Kathryn Casey
Encyclopedia
Kathryn Casey is a true crime
writer, novelist and journalist
. Author Ann Rule
has called Casey "one of the best in the true crime genre."
, Casey settled in Texas with her family in 1980. She attended the University of Houston
, where she earned a degree in journalism
.
. When she left two years later, she was a senior editor. Casey's next stop was a two-year interlude as editor of Ultra, a state-wide magazine geared toward wealthy Texans.
In the years after Ultra, Casey branched out to a national audience, with her articles appearing in Ladies' Home Journal
, where she was a contributing editor for 18 years, as well as More (magazine)
, TV Guide
, Rolling Stone
, Seventeen
, Reader's Digest
, and Texas Monthly
. During her more than two decades as a magazine journalist, Casey interviewed celebrities, including movie, television, and recording stars, presidents and first ladies. She covered subjects that ranged from the Oklahoma City bombing
, the aftermath of 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina
, to infertility and the McCaughey Septuplets
.
Throughout those years, many of Casey's articles examined sensational crimes. In the early 1990s, she took one such case, the subject of a Ladies' Home Journal article, about a serial rapist attacking Houston-area women, and turned it into her first book, The Rapist's Wife. After its publication, Casey moved away from magazine writing and concentrated on books, at first true crime, nonfiction accounts of actual cases. Perhaps her most widely read book is She Wanted It All, which recounts the case of Celeste Beard
, who married an Austin multimillionaire, only to convince her lesbian lover, Tracey Tarlton, to kill him.
One of her recent books, Shattered, was included in True Crime Book Reviews Top 10 book awards for 2010.
Casey's latest true crime project is a book on the Matt Baker case in Waco, Texas, about the Baptist minister who was convicted of killing
his wife and staging it to look like a suicide. Baker, sentenced to 65 years, resides in the Allan B. Polunsky Unit, a Texas state prison.
Based on Casey's experience covering real crimes, she turned her attention to crime fiction. In 2009, Booklist, the publication of the American Library Association
, named Casey's debut novel, Singularity, one of the "Best Crime Novel Debuts of 2009" on its Bestseller Lists. The main character in Casey's mystery series is Sarah Armstrong
, a Texas Ranger
and a criminal profiler. In Singularity, Armstrong travels across Texas hunting a deviant serial killer
. Library Journal
picked the third in the series, The Killing Storm, as a best book of 2010 in its mystery category.
In addition, Casey is a co-founder of and a regular contributor to Women in Crime Ink
, which has been described by the Wall Street Journal as "a blog worth reading."
In July 2011, Casey wrote an article for Forbes Woman
about new options available to authors with the advent of eBooks
and self-publishing.
She lives in Houston with her husband.
to discuss The Rapist's Wife along with the woman referred to in the title, Linda Bergstrom. In the years since, Casey has appeared on Oprah Winfrey's Oxygen Network, Court TV
, Biography
, Nancy Grace
, E! Network, Investigation Discovery and the A&E
.
She's a regular speaker and panelist at book festivals and events, including the Texas Library Association convention, Southwest Louisiana Writer's Conference, Pulpwood Queens
Girlfriend Weekend book conference, and the Texas Book Festival
.
True crime
True crime is a non-fiction literary and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people.The crimes most commonly include murder, but true crime works have also touched on other legal cases. Depending on the writer, true crime can adhere strictly to...
writer, novelist and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. Author Ann Rule
Ann Rule
Ann Rule is an American true crime writer.-Personal life:Ann Rule was born on October 22, 1935 in Lowell, Michigan to Chester R. "Stack" Stackhouse and Sophie Hansen. Her mother was a school teacher, specializing in developmentally disabled children and her father was a basketball, football and...
has called Casey "one of the best in the true crime genre."
Early life and education
Born in WisconsinWisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, Casey settled in Texas with her family in 1980. She attended the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
, where she earned a degree in journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
.
Career
In 1984 Casey kicked off her writing career as an intern at the now-defunct Houston City MagazineHouston City Magazine
Houston City Magazine was launched in 1977 as In Houston City News Monthly and was published for 10 years. Founded by R. D. Walker, publisher and editor, and aided by key team members Ali Khan, Curtis Lang, and Jan Vanschuyver Walker, the first issue of 116 pages was successfully launched with a...
. When she left two years later, she was a senior editor. Casey's next stop was a two-year interlude as editor of Ultra, a state-wide magazine geared toward wealthy Texans.
In the years after Ultra, Casey branched out to a national audience, with her articles appearing in Ladies' Home Journal
Ladies' Home Journal
Ladies' Home Journal is an American magazine which first appeared on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States...
, where she was a contributing editor for 18 years, as well as More (magazine)
More (magazine)
More, launched in September 1998, is a women's lifestyle magazine published once a month by the Meredith Corporation with a rate base of 1.3 million and a circulation of 1.5 million...
, TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, Seventeen
Seventeen (magazine)
Seventeen is an American magazine for teenagers. It was first published in September 1944 by Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications. News Corporation bought Triangle in 1988, and sold Seventeen to K-III Communications in 1991. Primedia sold the magazine to Hearst in 2003. It is still in the...
, Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
, and Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly
Texas Monthly is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Austin, Texas. Texas Monthly is published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. and was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy, Texas Monthly chronicles life in contemporary Texas, writing on politics, the environment, industry, and education...
. During her more than two decades as a magazine journalist, Casey interviewed celebrities, including movie, television, and recording stars, presidents and first ladies. She covered subjects that ranged from the Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...
, the aftermath of 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, to infertility and the McCaughey Septuplets
McCaughey septuplets
The McCaughey septuplets are a set of septuplets born to Kenny and Bobbi McCaughey in Des Moines, Iowa, United States.-Biography:...
