Danielle Steel
Today we're talking with a novelist who doesn't just get described as "bestselling" and "prolific" – she's a person whose name defines both, and at a scale that very few other writers approach. Since she began her publishing career with 1973's Going Home, Danielle Steel has published over 170 books and sold over 650 million copies, making her one of the most-read writers of all time. This unparalleled output has been driven by a writer who works in a suitably legendary fashion – late into the night, on her vintage typewriter. Danielle Steel's latest novel is Silent Night, the story of a child actor and a professional woman brought together by a sudden tragedy. With a setting informed by the careful research that is one of Steel's trademarks, it's a story about an unexpected bond with echoes of Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan. Danielle Steel agreed to spend a few minutes away from her work to talk with us, and even though it was actually the middle of the afternoon when we reached her on the phone, it felt like the kind of middle-of-the night conversation you have with a friend who is working at all hours, on another all-consuming project.