Janet Evanovich (born April 22, 1943, in South River, New Jersey) is an American writer. She began her career writing short contemporary romance novels under the pen name Steffie Hall, but gained fame authoring a series of contemporary mysteries featuring Stephanie Plum, a lingerie buyer from Trenton, New Jersey who becomes a bounty hunter to make ends meet after losing her job. The fourteen novels in this series consistently top the New York Times Best Seller list.