Janet Evanovich Detective novelist Date of Birth: 22.04.1943 Country: USA

Biography of Janet Evanovich

Janet Evanovich, also known as Janet Ivanovich, is an American author who belongs to the older generation of writers working in the genres of romantic fiction and ironic detective stories. She is best known to her readers as the author of fun and engaging books about the adventures of bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. In total, Evanovich's bibliography contains about 50 books, including those written in collaboration and published under different names. Her works have often appeared on bestseller lists such as the New York Times and Amazon, and have been awarded numerous prizes.

Janet Schneider, Evanovich's real name, was born on April 22, 1943, in South River, New Jersey, where she spent her childhood years. One of the main characteristics of the writer in her childhood was her extremely vivid imagination. She created a special country called Lalaland, and could mentally converse with its inhabitants, especially with the brave Captain Kirk, even while sitting at the dinner table. She also loved imagining herself as an opera singer or a horseback rider.

After finishing school, Evanovich decided to study painting and enrolled in the art department of Rutgers University. The bohemian lifestyle and fashion style, as well as the attempts to transfer her fantasies onto canvas, initially interested her. However, she soon realized that her paintings had few admirers, and she developed an allergy to paint. In 1964, she married a mathematics professor named Pete Evanovich, an ethnic Serb, and gave up her dreams of becoming an artist to pursue a career in writing.

Ironically, Evanovich later joked that her first manuscript was a pornographic fantasy about the adventures of a fairy from a backwoods forest in Pennsylvania. She followed it with another work, and then another, and soon rejection letters from editors rejecting her manuscripts began piling up in a large cardboard box. When the box was full, Evanovich burned it along with all its contents, bought a business suit, and got a job as a secretary. Exactly four months after starting her office job, she received another letter from a publishing house, but this time she was informed that her latest manuscript had been accepted with a $2,000 advance payment.

Her first romantic novel, "Hero at Large," generously infused with humor, was published in 1987 by Harper Collins under the pseudonym Steffie Hall. (In 2010, the novel was reissued under Evanovich's real name). Evanovich got to work, and in 1988, she released three more novels in the same genre, followed by more and more. After five years, she decided that 12 romantic novels written by Steffie Hall were more than enough and decided to try herself in a different genre.

Inspired by the famous film "Midnight Run," Evanovich came up with her own heroine and spent two years studying the realities of her future novels - the work of bounty hunters. In 1994, her first novel, signed with her real name, was published. The protagonist, Stephanie Plum, lost her job as a lingerie saleswoman and decided to make a living as a bounty hunter. The book, "One for the Money," with its sparkling humor, casual style, and captivating plot, was a huge success, receiving rave reviews from critics. In 2012, it was adapted into a film called "One for the Money." Currently, the Stephanie Plum series consists of 20 books, with the release of the next novel planned for 2014.

Other books by Evanovich have also enjoyed great success, including those written in collaboration. Only eight of Evanovich's books have been published in Russian so far, all belonging to the Stephanie Plum series. They have received high ratings and enthusiastic reviews from fans of the genre. Since 1995, Janet Evanovich has lived in New Hampshire with her husband in a large house overlooking the Connecticut River Valley. They have adult children, Peter and Alexandra, who, along with Alexandra's husband and his son from a previous marriage, work in the family business, Evanovich Inc. Peter handles the finances, Alexandra is in charge of the website, correspondence, and advertising, and Evanovich herself is the company's sole client.

Evanovich describes herself as a workaholic and has no plans to take a break. Her workday lasts for eight hours, and even on holidays, she works for at least four hours. Publishing plans for the next two years already include several new novels by Janet Evanovich. In her short free time, she enjoys reading humorous literature or watching funny movies. Sometimes, she goes shopping, trying to spend money faster than she can earn it.