Tosca Lee

Tosca Lee
Born (1969-12-01) December 1, 1969
Roanoke, Virginia, United States
Occupation Author
Nationality American
Website
www.toscalee.com

Tosca Lee (born December 1, 1969) is a bestselling American author of historical novels and supernatural thrillers. She is best known for her exploration of maligned characters, prodigious research and vivid imagery.

Biography

Lee was born in Roanoke, Virginia, United States to a Korean father and Caucasian American mother. Her father, Professor Emeritus Sang Moon Lee,[1] who had early aspirations of an opera career, named Tosca for his favorite Puccini opera.

As a young classically trained ballerina and pianist Lee pursued an early career in dance until injuries derailed hopes of a successful career.

Lee received her BA from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts in English language and literature. She also studied international economics at Oxford University. While at Smith, Lee wrote her first novel—a story of the Stonehenge people of Salisbury plain (unpublished).[2]

She began writing professionally in 1992 for Smart Computing Magazine, during which time she co-authored two computer books. In the 1990s, Lee held two pageant titles, Mrs. Nebraska America 1996[3] and Mrs. Nebraska United States 1998,[4] and placed first runner-up to Mrs. United States. During this time she wrote as a freelancer and penned the majority of her second novel (unpublished).

After setting the pageant world aside, she went to work in 2003 for the Gallup Organization as a senior consultant to Fortune 500 companies.

Career

Lee penned the novel that would become Demon: A Memoir around 2000. It sold in 2006 in a multi-book deal after nearly six years of rejection. Once published it immediately garnered critical acclaim, including a Christy Award nomination.

Lee wrote her next novel, Havah: The Story of Eve, while traveling internationally as a consultant for the Gallup Organization. Havah garnered a starred review from Publishers Weekly,[5] 4.5 stars from Romantic Times,[6] and solidified Lee's reputation for meticulous research and scriptural interpretation. The two books weren't without controversy from conservative readers--Demon for its darkly spiritual subject matter and Havah for its sensuality in the portrayal of Eve's relationship with Adam.

In 2010, Lee left her position with Gallup and signed to write the post-apocalyptic Books of Mortals series with New York Times bestseller, Ted Dekker. Forbidden, the first novel in the series, debuted on the New York Times Bestseller list in September 2011, as did the second installment, Mortal, in June 2012. Sovereign, the conclusion to the series, released June 2013 and became a bestseller in the Christian market.

Iscariot, Lee's highly anticipated novel about Judas, the disciple and infamous betrayer of Christ, released February 2013 after three publisher changes, three years of research and writing, and a five-year lull after the release of her last solo novel, Havah. Iscariot became a bestseller in the Christian market[7] where it also garnered starred reviews.[8] Publishers Weekly praised Iscariot as "mind-bending Biblical fiction that dares to put readers in the mind of the most infamous character of Christian history" calling Lee's research and writing "impeccable and masterful."[5] In 2014, Iscariot won Christian Book of the Year in fiction.[9] It was also named a Best in Christian Fiction Title of 2013 by Library Journal.[10]

Lee admits she openly struggled with the idea of writing the first person novel about Jesus' betrayer—not for reason of the protagonist but the sheer amount of research the project required. Her library consisted of more than 100 resources and a team of academics, theologians and historians.[11] The original manuscript exceeded 800 pages. Lee talks openly in interviews about her struggle to unearth the heart of the story after exhaustive research and the extensive edits it took to pare the book down to just over 300 pages.

Lee's novel about The Queen of Sheba, The Legend of Sheba: Rise of a Queen, released September 2014 to starred reviews.[12] It was named a Best of Christian Fiction selection by Library Journal[13] and also became a bestseller.[14] In 2015, it finalized for the ECPA 2015 Christian Book Award for fiction, won by Lee's Iscariot the year before.[15]

Lee continues her study of historically significant, maligned characters in her House of Bathory duology (The Progeny, Firstborn)--a pair of supernatural suspense thrillers centered around the fictional descendants of the "Blood Countess" Elizabeth Báthroy. In 2016 The Progeny landed on the IndieBound bestseller list.[16] In 2018, Firstborn won Ream Makers' paranormal book award as well as Book of the Year. The duology is currently in development for TV by Radar Pictures and Ed Burns' Marlboro Road Gang Productions.[17]

Lee's upcoming apocalyptic thriller, The Line Between, about a young woman ousted from an apocalyptic cult as a pandemic breaks out across the United States, releases January 29, 2019. The sequel, A Single Light, releases August 13, 2019.

Recurring Themes

Lee is known for her depth of characterization and sympathetic rendering of traditionally maligned characters. Reviewers praise her lyrical prose, emotive settings and historical detail.

Personal life

Lee lives with her husband, Bryan, and three of four stepchildren still at home.[18]

Bibliography

In addition to English, Lee's novels have been published in Dutch, Portuguese, Indonesian, Spaish, Korean, Slovakian, Turkish, Estonian, Hebrew, Russian, Bulgarian, German, Italian, Polish.

