A Life of Stories, Service, and Second Acts
When bestselling author Andrew Kaplan looks back on his extraordinary career, he can trace one of its biggest turning points to a racquetball court, and a broken foot. What should have been a setback instead became the moment he and his wife, Anne, decided to rewrite their lives completely. Within months, they sold their home, packed up their toddler son, and set off for the French Riviera with seventeen pieces of luggage and a dream.
But to understand how a fractured foot led to a bestselling spy novelist and a memoir about life on the Côte d’Azur, you have to start much earlier, before the thrillers, before Homeland, and before Anne’s steady hand made that kind of leap possible.
A Reporter with a Spy’s Eye
Born and raised in New York, Andrew Kaplan was drawn to storytelling from a young age. After serving in the U.S. Army, he became a journalist and war correspondent for the International Herald Tribune in Paris, covering Europe and Africa during the height of the Cold War. He also served in the Israeli Defense Forces during the Six-Day War, experiences that would later give his spy thrillers their striking authenticity.
“I’d encountered CIA officers and even been followed by the KGB,” Andrew recalled. “So when I started writing thrillers, I wanted to make them feel real, the way things actually are.”
The First Chapters
His early thrillers, including “Hour of the Assassins” and “Dragonfire”, became international bestsellers. Then came “War of the Raven”, a sweeping World War II epic that the American Library Association later named one of the “100 Best Books Ever Written About World War II.” But perhaps his most enduring creation was “Scorpion”, a high-stakes espionage series that blended the pace of Bond with the grit of a true insider. Translated into 28 languages and landing multiple Top 10 spots on Amazon, the Scorpion series made Kaplan a global name.
Anne’s Path to Purpose
While Andrew was chasing global intrigue, Anne was pursuing her own meaningful mission closer to home. While studying at UCLA as an undergraduate she volunteered and upon graduation was hired as a psychometrist before earning her Masters and a School Psychologist credential at Cal State Northridge. She joined the Los Angeles Unified School District, where she would spend nearly four decades serving students with special needs.
Anne eventually became Coordinator for Psychological Services for Non-Public Schools, supervising 27 school psychologists across more than 100 campuses. “It was like herding cats,” she laughs, “But very bright cats.” Her career not only supported thousands of families but also gave the couple the stability to take creative leaps, like the one that would change everything.
The Leap to France
When Andrew broke his foot and found himself sidelined from work, his frustration mounted, until Anne asked him a life-altering question: “If you could do anything in the world —anything at all—what would you do?”
Without hesitation, he said, “I’d sell everything, move to France, and write the book I’ve always wanted to write.”
Anne smiled. “Then that’s what we’ll do,” and they did!
In France, Andrew finished Dragonfire, which went on to become a bestseller. The years they spent on the Riviera were so remarkable that decades later, Andrew captured them in his award-winning memoir, “Once Upon a Villa”. The book became a #1 Amazon Hot List Bestseller and earned the Poynter Award for Best Nonfiction Book of the Year. It’s equal parts charm, humor, and love letter to Anne, to France, and to the beautiful unpredictability of life.
From Bond to Homeland
Back in the U.S., Andrew’s career continued to soar. He received a call one day from producer Barbara Broccoli, asking if he wanted to write a James Bond movie. The project became “Golden Eye”, and working with the Broccoli family was, as he puts it, “a surreal joy, and occasionally, a polite wrestling match over plot.”
Then came “Homeland”. Andrew’s novel series “Homeland: Carrie’s Run” and “Homeland: Saul’s Game” became international hits, the latter earning the Scribe Award. Andrew even gave the TV show’s central character her middle name: Carrie Anne Matheson, a nod to his wife, Anne.
His more recent thriller, “Blue Madagascar”, hit #1 on Amazon’s Hot List and won the eGlobal and Chanticleer Best Thriller of the Year Awards and has been optioned for an A&E TV series.
Anne’s New Chapter
After nearly four decades of service, Anne retired but she hasn’t slowed down. She serves on the board of Circle of Sinai at Palm Desert’s Temple Sinai, plays mahjong, practices chair yoga, and finally has time for book clubs. When the couple moved to the Coachella Valley in 2015, they chose Sun City for its views, community, and vitality. As Anne shares with a smile, “We’re still unpacking, but we’ve already met so many wonderful people here.”
The Writers’ Table
For nearly 40 years, Andrew has also co-hosted a monthly Writers’ Lunch, a gathering he started with friend Warren Adler (The War of the Roses). Over the years, literary icons like Ray Bradbury, Brian Garfield (Death Wish) and Rod Thorp (Die Hard) have joined the table. The group continues to meet in Los Angeles, each month hosted by a different author.
Today, Andrew continues to write without deadlines or limits. He’s completed a historical novel set in the Middle Ages, finished his autobiography, and is developing two television series, one based on “Blue Madagascar” and another on “Once Upon a Villa”. “I write what I want now,” he says. “The joy is in the storytelling.”
Anne, ever his champion, keeps a few of his bookmarks in her purse, ready to hand to anyone looking for a good read.
If you are intrested in connecting with Andrew go to his website: www.andrewkaplan.com and click the contact tab.
