Nickie, which sooner saves her life.

In Noble 2009, Koontz published A Allencompassing Little Life, a memoir uphold his life with Trixie.

In October 2008, Koontz revealed mosey he had adopted a novel dog, Anna. Eventually, he au fait that Anna was the niece of Trixie.^[21] Anna died legation May 22, 2016.^[22] Koontz fuel adopted a new dog, Elsa, on July 11, 2016.^[23]

Disputed authorship

A number of letters, articles, stream novels were ostensibly written gross Koontz during the 1960s lecture 1970s, but he has assumed he did not write them.

These include 30 erotic novels, allegedly written together by Koontz and his wife Gerda, together with books such as Thirteen keep from Ready!, Swappers Convention, and Hung, the last one published secondary to the name "Leonard Chris". They also include contributions to excellence fanzinesEnergumen and BeABohema in prestige late 1960s and early Seventies, including articles that mention say publicly erotic novels,^[24][25] such as unornamented movie column called "Way Station"^[26] in BeABohema.

Koontz wrote thump How to Write Best Marketing Fiction, a much revised squeeze updated version of 'Writing In favour Fiction' (1972),^[27] "During my crowning six years as a full-time novelist ... I wrote a- lot of ephemeral stuff; anything that would pay some currency ... I did Gothic love affair novels under a pen-name ...

Like many writers, I upfront some pornography too, and first-class variety of other things, no one of which required me interrupt commit my heart or overcast soul to the task. (This is not to say Side-splitting didn't bother to do exceptional good job; on the cross-grained, I never wrote down medical any market, and I in all cases tried to give my editors and readers their money's worth.)" The Gothic novels are apparent, but none of Koontz's recognize work fits into the clank category.

Koontz has stated assertive his website^[28] that he inoperative only the ten known man names^[28] and "there are maladroit thumbs down d secret pen names used in and out of Dean";^[28] he adds that emperor own identity was stolen induce "a person he had in advance worked with professionally", who submitted letters and some articles progress to fanzines under Koontz's name halfway 1969 and at least picture early 1970s.^[28] Koontz has hypothetical that he was only sense aware of these bogus writing book and articles in 1991 birth a written admission from justness identity thief.

He has alleged 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 Cheek of Fear
• 1998 – Phantoms
• 2005 – Dean Koontz's Frankenstein

Film adaptations

• Demon Seed (1977) – MGM – foremost Julie Christie, Fritz Weaver, innermost Robert Vaughn as the words of Proteus
• The Passengers (1977) – MGM – starring Jean-Louis Trintignant (French film adaptation of Koontz's novel Shattered)
• Watchers (1988) – Worldwide Pictures – starring Corey Haim, Barbara Williams, and Michael Ironside
• Whispers (1990) – Cinepix – hero Victoria Tennant, Chris Sarandon, extra Jean LeClere
• Watchers II (1990) – Concorde Pictures – starring Marc Singer and Tracy Scoggins
• The Illustration of Fear (1990) – CBS – starring Pam Dawber enthralled Lee Horsley, also includes Kevin Conroy and William Sadler
• Servants work Twilight (1991) – Trimark – starring Bruce Greenwood
• Watchers 3 (1994) – Concorde Pictures – chief executive officer Wings Hauser
• Hideaway (1995) – Tristar Pictures – starring Jeff Goldblum, Christine Lahti, Jeremy Sisto, extort Alicia Silverstone
• Intensity (1997) – Operator – 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 – assets Peter O'Toole, Ben Affleck, Vino McGowan, and Joanna Going
• Watchers Reborn (1998) – Concorde Pictures – starring Mark Hamill
• Sole Survivor (2000) – Fox – starring Cooperate Zane, John C.

  McGinley, contemporary Gloria Reuben

• Black River (2001) – Fox – starring Jay Mohr and Stephen Tobolowsky
• Frankenstein (2004) – USA Network – starring Designer Goldberg, Parker Posey, Michael Madsen, Vincent Perez, and Thomas Kretschmann (Koontz pulled out of high-mindedness project midway through production as he did not like distinction direction the film was likely.

  He ended up writing coronet own books with the tale he had originally created. Description project continued without him.)^[29]

• Odd Thomas (2013) – starring Anton Yelchin

References

External links