Alex Brunkhorst
Alex Brunkhorst grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Childhood was spent pretty much like any other kid’s childhood. I loved playing tennis, swimming, and listening to music. And I was always a veracious reader. Nancy Drew mysteries were my early books of choice, and later I devoured everything from commercial fiction to the classics. I don’t know if it was all that reading, but I always had a super vivid imagination.
I went to an all-girls Catholic high school in Milwaukee and it was then that I met a teacher, Mr. Grandy, who first noticed my talent for writing. I did what any other high schooler would do though – I ignored his advice to pursue writing and instead studied economics at Georgetown University, determined to work on Wall Street. (I was so obsessed with that dream I had a picture of Michael Milken on my bulletin board.)
After three years working in finance, I moved to Los Angeles, a city I had only visited once, on little more than a whim. Once I got there, I decided that my lifelong dream of working in finance wasn’t agreeing with me, and I begged my way into United Talent Agency, where I started in the mailroom and then worked for the head of the TV Literary Department.
Soon after, inspired by the creativity around me in Hollywood, I finally took Mr. Grandy’s advice and began writing – a short story for an ex-boyfriend that turned into the novel The Mating Season, which was published by St. Martin’s Press. At this point I decided I needed a more “author-friendly” occupation, so I started working in high-end real estate, and I eventually founded the popular website Bungalux.com on luxury living.
The Gilded Life of Matilda Deplane was inspired by many of my friends who, unlike me, live truly gilded lives, and my crush on a boy I only saw on Sundays.
Childhood was spent pretty much like any other kid’s childhood. I loved playing tennis, swimming, and listening to music. And I was always a veracious reader. Nancy Drew mysteries were my early books of choice, and later I devoured everything from commercial fiction to the classics. I don’t know if it was all that reading, but I always had a super vivid imagination.
I went to an all-girls Catholic high school in Milwaukee and it was then that I met a teacher, Mr. Grandy, who first noticed my talent for writing. I did what any other high schooler would do though – I ignored his advice to pursue writing and instead studied economics at Georgetown University, determined to work on Wall Street. (I was so obsessed with that dream I had a picture of Michael Milken on my bulletin board.)
After three years working in finance, I moved to Los Angeles, a city I had only visited once, on little more than a whim. Once I got there, I decided that my lifelong dream of working in finance wasn’t agreeing with me, and I begged my way into United Talent Agency, where I started in the mailroom and then worked for the head of the TV Literary Department.
Soon after, inspired by the creativity around me in Hollywood, I finally took Mr. Grandy’s advice and began writing – a short story for an ex-boyfriend that turned into the novel The Mating Season, which was published by St. Martin’s Press. At this point I decided I needed a more “author-friendly” occupation, so I started working in high-end real estate, and I eventually founded the popular website Bungalux.com on luxury living.
The Gilded Life of Matilda Deplane was inspired by many of my friends who, unlike me, live truly gilded lives, and my crush on a boy I only saw on Sundays.
