Christopher Wright in Pontiac, Michigan

Pontiac, Michigan

Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, located within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County...

, is the author of dozens of horror fiction books for children and young adults. He writes under the pseudonym

Pseudonym

A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...

s Johnathan Rand and Christopher Knight. Almost all of Wright's books (save American Chillers) take place in his home state of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

.

Biography

Wright grew up in Waterford, Michigan, until his family moved to Grayling

Grayling, Michigan

Grayling is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Crawford County. The population was 1,952 at the 2000 census. Grayling takes its name from the Grayling fish that was once prevalent in its lakes and streams....

 after his 4th Grade year of school. He lived for a short time in Houghton Lake

Houghton Lake, Michigan

Houghton Lake is an unincorporated community in Roscommon Township, Roscommon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The Census Bureau has defined a census-designated place for statistical purposes with the same name. The population was 3,749 at the 2000 census.The community is situated on the...

 before moving to Petoskey for six years, then to a little cabin in the woods outside of Cheboygan

Cheboygan, Michigan

Cheboygan is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 5,295. It is the county seat of Cheboygan County....

 before moving to Topinabee

Mullett Township, Michigan

Mullett Township is a civil township of Cheboygan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,284 at the 2000 census. Both the township and Mullett Lake are named for John Mullett, who surveyed much of the area between 1840 and 1843....

 (about 25 miles directly south of the Mackinac Bridge

Mackinac Bridge

The Mackinac Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Straits of Mackinac to connect the non-contiguous Upper and Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. Opened in 1957, the bridge is the third longest in total suspension in the world and the longest suspension bridge between anchorages...

) with his wife and three dogs named "Scooby-Boo" "Lily Munster" and "Spooky Dude." He is also a huge fan of country stars

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 like George Strait

George Strait

George Harvey Strait is an American country music singer, actor, and music producer. Strait is referred to as the "King of Country," and critics call Strait a living legend. He is known for his unique style of western swing music, bar-room ballads, honky-tonk style, and fresh yet traditional...

, Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash

John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...

, Waylon Jennings

Waylon Jennings

Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...

, Tim Mcgraw

Tim McGraw

Samuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the...

, Rodney Atkins

Rodney Atkins

Rodney Allan Atkins is an American country music artist. Signed to Curb Records in 1996, he charted his first single on the Billboard country chart that year, but did not release an album until 2003's Honesty, which included the number 4 hit "Honesty ".If You're Going Through Hell, his second...

 and Meatloaf (singer).

In 2007, Wright became involved in exposing a case of animal cruelty, and documented the case on a website

Website

A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...

 called "Thor's Warriors", a website that shows hidden animal abuse and cruelty cases to the public.

Chillermania

Wright owns his own bookstore, Chillermania!, which is located at 1651 S. Straits Highway, Indian River, Michigan

Indian River, Michigan

Indian River is an unincorporated community in Cheboygan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a census-designated place for statistical purposes and is not legally recognized as a municipality. The population was 2,008 at the 2000 census....

. The store mostly sells merchandise related to his American Chillers and Michigan Chillers books; however, his other works and memorabilia may be purchased there as well. The products for sale include his books, clothing, hats, autographs, and various other items. Wright is not always present at his store, but has been known to visit frequently.

Selected List of Works

• American Chillers
  American Chillers
  American Chillers and Michigan Chillers are a series of books written by author Johnathan Rand. The series started in February 2000 as a Michigan-only series and expanded to a national focus in December 2001 with "Michigan Mega-Monsters"...
  
   series
• Michigan Chillers series
• Freddie Fernortner, Fearless First Grader series
• Ghost 'N the Graveyard
• Ghost 'N the Grand
• Haunted Schoolhouse
• St. Helena
• The Laurentian Channel
• Season of the Witch
• Bestseller
• The World is Black and White
• Ferocity
• Pandemia
  Pandemia (book)
  Pandemia is a 2006 post-apocalyptic teen novel written by American author author Johnathan Rand. The book discusses the possibility of H5N1, the bird flu, mutating and becoming a global epidemic because of updated transportation methods and eventually causing a universal state of...
  
  

Publication

Wright has opted to self-publish, with he and his wife originally driving to gas stations, restaurants, gift shops, and hotels to sell the books. In 2003, the author stated that they had sold over one million copies of the books.

Wright uses two pseudonyms when writing — Johnathan Rand for the children's books, and Christopher Knight for the books aimed at adults.

When asked out of the books he had written what his favorite one was, Wright said it was "Dinosaurs Destroy Detroit", but that he liked each one in a unique way.