Famous for her “alphabet novels,” this creative, Kentucky born writer had a slow start. It took quite some time, but her books can be found in 28 countries, in 26 languages.
She wrote her first novel by the age of 22, starting four years earlier. She wrote six more, two of which were published. She wasn't finding the success she was hoping for, so she started writing for television movies for the next 15 years. She won a Christopher Award in 1979 for “Walking Through the Fire." Along with her husband, Steven Humphrey, Grafton turned two of Agatha Christie's novels into movies for television. They also wrote, “Killer In the Family” and “Love on the Run.”
All of this writing gave her the confidence she needed to start writing books again. At this time, she was going through a nasty divorce and fighting with her ex about their children. She made herself feel better by thinking of ways to hurt or kill him. She finally decided to put these thoughts on paper. She was interested in certain aspects of other authors' works, so she made a list of words dealing with crimes that she knew. That is what led to her most popular books, “the alphabet novels.” When she was writing “G is for Gumshoe,” she finally quit screenwriting and concentrated on writing.
Her “B is for Burglar” and “C is for Corpse” won the first two Anthony Awards ever handed out. She won that award once more and received the Shamus Award three times, as well as numerous other awards. She hopes to finish her series with “Z is for Zero” by 2015. She has done very well for someone who had a late start in her novel writing career. Pick up one of her books and get engrossed in the “alphabet” once more.
