BOOKS
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ABOUT CHRISI
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 culinary and 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 school’s library with all the books that my classmates
enjoyed reading. 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 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, Marc Spindler,
and many others ― while working on my B.A. in writing. Unfortunately, a
freak foot injury ended my athletic career. (That,
and a severe lack of talent.) While
studying at Pitt, I wrote 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 two western Pennsylvania school districts 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 . . . I
finished my first book, The Lesson, in 1999 and was confident that it
would get me noticed. Unfortunately, I was right. My 1000-page monstrosity did
get me noticed by several agents ― just not in a good way. Their
advice? Write a second book and make it 600 pages shorter. Otherwise,
you’ll be back on cafeteria duty before you know it. Well,
I might be a Polock, but I ain’t stupid. I followed their suggestions and
finished The Plantation less than a year later. Before long, I had an agent
(Scott Miller at Trident Media), and my novel was being praised by James
Patterson, Nelson DeMille, Lee Child, and several of the top writers in my
genre. I followed that up with two more books. Sign of the
Cross was
released in 2006 and became an international bestseller. And Sword of God did even better, hitting the New York Times and London Times bestseller lists. In
2004, I moved from Pittsburgh to the Gulf Coast of Florida where I’ve been
enjoying the sun, surf, and hurricanes ever since. I am currently single (and
looking) and working on my next novel. For
more information about me, please visit the Frequently Asked Questions section. |
CHRIS
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