Barbara Collins

Barbara Collins made her entrance into the mystery field as a highly respected short story writer with appearances in over a dozen top anthologies, including Murder Most Delicious, Women on the Edge, Deadly Housewives and the best-selling Cat Crimes series. She was the co-editor of (and a contributor to) the best-selling anthology Lethal Ladies, and her stories were selected for inclusion in the first three volumes of The Year’s 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories.

As “Barbara Allan,” she and her husband Max Allan Collins write the long-running “Trash ‘n’ Treasures” mystery series. Their Antiques Flee Market (2008) won the Romantic Times “Best Humorous Mystery Novel” award of 2009. They have also appeared under their joint byline in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine.

The Collins’s first novel together, the Baby Boomer thriller Regeneration, was a paperback bestseller; their second collaborative novel, Bombshell – in which Marilyn Monroe saves the world from World War III – was published in hardcover to excellent reviews. Both are back in print from Thomas & Mercer under their “Barbara Allan” byline.

Two acclaimed hardcover collections of Barbara’s work have been published, Too Many Tomcats, and (with her husband) Murder—His and Hers, with a follow-up, Suspense—His and Hers, coming from Wolfpack Publishing, who are bringing out the previous collections as well.

Barbara Collins has also been the production manager and/or line producer on several of Max’s independent film projects, including Mommy (1995), Mommy’s Day (1997), Real Time: Siege at Lucas Street Market (2001) and Eliot Ness: An Untouchable Life (2005).The writing duo lives in their native Muscatine, Iowa. Their son, Nathan, is a Japanese-to-English translator with numerous books, manga and video games to his credit. Barbara divides her time between writing and providing Day Care for her two grandchildren, Sam and Lucy.