.
Throughout those years, many of Casey's articles examined sensational crimes. In the early 1990s, she took one such case, the subject of a Ladies' Home Journal article, about a serial rapist attacking Houston-area women, and turned it into her first book, The Rapist's Wife. After its publication, Casey moved away from magazine writing and concentrated on books, at first true crime, nonfiction accounts of actual cases. Perhaps her most widely read book is She Wanted It All, which recounts the case of Celeste Beard
Celeste Beard
Celeste Beard Johnson, is a convicted American murderer currently serving a life sentence at the Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, Texas...
, who married an Austin multimillionaire, only to convince her lesbian lover, Tracey Tarlton, to kill him.
One of her recent books, Shattered, was included in True Crime Book Reviews Top 10 book awards for 2010.
Casey's latest true crime project is a book on the Matt Baker case in Waco, Texas, about the Baptist minister who was convicted of killing
his wife and staging it to look like a suicide. Baker, sentenced to 65 years, resides in the Allan B. Polunsky Unit, a Texas state prison.
Based on Casey's experience covering real crimes, she turned her attention to crime fiction. In 2009, Booklist, the publication of the American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
, named Casey's debut novel, Singularity, one of the "Best Crime Novel Debuts of 2009" on its Bestseller Lists. The main character in Casey's mystery series is Sarah Armstrong
Sarah Armstrong Mystery series
The Sarah Armstrong Mystery series is a fictional series created by true crime author-turned-novelist Kathryn Casey, first published by St. Martin's Minotaur in 2008. Booklist magazine named the first novel, Singularity, one of the top ten Best Crime Novel Debuts of 2009.- Overview :The series...
, a Texas Ranger
Texas Ranger Division
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...
and a criminal profiler. In Singularity, Armstrong travels across Texas hunting a deviant serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
. Library Journal
Library Journal
Library Journal is a trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey . It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional practice...
picked the third in the series, The Killing Storm, as a best book of 2010 in its mystery category.
In addition, Casey is a co-founder of and a regular contributor to Women in Crime Ink
Women in Crime Ink
Women in Crime Ink is an American daily crime aggregated blog founded on March 10, 2008 as "a well of thoughts on crime and media issues from women criminal justice professionals and authors." The site offers original content and coverage of crime, media, books, literature, high-profile criminal...
, which has been described by the Wall Street Journal as "a blog worth reading."
In July 2011, Casey wrote an article for Forbes Woman
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
about new options available to authors with the advent of eBooks
E-book
An electronic book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital...
and self-publishing.
She lives in Houston with her husband.
Appearances
In 1995, Casey appeared on The Oprah Winfrey ShowThe Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
to discuss The Rapist's Wife along with the woman referred to in the title, Linda Bergstrom. In the years since, Casey has appeared on Oprah Winfrey's Oxygen Network, Court TV
Court TV
truTV is an American cable television network owned by Turner Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Time Warner. The network launched as Court TV in 1991, changing to truTV in 2008...
, Biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
, Nancy Grace
Nancy Grace
Nancy Ann Grace is an American legal commentator, television host, television journalist, and former prosecutor. She frequently discusses issues from what she describes as a victims' rights standpoint, with an outspoken style that has won her both praise and condemnation...
, E! Network, Investigation Discovery and the A&E
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
.
She's a regular speaker and panelist at book festivals and events, including the Texas Library Association convention, Southwest Louisiana Writer's Conference, Pulpwood Queens
Pulpwood Queens
The Pulpwood Queens is a meet-and-greet book club with a large following. It was founded in early 2000 in Jefferson, Texas, by Kathy L. Patrick in her combined beauty salon and book store, Beauty and the Book...
Girlfriend Weekend book conference, and the Texas Book Festival
Texas Book Festival
The Texas Book Festival was established in 1995 by Laura Bush, then the First Lady of Texas, and Mary Margaret Farabee, wife of former State Senator Ray Farabee. The festival was created to benefit the state's public library system, to promote the joy of reading, as well as to honor Texas authors. ...
.
True Crime
- The Rapist's Wife (1995 HarperCollins)
- A Warrant to Kill (2000 HarperCollins)
- She Wanted It All (2005 HarperCollins)
- Die, My Love (2007 HarperCollins)
- A Descent into Hell (2008 HarperCollins)
- Evil Beside Her (2008 HarperCollins) a reissue of The Rapist's Wife.
- ShatteredShattered (book)SHATTERED: The True Story of a Mother's Love, a Husband's Betrayal, and a Cold-Blooded Texas Murder, by author and novelist Kathryn Casey, is a true crime account of the killing of a pregnant woman whose body was discovered in 1999 in an upstairs closet in her home in Katy, Texas, near Houston...
(2010 HarperCollins)
Fiction series
- Singularity (2008 St. Martin's Minotaur; the first in the Sarah Armstrong series)
- Blood Lines (2009 St Martin's Minotaur; the second in the Sarah Armstrong series)
- The Killing Storm (November 2010 St. Martin's Minotaur; the third in the Sarah Armstrong series)
External links
- Author's official Web site
- Kathryn Casey's blog
- http://www.amazon.com/gp/blog/A2CFU8QDDWAP8DKathryn Casey's blogBlogA blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
on Amazon.comAmazon.comAmazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
] - Women in Crime Ink
- truTV Crime Library citation, "Marriage, Money and Murder: Steven and Celeste Beard," for Notorious Murders section
- TV.com's listing for Kathryn Casey appearance on "The Montel Williams Show"
- The Internet Movie Database listing of appearances by Kathryn Casey
- Texas Observer, "Writer's Block" column, "Texas prisons start barring book authors from inmate interviews," January 8, 2004