Sue Grafton was born on April 24, 1940, in Louisville, Kentucky. Grafton followed her father's advice and moved west to write for Hollywood, and had some success, but the publication of her first Kinsey Millhone novel, A is for Alibi, made her a best-selling author. Her alphabet series is loved by millions, translated into 26 languages, and earned her numerous accolades.
She often claimed that Kinsey was a younger, skinnier version of herself. I've always thought she was more of a younger sister than a true reflection of the author. Kinsey lacked Sue's Kentucky roots, that Southern iron benevolence softened by the lilt of an accent that is pure Kentucky. She has always been very generous in being honest in her advice to writers. I feel very fortunate to have been one of the writers she cautioned to slow down and spend time and attention on learning to write.
One of my most treasured possessions is the three-page letter I received from Sue Grafton after she read the first fifty pages of my manuscript for Circle of Dishonor. It was not entirely flattering. It wasn't intended to be. Grafton took writing seriously and had generously offered to read and critique my work. She returned those fifty pages with editorial marks and comments. Her letter was one Kentucky mystery writer giving advice to another. I took the advice seriously. She showed me how to critically read my own manuscript. I made a number of changes to those fifty pages and used her examples to improve the rest of my book. I am indebted to her for making my work better.
In 2017 the headline read: "Famed writer Sue Grafton loses battle against cancer." I cried. I am sure a lot of other readers and writers cried. She was 77 years old and little sister Kinsey was one letter short of a complete alphabet. Her last case, Z is for Zero, will never be finished.
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