The #1 New York Times –bestselling author discusses his early days as a writer and the creation of his beloved psychologist and sleuth. In 1985, clinical child psychologist Alex Delaware made his debut in the mystery novel When the Bough Breaks by Jonathan Kellerman. But how did Kellerman create a character who would go on to win him Edgar and Anthony Awards for best first novel and make him a number-one New York Times –bestselling author? Discover in this short read how Delaware and his friend and partner, police detective Milo Sturgis, came to be. Inside, Kellerman shares his initial struggles with the publishing world and the story behind his first success. He also details when he realized he had a series on his hands and how he developed his heroes into the characters who continue to delight millions of readers decades later. Praise for the Alex Delaware Novels “Startling . . . Charged with suspense. This one is simply too good to miss.” —Stephen King on Over the Edge “Harrowing . . . The work of a novelist of uncommon insight and storytelling skill.” —Los Angeles Times “High-powered . . . Alex Delaware is no ordinary psychologist... He is also a born detective.” —The New York Times “An engrossing thriller... This knockout of an entertainment is the kind of book which establishes a career in one stroke.” — Newsday on When the Bough Breaks
Author
Jonathan Kellerman was born in New York City in 1949 and grew up in Los Angeles. He helped work his way through UCLA as an editorial cartoonist, columnist, editor and freelance musician. As a senior, at the age of 22, he won a Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award for fiction. Like his fictional protagonist, Alex Delaware, Jonathan received at Ph.D. in psychology at the age of 24, with a specialty in the treatment of children. He served internships in clinical psychology and pediatric psychology at Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles and was a post-doctoral HEW Fellow in Psychology and Human Development at CHLA. IN 1975, Jonathan was asked by the hospital to conduct research into the psychological effects of extreme isolation (plastic bubble units) on children with cancer, and to coordinate care for these kids and their families. The success of that venture led to the establishment, in 1977 of the Psychosocial Program, Division of Oncology, the first comprehensive approach to the emotional aspects of pediatric cancer anywhere in the world. Jonathan was asked to be founding director and, along with his team, published extensively in the area of behavioral medicine. Decades later, the program, under the tutelage of one of Jonathan's former students, continues to break ground. Jonathan's first published book was a medical text, PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF CHILDHOOD CANCER, 1980. One year later, came a book for parents, HELPING THE FEARFUL CHILD. In 1985, Jonathan's first novel, WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS, was published to enormous critical and commercial success and became a New York Times bestseller. BOUGH was also produced as a t.v. movie and won the Edgar Allan Poe and Anthony Boucher Awards for Best First Novel. Since then, Jonathan has published a best-selling crime novel every year, and occasionally, two a year. In addition, he has written and illustrated two books for children and a nonfiction volume on childhood violence, SAVAGE SPAWN (1999.) Though no longer active as a psychotherapist, he is a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Psychology at University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. Jonathan is married to bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman and they have four children.
