Biography One (biografia)
When he was a senior in
college, Dean Koontz won an Atlantic Monthly fiction competition and has been
writing ever since. His books are published in 38 languages; worldwide sales are
nearly 200 million copies, and that figure currently increases by more than 17
million copies per year. Seven of his novels have risen to number one on the
New York Times hardcover bestseller list (Lightning, Midnight,
Cold Fire, Hideaway, Dragon Tears,
Intensity, and Sole Survivor), making him one
of only ten writers ever to have achieved that milestone. Eleven of his books
have risen to the number one position in paperback. His books have also been
major bestsellers in countries as diverse as Japan and Sweden.
He has written a screenplay for the film adaptation of his novel Cold
Fire; he wrote and executive produced The Face of Fear
for Warner Brothers-CBS Television. Phantoms, based on the
author's screenplay - starring Peter O'Toole and Joanna Going - was released by
Miramax/Dimension in January 1998. Intensity, which went to
number one on the New York Times bestseller list, was filmed by Peter Gruber's
Mandalay as a miniseries for the Fox Network, and aired initially in August
1997. Mandalay is also developing a miniseries based on one of the author's
most recent works of fiction, Sole Survivor, with a release
date of 2000. Meanwhile, a TV movie of Mr. Murder has been
developed.
The author signed a three-book deal with Bantam Books, these became Fear
Nothing, Seize The Night and False Memory. The New
York Times has called his writing "psychologically complex, masterly and
satisfying." The New Orleans Times-Picayune said Koontz is, "at times
lyrical without ever being naive or romantic. [He creates] a grotesque world,
much like that of Flannery O'Conner or Walker Percy ... scary, worthwhile
reading." Of Cold Fire, a worldwide #1 bestseller, the
United Press International said, "An extraordinary piece of fiction. It
will be a classic."
Dean Koontz was born and
raised in Pennsylvania. He graduated from Shippensburg State College (now
Shippensburg University), and his first job after graduation was with the
Appalachian Poverty Program, where he was expected to counsel and tutor
underprivileged children on a one-to-one basis. His first day on the job, he
discovered that the previous occupier of his position had been beaten up by the
very kids he had been trying to help and had landed in the hospital for several
weeks. The following year was filled with challenge but also tension, and
Koontz was more highly motivated than ever to build a career as a writer. He
wrote nights and weekends, which he continued to do after leaving the poverty
program and going to work as an English teacher in a suburban school district
outside Harrisburg. After he has been a year and a half in that position, his
wife, Gerda, made him an offer he couldn't refuse: "I'll support you for
five years," she said, "and if you can't make it as a writer in that
time, you'll never make it." By the end of those five years, Gerda had
quit her job to run the business end of her husband's writing career. Dean and
Gerda Koontz live in southern California.
Biography Two
Dean Koontz was born and
raised in Pennsylvania. His childhood was filled with turmoil and abuse, his
father being an alcoholic who was prone to violent outbursts and was eventually
diagnosed as being mentally ill. Koontz, being an only child with a mother who
was prone to illness, developed his own survival strategies to cope with the
horrors of his homelife. Books became a large part of this, as he found that
they could take him into a better world. As a child Koontz desired to create
this same escape for others, to give them a world to step into when their own
became too harsh. Most of his novels written later contained characters who
were or had been troubled children, as well as the underlying theme that those
who embrace friendship, love, faith and an unwavering commitment to freedom
will inevitably win out over those who are motivated by power, envy, and greed.
Koontz received no encouragement from his parents as far as writing was
concerned. They considered books and reading to be a waste of time and money,
and actually discouraged him from reading. Undaunted by this, Koontz began
selling original fiction when he was eight years old. He wrote short stories on
tablet paper and sharpened them up with colorful covers, stapled the left
margin of each story, put electrician's tape over the staples, and tried to
peddle them to relatives and neighbors, usually for a nickel a story. When he
was twelve he won a wristwatch and twenty-five dollars in a nationwide
newspaper essay competition, writing on the subject "What being an
American means to me". He realized early the need to charge a fee for his
work in order to be taken seriously. As a senior in college Koontz won a
fiction competition, and wrote consistently from then on.
His first 'real' fiction sale was called Kittens which he sold
while still in college at the age of twenty. He graduated from Shippensburg
State College (now Shippensburg University), 
and his first job after
graduation was with the Appalachian Poverty Program, where he was expected to
counsel and tutor underprivileged children on a one-on-one basis. His first day
on the job, he discovered that the previous occupier of his position had been
beaten up by the very kids he had been trying to help and had landed in the
hospital for several weeks. The following year was filled with challenges and
struggle, but Koontz was more highly motivated than ever to
build a career as a writer.
Koontz wrote when he could - nights and weekends - and continued this as he
left the poverty program and started teaching in a suburban school district
near Harrisburg. After teaching there for about a year and a half, Koontz's
wife, Gerda, made him an offer too attractive to refuse: She offered to support
him for a period of five years, so that he could pursue his freelance writing
full-time. "…if you can't make it as a writer by that time, you'll never
make it." She told him. Of course Koontz made full use of these five years
and by the end of that time his wife had quit her job in order to run the
business end of her husband's galloping writing career. By this time Koontz had
published a great deal of science fiction, both short stories such as Unseen
Warriors (Worlds of Tomorrow, 1970) and novels like The
Haunted Earth (Lancer Books, 1970) and Demon Child
(Lancer Books, 1971).
Among the writers who influenced
Koontz , John D. Macdonald stands among the top of the list. Koontz refers to
Macdonald as a "brilliant writer" and, speaking of works he has read
of Macdonald's, said "When I read something like Slam the Big Door,
Cry Hard Cry Fast, The Damned, or The
End of the Night, I usually turn to the last page thinking, "O.K.
Koontz, face it, you don't belong in the same craft as this man; go learn
plumbing, Koontz get yourself and honest trade!". His respect for writers
of this caliber obviously played a part in his severely critical view of his
own work. Koontz is an admitted obsessive-compulsive, and this personal
characteristic drives him to accept nothing but high quality work from himself.
A novel normally takes him from five months to a year to complete, and he often
works seventy hours a week. In 1976 the Koontzs moved to southern California,
where they still reside.
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