David Morrell (born April 24, 1943) is a Canadian-American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...

whose debut 1972 novel ''

First Blood ''First Blood'' (also known as ''Rambo: First Blood'') is a 1982 American action film directed by Ted Kotcheff, and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, who also stars as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. It co-stars Richard Crenna as Rambo's ment ...

'', later adapted as the 1982 film of the same name, went on to spawn the successful ''Rambo'' franchise starring

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

. He has written 28 novels, and his work has been translated into 30 languages. He also wrote the 2007–2008 ''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

'' comic book miniseries ''The Chosen''.

Early life

Morrell was born on April 24, 1943, in

Kitchener, Ontario ) , image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , blank_emblem_type = ...

, Canada, the son of Beatrice, an upholsterer, and George Morrell, a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

flier. He 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. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in English from

St. Jerome's University St. Jerome's University, commonly shortened to St. Jerome's or SJU, is a public Roman Catholic university in Waterloo, Ontario. It is federated with the University of Waterloo. St. Jerome's, within the University of Waterloo, combines academics ...

(affiliated with the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality ...

) and moved to the United States to study with

Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fi ...

scholar Philip Young at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

, where he would eventually receive his

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

in American literature.

Career

During his time at Penn State he met

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

writer Philip Klass, better known by the pseudonym

William Tenn William Tenn was the pseudonym of Philip Klass (May 9, 1920 – February 7, 2010), a British-born American science fiction author, notable for many stories with satirical elements. Biography Born to a Jewish family in London, Phillip Klass mo ...

, who taught the basics of writing fiction. Morrell began work as an English professor at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

in 1970. In 1972, his novel ''

'' was published; it would eventually be made into the 1982 film of the same name starring

Vietnam veteran A Vietnam veteran is a person who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War. The term has been used to describe veterans who served in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States Armed Forces, and ot ...

John Rambo. Morrell continued to write many other novels, including ''

The Brotherhood of the Rose ''The Brotherhood of the Rose'' is the first novel in a trilogy by David Morrell, first published in 1983. It is followed by ''The Fraternity of the Stone'' (1985) and ''The League of Night and Fog'' (1987), and a short story, '' The Abelard Sanc ...

'', the first in a trilogy of novels, which was adapted into a 1989 NBC miniseries starring

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in ...

. He gave up his tenure at the university in 1986 in order to write full-time. In 1988 he received the Horror Writers Association award for best novella; ''Orange Is for Anguish, Blue for Insanity''. Despite John Rambo being killed at the end of Morrell's source novel, Morrell wrote the novelization of First Blood II: Rambo, and explained in the preface that he was bringing the character back to life. Morrell is the co-president of the

International Thriller Writers International Thriller Writers (ITW), was founded October 9, 2004, at Bouchercon XXXV, the "World Mystery and Suspense Conference", in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Six months later, some 150 authors with more than one billion books sold worldwide h ...

organization.

Personal life

Morrell's teenaged son Matthew died of

Ewing's sarcoma Ewing sarcoma is a type of cancer that forms in bone or soft tissue. Symptoms may include swelling and pain at the site of the tumor, fever, and a bone fracture. The most common areas where it begins are the legs, pelvis, and chest wall. In about ...

, a rare form of

bone cancer A bone tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body such as from lung, breast, thy ...

, in 1987. In 2009 his granddaughter died of the same form of cancer. 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. Morrell is a graduate of the

National Outdoor Leadership School NOLS is a non-profit outdoor education school based in the United States dedicated to teaching environmental ethics, technical outdoor skills, wilderness medicine, risk management and judgment, and leadership on extended wilderness expeditions an ...

for wilderness survival as well as the

G. Gordon Liddy George Gordon Battle Liddy (November 30, 1930 – March 30, 2021) was an American lawyer, FBI agent, talk show host, actor, and convicted felon in the Watergate scandal as the chief operative in the White House Plumbers unit during the Nixon admi ...

Academy of Corporate Security. He is also an honorary lifetime member of the Special Operations Association and the Association of Former Intelligence Officers. According to his website, he has been trained to handle firearms,

crisis negotiation Crisis negotiation is a law enforcement technique used to communicate with people who are threatening violenceStrentz, Thomas (2006). ''Psychological aspects of crisis negotiation.'' CRC Press, (workplace violence, domestic violence, suicide, or ...

, assuming identities,

executive protection Executive protection (EP), also known as close protection, refers to security and risk mitigation measures taken to ensure the safety of VIPs or other individuals who may be exposed to elevated personal risk because of their employment, high-prof ...

, and

defensive driving Defensive driving describes the practice of anticipating dangerous situations, despite adverse conditions or the mistakes of others when operating a motor vehicle. It can be achieved by adhering to general guidelines, such as keeping a two- or ...

, among numerous other action skills that he describes in his novels. He earned an FAA licence to pilot his own small plane as part of research for his 2009 novel, ''The Shimmer''. Morrell became an American citizen in 1993. He lives in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

. Morrell was presented with the 2009 ThrillerMaster Award from the ITW.

Bibliography

''Rambo'' series

* ''

'' (1972) * '' Rambo: First Blood Part II'' (1985) - novelization of the film of the same name * ''

Rambo III ''Rambo III'' is a 1988 American action film directed by Peter MacDonald and co-written by Sylvester Stallone, who also reprises his role as Vietnam War veteran John Rambo. A sequel to '' Rambo: First Blood Part II'' (1985), it is the third i ...

'' (1988) - novelization of the film of the same name

''The Abelard Sanction'' series

* ''

'' (1984) * ''The Fraternity of the Stone'' (1985) * ''The League of Night and Fog'' (1987) * '' The Abelard Sanction'' (short story) ** in '' Thriller: Stories To Keep You Up All Night'' (2006) ed.

James Patterson James Brendan Patterson (born March 22, 1947) is an American author. Among his works are the '' Alex Cross'', '' Michael Bennett'', '' Women's Murder Club'', '' Maximum Ride'', '' Daniel X'', '' NYPD Red'', '' Witch & Wizard'', and ''Private'' ...

''Creepers'' series

* ''Creepers'' (2005) * ''Scavenger'' (2007)

''Thomas De Quincey'' series

*''Murder as a Fine Art'' (2013) *''The Opium Eater: A Thomas De Quincey Story (short story)'' (2015) *''Inspector of the Dead'' (2015) *''Ruler of the Night'' (2016)

Other fiction

* ''Testament'' (1975) * ''Last Reveille'' (1977) * '' The Totem'' (1979) * ''Blood Oath'' (1982) * '' The Hundred-Year Christmas'' (1983) - illustrated by R. J. Krupowicz * '' Fifth Profession'' (1990) * ''The Covenant of the Flame'' (1991) * ''Assumed Identity'' (1993) * ''Desperate Measures'' (1994) * ''The Totem'' (1994) - unabridged * ''Extreme Denial'' (1996) * '' Double Image'' (1998) * ''Black Evening'' (short stories) (1999) * ''Burnt Sienna'' (2000) * ''Long Lost'' (2002) * ''The Protector'' (2003) * ''Nightscape'' (short stories) (2004) * ''The Spy Who Came for Christmas'' (2008) * ''The Shimmer'' (2009) * ''The Naked Edge'' (2010)

Non-fiction

* ''John Barth: An Introduction'' (1976) * ''Fireflies'' (1988) * ''Lessons from a Lifetime of Writing: A Novelist Looks at His Craft'' (2002) * ''The Successful Novelist: A Lifetime of Lessons about Writing and Publishing'' (2008)

Comic books

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

References

External links

* * *
International Thriller WritersThe story behind Murder as a Fine Art - Online Essay by David Morrell
at Upcoming4.me
Interview with David Morrell
''A DISCUSSION WITH National Authors on Tour'' TV Series, Episode #113 (1994) {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrell, David 1943 births Living people Canadian male novelists American male novelists Writers of books about writing fiction Pennsylvania State University alumni University of Iowa faculty Writers from Kitchener, Ontario 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century American novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century American novelists Canadian mystery writers American mystery writers Canadian thriller writers American thriller writers Canadian comics writers American comics writers Marvel Comics writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers