Marti Leimbach (born July 16, 1963) is an American fiction writer. Her first novel, ''Dying Young'' (1990), was an international bestseller and the basis of the film, ''

Dying Young ''Dying Young'' is a 1991 American romance film directed by Joel Schumacher. It is based on a novel of the same name by Marti Leimbach, and stars Julia Roberts and Campbell Scott with Vincent D'Onofrio, Colleen Dewhurst, David Selby, and Elle ...

'', starring

Julia Roberts Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles across various genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Award ...

Campbell Scott Campbell Scott (born July 19, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. His roles include Steve Dunne in '' Singles'', Mark Usher in ''House of Cards'', Joseph Tobin in ''Damages'', Richard Parker in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and '' The Amazi ...

David Selby David Lynn Selby (born February 5, 1941) is an American film, television, and stage actor and writer. He is best known for playing Quentin Collins on the daytime soap ''Dark Shadows'' (1968–1971) and Richard Channing on the prime-time s ...

and

Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (; born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. His roles include Private Leona ...

. Marti Leimbach's other novels include ''Sun Dial Street'' (1992) and ''Love and Houses'' (1997), after which she took time away from writing when her youngest child was diagnosed with

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

. Later she wrote ''Daniel Isn't Talking'' (2006), which by her own admission contains some autobiographical information derived from her real-life experience as a mother of an autistic child. ''Daniel Isn’t Talking'' was optioned by

Fox 2000 Fox 2000 Pictures was an American film production company within The Walt Disney Studios. It was a sister studio of the larger film studios 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures, specializing in producing independent films in mid-range re ...

with a film planned for 2010. Born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in 1963 to Mary Leimbach, a news reporter, and Leonard Leimbach, who died when the author was four years old. Leimbach's first novel, which centers around the death of a young man, was written while her own mother was dying. In an interview with Marian Christy of ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'', she expressed regret that neither of her parents had lived to see her first publication. Marti Leimbach attended Winston Churchill High School, then

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, where she received a BA in English and American Literature and Language. She was a Regent's Fellow at the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

, where she wrote ''Dying Young''. Her most recent novel, '' The Man From Saigon'', is published in the United Kingdom by Fourth Estate/HarperCollins in 2009 and in the United States by Nan A. Talese/Random House in 2010. In 2009, Leimbach donated the short story ''Boys in Cars'' to Oxfam's '

Ox-Tales ''Ox-Tales'' refers to four anthologies of short stories written by 38 of the UK's best-known authors. All donated their stories to Oxfam. The books and stories are loosely based on the four elements: ''Earth'', ''Fire'', ''Air'' and ''Water' ...

' project, four collections of UK stories written by 38 authors. Her story was published in the 'Earth' collection.

Novels

*''Dying Young'' (1990) *''Sun Dial Street'' (1992) *''Love and Houses'' (1997) *''Daniel Isn’t Talking'' (2006) *'' The Man From Saigon'' (2009) *''Age of Consent'' (2016)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leimbach, Marti 1963 births Living people American expatriates in the United Kingdom 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American women novelists Harvard University alumni Writers from Washington, D.C. 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers