The other related titles are Mind of My Mind (1977), Wild Seed (1980) and Clay's Ark (1984). This book would ultimately become part of an ongoing storyline about a group of people with telepathic powers called Patternists. In 1976, Butler published her first novel, Patternmaster. She was known to work for several hours very early in the morning each day. To make ends meet, Butler took all sorts of jobs while maintaining a strict writing schedule. Butler also studied her craft with Harlan Ellison at the Clarion Fiction Writers Workshop. She later earned an associate degree from Pasadena City College. Butler started creating her own stories early on, and she decided to make writing her life's work around the age of 10. She was dyslexic, but she didn't let this challenge deter her from developing a love of books. To support the family, her mother worked as a maid.Īs a child, Butler was known for her shyness and her impressive height. She lost her father at a young age and was raised by her mother. Butler thrived in a genre typically dominated by white males. Writer Octavia Estelle Butler was born in Pasadena, California, on June 22, 1947, later breaking new ground as a woman and an African American in the realm of science fiction. She continued to write and publish until her death on February 24, 2006, in Seattle, Washington. Butler went on to write several other novels, including Kindred (1979) as well as Parable of the Sower (1993) and Parable of the Talents (1998), of the Parable series. Her first novel, Patternmaster (1976), would ultimately become one of the installments in the four-volume Patternist series.

Her books blended elements of science fiction and African American spiritualism. Butler studied at several universities and began her writing career in the 1970s.

Octavia butler parable series