#1 New York Times Bestselling Author
Sarah Pekkanen is born in New York City, arriving so quickly that doctors have no time to give her mother painkillers. This is the last time Sarah ever arrives for anything earlier than expected. Her mother still harbors a slight grudge.
Sarah’s family moves to Maryland, where Sarah begins writing books, including one entitled “Miscellaneous Tales and Poems.” Shockingly, publishers do not pounce upon this literary masterpiece. Sarah sends a sternly-worded letter to publishers asking them to respond to the manuscript. Sarah no longer favors Raggedy Ann stationery, although she is sure it impressed top New York publishers.
Sarah Pekkanen is born in New York City, arriving so quickly that doctors have no time to give her mother painkillers. This is the last time Sarah ever arrives for anything earlier than expected. Her mother still harbors a slight grudge.
Sarah’s family moves to Maryland, where Sarah begins writing books, including one entitled “Miscellaneous Tales and Poems.” Shockingly, publishers do not pounce upon this literary masterpiece. Sarah sends a sternly-worded letter to publishers asking them to respond to the manuscript. Sarah no longer favors Raggedy Ann stationery, although she is sure it impressed top New York publishers.
Sarah’s parents are hauled into her elementary school to see the shocking condition of her desk. Sarah’s parents stare, open-mouthed, at the crumpled pieces of paper, broken pencils, and old notebooks crowding Sarah’s desk. (Sarah’s organization skills have since improved. Slightly.) Before Sarah graduates from the 6th grade, her parents are again summoned to a meeting and informed that Sarah often wanders into the wrong classroom, so caught up in a daydream that she appears oblivious to what is actually happening around her. No one can decide what to do about this, so Sarah is promoted to 7th grade. (Back in those days, these symptoms were not yet recognized as Future Novelist Syndrome.)
In her early 20s, Sarah begins work as a journalist, covering Capitol Hill. Sarah is assigned to cover the White House Correspondents Dinner and ride in the Presidential motorcade. Sarah convinces a White House aide to let her stick her head out of the moonroof during the ride and wave to onlookers. Later, her triumph is tempered by the fact that bouncers will not allow her into the Vanity Fair after-party. Sarah attempts entry three times in case the bouncers were just kidding.
Sarah also conducts an 18-month long investigation into the corrupt and prejudicial practices of a U.S. Congresswoman, resulting in concurrent investigations by the House Ethics Committee, The Justice Department, and the Federal Election Commission.
In her early 20s, Sarah begins work as a journalist, covering Capitol Hill. Sarah is assigned to cover the White House Correspondents Dinner and ride in the Presidential motorcade. Sarah convinces a White House aide to let her stick her head out of the moonroof during the ride and wave to onlookers. Later, her triumph is tempered by the fact that bouncers will not allow her into the Vanity Fair after-party. Sarah attempts entry three times in case the bouncers were just kidding.
Sarah also conducts an 18-month long investigation into the corrupt and prejudicial practices of a U.S. Congresswoman, resulting in concurrent investigations by the House Ethics Committee, The Justice Department, and the Federal Election Commission.
Sarah takes a job writing features for the Baltimore Sun. She specializes in crafting lengthy Sunday narratives, bringing a unique, emotion-packed storytelling approach to major news events. She is awarded a Dateline award for feature writing for her article in the Washingtonian Magazine titled "Saving Dorothy," about a U.S. Congressman and his wife's incredible battle to find a cure for their young daughter's cancer.
Having left her journalism job to chase around after her three active sons, Sarah begins work on a novel every chance she gets - scribbling sentences in car-pool lines, on the sidelines of soccer practice, and in the rare moments when her kids sleep. She does not write her book on Raggedy Ann stationery.
Having left her journalism job to chase around after her three active sons, Sarah begins work on a novel every chance she gets - scribbling sentences in car-pool lines, on the sidelines of soccer practice, and in the rare moments when her kids sleep. She does not write her book on Raggedy Ann stationery.
