But the character just had dimension after dimension that I found fascinating. Q: Is the ending of the Odd Thomas series a sad occasion for you?Ī: When I finished the first one, Odd Thomas, I thought, 'This is liable to be more than one book,' but at most I thought it would be a trilogy. In the meantime, we caught up with Koontz, 69, for a phone interview from his home in Newport Coast, Calif. 29, sponsored by USA TODAY and Intercast. Koontz will be the featured guest on a special online video chat with fans from 2 p.m. 4 on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list), in which the character returns to his hometown of Pico Mundo, Calif., to fulfill the destiny foretold in the series opener in 2003. Now the series is ending with its seventh installment, Saint Odd (currently No. In recent years, his series featuring Odd Thomas - a young fry cook with paranormal powers, including the ability to see the spirits of the 'lingering dead' - has been particularly popular, with 20 million copies sold to date. But he doesn't consider himself a celebrity author - he's just the guy who lives down the street who knows how to tell a story.Dean Koontz is one of the world's most popular novelists, with 450 million books sold worldwide.

Koontz is aware that the size of his name on his books is now much larger than the book's title. Koontz still uses a two-decade-old computer. He uses that same unstoppable drive in his writing, which he does for about 10 hours each day. 'We both grew up so poor, and we wanted to create a place that was perfect for us, and I think we didn't know where to stop, so we just kept going,' Koontz said. They named it after the movie house in their Pennsylvania town. They first met at a neighborhood birthday party in 1949 and now have a home theater bigger than the homes they grew up in. He shares it with his wife of 48 years, Gerda.

It's the kind of success that enabled Koontz to purchase his home high above California's Newport Coast. Fourteen were number-one bestsellers, making him one of the richest authors alive. Those experiences have helped Koontz sell 450 million copies of his books.

'When I write about sociopaths, I'm writing from the trenches.' 'I have said sometimes that I would not have had my career if not for my father because that's where all the creativity comes from,' Koontz said.

He said while those memories were something he had to overcome, they also helped define who he is today.

Odd thomas books in order