It's the birthday of journalist and crime writer Laura Lippman, born January 31, 1959. From a very early age she knew she wanted to be a novelist, though she confessed once that she didn't know "how anyone became a novelist".
It didn't stop her. Her first novel was written at age five, and was illustrated by the author. It was about a caveman, written in his native language. Sales were modest. She still has the original. (One wonders what this first edition is worth.)
He writing career began with small newspapers in Texas, She moved form there to Baltimore Sun, where she was hired as a journalist in 1991. Her first novel, Baltimore Blues, was written in her spare time and published in 1998. It was a finalist for the Shamus Award. Several more novels followed, and by 2004, she had published eight more novels, and had won multiple awards, including the Agatha, Anthony, Barry, Edgar, Macavity, Nero, and Shamus Awards (some of them twice). Not everyone was thrilled, however.
Her bosses at the Baltimore Sun resented her "spare time" writing success and demoted her to a small bureau office away from the fast paced downtown Baltimore newspaper office. Lippman left to become a full time novelist, and crime readers have been deeply grateful ever since. After more than two dozen novels and several short story collections, Laura Lippman is still writing crime novels, still winning awards, and still making history.
And those editors who resented her success and told her she couldn't write? No one will remember their names down the road. Kinda makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, doesn't it?
Credit and Thanks to Crime Reads and the Hoover Sun for their assistance in writing this post!
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