Laurell K Hamilton is an American author best known for her best-selling dark fantasy work. Combining elements of myth, legend and folklore with modern life then adding a touch of dark humour and eroticism (in her later books more than a little)along with strong charachters, guarantees a page turning read. Everything from werewolves to faeries and even gods are brought to life in a way that really takes you into the story.

The Woman

Born on february 19,1963, Heber Springs, Arkansas, USA, Laurell Kaye Klein was mainly raised by her grandmother Laura Gentry. Her mother was killed in a car crash in 1969 and little is known of her father. Laurell was an avid reader and horror fan, watching scary movies by five and by the age of thirteen she had began to write her own short stories. One of her favourite books, and an inspiration towards dark fantasy, was Pidgeons From Hell by Robert E Howard.

Laurell met her future husband Gary Hamilton whilst at college in Illinois, where she gained two degrees, one in English and one in Biology.
The couple had a daughter, Trinity, before they were divorced. Laurell married second husband Jonathon in a gorgeous medieval ceremony. They designed their own outfits and also the wedding rings. She currently resides in St Louis, Missouri with her family and two beloved pug dogs. She is a self confessed technophobe and animal welfare advocate. She once spent a lot of time helping out at a local animal shelter before publishing deadlines etc began to take up too much of her time.

The Novels

Laurell's first novel 'Nightseer' was published in 1992. It was originally intended to be the first of a series, but this never came to be. In 1994, Guilty Pleasures, featuring heroine Anita Blake, necromancer, detective and licensed vampire killer, in an America where vampires are legal citizens, was pubished to much acclaim. Several more novels featuring Anita have followed to date which are The Laughing Corpse,Circus Of The Damned,The Lunatic Cafe,Blue Moon,Bloody Bones, The Killing Dance,Burnt Offerings, Obsidian Butterfly, Narcissus In Chains, Cerulean Sins, Incubus Dreams, Micah, and Danse Macabre. Anita and her world¹ now have something of a cult following woldwide.

In 2000, Laurell took a brief break from writing about Anita and introduced her new heroine, Meredith Gentry, P.I, who is really a faerie princess in line for the throne of the Unseelie court and on the run from her aunt, the Queen of Air and Darkness. Four novels featuring Meredith have been written to date. A Kiss Of Shadows, A Caress Of Twilight, Seduced By Moonlight, and A Stroke Of Midnight