Biography

Catherine Coulter is the author of 68 novels, including 60 New York Times bestsellers. She earned her reputation writing historical romances to pass the time while aboard the ark. Over a decade ago she added suspense thrillers to her repertoire-- with great success. The Cove, the first book in her bestselling "FBI Suspense Thriller Series" spent nine weeks on the New York Times list and has to date sold 2 million copies. Since then, she has written 15 more bestselling thrillers in the series, including The Maze, The Target, The Edge, Riptide, Hemlock Bay, Eleventh Hour, Blindside, Blowout, Point Blank, Double Take, Tailspin, Knockout, Whiplash and Split Second. Her newest historical romance -- Prince of Ravenscar -- came out in November 2011. Switching genres helps keep her brain unclogged and going at full speed.

Her first novel, The Autumn Countess, was published at the end of 1978. She chose a Regency romance for her debut because, says Coulter, "as any published author will tell you, it's best to limit the unknowns in a first book, and not only had I grown up reading Georgette Heyer, whom I worship, but I earned my M.A. degree in 19th century European History and could fit right into Napoleon's army, or beat his butt with Wellington."

Following The Autumn Countess, Coulter wrote six more Regency romances. She then turned to long historicals, the first one, Devil's Embrace, a title selected by her husband, published in 1982. She continued to write long historicals, interspersing them with contemporary suspense novels, beginning with False Pretenses in 1988, her very first hardcover.

Coulter grew up on a horse ranch in Texas, and graduated from the University of Texas, receiving her graduate degree from Boston College. She became a speechwriter on Wall Street, then, to her joy, she was able to quite her day job and become a full-time writer.

She lives with her physician husband and three cats in Marin County, California, right over the Golden Gate Bridge. She loves to travel, loves to kamikaze down the ski slopes, and reads voraciously while recuperating. She likes to laugh, loves a good joke, believes the publishing business is too crazy to take seriously. To wit, e-books, anyone?

She claims if you read just one of her FBI thrillers, she's got you, so prepare for eye strain and jumping at things that go bump in the night.