Elizabeth Beverly Writer Country: USA

1. Early Life and Influences
2. Literary Beginnings
3. Education and Career Path
4. Writing Success
5. Personal Life

Early Life and Influences

Elizabeth Beverly (Beverley) was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Her grandmothers, Ruth Beverly and Hazel Robinson, were role models for her. She says, "Both women lived in times when women were considered weak, fragile creatures, yet they were both strong, feisty women who struggled to overcome poverty and adversity. They were anything but weak or fragile."

Literary Beginnings

Beverly wrote her first novel at the age of twelve. The 32-page novel was about three girls named Liz, Marianne, and Cheryl who solve the mystery of a haunted house. Her friends loved it.

Education and Career Path

Beverly graduated summa cum laude with a degree in English from the University of Louisville in 1983. She did not immediately become a professional writer, working in movie theaters, restaurants, retail stores, and department stores. She also spent time as an editorial assistant for a medical journal, where she learned the proper spelling and meanings of many words (like microscopy and histology) that she would never use again.

Writing Success

Finally, in 1989, she sold her first novel, "Destinations South." Since then, she has continued to write, producing over 30 novels and six novellas for five different publishers. Her books have appeared on numerous bestseller lists, including the USA Today bestseller list. Her novels have been translated into 19 languages and have won numerous awards. Over 5 million of her books are in print worldwide.

Personal Life

Beverly married a Coast Guard officer in 1995, and they have one son. "My husband and I met when we were teenagers, and we used to make out in the back seat of his Pontiac. My husband was stationed in San Juan, Puerto Rico with the Coast Guard when we got married, and that whole period of our lives was so idyllic. When we were first newlyweds, we would sit on the beach at sunset, holding hands and listening to live music. And when the baby came, my mother would keep the baby overnight so we could rent a movie and watch it by candlelight with a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio."

Beverly now resides with her husband and son in her native Kentucky, where she fully intends to remain. When she is not writing, Beverly enjoys old movies, old buildings, books, antiques, and salsa music, and she has a soft spot for rescuing abandoned animals. Both of her cats, Quito (named after a bar on Tortola) and Wallo (named by her then two-year-old son for reasons she and her husband have never been able to fathom), were strays—the former was found off a highway, the latter near her former apartment complex.