Best-selling author Janet Schneider (now Janet Evanovich) was born on April 22, 1943, in South River, where she grew up. Evanovich had an active imagination as a child and always enjoyed reading. Some of her favorite stories included Nancy Drew mysteries and Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comic books.
After graduating from South River High School, Evanovich enrolled at Douglass College in New Brunswick, affiliated with Rutgers University, where she studied art and earned her bachelor’s degree in 1965. During her time in college, she also married her high school sweetheart, Peter Evanovich.
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A Creative Transition
After she graduated, Evanovich continued to paint while taking on different jobs, such as selling cars, waiting tables and even working as an insurance claims adjuster. Evanovich always possessed a creative spirit, so when she began to lose interest in painting, she eventually took up writing to express herself.
When Janet Evanovich had her first child, she decided to become a stay-at-home mom. After putting the kids to sleep each night, she would type away on her typewriter, writing manuscripts which she sent out to various publishers. Each book was rejected, however, so Evanovich eventually took on work as a secretary. She did so for four months before she received notice from Second Chance at Love stating that they would like to buy one of her manuscripts. Evanovich immediately quit her office job and became a full-time writer.
For the five years she wrote romance, both under her own name and the pen name “Steffie Hall,” Evanovich wrote nearly a dozen novels; afterward, she left the genre to write mystery and crime novels.
A New Beginning
In 1994, her Stephanie Plum series was born. The mystery series with humor was told in first-person from the perspective of bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. For the creation of this series, Evanovich took inspiration from the television sitcom Seinfeld; as well as the Robert De Niro action comedy film Midnight Run. Evanovich’s first book of the series, One for the Money, which takes place in the Garden State, received positive reviews; then it became a New York Times Notable Book, a Publisher’s Weekly Best Book of 1994, and a USA Today Best Bet.
Before long, Evanovich became a best-selling author. In just over two decades, she has published more than 20 novels in the Stephanie Plum series. In 2010, she began the Wicked series, featuring the character Diesel from the “Between-the-Numbers” Plum books. Evanovich also published a number of other series and stand-alone books during her career; even working with other famous authors, like Lee Goldberg.
Today, Janet Evanovich continues to write, spending more than eight hours each day on future publications for book-lovers and fans.
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Additional Images (in Order) Courtesy:
Tim Pierce / Wikimedia Commons
