Every day an adventure'

 

“Mystery writing involves solving apuzzle, but 'high suspense' writing is a situation whereby the writer thruststhe hero/heroine into high drama.” – Iris Johansen

  

Born in St. Louis in April of 1938,Johansen was working as a flight attendant when she decided to try writing – boredwith the romance novels she liked to read.  

 

After early successes in the Romancegenre, she began writing Historical Romance suspense novels in 1991 with thepublication of The Wind Dancer, then settled into suspense writingwith her bestselling crime fiction thriller Ugly Duckling in1996.   A self-described “voracious” writer, she now has written116 books, her latest being On The Hunt in 2024. 

 

Writing is a family affair forJohansen.  Her son Roy is an Edgar Award-winning screenwriter andnovelist and has co-written 15 books with his mom.  Her daughter Tamara serves as her researchassistant.  

 

Her myriad fans say Johansen’swriting often leaves them spellbound. 

 

“The greatest compliment a writercan be given is that a story and character hold a reader spellbound,” she said,adding that she can’t wait to get back to her writing each day.  “Everyday should be an adventure, not a treadmill.”