John Saul

Last updated

John Saul (born February 25, 1942) is an American author of suspense and horror novels. Most of his books have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list. [1]

Contents

Biography

Born in Pasadena, Saul grew up in Whittier, California, and graduated from Whittier High School in 1959. He went on to several colleges, including Cerritos College, Antioch College, San Francisco State University and Montana State University, variously majoring in anthropology, liberal arts and theater, but remains degree-less. After leaving college, Saul decided to become a writer, and spent 15 years working in various jobs while learning his craft.[ citation needed ]

Prior to the start of his career writing thrillers, Saul had around 10 books published under pen names, the first of which he wrote in one weekend after unexpectedly losing his job. His first book sale earned him $200. [2] Today he has over 60 million books in print. [3]

In 1976, Dell Publishing contacted him about his writing a psychological thriller. The resulting novel, Suffer the Children , appeared on all the bestseller lists in the United States and reached the number one spot in Canada.[ citation needed ] His 1979 novel Cry for the Strangers was made into a 1982 TV movie starring Patrick Duffy and Cindy Pickett. [4] [5] In addition to his novels, Saul has had several one-act plays produced in Los Angeles and Seattle.[ citation needed ]

Saul lives part-time in the Pacific Northwest, both in Seattle and in the San Juan Islands, and has a residence on the Big Island of Hawaii. Saul is openly gay. He lives with his partner of almost 50 years (since 1975) who has collaborated on several of his novels. [1] He is a frequent speaker at the Maui Writers' Conference.

In 2023, Saul received the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement. [6]

Works

Novels

YearTitle
1977 Suffer the Children
1978 Punish the Sinners
1979Cry for the Strangers
1980Comes the Blind Fury
1981When the Wind Blows
1982The God Project
1984Nathaniel
1985Brainchild
1986Hellfire
1987The Unwanted
1988The Unloved
1989Creature
1990Second Child
1991Sleepwalk
1991 Darkness
1992Shadows
1993Guardian
1994The Homing
1995Black Lightning
1997 The Blackstone Chronicles
1An Eye for an Eye: The Doll (1996)
2Twist of Fate: The Locket (1997)
3Ashes to Ashes: The Dragon's Flame (1997)
4In the Shadow of Evil: The Handkerchief (1997)
5Day of Reckoning: The Stereoscope (1997)
6Asylum (1997)
1998The Presence
1999The Right Hand of Evil
2000Nightshade
2001 The Manhattan Hunt Club
2002 Midnight Voices
2003 Black Creek Crossing
2005 Perfect Nightmare
2006 In the Dark of the Night
2007 The Devil's Labyrinth
2008 Faces of Fear
2009 House of Reckoning

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Grisham</span> American writer (born 1955)

John Ray Grisham Jr. is an American novelist, lawyer, and former member of the Mississippi House of Representatives, known for his best-selling legal thrillers. According to the American Academy of Achievement, Grisham has written 37 consecutive number-one fiction bestsellers, and his books have sold 300 million copies worldwide. Along with Tom Clancy and J. K. Rowling, Grisham is one of only three anglophone authors to have sold two million copies on the first printing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramsey Campbell</span> English author (born1946)

Ramsey Campbell is an English horror fiction writer, editor and critic who has been writing for well over fifty years. He is the author of over 30 novels and hundreds of short stories, many of them winners of literary awards. Three of his novels have been adapted into films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Follett</span> British bestseller novelist (born 1949)

Kenneth Martin Follett is a Welsh author of thrillers and historical novels who has sold more than 160 million copies of his works.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim O'Brien (author)</span> American novelist (born 1946)

Tim O'Brien is an American novelist who served as a soldier in the Vietnam War. Much of his writing is about wartime Vietnam, and his work later in life often explores the postwar lives of its veterans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R. L. Stine</span> American writer and producer (born 1943)

Robert Lawrence Stine, known by his pen name R.L. Stine, is an American novelist. He is the writer of Goosebumps, a horror fiction novel series which has sold over 400 million copies globally in 35 languages, becoming the second-best-selling book series in history. The series spawned a media franchise including two television series, a video game series, a comic series, and two feature films. Stine has been referred to as the "Stephen King of children's literature".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Greenleaf Whittier</span> American Quaker poet and abolitionist (1807–1892)

John Greenleaf Whittier was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet Robert Burns. Whittier is remembered particularly for his anti-slavery writings, as well as his 1866 book Snow-Bound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elmore Leonard</span> American novelist and screenwriter (1925–2013)

Elmore John Leonard Jr. was an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. His earliest novels, published in the 1950s, were Westerns, but he went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures. Among his best-known works are Hombre, Swag, City Primeval, LaBrava, Glitz, Freaky Deaky, Get Shorty, Rum Punch, Out of Sight and Tishomingo Blues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitch Albom</span> American author and journalist (born 1958)

Mitchell David Albom is an American author, journalist, and musician. As of 2021, he has sold 40 million books worldwide. Having achieved national recognition for sports writing in his early career, he turned to writing inspirational stories and themes—a preeminent early one being Tuesdays with Morrie—themes that now weave their way through his books, plays, and films and stage plays.

