People like Elizabeth Lowell

Ann Maxwell (born April 5, 1944), also known as A.E. Maxwell and Elizabeth Lowell, is an American writer. She has individually, and with co-author and husband Evan, written more than 50 novels and one non-fiction book. Her novels range from science fiction to historical fiction, and from romance to mystery to suspense.

As a child, Maxwell read primarily classic literature. She did not read her first science fiction novel until college, and was not exposed to other genres, such as romance, until even later.

Maxwell earned a B.A. in English literature from the University of California, Riverside in 1966. Shortly thereafter, she married Evan Maxwell, a now former newspaper reporter who spent over fifteen years working for the LA Times, covering international crime. Early in their marriage, Maxwell became very bored. Her husband worked from 4:00 PM to midnight, and as there was no bus service near their house and Evan needed the car for work, Maxwell found herself alone at home with their toddler son. Maxwell did not like television and claims to have read all of the science fiction books in the local public library, in addition to everything science fiction in a local second-hand book store. After having exhausted all of her local Science Fiction options, she seated herself in front of her ancient manual typewriter and began to write a book she would enjoy, even though she had no training in creative writing.