Janet Evanovich - Early Years

Early Years

Evanovich is a second-generation American. She was born and raised in South River, New Jersey to a machinist and housewife. Evanovich attended South River High School. She became the first in her family to attend college when she enrolled at Douglass College, part of Rutgers University, to study art.

When Evanovich had children, she chose to become a housewife like her mother. In her thirties, she began writing novels. To learn the art of writing dialog, Evanovich took lessons in improv acting. For ten years, she attempted to write the Great American Novel, finishing three manuscripts that she was unable to sell. After someone suggested she try writing romance novels, Evanovich read several romances and discovered that she enjoyed the genre. She wrote two romances and submitted them for publishing. Still unable to find a publisher, Evanovich stopped writing and signed with a temporary employment agency. Several months after beginning work for them, she received an offer to buy her second romance manuscript for $2,000, which she considered an "astounding sum."