What Happened To Kim Harrison? Her Marriage, Career, Net Worth, & More

Kim Harrison, originally Dawn Cook is a fantasy author. She is best known as the author of the New York Times #1 best-selling series, Hollows. She has also written more than urban fantasy and published over two dozen books.

Her genre includes young adult, accelerated-science thriller, anthology, and a unique, full-color world book. Additionally, Harrison has also scripted two original graphic novels set in the Hollows universe.

While Kim has written over twenty books, there have been only far too few pieces discussing her personal life. So, down below read all about how she came to be as the famed writer, some glimpses from her marital life, what inspired her to become a writer, and more.

Kim Harrison Is A Native Of Michigan 

Kim Harrison was born in 1966. She grew up in the upper Midwest, near Ann Arbor Michigan. She gained her bachelor’s in the sciences and then moved to South Carolina. Cook remained there for some time and later moved back to Michigan.

Harrison reportedly was the only girl in a family of boys and hence she calls herself a self-proclaimed “former tomboy.” Her father suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.

In middle school, she was a library aide which ultimately proved to be an important factor in choosing her career as a writer.

Although she loved writing from the beginning, she took an unorthodox approach to it. She claims to have avoided English courses beyond the basic requirements in high school and college. She studied at Saginaw Valley State University graduating with a bachelor’s degree in biology. Kim also pursued science technology while at college.

Kim Harrison Struggled At The Initial Phase Of Her Career

Initially, the Pale Demon author used to write traditional science fiction but later began writing contemporary fantasy. This was after she decided to focus more on character development.

For the most part of her first decade as an author, she struggled quite a bit. She then met her current agent at a writing convention who in turn introduced her to Diana Gill. Gill would ultimately become Harrison’s editor.

Harrison while still Dawn Cook first published traditional fantasies, Decoy Princess and Truth series. The first two Truth books were originally one book. The writer later split them into two separate books for publishing. Both the series got their publish date in the first few years of the 21st century.

After First Truth (2002), came the sequels Hidden Truth (2002), Forgotten Truth (2003), and Lost Truth (2004). She also penned the fantasy The Decoy Princess (2005) and the follow-up Princess at Sea (2006).

Kim Harrison’s Successful Book Series, The Hollows

In 2004 Cook under the name, Harrison began publishing The Hollows. This would become her bestselling urban fantasy series. The fantasy is about witch Rachel Morgan.

In collaboration with her editor, Gill, Harrison produced Dead Witch Walking; technically her first novel. It got its publication date in paperback by HarperTorch in 2004.

After Dead Witch Walking (2004), Harrison released The Good, the Bad, and the Undead (2005), Every Which Way But Dead (2005), A Fistful of Charms(2006), For a Few Demons More (2007), The Outlaw Demon Wails (2008). In the UK, the latter was changed to Where Demons Dare. The last sequel was the White Witch, Black Curse (2009). As per the reports, the Michigan native has planned at least two more books in the series.

The Midwesterner writer has written more than two dozen books including two graphic novels, and an extensive world book in the Hollows series also called the Rachel Morgan series. The series is set in an alternate history where the world suffers from a pandemic caused by genetically modified tomatoes. This has led to the death of a large portion of the world’s human population. Most of the titles were punned off Clint Eastwood movies. The writer though considers them as a tribute to veteran actor/director’s films.

There are also several prequels to the Hollows books with one being a young adult story.

Kim; After The Success To Present

After the success of her first novel, Kim resigned from her day job and started devoting herself to writing full-time. She credits music as one of her strongest writing influences. In fact, she even provides song lists for several of her characters. When not writing, she communicates with fans via her self-maintained website and blog.

Cook’s last two novels American Demon and Million Dollar Demon were published in June 2020 and June 2021 respectively.

Harrison is reportedly developing a young adult series between working on the Hollows books and a Hollows-based graphic novel. In addition to being a fantasy author, the Dead Witch Walking writer Harrison is also a member of the International Thriller Writers.

Additionally, she has written several novellas and short stories.

What Other Writers Say About Kim Harrison 

She has often received positive reviews from fellow authors and has on several occasions, reached the #1 spot on the New York Times Best Seller list. Others generally recognized her as one of the most successful and influential creators of urban fantasy. Authors Kelly Gay and Courtney Allison Moulton cite her as their inspiration. In 2007, Amazon noted the red-haired storyteller as one of the hottest authors in the incredibly popular genre of sexy supernaturalism.

