Dean Koontz

Dean Koontz is an author of American descent. His works mostly belong to the genre of suspense thrillers although they contain some elements of satire, mystery, horror, science fiction and fantasy. His full name is Dean Ray Koontz and he took birth on July 9, 1945, in Everett, Pennsylvania. His parent's names are Florence and Raymond Koontz. Dean had a difficult childhood. His father was an alcoholic and he would abuse and beat Dean.

It affected him greatly and it is evident in some of his writings too. After Dean started writing, his mother gathered up the courage to stand up to her husband and eventually filed for divorce. While studying, Bachelor of Arts in English from the Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, he won an Atlantic Monthly magazine's fiction competition. In 1967, he graduated and started to teach English at Mechanicsburg High School, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

He also worked for the Poverty Program of Appalachian. It was an initiative to help underprivileged children and federal funded it. However, the program didn't do what it claimed and would misuse the funding. Due to this experience, he developed mistrust towards all government schemes. While teaching, he penned his first book named, Star Quest. He found a publisher for it in the year 1968. He then went on to produce several novels like Whispers, The Key to Midnight, The Funhouse, Demon Seed and much more.

In his writing career, he has released his books under several pen names like David Axton, Deanna Dwyer, Richard Paige, Anthony North and much more. He donated a substantial amount to Canine Companions for Independence, which is a charity that provides disable people service dogs. In acknowledgment of his contribution, they gifted him, a golden retriever. He named him Trixie. Trixie inspired one of his pseudonym and his work The Darkest Evening of the Year.

In 2007, Trixie died after contracting cancer. Even after her death, Dean continued to author books using the pen name that Trixie inspired. A year later, he adopted a new dog named Anna. Coincidentally, she was Trixie's grandniece. While in college, he converted to Catholicism as it helped him keep sane from his traumatic childhood.

There is speculation that he has written more than thirty erotica novels under different names. He has denied it though. Filmmakers and producers have adapted some of his works for theatre, films, and TV shows. He married Gerda Ann Cerra, a writer herself, on October 15, 1966. According to his official website, he has reportedly sold nearly four hundred and fifty million copies.