ABOUT CHRIS


I grew up in Indiana, PA, with my parents and three siblings. As a fourth-grader, I wrote my first book, The Monster Cookbook, a work of fiction that detailed the nutritional needs of a dozen creatures that I’d created. The school’s librarian was so impressed that she had it hardbound and placed in the library. Unbeknownst to her, a career in writing was born.

I attended Indiana High School where I was voted Class Clown of my senior class and anchored the offensive line on a team that won back-to-back CENPAC championships. I continued my football career at the University of Pittsburgh ― playing with future NFL stars Tony Siragusa, Jeff Christy, Mark Stepnoski, Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, and many others. Unfortunately, a freak foot injury ended my athletic career. (That, and a severe lack of athletic ability.)

While at Pitt, I worked for The Pitt News, the Indiana Gazette, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, eventually earning my B.A. in writing and my M.A. in teaching. From 1992 until 1998, I taught English and coached football in Pennsylvania and was selected to Who's Who Among America's Teachers. But in my mind, I still wasn’t doing what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a writer. So I quit my job and took a leap of faith . . .

After being rejected by every agent (and publisher) on the planet, I self-published my first novel, The Plantation. Most experts thought it was a horrible decision that would ruin my writing career before it even started. Thankfully, the “experts” were wrong. My novel was praised by James Patterson, Nelson DeMille, Lee Child, James Rollins, Douglas Preston, and several of the top authors in my genre. Their endorsements gave me the confidence to continue writing. The praise also caught the attention of a young literary agent named Scott Miller, who was just starting at Trident Media. He asked to represent me, and the two of us have been kicking butt ever since.

My second thriller, Sign of the Cross, was released in 2006 and became an international bestseller. So far, it has been translated into more than fifteen languages. I find this funny since I can speak none of them. Sword of God climbed even higher on the charts, hitting the New York Times and London Times bestseller lists. Since then, all of my books have hit the top ten on at least one major bestseller list. Hopefully, that streak continues for many years to come. Oh, and the last time I checked, my books were available in roughly twenty-five languages with over one billion copies sold (give or take a billion).

I currently live on the Gulf Coast of Florida. When I’m not enjoying the sun, the surf, and the hurricanes, I’m working on my next novel.

For more information about me, please read my Frequently Asked Questions section.