Sue Grafton (24 April, 1940-28 December, 2017) was an author known for the “alphabet” detective novels featuring Kinsey Millhone, a private investigator.
Fun Facts about Sue Grafton:
1. Sue Taylor Grafton was born in Louisville, KY. Her parents, C. W., a lawyer and a writer, and Vivian Harnsberger Grafton, a chemistry teacher.
2. When World War Il broke out, her father enlisted in the Army and returned two years later. He was gone when she was three, until five. That’s when the family started breaking apart, and both of her parents became alcoholics. Later on Ms. Grafton said that she “raised herself from that point on.
3. Sue Grafton loved that her father wrote his detective fiction during the night. He taught her about writing and editing, inspiring her to follow in his footsteps. She started writing at 18, and by 22 published her first novel.
4. She was unable to publish most of her novels, two out of seven were published, and she worked writing screenplays for the next decade and a half together sometimes collaborating with her husband, Steven Humphrey on adapting Agatha Christie‘s works.
5. She get the idea for her “alphabet” series while going through a bitter divorce, spending the nights imaging creative ways to kill her soon-to-be-Ex. Luckily for him, she decided it would be safer, and maybe even profitable, to put her efforts into novels. In 1982 she published her first book in the series A is for Alibi.
6. Ms. Grafton hated the way Hollywood treated writers and adamantly insisted that none of her books will ever be adapted for the big, or small screen.
7. The author considered Kinsey Millhone, the protagonist of the alphabet series, as her alter-ego. The person she would have been if she hadn’t got married or had children.
8. All of the alphabet books take place in Santa Teresa, CA, a fictionalized town that’s very similar to the real Santa Barbara. They all take place in the 1980s, so even though the series spans 35 years, the protagonist only ages 12 years.
9. Ms. Grafton kept a “work log” for every novel, that might be longer than the actual book. She talked to herself about potential or existing plot holes, character development, and her own frustrations. More than anything, they show the incredible discipline she had in her chosen profession.
10. Sue Grafton never finished her alphabet series; she passed away after Y is for Yesterday was published. Her family said that the series will remain unfinished and, as far as they’re concerned, the alphabet ends at Y.
Zohar — Man of la Book
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Sources:
Sue Grafton | Wikipedia
Sue Grafton: Facts, Biography, & Books | Britannica
