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 2022, I’ve sold eleven million books, and I’m working on my twentieth 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.