Grafton's father was enamored of detective fiction and wrote at night. He taught Grafton lessons on the writing and editing process and groomed her to be a writer. Inspired by her father, Grafton began writing when she was 18 and finished her first novel four years later. She continued writing and completed six more novels. Only two of these seven novels ("Keziah Dane" and "The Lolly-Madonna War") were published. Grafton would later destroy the manuscripts for her five early, unpublished novels.