Richie Tankersley Cusick (born April 1, 1952; New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American author. She has written more than 25 novels since her first, Evil on the Bayou (1984). She has also contributed to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer book series with the novelization of the 1992 film, the first two TV episodes, collected under the title of The Harvest, from screenplays by Joss Whedon, and "The Angel Chronicles Vol. 2" based on the teleplays "Halloween" by Carl Ellsworth, "What's My Line, part 1" by Howard Gordon and Marti Noxon and "What's My Line, part 2" by Marti Noxon. Cusick's novel "Walk of the Spirits" was released in April 2008.[1]
From her official website richiecusick.com:
Richie Tankersley Cusick was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on April Fools Day. Being an only child, she began at an early age to invent invisible friends and special worlds of her own, which sparked her passion for writing.
Among her first and fondest memories is living alongside the bayou in the small town of Barataria. Rich with legends and folklore, this area was once frequented by the pirate Jean Lafitte, who supposedly hid his treasure within the dark shadows of Bayou Barataria. The influence of Southern mystery and charm was overwhelming to a little girl's imagination—ruins of old plantation houses, aboveground cemeteries, moss-draped oak trees, crumbling churches, shrimp boats, old drawbridges, haunted roads, and the murky waters of the bayou. Many of these childhood experiences would prove to be major inspiration for her books. She would love the South always.
When Richie was old enough to start school, the family moved to the suburbs where they shared their home with a ghost. Though her growing- up years were spent in Louisiana, summers were spent in Missouri with her grandparents, where she received regular and fascinating doses of Ozark superstitions and folk tales. She attended Riverdale High School, then went on to the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now called UL Lafayette) in Lafayette (Cajun capital of the world!) where she graduated with a BA in English and a minor in English history.
Soon after graduation she moved to Kansas City, where she worked as a writer at Hallmark Greeting Cards for nine years. Once again, her house was inhabited by a ghost. Upon publication of her first book Evil On The Bayou she left Hallmark and began writing books full time.
Twenty-eight books later, she now lives in Missouri with her cocker spaniel Audrey and is currently at work on a new novel. She writes at an antique rolltop desk which was once owned by a funeral director. And yes...it's haunted.[2]