Born in 1940, Thomas Harris grew up in Rich, Mississippi where his father farmed for a living.  After attending Baylor University in Texas, he worked as a journalist for Associated Press in New York covering the crime beat.  On his own time he wrote macabre short stories that appeared in True and Argosy magazines. 

In 1973, Harris and two other AP writers concocted a story of terrorists bombing the Super Bowl football game with a Goodyear blimp.  The trio sold the idea to Putnam and split the advance, but Harris bought out the others soon after writing began.  Published in 1975, the film adaptation of Black Sunday appeared two years later under the same title. Disguising his movie cameras with the CBS television logo, the director shot footage during the 1976 Super Bowl game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Proceeds from the book and movie permitted Harris to quit his job and concentrate on writing fiction.   [go to page 2 >>]