Order of Lynn Kurland Books
Lynn Kurland is an American author of fantasy romance novels. She is the author of the De Piaget series, MacLeod series and the Nine Kingdom series. Lynn started writing when she was five years old, but began to focus on music and put writing on the backburner. Once she got to college, she started reading romance novels, which is when she made the decision to start writing novels. Lynn is a three-time RITA award winning author as well as a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. She is a classical musician, and enjoys playing the cello, piano and singing. (more…)
Order of Honey Bunch Books
Honey Bunch is a series of children’s novels written under the house name of Helen Louise Thorndyke. The series is a creation of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, the group behind such series as The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and other series. Honey Bunch goes on various trips to places like cities, farms, the seashore, camp, the Great Lakes, the zoo, the circus, the fair and more. Later on, the series was revamped to the Honey Bunch and Norman series. (more…)
Order of Penny Parker Books
Penny Parker is the protagonist in a series of children’s mystery novels by American author Mildred A. Wirt. Penny Parker is an amateur sleuth, high school student and newspaper reporter for her father’s newspaper. After her mother died when she was young, she was raised by the family housekeeper, Mrs. Weems. Mildred A. Wirt was quoted as saying, “I always thought Penny Parker was a better Nancy Drew than Nancy is.” (more…)
Order of Kay Tracey Books
The Kay Tracey series is a series of children’s mystery novels written under the house name of Frances K. Judd. The series was created by Harried Stratemeyer Adams and the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Kay Tracey is a 16 year-old amateur detective. She lives with her mother and cousin Bill in a town called Carmont, where she attends high school. She often has to contend with a jealous schoolmate by the name of Ethel Eaton. (more…)
Order of Ruth Fielding Books
Ruth Fielding is the protagonist in a series of children’s novels written under the house name of Alice B. Emerson. Ruth Fielding is a strong-willed woman and a career woman. In the first part of the series, she attends a boarding school. The series was influential to many other series that would follow, including Nancy Drew and the Dana Girls. (more…)
Order of Mildred A. Wirt Books
Mildred A. Wirt Benson (1905-2002) was an American author of children’s books. Working under the Stratemeyer Syndicate, she wrote most of the first 30 Nancy Drew novels (writing as Carolyn Keene). She also contributed to many other series, including the Dana Girls, Penny Nichols, Dot and Dash, Honey Bunch, Kay Tracey and Ruth Fielding. She also wrote the Penny Parker series under her own name. (more…)
Order of River Heights Books
River Heights is a series of young adult romance novels by Carolyn Keene. River Heights is a spin-off of the Nancy Drew series. The series is set in Nancy Drew’s hometown, River Heights (a fictional town), and involves Nancy’s friends who are dealing with their own “mysteries,” such as boys and the various events in an ordinary teenage girl’s life. (more…)
Order of Dana Girls Books
The Dana Girls is a series of YA mystery novels written under the house name of Carolyn Keene and created by Harriet Stratemeyer Adams of the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Jean and Louise Dana are teenage amateur sleuths who are attending a boarding school called the Starhurst School for Girls, where they solve mysteries. (more…)
Order of Nancy Drew Books
Nancy Drew is the protagonist of several series of children’s mystery novels, written under the house name of Carolyn Keene. The character was created by Edward Stratemeyer, head of the Stratemeyer Syndicate, which produced not only Nancy Drew, but also The Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, the Bobbsey Twins, the Rover Boys and more series. Nancy began as a 16 year-old high school grad, but was later aged two years. Her hometown is River Heights, where she lives with her father, an attorney named Carson Drew and their housekeeper, Hannah Gruen. Nancy often has to travel abroad to solve some of her mysteries, but never accepts any sort of payment. Many of the other details of the character have changed over the 80+ years the since character was originally conceived. (more…)
Order of Carolyn Keene Books
Carolyn Keene is the house name of authors who wrote children’s novels, including all of the various the Nancy Drew series as well as the Dana Girls and River Heights series. The house name was created by the Stratemeyer Syndicate (the same group responsible for the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, the Rover Boys, the Bobbsey Twins and more) and is most associated with Mildred A. Wirt, who wrote the first Nancy Drew books. Other authors who would later use the house name include Harriet Stratemeyer, James Duncan Lawrence, Walter Karig, Nancy Axelrad, Priscilla Doll, Charles Strong, Alma Sasse, Wilhelmina Rankin, George Waller Jr., Margaret Scherf, and Susan Wittig Albert. At the start, the authors were paid $125 per book, surrendered all rights to the intellectual property and maintained confidentiality. (more…)