Originally from Massachusetts, Lilian Braun lived in Detroit. This town is thought to be the fictional town where her mysteries take place. Lilian was encouraged to write at the age of 3 years old so that she could maintain contact with her grandmother. After high school, Lilian, who was a huge baseball fan, wrote for a Baseball Magazine and The Sporting News under a pseudonym, Ward Jackson. A female sportswriter was not the norm in those days.
Working through jobs as a copywriter and ad writer for a department store, Lilian obtained a job as director of public relations. After writing a few short stories at home, Lilian longed for the activity of previous jobs. She went on to write articles about antiques, interior decorating, cooking and art, like Qwilleran did while at the Daily Fluxion. Lilian worked for thirty years as department editor. The “Cat Who...” series was born out of the personal loss of her Siamese cat who fell ten stories from a window.
Encouraged by her neighbors, Lilian wrote a story about a Siamese who was murdered in a similar way, and whose death was eventually avenged. Qwilleran is a composite character embodying five men she knew at the time she began writing this wonderful series.
“The Cat Who Could Read Backwards” was published in 1966 and was followed up with three stories. Unfortunately, publishers wanted stories with blood, sex and obscenities and Lilian would not compromise her integrity or her work. She took off eighteen years from writing and came back in 1986 with Qwilleran, Koki, and Yum Yum reviving a story written twenty years before. She has written an additional twenty-four “Cat Who...” books. Lilian Jackson Braun has contributed to the reading enjoyment of millions of readers.
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