Dean Koontz

Koontz was born on July 9, 1945, in Everett, Pennsylvania. He was regularly beaten and abused by his alcoholic father, which influenced his later writing, as also did the courage of his physically diminutive mother in standing up to her husband.

After writing full-time for more than ten years and over a dozen books , Koontz's acknowledged breakthrough novels in 1980 that sold several million books collectively. Today he has sold some 400 million books and his worth is well over $100 million. 

He writes 5-6 days a week for 8 - 10 straight rewriting each page 20 times or more.

jpr: His wife supporter him financially for five years as he began his career. A success story for the two of them.