'Like the moon on the tides'

 

“Languageexerts hidden power, like the moon on the tides.” –Rita Mae Brown

 

Bornin Hanover, PA in November of 1944, Brown has excelled in every type of writingshe’s attempted, ranging from screenplays to television scripting to novels andpoetry.  The author of the multiple award-winning RubyfruitJungle, she has written a remarkable 72 books and 9 screenplays.  Mostof her titles are in the “Mrs. Murphy Mysteries” and “Sister Mysteries"series.   Her most recent best-selling additions to thetwo series (both out this year) are Sealed With A Hiss and Foxand Furious, respectively.

 

Raisedfirst in an orphanage and then by her aunt and uncle, Brown’s first attempt atwriting – a screenplay – was made into a television special, I LoveLiberty, earning her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing in aMusical or Variety.  She followed that with a screenplay parody of“slasher” movies called The Slumber Party Massacre, a filmthat not only appeared on TV but also in limited release and spawned twosequels and a cult following that continues to this day.

 

Inspiredby those writing successes, she then wrote Rubyfruit Jungle in 1973, thefirst of her 66 (and counting) novels.

 

Everytime she thinks about easing up, a deadline from her publisher seems toloom. "A deadline is just negative inspiration," she said. "Still, it's better than no inspiration at all."