Max Allan Collins
is a New York Times bestselling author of original mysteries, a Shamus award winner and an experienced author of movie adaptions and tie-in novels. His graphic novel ROAD TO PERDITION was made into a major motion picture by Tom Hanks’s production company, Playtone.
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Carl Hiaasen
Locations around Florida
Carl Hiaasen was born and raised in a bizarre place called Florida, where he still lives. His books have been described as savagely funny, riotous, and cathartic. Oddly, they are beloved even by readers who’ve never set foot in the Sunshine State.
A graduate of the University of Florida, at age 23 Hiaasen joined The Miami Herald as a city-desk reporter and went on to work for the newspaper’s weekly magazine and prize-winning investigations team.
From 1985 to 2021 he wrote an opinion column, which at one time or another thrashed just about every major politician in the state – and occasionally his own bosses. One of Hiaasen’s proudest moments came when a Miami City Commissioner who was enraged by the columns introduced a resolution officially denouncing him.
Hiaasen began writing novels in the early 1980s with his good friend and fellow journalist, the late William D. Montalbano. They collaborated on three mystery thrillers – POWDER BURN, TRAP LINE and A DEATH IN CHINA – which borrowed heavily from their reporting experiences. (From his website)
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Andre Dubus III
Andre Dubus III is the author of seven books: The Cage Keeper and Other Stories, Bluesman, and the New York Times bestsellers, House of Sand and Fog, The Garden of Last Days, Gone So Long and his memoir, Townie, a #4 New York Times bestseller and a New York Times “Editors Choice”.
Gone So Long, is a masterpiece of thrilling tension and heartrending empathy. Few writers can enter their characters so completely or evoke their lives as viscerally as Andre Dubus III. In this deeply compelling novel, a father, estranged for the worst of reasons, is driven to seek out the daughter he has not seen in decades.
Recently published, Such Kindness, is the story of people whose stories are rarely told. The novel charts a remarkable rebirth, not from poverty to wealth but from bitter helplessness to the knowledge of self worth. The result is a gripping and transformational journey towards kindness. The result is also a tremendously moving novel.” – Ann Patchett
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K.J. Howe
K.J. Howe
Born in Toronto, Canada, KJ enjoyed a nomadic lifestyle during her early years, living in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Caribbean, which gave her an insider’s view into many different cultures. While abroad, she read every book she could find, which triggered in her a desire to create her own stories.
She attended Salzburg International Preparatory School, Neuchâtel Junior College, and Albert College before earning a Specialists Degree in Business from the University of Toronto. KJ found success in the corporate world, but her passion for travel, adventure, and stories drew her back to school where she earned a Masters in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She is a Thriller and Barry Award nominee, and she has won several writing awards, including three Daphne du Maurier Awards for Excellent in Mystery and Suspense.
While honing her fiction skills, KJ worked as a medical, health, and fitness writer. She then became involved with the International Thriller Writers as the Executive Director of ThrillerFest, the organization’s annual conference held every July in New York City.
