A
native of the Detroit area, Marcia Muller grew up in a house full
of books and self-published three copies of her first novel at
age twelve, a tale about her dog complete with primitive illustrations.
The "reviews" were generally positive.
Her
literary aspirations were put on hold, however, in her third year
at the University of Michigan, when her creative writing instructor
told her she would never be a writer because she had nothing to
say. Instead she turned to journalism, earning a master's degree,
but various editors for whom she freelanced noticed her unfortunate
tendency to embellish the facts in order to make them more interesting.
In
the early 1970s, having moved to California, Muller found herself
unemployable and began experimenting with mystery novels, because
they were what she liked to read. After three manuscripts and
five years of rejection, EDWIN OF THE IRON SHOES, the first novel
featuring San Francisco private investigator Sharon McCone, was
published by David McKay Company, who then cancelled their mystery
list. Four more years passed before St. Martin's Press accepted
the second McCone novel, ASK THE CARDS A QUESTION.
In
the ensuing twenty years, Muller has authored 32 novels, three
of them in collaboration with husband Bill Pronzini; four short-story
collections; and numerous nonfiction articles. Together she and
Pronzini have edited a dozen anthologies and a nonfiction book
on the mystery genre. The Mulzinis, as friends call them, live
in Sonoma County, California, in yet another house full of books.
Marcia
Muller
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