FOR many novelists (and their publishers), creating a series character for readers to follow through multiple books can offer security for years to come.
For some, it can even sustain entire careers. However, that kind of conventional wisdom never fully resonated with best-selling author Heather Graham, who for the last thirty-four years has continued to introduce unique characters in more than 150 books across different genres, establishing herself as one of this generation’s most successful writers.
In the early 1980s, after the birth of her third child, Graham made the decision to stop working at a job that would take her away from her children, and as a result tried her hand at writing. She sold her first novel, a romance titled When Next We Love, in 1983. Yet a successful romantic novel was just the beginning, and Graham went on to explore the paranormal, vampires, horror, suspense, thrillers, and even historical mysteries. One of the keys to her success has been this very versatility as an author, which keeps readers and critics guessing at what she’ll come up with next. She is also as prolific as they come, with eleven trilogies, several series, a slew of collaborative works, and dozens upon dozens of standalone novels. But whether she is tracking an elite group of investigators with paranormal powers as they solve historical crimes in her Krewe of Hunters series, or plumbing the minds of Civil War-era vampires in her Vampire Hunters trilogy, Graham always surprises, entertains, and tantalizes.
In 2013, Graham introduced New Orleans antique shop owner Dani Cafferty and former cop turned PI Michael Quinn in Let the Dead Sleep. Subsequent novels in the series have brought more antiques and ancient art with unusual qualities, presenting the crime-solving duo with increasingly baffling mysteries in which the past and present collide. And through the author’s vivid depictions, the Big Easy itself competes as another character.
Denne historien er fra Strand Magazine Issue 48: Unpublished James Thurber, Interviews with Sherlock's Mark Gatiss and Heather Graham: May-June 2016-utgaven av The Strand Magazine.
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Denne historien er fra Strand Magazine Issue 48: Unpublished James Thurber, Interviews with Sherlock's Mark Gatiss and Heather Graham: May-June 2016-utgaven av The Strand Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
INTERVIEW Laurie R. King
CREATING new works based on an iconic fictional character who’s been around for over a century can be a minefield for an author.
ADVENTURE ON A BAD NIGHT
BEFORE dinner was quite finished Vivien began wanting to get outdoors, into the air she hadn’t seen since afternoon.
THE EDINBURGH BANKERS
“MR. Holmes, I’m not asking for myself. It’s for the livelihood of the rest of us.”
The Adventure of the Home Office Baby
FOLLOWING the occasion of my marriage, and relocation with Mary to our newlywed home in the Paddington district, only a few blocks east of the great station itself, I was able to continue building my new practice while still finding time to assist Sherlock Holmes in a number of investigations.
KEVIN OF THE DEAD
PEOPLE often say to me, “Kevin, what’s it like being undead and all that?” And I say, “It’s a job, you know?” You get up at sunset, brush off the dirt and slugs, climb out of the box, and off you go into the night looking for some poor unfortunate to siphon a pint from.
AUNT NELLIE'S DIARY
MANY contemporary readers know Louisa May Alcott only as the author of the classic Little Women, the much-beloved story of the March sisters’ journey from childhood innocence to mature womanhood.
INTERVIEW John Grisham
FOR the last thirty years, the term legal thriller has been synonymous with John Grisham. Credited with single-handedly popularizing the genre, he has inspired scores of other authors and, in the process, has become both a commercial and critical success.
The Dowser's Discovery
“IF you don’t mind, sir,” said old Fiedler as he finished pouring our coffee, “I’d like to go into the village this morning with the others. It’s market day.”
THE AMIABLE FLEAS
IN May 1954, more than fifteen years after writing Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck rented a house for himself and his family a stones-throw from the Champs-Elysées in Paris.
INTERVIEW Don Winslow
EVER since Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett revolutionized the crime novel with hardboiled heroes, gritty settings, and moral complexity, countless authors have tried to carry the torch.
