Chief among these is the ability to see beyond the normal world. Odd Thomas, the 20-year-old short-order cook of the title, would not be Koontz material if he did not enjoy special gifts. Koontz builds an enveloping story around a hero who feels perfectly comfortable with the ghost of Elvis Presley and identifies, in equal parts, with Hamlet, Quasimodo and E. In a cleaner, less congested style than he usually favors, Mr. ''Give the narrative a lighter tone than you think it deserves, dear boy,'' the title character is told by his mentor, ''because you won't find the truth of life in morbidity, only in hope.'' The author himself follows that advice, and it leads him to a curious mixture of whimsy, gentle humor and horror. Koontz manages to tell a breezy, overtly inspirational story that should attract a few fans of its own. While still sustaining the requisite level of creepiness, Mr. Koontz writes in ''Odd Thomas,'' a book that treats these shapeless little ghouls with unexpected friendliness. ''They gather like tourists waiting for the predictable eruption of a reliable geyser at Yellowstone Park,'' Mr. They get excited and congregate wherever they suspect that a lurid, sensational act of violence may soon occur. These are silent, liquid phantoms that reflect the author's view of contemporary society at its worst.

Koontz has written 70 books and has sold nearly 300 million copies in 38 languages, so all that window-polishing and dog-brushing must be good for something.Creatures called bodachs can be found slinking through Dean Koontz's new novel of the paranormal. Trixie is treated to more brushing for exactly 10 more minutes every night. He and his wife trade off walking Trixie the dog forĮxactly one hour every morning and then brushing her for precisely 45 minutes. Koontz's house is spotless he employs a window washer on his 11-person, full-time staff to polish the windows and all surfaces of his house. He edits each page at least 20 to 30 times immediately after writing it. He hasn't flown in an airplane since the '70s, almost never takes vacations or leaves his palatial home in Southern California, doesn't use email or the Internet 'because it might distract him from his work, which he does all day every day, almost nonstop. Times Koontz reveals that his work habits are borderline obsessive compulsive. Very interesting article by Bettijane Levine of the L.A. Dean Koontz: Odd Facts About Author of Odd Thomasīestselling author Dean Koontz is the most famous author that refuses to do a book tour.

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz