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John Saul

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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]

Biography

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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 bestselling thriller career, 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 just $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.

Works

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Novels

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Year Title
1977 Suffer the Children
1978 Punish the Sinners
1979 Cry for the Strangers
1980 Comes the Blind Fury
1981 When the Wind Blows
1982 The God Project
1984 Nathaniel
1985 Brainchild
1986 Hellfire
1987 The Unwanted
1988 The Unloved
1989 Creature
1990 Second Child
1991 Sleepwalk
1991 Darkness
1992 Shadows
1993 Guardian
1994 The Homing
1995 Black Lightning
1997 The Blackstone Chronicles
1 An Eye for an Eye: The Doll (1996)
2 Twist of Fate: The Locket (1997)
3 Ashes to Ashes: The Dragon's Flame (1997)
4 In the Shadow of Evil: The Handkerchief (1997)
5 Day of Reckoning: The Stereoscope (1997)
6 Asylum (1997)
1998 The Presence
1999 The Right Hand of Evil
2000 Nightshade
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

References

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  1. ^ a b 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.
  • John Saul: A Critical Companion by Paul Bail
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