About Me
A published journalist for two decades, Jones started writing early, contributing feature articles and syndicated columns to United Media. Of Greek heritage, she was named after her maternal grandmother (Aphrodite Jones is her real birth name and not a pen name). Jones was born in Chicago, raised in Long Island, and spent her summers in Greece. Her father, a Rear Admiral in the Navy, and her mother, a Greek interpreter, died when she was young, thus she can empathize with people who experience the sudden death of a loved one.After completing her undergraduate work at UCLA, she returned to New York to work as a nationally syndicated columnist, interviewing celebrities for United Features Syndicate, her columns appearing in newspapers across America and in Canada. After a five-year stint as a journalist, Aphrodite completed the PhD program at New York University, and taught at Long Island University in New York and Cumberland College in Kentucky.In her late twenties, she worked as a news director at a radio station in Kentucky and fell into a career as a true-crime writer when she reported about an FBI agent who became the first special agent in history to plead guilty to manslaughter. At the urging of her agent, Jones wrote a proposal that was quickly purchased by Pinnacle Books. A regional best seller, The FBI Killer was translated into both German and Chinese, and was subsequently made into an ABC-TV movie Betrayed By Love, starring Patricia Arquette and Steven Weber.Her second book, Cruel Sacrifice, hit the New York Times list at number 5, where it remained for over three months, and was featured as an official Doubleday Book-of-the-Month Club Selection. It has become a cult classic for true-crime buffs and still continues to sell.Her third book, All She Wanted, the only book on the Brandon Teena case, became a USA Today national best seller and was subsequently transformed into the Academy Award-winning motion picture Boys Don't Cry featuring Hilary Swank in the role of Brandon Teena.Her fourth book, Della's Web: The Many Husbands of a Suburban Black Widow, also a USA Today national best seller, is a black widow story about a woman with seven husbands. The tale of Della Dante, a lonely Doctor's fantasy-come-true, has recently sparked Hollywood interest and has been re-released by Pocket Books.Her fifth book, The Embrace: A True Vampire Story, plunges readers into the frontlines of a modern teen nightmare. Released in hard cover in June 1999, the book hit the Ingram Top Demand List, was a USA Today national best seller, and was re-released in paper back in 2000. The project is currently being adapted for a major motion picture release.Her sixth book, The Red Zone: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of the San Francisco Dog Mauling is a story that has made national and international headlines. Jones covered the dog mauling case for more than a year, and attained exclusive access to defendant Robert Noel, as well as to sources within the San Francisco Police Department and the District Attorney's office. In a preemptive buy, William Morrow acquired World English language rights. Find out more.In A Perfect Husband (Pinnacle Books; August 1, 2004; $6.50 paperback), Aphrodite Jones chronicles the story of novelist, Michael Peterson, whose dream marriage ended in the tragic death of his corporate executive wife. Peterson "found" his wife, Kathleen, at the bottom of the stairs in their North Carolina mansion. Strangely, another death lay buried in Michael Peterson's past. In 1985, his friend, Elizabeth Ratliff was also found dead at the bottom of a staircase. Jones brings insider access to the jolting tragic tale, including evidence of a secret sex life. Find out more.In Michael Jackson Conspiracy (Aphrodite Jones Books; June 13, 2007), Aphrodite Jones courageously recounts the media coverage of the case against Michael Jackson. With the kind of behind-the-scenes insights, which only Jones can provide, Michael Jackson Conspiracy will shock you. Jones provides a fresh look at the trial, which became a spectacle, and at the man, who has been at the center of so much success -- and controversy. And what Jones ultimately reveals is a new image of Michael Jackson.Aphrodite has also made a number of appearances all relating to true crime, the killers, victims and other surrounding crimes.