  • A Single Light, coming August 13, 2019, Simon & Schuster
  • The Line Between, coming January 29, 2019, Simon & Schuster
  • Firstborn, May 2017, Simon & Schuster
  • The Progeny, May 2016, Simon & Schuster
  • The Legend of Sheba: Rise of a Queen, September 2014, Simon & Schuster
  • Ismeni, August 2014, Simon & Schuster
  • Iscariot: A Novel of Judas, February 2013, Simon & Schuster
  • Havah: The Story of Eve, 2008, NavPress; re-released by B&H Publishing 2010; re-released by Simon & Schuster 2014
  • Demon: A Memoir, 2007, NavPress; re-released by B&H Publishing 2010; re-released by Simon & Schuster 2014

The Books of Mortals

with Ted Dekker:

  • Forbidden, September 2011, Hachette Book Group
  • Mortal, June 2012, Hachette Book Group
  • Sovereign, June 2013, Hachette Book Group
  • The Keeper, September 2011, Hachette Book Group

Accolades

  • 2018 Book of the Year, Realm Makers (Firstborn)[19]
  • 2018 Paranormal Winner, Realm Makers (Firstborn)[20]
  • 2017 Inspy Awards Long List (The Progeny)[21]
  • 2016 Indiebound Bestseller List (The Progeny)[22]
  • 2015 Finalist, ECPA Christian Book Award for Fiction (Legend of Sheba)[15]
  • 2014 Library Journal Best of 2014 (Legend of Sheba)[13]
  • 2014 Life is Story Runner Up (tie) for Best Biblical Fiction (Legend of Sheba)[23]
  • 2014 Inspy Awards Short List (Iscariot)[24]
  • 2014 ECPA Christian Book Award for Fiction (Iscariot)[9]
  • 2014 Christian Retailers Retailer's Choice Award Finalist (Iscariot)
  • 2013 A Library Journal Best Christian Fiction Title of 2013 (Iscariot)[10]
  • 2013 ECPA Bestseller List (Sovereign)[25]
  • 2013 CBA Bestseller List (Sovereign)
  • 2013 CBA Bestseller List (Iscariot)
  • 2012 Christian Retailers Retailer's Choice Award (Forbidden)[26]
  • 2012 ECPA Bestseller List (Forbidden, Mortal)
  • 2012 CBA Bestseller List (Mortal)
  • 2012 New York Times Bestseller List, Hardcover Fiction (Mortal)
  • 2012 Christy Award Finalist (Forbidden)
  • 2012 New York Times Bestseller List, eBook (Forbidden)
  • 2011 ECPA Bestseller List (Forbidden)[27]
  • 2011 NY Times Bestseller List, Hardcover Fiction, #17 (Forbidden)
  • 2009 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Bronze Award Winner (Havah: The Story of Eve)
  • 2008 Christy Award Finalist (Demon: A Memoir)[28]
  • 2008 ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Silver Award Winner (Demon: A Memoir)[29]

References

  1. ↑ University of Nebraska at Lincoln
  2. ↑ "Faith and fiction". Smith Alumnae Quarterly.
  3. ↑ Mrs. Nebraska America
  4. ↑ Mrs. Nebraska United States
  5. 1 2 Publisher's Weekly
  6. ↑ Romantic Times Review
  7. ↑ "Christian Book Expo: ECPA Christian Fiction Bestsellers, February 2013". christianbookexpo.com. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  8. ↑ Christian Fiction Reviews
  9. 1 2 "Christian Book Expo: Christian Book Award® Program Winners for 2014". christianbookexpo.com. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  10. 1 2 "Best Books 2013: Christian Fiction". Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  11. ↑ Iscariot Interviews
  12. ↑ "Lee, McDonough, Parks's Debut of the Month, Holiday Titles - Christian Fiction Reviews". Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  13. 1 2 "Barbour names new president, VP". Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  14. ↑ "Welcome cbanews.org - BlueHost.com" (PDF). cbanews.org. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  15. 1 2 "Barbour names new president, VP". Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  16. ↑ "National Indie Bestsellers - Extended Hardcover Fiction". American Booksellers Association. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  17. ↑ Petski, Denise (2017-08-23). "Edward Burns & Radar Developing 'The Progeny' Thriller Novel As TV Series". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  18. ↑ writer, Micah Mertes / World-Herald staff. "Nebraska author Tosca Lee's route to becoming successful novelist is like a book plot: full of twists and turns". Omaha.com. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  19. ↑ "2018 Realm Award Winners Announced, Tosca Lee wins Book of the Year | Family Fiction". Family Fiction. 2018-07-23. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  20. ↑ "2018 Realm Award Winners Announced - Realm Makers". Realm Makers. 2018-07-20. Retrieved 2018-08-08.
  21. ↑ "Excellence in Christian fiction: INSPY committee announces 2017 longlists | Family Fiction". Family Fiction. 2017-01-31. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  22. ↑ "National Indie Bestsellers - Extended Hardcover Fiction". American Booksellers Association. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
  23. ↑ "2014 LIS Awards: Fiction Edition - Life Is Story". 5 January 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  24. ↑ "2014 Shortlists Announced!". The INSPY Awards. 2014-05-01. Retrieved 2018-09-27.
  25. ↑ "Christian Retailing's Best". christianretailingsbest.com. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  26. ↑ CBA News
  27. ↑ Christian Book Expo
  28. ↑ "The Christy Awards". http://www.christyawards.com. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
  29. ↑ "Book of the Year Award Winners". ForeWord Magazine. http://forewordmagazine.com/botya/search2k7.aspx?srchtype=category&srchval=18". Retrieved 2009-01-05.
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