Walter Sorrells is an American author of mystery and suspense novels for adults and teens, who also writes under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

s Lynn Abercrombie and Ruth Birmingham. He also hand-forges swords and knives in the Japanese style. Sorrells has written many novels, including ''Fake I.D.'', named one of the ten Best Mysteries by

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...

magazine in 2005 and several novels based-on the television series

Flight 29 Down ''Flight 29 Down'' is an American adventure comedy-drama television series about a group of teenagers who are stranded on an island. It was produced by Discovery Kids. The show was created by Stan Rogow (''Lizzie McGuire'', '' Darcy's Wild Life ...

. His novel ''Fulton County Blues'', as Ruth Birmingham, won the 2000

Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Paperback Original Edgar is a commonly used masculine English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Edgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and '' gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the Late Middle Ages; it was, however ...

Personal life

Sorrells was born in 1962 in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. He graduated from

Haverford College Haverford College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded as a men's college in 1833 by members of the Religious Society of Fr ...

in 1985, where he majored in

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

. He is married to Patti Sorrells, and the couple have a son, Jake. They live in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. Sorrells holds a third-degree black belt in Japanese Shito-ryu karate and has studied Brazilian

jiujitsu Jujutsu ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...

aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art which is split into many different styles including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai, and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practic ...

, and

Tai Chi is a Chinese martial art. Initially developed for combat and self-defense, for most practitioners it has evolved into a sport and form of exercise. As an exercise, tai chi is performed as gentle, low-impact movement in which practitioners ...

. He has also studied

Okinawan kobudō , literally "old martial way of Okinawa", is the weapon systems of Okinawan martial arts. Etymology and definition Okinawan Kobudō is a Japanese term that can be translated as "''old martial way of Okinawa''". It is a generic term coined in th ...

, the weapon systems of

Okinawan martial arts Okinawan martial arts refers to the martial arts, such as karate, tegumi and kobudō, which originated among the indigenous people of Okinawa Island. Due to its location (between " Mainland Japan" and Taiwan), Okinawa was influenced by various c ...

, as well as the Japanese sword arts of

Iaido , abbreviated , is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to sudden attacks.Christensen, Karen and Allen Guttmann et.al (2001) ''International Encyclopedia of Women and Sport ...

and Shinkendo. Additionally, Sorrells is a competitive pistol shooter.

Career

Sorrells began writing novels in his mid-twenties and published his first novel, ''Power of Attorney'', in 1994. Aside from writing, Sorrells handcrafts elaborate knives and swords. He began "making blades as research for a character: “The novel died, but the pursuit lived,” he stated.

Awards and honors

Publications

Cold Case Thriller series (as Lynn Abercrombie)

* ''The Body Box'' (2005) * ''Blind Fear'' (2006)

Flight 29 Down series (as Walter Sorrells)

* ''Ten Rules'' adaption, created by

D.J. MacHale Donald James MacHale (born March 11, 1956) is an American writer, director, and executive producer. He has been affiliated with shows such as ''Are You Afraid of the Dark?'', ''Flight 29 Down'' and ''Seasonal Differences''. MacHale is also the a ...

and Stan Rogow (2006) * ''Static'' adaption, created by

and Stan Rogow (2006) * ''Scratch'' adaption, created by

and Stan Rogow (2006) * ''On Fire'' adaption, created by

and Stan Rogow (2007) * ''Survival'' adaption, created by

and Stan Rogow (2007)

Pendragon: Before the War series (as Walter Sorrells)

* ''The Travelers: Book Two'' (2009) * ''The Travelers: Book Three'', with D. J. MacHale (2009)

Hunted series (as Walter Sorrells)

* ''Fake ID'' (2005) * ''Club Dread'' (2006) * ''Whiteout'' (2009)

Standalone novels (as Walter Sorrells)

* ''Power of Attorney'' (1994) * ''Cry for Justice'' (1996) * ''Will to Murder'' (1996) * ''The Silent Room'' (2006) * ''First Shot'' (2007) * ''Erratum'' (2008)

Sunny Childs Mystery series (as Ruth Birmingham)

* ''Atlanta Graves'' (1998) * ''Fulton County Blues'' (1999) * ''Sweet Georgia'' (2000) * ''Blue Plate Special'' (2001) * ''Cold Trail'' (2002) * ''Feet of Clay'' (2006)

External links

Walter Sorrells's Official Author's Website

Walter Sorrells's Official Swordsmith Website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorrells, Walter Living people Edgar Award winners 1962 births Pseudonymous writers Haverford College alumni 20th-century American writers 21st-century American writers Writers from Nashville, Tennessee Writers from Atlanta