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David Morrell

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For a British cricketer, see David Morrell (cricketer). For a British actor, see David Morrell (actor).
David Morrell
Born (1943-04-24) April 24, 1943 (age 81)
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
OccupationWriter
NationalityCanadian
Alma materSt. Jerome's University, Pennsylvania State University
Notable worksFirst Blood
Website
www.davidmorrell.net

David Morrell (born April 24, 1943) is a Canadian novelist, best known for his debut 1972 novel First Blood, which would later become the successful Rambo film franchise starring Sylvester Stallone. He has written 28 novels, and his work has been translated into 26 languages.[1] He also wrote the 2007-2008 Captain America comic book miniseries The Chosen.

Early life and career

Morrell decided to become a writer at the age of 17, after being inspired by the writing in the classic television series Route 66. In 1966, Morrell received his B.A. in English from St. Jerome's University and moved to the United States to study with Hemingway scholar Philip Young at Pennsylvania State University, where he would eventually receive his M.A. and Ph.D. in American literature. During his time at Penn State he also met science fiction writer Philip Klass, better known by the pseudonym William Tenn, who taught the basics of writing fiction.[1]

Morrell began work as an English professor at the University of Iowa in 1970. In 1972, his novel First Blood was published; it would eventually be made into the 1982 film of the same name starring Sylvester Stallone as Vietnam veteran John Rambo. Morrell continued to write many other novels, including The Brotherhood of the Rose, the first in a trilogy of novels, which was adapted into a 1989 NBC miniseries starring Robert Mitchum. Eventually tiring of the two professions, he gave up his tenure at the university in 1986 in order to write full-time.[1]

Morrell's teenaged son Matthew died of Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer in 1987. The trauma of his loss influenced Morrell's work, in particular in his creative fiction memoir about Matthew, Fireflies. The protagonist of Morrell's novel Desperate Measures also experiences the loss of a son.[1]

Morrell is the co-president of the International Thriller Writers organization.[1]

Personal life

Morrell is a graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School for wilderness survival as well as the G. Gordon Liddy Academy of Corporate Security. He is also an honorary lifetime member of the Special Operations Association and the Association of Former Intelligence Officers.[1]

According to his website, he has been trained in firearms, hostage negotiation, assuming identities, executive protection, and anti-terrorist driving, among numerous other action skills that he describes in his novels. He recently received his FAA licence to pilot his own small plane.[1]

Morrell lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.[2]

Morrell was presented with the 2009 ThrillerMaster Award from the ITW.[3]

Bibliography

Rambo series

The Abelard Sanction series

Creepers series

  • Creepers (2005) ISBN 1-593-15357-0
  • Scavenger (2007) ISBN 1-593-15483-6

Thomas De Quincey series

  • Murder as a Fine Art (2013) ISBN 0-316-21678-X
  • Inspector of the Dead (2015) ISBN 0-316-32393-4
  • Ruler of the Night (2016) ISBN 978-0316307901

Other fiction

  • Testament (1975) ISBN 0-446-69191-7
  • Last Reveille (1977) ISBN 0-446-36442-8
  • The Totem (1979) ISBN 0-446-36446-0
  • Blood Oath (1982) ISBN 0-312-95345-3
  • The Hundred-Year Christmas (1983) - illustrated by R. J. Krupowicz ISBN 0-937-98657-7
  • Fifth Profession (1990) ISBN 1-597-37769-4
  • The Covenant of the Flame (1991) ISBN 0-446-36292-1
  • Assumed Identity (1993) ISBN 0-446-60070-9
  • Desperate Measures (1994) ISBN 0-446-60239-6
  • The Totem (1994) - unabridged ISBN 0-446-36446-0
  • Extreme Denial (1996) ISBN 0-446-60396-1
  • Double Image (1998) ISBN 0-446-60696-0
  • Black Evening (short stories) (1999) ISBN 0-446-60864-5
  • Burnt Sienna (2000) ISBN 0-446-60960-9
  • Long Lost (2002) ISBN 0-446-61194-8
  • The Protector (2003) ISBN 0-446-61403-3
  • Nightscape (short stories) (2004) ISBN 0-755-32174-X
  • The Spy Who Came for Christmas (2008) ISBN 1-593-15701-0
  • The Shimmer (2009) ISBN 1-593-15580-8
  • The Naked Edge (2010) ISBN 1-937-76022-7

Non-fiction

  • John Barth: An Introduction (1976) ISBN 0-271-01220-X
  • Fireflies (1988) ISBN 1-937-76029-4
  • Lessons from a Lifetime of Writing: A Novelist Looks at His Craft (2002) ISBN 1-582-97270-2

Comic books

  • Captain America: The Chosen (2007 - 2008)
  • The Amazing Spider-Man #700.1 & 700.2 (2013 - 2014)
  • Savage Wolverine #23 (2014)

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Biography".
  2. ^ "David Morrell". Retrieved 31 August 2010.
  3. ^ "The 2011 Thriller Awards". ITW. Retrieved 2011-08-27.

Further reading

  • "Morrell, David" by Adam Meyer, in David Pringle (Editor), St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost and Gothic writers. Detroit, MI : St. James Press, 1998, ISBN 1558622063.
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