Prior to her writing career, Tess worked as a physician. Many critics believe that it was this fact that helped the writer create truly horrifying novels.
Biography
Tess was born in 1953 in San Diego, California. His mother is an immigrant from China, his father is of American-Chinese descent, who cooked seafood in his own Chinese restaurant. Tess inherited her talent for writing from her grandfather, a successful Chinese poet.
As a child, Tess dreamed of writing novels, like Nancy Drew, but did not think that she could become a professional writer, so she chose medicine as her future profession.
She graduated from Stanford University in 1975 with a BA in Anthropology. Tess continued her studies in San Francisco at the University of California, studying medicine. She received her medical degree in 1979 and began her medical practice in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Career
Gerritsen's first published short story was written during the writer's maternity leave. Her work "In Search of the Right Treat" was greeted with interest by readers, participation in the competition brought her the first prize, which was $ 500.
The novel tells the story of a young man who rethinks the complexities of his relationship with his own mother. The writer later admitted that most of the described experiences of the hero are based on her personal experience, she experienced them herself during a difficult period in the life of her mother, who tried to commit suicide.
Inspired by her first success, Tess continued to write while working as a doctor. She chose the most interesting genre for herself, a romantic thriller. The first two works did not interest the publishers; luck turned to her after the creation of the third novel. Call After Midnight was published in 1987 by Harlequin Intrigue.
In 1996 Gerritsen wrote the first non-romantic thriller "The Harvest". The book describes the history of homeless orphans in Russia, disappearing without a trace on the streets of Moscow. In the course of the plot, it turns out that the children are being kidnapped by a gang engaged in illegal organ transplantation. Higher medical education allowed Gerritsen to make his work as convincing as possible.
The book became a bestseller, the writer, inspired by the success, wrote a series of books in the genre of medical thriller.
In 2001, Gerristen's crime novel The Surgeon was released, in which detective Jane Rizzoli appeared. A television series was filmed based on this work.
Personal life
The writer is married to the Dane Jakob Gerritsen, a physician since her university studies. In marriage, Tess gave birth to two sons.
Tess Gerritsen lives permanently in the small resort town of Caden, located in Maine, and enjoys floriculture.