Thomas Ligotti is an American horror writer. His writings are rooted in several literary genres – most prominently weird fiction – and have been described by critics as works of philosophical horror, often formed into short stories and novellas in the tradition of gothic fiction. The worldview espoused by Ligotti in his fiction and non-fiction has been described as pessimistic and nihilistic. The Washington Post called him "the best kept secret in contemporary horror fiction."

John Francisco Rechy is a Mexican-American novelist and essayist. His novels are written extensively about gay culture in Los Angeles and wider America, among other subject matter. City of Night, his debut novel published in 1963, was a best seller. Drawing on his own background, he has contributed to Mexican-American literature, notably with his novel The Miraculous Day of Amalia Gomez, which has been taught in several Chicano studies courses throughout the United States. But, even after the success of his first novel, he still worked as a prostitute, teaching during the day, and hustling at night. He worked as a prostitute into his forties while also teaching at UCLA. Through the 1970's and 1980's he dealt with personal drug use, as well as the AIDS crisis, which killed many of his friends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Young</span> American poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter (1939–2021)

Albert James Young was an American poet, novelist, essayist, screenwriter, and professor. He was named Poet Laureate of California by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger from 2005 to 2008. Young's many books included novels, collections of poetry, essays, and memoirs. His work appeared in literary journals and magazines including Paris Review, Ploughshares, Essence, The New York Times, Chicago Review, Seattle Review, Brilliant Corners: A Journal of Jazz & Literature, Chelsea, Rolling Stone, Gathering of the Tribes, and in anthologies including the Norton Anthology of African American Literature, and the Oxford Anthology of African American Literature.

Thomas Francis Monteleone is an American science fiction author and horror fiction author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John A. Williams</span> American writer (1925–2015)

John Alfred Williams was an African American author, journalist, and academic. His novel The Man Who Cried I Am was a bestseller in 1967. Also a poet, he won an American Book Award for his 1998 collection Safari West.

Christine Feehan is an American author of paranormal romance, paranormal military thrillers, and fantasy. She is a #1 New York Times, #1 Publishers Weekly, and International bestselling author of seven series; Carpathian, GhostWalker Series, Drake Sisters, Sister of the HeartSeries, Shadow Riders Series, Leopard Series and Torpedo Ink Series. Six of the seven series have made #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. As of January 2020 she has 80 published novels. The first in her Torpedo Ink Series, Judgment Road, debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestsellers list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Tuttle</span> British writer

Lisa Gracia Tuttle is a British science fiction, fantasy, and horror author. She has published more than a dozen novels, seven short story collections, and several non-fiction titles, including a reference book on feminism, Encyclopedia of Feminism (1986). She has also edited several anthologies and reviewed books for various publications. She has been living in the United Kingdom since 1981.

James Sallis is an American crime writer who wrote a series of novels featuring the detective character Lew Griffin set in New Orleans, and the 2005 novel Drive, which was adapted into a 2011 film of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Briggs</span> American novelist and short story writer

Matt Briggs is an American novelist and short story writer.

Mitchell Smith is an American author writing crime fiction and science fiction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Malfi</span> American writer

Ronald Malfi is an American novelist whose genres include horror, thrillers, mainstream, and literary fiction. Malfi is also a musician, having fronted the Baltimore-based alternative rock band Nellie Blide as well as his current project, Veer. He currently lives in Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JG Faherty</span> American novelist

James Gregory "JG" Faherty is an American author who writes in the horror, science fiction, and dark fantasy genres.

References

  1. 1 2 Steele, Bruce C (August 28, 2001), "Fear and loving in the best-seller rack", The Advocate , archived from the original on March 26, 2005, retrieved August 30, 2007 .
  2. "The Horror Zine Presents: an interview with John Saul", The Horror Zine , retrieved September 27, 2011.
  3. "John Saul's Blackstone Chronicles", The Computer Show , retrieved September 27, 2011.
  4. Sandra Brennan, "Cry for the Strangers (1982)", Movies & TV Dept., The New York Times , archived from the original on January 30, 2013, retrieved September 14, 2012
  5. "Review of Cry for the Strangers (1982) at RottenTomatoes.com". Cry for the Strangers. Retrieved October 5, 2012.
  6. https://www.thebramstokerawards.com/lifetime-achievement-award/lifetime-achievement-award-2/