Sherrilyn Kenyon


Sherrilyn Kenyon is an American writer. Under her former married name, she wrote both urban fantasy and paranormal romance. She is best known for her Dark Hunter series. Under the pseudonym Kinley MacGregor she writes historical fiction with paranormal elements. Kenyon's novels have sold over 70 million copies in print in over 100 countries. Under both names, her books have appeared at the top of the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today lists, and they are frequent bestsellers in Germany, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

Biography

Sherrilyn Kenyon was born on 11 December 1965 in Columbus, Georgia. The fourth child in a family of five children, her parents, Harold and Malene Woodward, divorced when she was eight, at which point she lived with her grandparents. She describes her childhood as defined by abuse and poverty, but she remained close to her mother, who encouraged and shared her interest in horror, the paranormal and science fiction.
Kenyon started writing while in high school, in part as therapy to escape other aspects of her life. She went to Georgia College in the 1980s, and there she met her future husband, Lawrence Kenyon. They married in 1990, and they moved to Jackson, Mississippi, while he studied law. Although money was already tight, after their first child was born and he graduated they lost their house, subsequently forcing them to live out of their car until they were able to secure an apartment some months later.
Once in an apartment, Kenyon was able to return to writing. Previously, Kenyon had published her first story in 1975, and in the mid-1980s she was a writer for the science fiction magazine Cutting Edge. She had sold a number of books in the early 1990s, prior to the birth of her son, but her big break came in 1999 when the first two books of her "Dark-Hunter" sequence were picked up by St. Martin's Press as part of a three-book deal. She had started the series with short stories that she had written in 1984, and had started development on the novels in 1986, but it took until the late 1990s before she had the opportunity to complete them.

Accusations and divorce

On January 7, 2019, Kenyon filed a lawsuit against her husband and his assistants, claiming they had poisoned her over a number of years in order to sabotage her health for his financial gain. After her husband filed for divorce in March 2018, the suit alleges that tests concluded her levels of lithium, tin, barium, thorium and other metals were at a dangerous level of toxicity, indicating that they had "systematically poisoned her since 2015". However, the test results had not been interpreted by a toxicologist. Her husband's statement about the lawsuit called her "a brilliant fiction writer who has made it apparent that she cannot discern between fiction and reality". She dropped her lawsuit on July 26, 2019.

Written (mostly) as Sherrilyn Kenyon

Dark-Hunter Universe (combined)

Each sub-set of the series is marked by the type of creatures the novel is about.
Dark #L.O.A. #Were #Dream #Hellchaser #C.O.N. #Shadows of Fire #TitleCharactersPublication Date
1———Dark-Hunters Julian and GraceFebruary 2, 2002
2———Night PleasuresKyrian and AmandaSeptember 1, 2002
3———Night EmbraceTalon and SunshineJuly 1, 2003
4———Dance with the DevilZarek and AstridDecember 1, 2003
5———Kiss of the NightWulf and CassandraMarch 23,
2004
5.51——Sword of DarknessKerrigan & SerenMarch 28, 2005
5.752——Knight of DarknessVarian and MerewynNovember 1, 2006
6—1—Night PlayVane and BrideAugust 3, 2004
7———Seize the NightValerius and TabithaDecember 28, 2004
8———Sins of the NightAlexion and DangerJune 28, 2005
9—2—Unleash the NightWren and MaggieDecember 27, 2005
10—3—Dark Side of the MoonRavyn and SusanMay 30, 2006
11——1The Dream-HunterArik and GearyFebruary 6, 2007
12———Devil May CrySin and KatJuly 31, 2007
13——2Upon the Midnight ClearAidan and LetaOctober 30, 2007
14——3Dream ChaserXypher and SimoneFebruary 5, 2008
15———AcheronAcheron and Soteria/ToryAugust 4, 2008
16———One Silent NightStryker and ZephyraNovember 25, 2008
17——4Dream WarriorJericho and DelphineFebruary 3, 2009
18—4—1Bad Moon RisingFang and AimeeAugust 4, 2009
18.5———1Infinity
19—5—No MercyDev and SamiaSeptember 7, 2010
19.5———2Invincible
20—6—RetributionSundown and AbigailAugust 2, 2011
21—752The GuardianSeth and LydiaNovember 1, 2011
21.5———3Infamous
22—8—Time UntimeRen and KateriAugust 7, 2012
22.5———4Inferno
23———StyxxStyxx and BethanySeptember 3, 2013
23.5———5Illusion
23.75———Dark BitesCollection of short storiesJanuary 21, 2014
2439—3Son of No OneCadegan and JoSeptember 2, 2014
24.5———6Instinct
25410—4DragonbaneMaxis and SeraphinaAugust 4, 2015
25.5———7Invision
26511—DragonmarkIllarion and EdilynAugust 2, 2016
27———5Deadmen WalkingBane and MaraMay 9, 2017
28612—DragonswornFalcyn and MedeaAugust 1, 2017
28.5———8Intensity
29------6Death Doesn't BargainKalder and Cameron
30713—StygianUrian and SarraxynSeptember 3, 2018
31———7At Death's DoorValynda and
Dark Hunter Universe short stories
  • "Dragonswan"
  • "The Beginning"
  • "Phantom Lover"
  • "A Dark-Hunter Christmas"
  • "Winter Born"
  • "Second Chances"
  • "A Hard Day's Night-Searcher"
  • "Until Death We Do Part"
  • "The Wager"
  • "Fear the Darkness"
  • "Shadow of the Moon"
  • "Redemption"
  • "Where Angels Fear to Tread"
  • Dark Bites – A collection of the short stories/novellas that Kenyon has written for St. Martin's Press, featuring Fear the Darkness, with Nick as the lead, and updates on other characters. Available in print in mass market paperback.
  • * House of the Rising Son – Dark Hunter Universe #26.5. Dream-Hunter #5.5
  • ** The story of Aricles & Bathymaas
  • * Phantom Lover – V'Aidan's story that was first in "Midnight Pleasures"
  • * Winter Born – Dante & Pandora that was first in "Stroke of Midnight"
  • * A Dark-Hunter Christmas – Gallagher originally posted online
  • * Until Death Do We Part – originally published in "Love At First Bite" anthology
  • * A Hard Day's Night Searcher – originally published in "My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding" anthology
  • * Shadow of the Moon – originally published in Dead After Dark
  • * Fear the Darkness – originally a digital download for fans. It is a little piece of Nick after his mother died.
  • * Where Angels Fear to Tread – originally published in the "Blood Lite" anthology
  • * Love Bytes – originally published in "Naughty or Nice"
  • * Santa Wears Spurs – originally published in All I Want for Christmas anthology. Written as Kinley MacGregor.
  • * Redemption – A bonus scene from The Guardian
  • * A Hero for the Holidays
  • * Season of Magic