Who Am I?

In September of 1947, I was born in Portland, Maine and enjoyed an early life with my parents and my older brother. It was a happy life until I was two years old. One day, my father left our family…and never came back. Times were hard financially for my mother, my brother, and myself. We constantly traveled between Indiana and Connecticut until my mother decided that we needed to stay put in Durham, Maine – for good. I graduated from high school in 1966.

I decided to stay close to home and attended the University of Maine. My sophomore year, I got involved with the student newspaper and student government. It was also during this time that my first short story was published in Startling Mystery Stories. I graduated with a degree in English in 1970, and I married my wife, a fellow writer, the following year. I also found my first teaching position that Fall.

During this time, I was working on what would be my first novel. However, I thought what I had written so far was so awful, I threw it into the trash. My wife found the balled up manuscript and took a look at it. She told me that I had something great on my hands, and encouraged me to keep going.

In 1974, I published it. The story was about a girl with supernatural powers taking revenge on the people in her life that bullied and abused her. It became a bestseller!

Many of my works were applauded by both critics and readers, and some were even produced into TV series and movies!

In 1999, I was hit by a car.

That was not a fun experience.

I almost gave up writing after my accident because I was in so much pain from my injuries. But I kept going. My most recent work was published in 2018, a novel that is both police drama and horror!

I enjoy writing scary and mysterious stories have created stories that terrify both readers and viewers to this day.

Who am I?