Occupation Writer Period 1999–present | Name Deborah Coonts Role Novelist | |
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Genre Romantic mysteryHumorous fiction Notable works Wanna Get Lucky?Lucky Bastard Notable awards RITA award double finalist Books Fade - Sag - Crumble: Ten Las, So Damn Lucky, Lucky Catch, Wanna Get Lucky?, Lucky Stiff | ||
Deborah Coonts on her Lucky O'Toole mystery series
Deborah Coonts (born Deborah Buell) is an American novelist and lawyer best known for her Lucky O'Toole Las Vegas Adventures series of romantic, humorous mystery novels.
Contents
- Deborah Coonts on her Lucky OToole mystery series
- Author Deborah Coonts
- Early life and education
- Career
- Personal life
- The Heart of Napa series
- Lucky OToole Las Vegas Adventures series
- Novellas
- Non fiction
- References
Author Deborah Coonts
Early life and education
Coonts grew up in Dallas, Texas, where she attended the Hockaday preparatory school. She received a Bachelor of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University's Cox School of Business, and received a Master's degree in small business finance from the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business, a Master of Laws in taxation from New York University School of Law, and a Juris Doctor from Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law.
Career
Coonts was admitted to the Texas Bar Association in 1989 and practiced tax law in Colorado after being admitted to its bar in 1990.
While still practicing law, she wrote for Aviation for Women magazine from 1999 to 2005.
Her first book, Wanna Get Lucky?, was included in The New York Times "Notable Crime Books of 2010" and was a double finalist for the Romance Writers of America's 2011 RITA award in the categories of "Best First Book" and "Novel With Strong Romantic Elements." Lucky Bastard, fourth in the Lucky O'Toole series, was released by Forge Books in May 2013 and was a Denver Post bestseller in June 2013.
In a 2012 interview with The Big Thrill magazine, Coonts said her debut series is based in Las Vegas because "the whole world wanders through Vegas. The stories are endless."
An essay by Coonts was included in the anthology Fade, Sag, Crumble: Ten Las Vegas Writers Confront Decay, published by CityLife Books in 2011.
She is also a contributing travel writer for The Guardian.
Personal life
Coonts is a licensed commercial pilot and instrument flight instructor in single-engine land and sea planes. She lives in Las Vegas and has one son. She is divorced from novelist Stephen Coonts.