Don Carpenter

Don Carpenter (1931-95) gained immediate critical recognition with this first book, Hard Rain Falling, which was acclaimed as one of the notable novels of 1966. His second novel, Blade of Light (1967), also won nationwide praise. He went on to write numerous novels, novellas, short stories and screenplays over the course of a 22-year career that took him from a childhood in Berkeley and the Pacific Northwest to the corridors of power in Hollywood. A close observer of human frailty, he wrote...See more

Don Carpenter (1931-95) gained immediate critical recognition with this first book, Hard Rain Falling, which was acclaimed as one of the notable novels of 1966. His second novel, Blade of Light (1967), also won nationwide praise. He went on to write numerous novels, novellas, short stories and screenplays over the course of a 22-year career that took him from a childhood in Berkeley and the Pacific Northwest to the corridors of power in Hollywood. A close observer of human frailty, he wrote about marginal characters like pool sharks, prisoners, and drug dealers, as well as movie moguls and struggling actors. Facing a mounting series of debilitating illnesses, Carpenter committed suicide in 1995. See less