Sue Grafton – Writing the Alphabet
Sue Taylor Grafton was an American author of detective novels. She is best known for the Alphabet Series.
Sue Grafton before publication
Sue Grafton was born in Louisville, Kentucky. Her father C. W. Grafton was a detective novelist and a municipal bond lawyer; her mother, Vivian Harnberger, was a former high school chemistry teacher. Both parents were the children of Presbyterian missionaries. Grafton had an older sister called Ann.
Grafton’s father had enlisted in the Army during World War II when she was three and returned when she was five, after which her home life started falling apart. Both parents became alcoholics and Grafton was forced to raise herself.
She attended the University of Louisville after school and graduated in 1961 with a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and minors in humanities and fine arts.
After graduating, Grafton worked as a hospital admissions clerk, a cashier, and a medical secretary in Santa Monica and Santa Barbara, California.
Grafton’s mother committed suicide in 1960. Her father died in 1982; the same year the first book “A” Is for Alibi of the alphabet series was published.
Who is Sue Grafton?
Grafton’s father was highly influential in her own writing. He was a lover of detective fiction and wrote mainly at night. He taught Grafton about the writing and editing process. She herself, began writing at 18 but was unable to find success with novel writing at first. She published two novels – Keziah Dane and The Lolly-Madonna War – before deciding to turn to screenplay writing.
Grafton worked as a screenplay writer for television movies for 15 years. She sold the movie rights for The Lolly-Madonna War and co-wrote the screenplay for the feature film. The adaptation, released in 1973 as Lolly-Madonna XXX, starred Rod Steiger and Jeff Bridges.
Grafton later returned to fiction writing but acknowledged the lessons from screenplay writing. The lessons taught her the basics of structuring a story, writing dialogue, and creating action sequences.
The Alphabet Series
During her return to fiction writing, Grafton was going through a divorce and custody battle which lasted 6 years. The alphabet series was born when she decided to write down her fantasies on how to kill or maim her ex-husband during this time. She had always been fascinated by mystery series whose titles were related such as Harry Kemelman‘s Rabbi Small series, each of which included a day of the week in the title. While reading Edward Gorey‘s The Gashlycrumb Tinies, a picture book with an alphabetized list of ways for children to die, Grafton decided to write a series of novels whose titles would follow the alphabet – The Alphabet Series.
The series features private investigator Kinsey Millhone in the fictional city of Santa Teresa, California. Grafton described Kinsey Millhone as her alter ego. Kinsey Millhone is the person she might have imagined to be if she had not married and had children so young. Kinsey is her younger, smarter, thinner self.
Grafton’s novels have been published in 28 countries and in 26 languages. The books in the series were on The New York Times Best Seller list for an average of about 400 weeks.
What books complete the Alphabet Series?
A Is for Alibi (1982)
B Is for Burglar
C Is for Corpse
D is for Deadbeat
E is for Evidence
F is for Fugitive
G is for Gumshoe
H is for Homicide – Available on Bakgat Books
I is for Innocent – Available on Bakgat Books
J is for Judgment – Available on Bakgat Books
K is for Killer
L is for Lawless
M is for Malice
N is for Noose – Available on Bakgat Books
O is for Outlaw – Available on Bakgat Books
P is for Peril
Q is for Quarry – Available on Bakgat Books
R is for Ricochet – Available on Bakgat Books
S is for Silence
T is for Trespass – Available on Bakgat Books
U is for Undertow – Available on Bakgat Books
V is for Vengeance – Available on Bakgat Books
W is for Wasted – Available on Bakgat Books
X
Y is for Yesterday
Sadly Grafton passed away in December 2017 before she could start writing Z is for Zero. As per her family, the alphabet, according to them now ends in “Y”.
Books Available on Bakgat Books:
