About Kendra

As a kid, I read and read and read. Laura Ingalls, Nancy Drew, and Trixie Belden were my close companions, and I was never without a book in hand. Today mysteries and suspense are my primary reading genres. I enjoy Lee Child, Karen Rose, Robert Crais, Lisa Gardner, Michael Connelly, and Tami Hoag. But I also love to escape with a historical romance or an engrossing fantasy set in another world. Authors are always huge readers.

In 2006 I’d recently finished one of Diana Gabaldon’s novels for the umpteenth time, and I loved how satisfied and content I felt at the end. A true sign of great storytelling. Could I provide that experience for a reader? I sat down and spent six months writing a contemporary romance. Strangely I kept tripping over dead bodies in each chapter. I got the hint and my stories evolved into suspense. I never felt the need to “tell the stories cluttering my head” or “share my work with the world” like some authors. My goal was to see if I could entertain a reader.

HIDDEN was the third manuscript I finished, but my first book purchased by a publisher. It came out in the summer of 2012 and since then has sold nearly a million copies. I won the Daphne du Maurier award three times and have hit the Wall Street Journal’s best seller list more than a dozen times. I’ve been an International Thriller Writers’s finalist and a finalist for Romantic Times Magazine’s best Romantic Suspense. As I update this in 2024, I’ve sold twelve million books, and I’m working on my twenty-third novel. I’ve also written eleven novellas and sold the TV rights for my Mercy Kilpatrick series.

I wouldn’t trade this career for anything, and I count my blessings every day, thankful that readers have embraced my books.
I’ve always lived in the Pacific Northwest. It’s stunningly gorgeous, but I could use more sun and warmth. One of these days… (UPDATE) I made the move. Most of the year I now live beachfront in Florida. It’s flip flops 99% of the time.