Choosing To Stand Together

“The writing partnership is a good collaboration for the same reason a marriage works, which is two people who can stand alone choosing to stand together.” – Ann Maxwell

Collaboratively (she's written with husband Evan Maxwell to whom she's been married over 50 years) and independently, Maxwell has produced over 60 novels and one non-fiction book with sales of more than 30 million.   Born on this date in 1944 in Milwaukee, Wis., Maxwell, also writing as A.E. Maxwell and Elizabeth Lowell, has written in genres ranging from science fiction to historical fiction, to romance, mystery and suspense.  

Maxwell’s writing started out of boredom.   Home alone with a toddler while her husband worked a night shift, she voraciously read all the Science Fiction she could find and when she ran out decided to write a SciFi book of her own.  After being rejected numerous times, the book finally caught on and she was off and running.  She switched to crime fiction at Evan’s suggestion (he was a crime reporter for the LA Times) and they began their successful collaboration as A.E. (for Ann and Evan) Maxwell.

Each book begins with Evan doing the setting, then working together to create characters and plot.  Evan then writes a first draft and Ann the second, with freedom to make changes for "clarity, pacing, dialogue, and characterization."   Among their many best-sellers are Just Enough Light To Kill and Shadow and Silk.
                                                          “The good news, when you write with another, is that you never have an empty page in front of you,” Ann said.   “The bad news is... you never have an empty page in front of you.”

 

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