Sue Grafton's Killer Instincts are Salable

Sue Grafton was born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1940. She wanted to write novels early in her life, but was weighed down by several unfortunate circumstances. She wrote seven mystery manuscripts, but only two were published. Her mother committed suicide around the same time. Her dreams somewhat crushed, she went to Hollywood to write for television and movies. Although she stayed there for many years, nothing about Hollywood impressed her.

She would always retain the desire to write novels, but her drive would not come back until the end of her second marriage. The divorce was a disaster and took six years to finalize. She lay awake at night trying to figure out ways to kill her husband. Being a law abiding woman, Grafton decided to put her anger into words and A is for Alibi was written. This novel, starring Grafton's now-famous protagonist Kinsey Millhone, was the beginning of her return to novel writing. Kinsey has traveled through the alphabet to T is for Trespass, with a huge following of fans around the world. Grafton had been writing her Alphabet series and producing one novel per year for over 20 years.

At 56, Grafton gave herself a break and wrote one novel every 18 months. The last Millhone mystery is already titled Z is for Zero, even though there are five more books to be written before it. Her writing has fulfilled all her needs and dreams. Grafton, who is 68 now, has three grown daughters and grandchildren. After her harsh experiences in Hollywood, she's told her daughters that they are never to sell the Kinsey Millhone character to Hollywood once she is gone. She does not want to see her beloved character anywhere but in her own writing.