-
Your next favorite book
is waiting.
Author Biography | Interview | Books by this Author | Read-Alikes
T. Jefferson Parker is the author of numerous novels and short stories, the winner of three Edgar Awards (for Silent Joe, California Girl, and the short story "Skinhead Central"), and the recipient of a Los Angeles Times Book Prize for best mystery (Silent Joe). Before becoming a full-time novelist, he was an award-winning reporter. He lives in Fallbrook, California.
T Jefferson Parker's website
This bio was last updated on 06/18/2024. In a perfect world, we would like to keep all of BookBrowse's biographies up to date, but with many thousands of lives to keep track of it's simply impossible to do. So, if the date of this bio is not recent, you may wish to do an internet search for a more current source, such as the author's website or social media presence. If you are the author or publisher and would like us to update this biography, send the complete text and we will replace the old with the new.
When did you first decide to become a writer?
My "Mythology and Folklore" teacher in high school hated our class because we
were troublemakers. One day she refused to teach us, and made us each close our
eyes and pick a book out of a box she'd brought from home. We were to read
silently all period. I got Catch 22 by Joseph Heller and I read it in a few
days. I couldn't believe how funny it was, how hip and right-on. I told myself
that if I could ever write something that would give someone 1/1000th the
pleasure that Heller gave me, I'd be proud.
Where do your plot ideas come from? What inspires you?
The plots usually take shape in the writing or outlining stage. You create
them, like a carpenter laying the foundation of a house. It's a gut feel,
whether the story is good and the plot is right. I'm inspired by everything—the
front page of the LA Times, a weird dream from the night before, an interesting
story told by a friend, or even sitting at church. Snippets of conversation I
overhear, things I see and experience, life itself—the mind drifts, hatching
disastrous plots. But I'm inspired most of all by novels. There's something
about a good, I mean a very good, novel, ...
Diana Abu-Jaber is the award-winning author of seven books of fiction and nonfiction, including Crescent and The Language of Baklava. She lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (more)
If you enjoyed:
The Fallen
Try:
Origin
by Diana Abu-Jaber
Giles Blunt was born in 1952 in Windsor, Ontario, and grew up in North Bay, Ontario. He describes his parents as being "so English that the space on their passports for citizenship could only be filled in 'British... (more)
If you enjoyed:
California Girl
Try:
By the Time You Read This
by Giles Blunt
We recommend 21 similar authors
L.A. Women by Ella Berman
Two ambitious writers in 1960s LA face betrayal when one writes a novel based on the other's life.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
