Suzy Spencer is an American author and journalist who made
the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list in 1998 with her first
true crime book ''Wasted''.
Since then, she has written three additional true-crime books. Her book about alternative sex, ''Secret Sex Lives: A Year on the Fringes of American Sexuality'' was released in 2012.
Early life and education
Spencer was born in
Lufkin, Texas, where she graduated from
Lufkin High School in 1972. She received a degree in
journalism from
Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
Career
She moved to
New York City and worked as a reporter/researcher for ''
Fortune
Fortune may refer to:
General
* Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck
* Luck
* Wealth
* Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling
* Fortune, in a fortune cookie
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''The Fortune'' (1931 film) ...
'' magazine. Two years later, Spencer was in Los Angeles freelance writing and completing an MBA in finance and marketing and a master's in professional writing from the
University of Southern California.
Spencer has appeared on ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...
'', ''
ABC World News'', ''
Primetime
Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
'', ''
Dateline NBC'',
Fox News,
CNN,
MSNBC,
Court TV
Court TV is an American digital broadcast network and former cable television channel. It was originally launched in 1991 with a focus on crime-themed programs such as true crime documentary series, legal analysis talk shows, and live news cove ...
,
Oxygen,
E! Channel
E! (an initialism for Entertainment Television) is an American basic cable channel which primarily focuses on pop culture, celebrity focused reality shows, and movies, owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of NBCUniversa ...
, and ''
Katie'' on ABC.
Books
Her book ''Wasted'' about the 1995 murder of Regina Hartwelll in Austin, Texas, made the
New York Times Best Seller List
''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...
in 1998.
In February 2002,
St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...
released Spencer's book, ''Breaking Point'', about the
Andrea Yates
Andrea Pia Yates ( Kennedy; born July 2, 1964) is an American woman from Houston, Texas, who confessed to drowning her five children in their bathtub on June 20, 2001. She had severe postpartum depression, postpartum psychosis, and schizophrenia ...
murders of her five children. After the book's release, Spencer's press credentials to cover the Yates trial was revoked by the court and she sued.
The court denied her request, so she stood in line each day with the general public for a daily spectator pass.
Spencer's memoir, ''Secret Sex Lives'', released by
Berkley Books
Berkley Books is an imprint of the Penguin Group.
History
Berkley Books began as an independent company in 1955. It was founded as "Chic News Company" by Charles Byrne and Frederick Klein, who had worked for Avon; they quickly renamed it Berk ...
in 2012, was featured at that year's
Texas Book Festival.
Her book ''The Fortune Hunter'' was the basis of the 2021 Lifetime movie ''Secrets of a Gold Digger Killer'' starring Julie Benz.
Reception
Spencer was called by ABC's ''PRIMETIME LIVE'' program Austin, Texas' best-known true crime writer. Her first four books each earned iawards:
*''Wasted'' was a ''New York Times'' bestseller and Violet Crown Book Award finalist;
*''Wages of Sin'' was reissued by Kensington Books in December 2010, 10th anniversary of the book's publication;
*''Breaking Point'' was a Book of the Month Club, Doubleday Book Club, Literary Guild and Mystery Guild selection;
*''The Fortune Hunter'' was called "riveting" and "blockbuster" by the ''Globe''
References
External links
Author's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spencer, Suzy
1954 births
Living people
People from Lufkin, Texas
American non-fiction crime writers
21st-century American women writers
American women journalists
Baylor University alumni
Marshall School of Business alumni
University of Southern California alumni
21st-century American non-fiction writers
Women crime writers