Ed Gorman

Ed Gorman was a prominent American author, known for his works in the crime fiction, mystery, western, and horror genres. He was born on November 2, 1941, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he spent a significant portion of his life. Gorman was a prolific writer, who also contributed to various literary magazines and publications such as Mystery Scene, Xero, Cemetery Dance, Black Lizard, and Tales of Zorro anthology.

Prior to his writing career, Gorman spent 23 years in advertising, public relations, and political speech writing. His first book, "Rough Cut," was published in 1984, marking the beginning of his full-time writing career. His wife, Carol Maxwell, an award-winning writer of young adult and children's books, supported him during this transition with her full-time teaching profession. Gorman was married twice, first to Catherine Stevens for seven years, and then to Carol Maxwell for 34 years until his death in 2016.

Gorman was known for his versatility, having written and published stories in almost all genres. His nonfiction works have appeared in publications like Redbook and The New York Times. Despite his wide-ranging contributions, he considered himself a genre writer. During the 1970s, he won a short story competition sponsored by the Charles Scribner and Sons, which encouraged him to expand his winning story into a full-length novel. However, he lost interest after six months.

Gorman wrote under various pseudonyms, including E.J. Gorman, Daniel Ransom, Edward Gorman Jr., Robert David Chase, and Richard Driscoll. He was averaging 2-3 novels a year, in addition to many short stories, editing anthologies, and founding and editing Mystery Scene, the new magazine of the mystery field. He was known for his readability and originality in crime writing. His novels "The Poker Club" and "The Haunted" have been filmed. Gorman's thrillers, such as "Blood Moon" and "The Marilyn Tapes," and his westerns have also received critical acclaim.