Sarah’s first novel, titled The Opposite of Me, is sold to Simon & Schuster (oh, if only it were that easy – but Sarah is prohibiting any mention of the times she nearly hurled her computer across the room in frustration or wrote entire chapters that were far inferior to those in Miscellaneous Tales and Poems). People magazine hails Sarah's debut as "engaging, fresh... with lovable characters."
Sarah’s subsequent novels - praised as "chick lit with grit" - are Skipping a Beat, These Girls, The Best of Us, Catching Air, Things You Won't Say, The Perfect Neighbors and The Ever After. Rights to Sarah’s books are sold in China, Australia, Germany, Italy, Holland, Poland, Canada, Russia and Spain and her novels become international bestsellers.
Sarah and her former editor - and by now good friend - Greer Hendricks team up to write four New York Times bestselling psychological thrillers: The Wife Between Us, An Anonymous Girl, You Are Not Alone, and The Golden Couple. All are published by St. Martin's Press under the helm of publisher Jennifer Enderlin, and all have been optioned for film or television, with Sarah and Greer penning the screenplay for The Wife Between Us for Amblin Entertainment.
Sarah's upcoming thriller, GONE TONIGHT, will be released by St. Martin's Press on August 1, 2023. Colleen Hoover raves, "Riveting, original and powerful. I'm a huge fan of Sarah Pekkanen's books, and GONE TONIGHT is her best yet!" Author and Netflix creator of Stay Close, Harlan Coben, calls it, "Jaw-dropping. Read GONE TONIGHT. It's a wild ride." The audiobook narrator of GONE TONIGHT is Emmy-nominated actress Kate Mara. Rights to Gone Tonight have already sold in the UK, Australia & New Zealand, Italy, Hungary, and Brazil.
Other than creating pulse-pounding novels, Sarah's passion is volunteer work with rescue animals. She serves as the U.S. Ambassador for RRSAIndia, a sanctuary for injured and abused street dogs in Anand, India. Sarah is also the founder of a non-profit called India Street Paws, Inc. And every Sunday afternoon, Sarah volunteers for Lifeline horse rescue, mucking out stalls and helping traumatized horses learn to trust humans again.
As always, Sarah is working on her next book. You can usually find her pacing, muttering to herself, and writing down ideas on old receipts or in the steam on the mirror when inspiration hits while she is in the shower. Please connect with her on Instagram and FB, where she loves to talk about writing, the publishing process, book recommendations, and her neurotic rescue dog. Though not in that order (the dog wants you to know).
Sarah's upcoming thriller, GONE TONIGHT, will be released by St. Martin's Press on August 1, 2023. Colleen Hoover raves, "Riveting, original and powerful. I'm a huge fan of Sarah Pekkanen's books, and GONE TONIGHT is her best yet!" Author and Netflix creator of Stay Close, Harlan Coben, calls it, "Jaw-dropping. Read GONE TONIGHT. It's a wild ride." The audiobook narrator of GONE TONIGHT is Emmy-nominated actress Kate Mara. Rights to Gone Tonight have already sold in the UK, Australia & New Zealand, Italy, Hungary, and Brazil.
Other than creating pulse-pounding novels, Sarah's passion is volunteer work with rescue animals. She serves as the U.S. Ambassador for RRSAIndia, a sanctuary for injured and abused street dogs in Anand, India. Sarah is also the founder of a non-profit called India Street Paws, Inc. And every Sunday afternoon, Sarah volunteers for Lifeline horse rescue, mucking out stalls and helping traumatized horses learn to trust humans again.
As always, Sarah is working on her next book. You can usually find her pacing, muttering to herself, and writing down ideas on old receipts or in the steam on the mirror when inspiration hits while she is in the shower. Please connect with her on Instagram and FB, where she loves to talk about writing, the publishing process, book recommendations, and her neurotic rescue dog. Though not in that order (the dog wants you to know).