Gary Corbin is a novelist and playwright in Camas, WA, a suburb of Portland, OR.

In the tradition of Philip Margolin, Scott Turow, David Baldacci, Lisa Scottoline and Michael Connelly, mystery author Gary Corbin’s thrillers feature complex, realistic characters, revealing their inner struggles as they strive to achieve their own unique concepts of justice.

He recently released his twelfth novel, The Image of Valor, the seventh book in his Valorie Dawes Thriller series. This police procedural features a young, tough female detective, Valorie Dawes, who wrestles with inner demons while chasing criminals who victimize women. Each book in the series deals with important social issues relating to violence against women.

His debut novel, Lying in Judgment, was an Amazon.com best-selling legal thriller. Released in early 2016, Lying in Judgment was selected as Bookworks.com “Book of the Week” for July 11-18, 2016 and is one of six novels worldwide featured in the Literary Lightbox “Indie Spotlight” for Autumn/Winter 2016-17. His current series, the Valorie Dawes Thrillers, consists of seven published books, the most recent (The Image of Valor) released on June 30, 2026.

All of Gary’s novels are available in paperback, hardcover, and eBook formats; several area also in audiobook format, most of them narrated by the author. You can find his books on Amazon.com as well as Smashwords, iTunes, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and area bookstores. Signed paperback and hardcover editions can be ordered direct from the author. His writer’s reference, Write Better Right Now: A Dozen Mistakes Good Writers Make-And How to Fix Them, is available exclusively on Kindle.

In addition to twelve published novels, his creative and journalistic work has been published in BrainstormNW, the Portland Tribune, The Oregonian, and Global Envision, among others. His plays have enjoyed critical acclaim and have been produced on many Portland-area stages.

Gary is a member of PDX Playwrights, the Willamette Writers Group, the Northwest Independent Editors Guild, the Portland Area Theater Alliance, and the Writing Dojo Writers Workshop, and participates in workshops and conferences in the Portland, Oregon area.

Gary earned his B.A. in Political Science and Economics at Louisiana State University (Geaux Tigers!) and his Ph.D. at Indiana University (Go Hoosiers!), writing his dissertation on the politics of acid rain (1988). He worked on farms, construction, and in food service jobs to earn his way through, so he knows the meaning of hard work. He interned with Argonne National Laboratory on assignment in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Analysis, then worked for eight years in small IT firms as an applications and systems analyst in the DC area.

In 1993, Gary moved to Portland, OR to manage IT systems and projects for the City of Portland. After 12 years as a City employee, Gary spent 15 years as a freelancer, writing for clients and stringing for established publications such as the Portland Tribune, The Oregonian, and Brainstorm NW, among others.

A homebrewer and home coffee roaster, Gary loves to ski, cook, and root for his beloved New England Patriots, LSU Bengal Tigers, Seattle Seahawks, and Boston Red Sox. Every chance he gets, he escapes to the Oregon coast with his sweetheart and their sweet Golden Retriever.