In his book, The Dean Koontz Companion, he recalled that he and most of the funding ended up 'disappearing somewhere.'' This experience greatly shaped Koontz's political outlook. n reality, it was a dumping ground for violent children . In a 1996 interview with Reason magazine, he said that while the program sounded 'very noble and wonderful. In the 1960s, Koontz worked for the Appalachian Poverty Program, a federally funded initiative designed to help poor children. After graduation in 1967, he went to work as an English teacher at Mechanicsburg High School in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. In his senior year at Shippensburg State College, he won a fiction competition sponsored by Atlantic Monthly magazine. He has said that he was regularly beaten and abused by his alcoholic father, which influenced his later writing, as also did the courage of his physically diminutive mother in standing up to her husband.

Koontz was born on July 9, 1945, in Everett, Pennsylvania, the son of Florence (née Logue) and Raymond Koontz. He has published over 105 novels and a number of novellas and collections of short stories, and has sold over 450 million copies of his work. Dwyer', 'Leigh Nichols' and 'Brian Coffey'.

Koontz wrote under a number of pen names earlier in his career, including 'David Axton', 'Deanna Dwyer', 'K.R. Many of his books have appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list, with fourteen hardcovers and sixteen paperbacks reaching the number-one position. His novels are billed as suspense thrillers, but frequently incorporate elements of horror, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and satire. Dean Ray Koontz (born July 9, 1945) is an American author.

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