Howard Owen is an acclaimed American author, best known for his thriller, fiction, and mystery novels. He was born on March 1, 1949, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and grew up near his grandfather's farm. Owen is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in journalism and later earned a master's degree in English from Virginia Commonwealth University. He was a newspaper reporter and editor for 44 years, during which he won the 2012 Hammet Prize awarded by the International Association of Crime Writers for his novel, "Oregon Hill."
Owen currently resides in Richmond, Virginia, with his wife, Karen Van Neste Owen. Richmond is also the setting for most of his novels, including those featuring one of his favorite fictional characters, Willie Black. Owen's first novel, "Littlejohn," was published in 1992, and since then, he has published over 20 novels, ten of which are mysteries featuring Willie Black. His novels have received critical acclaim and commercial success, with many of them being translated into several languages, including Japanese, French, and Korean.
In addition to writing, Owen is also a family man and enjoys spending time with his wife, whom he met as kids. He is a fan of Paris, the Washington Redskins, snowy days, steamed crabs, Smithfield ham, North Carolina barbecue, bourbon and water, cold long-neck Miller High-Lifes on a hot summer day, other people covering Dylan songs, movies that surprise him, and the company of good friends. Despite his busy writing schedule, Owen remains dedicated to his craft, writing for an hour every day, and has found that it is possible to do great things with consistent effort.