She Struggled With Two Names 

Harrison admits she struggled with maintaining two different monikers and was happy when people finally found out.

People came to know that Cook and Harrison were the names of the same person only in May 2009; the courtesy of Locus magazine article.

Talking about the announcement, Kim said,

“I’m glad it’s out in the open, because it is hard to maintain these two separate identities, and remind your friends or family when you go out.”

The Hollows writer said after the revelation, she didn’t have to worry about telling people what to call her the particular day. She though added the division served its purpose. The author also declared that she was still going to be Kim, but she won’t have to say ‘Shut your mouth!’ to anyone who would call her Dawn.

Why Kim Harrison Chose Two Names?

The Hollows writer in an interview revealed the reason why she chose to go with two names. The blonde writer said going with two different monikers was a contractual thing. She had moved publishers. For her, the easiest thing to do was to take a pen name because of (legal) clauses. She explained one can get around that by changing their name. Kim added the core reason was — because she had changed publishers and genres (from traditional fantasy to urban fantasy). additionally, her new publisher wanted to make a clear distinction between the Dawn books and the Kim books. She said they didn’t even want anybody to know the same author had written them.

Are The Hollows Series Over?

In Sep 2014, the best-selling author Kim Harrison confirmed that she had ended her popular series “The Hollows” with “The Witch With No Name.” The author revealed the decision to close the series was not an easy one.

She reasoned she had so much she wanted to do and couldn’t look at writing anything more in the Hollows. The Ever After writer, however, said a spinoff series would never be out of the question.

When asked if there had been any interest in developing “The Hollows” for TV, the writer said the only offer that her agent and she pursued was the CW deal. She added the network had the rights for “The Hollows” for a short time, but the series met its end in the pilot stage. Cook explained she and the creators also had other priorities. The rights reverted back to her.

Who Is Kim Harrison Married To? 

Although the Michigan writer hasn’t talked much about her personal life, several sources have confirmed that she is married and does have children of her own. She, however, has hardly shared a picture of them.

When reported by Locus Magazine in May 2009, Harrison was living in South Carolina with her husband and two children. In June 2020, Kim told Grim Dark Magazine, that her husband, Tim is good at keeping the conversation inflow.

It though is unclear if Tim’s the same guy Kim was talking about in 2009. She, however, in Nov 2017, through her Insta, shared a picture of herself alongside a mystery man who people believe is her husband, Tim. The author, on the other hand, didn’t mention who he really was. As for Tim, his last appearance on Cook’s socials was in Jan 2020 (Facebook).

Kim’s Net Worth

The specifics with respect to Cook’s net worth are yet to be teased about. To date, she has hardly ever mentioned what she has amassed in terms of money from her writings. However, given that she is a New York Times best-selling author, it is probable that she at the very least owns millions of dollars to her name.

Publication Order of Kim Harrison’s The Hollows Books

Dead Witch Walking (2004) 
The Good, the Bad, and the Undead (2005) 
Every Which Way But Dead (2005) 
A Fistful of Charms (2006) 
For a Few Demons More (2007) 
The Outlaw Demon Wails (2008) 
White Witch, Black Curse (2009) 
Black Magic Sanction (2010) 
Pale Demon (2011) 
A Perfect Blood (2012) 
Ever After (2013) 
The Undead Pool (2014) 
The Witch With No Name (2014) 
Sudden Backtrack (2014) 
Waylaid (2016) 
The Turn (2017)
American Demon (2020)
Million Dollar Demon (2021) 

Other Facts About Kim Harrison

• Harrison’s favorite author is Ray Bradbury.
• She also loves landscaping her new/old Victorian home or scouring antique shops to fill it.
• Harrison is also a member of both the Romance Writers of America and The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
• She loves to reside in the upper states because she loves the snow.
• Harrison does public appearances as Harrison in a wig and a different wardrobe.
• She also knows how to play the Ashiko drum.
• Her book series Hollows can be read out of order.
• She is actually a blonde.
• Her biology studies inspired the idea of GMO killer tomatoes.
• She doesn’t like coffee.
• Kim is also proficient in kitting woolen toys.

Also Read: About Rick Harrison’s Wife Tracy Harrison