John Grisham Autobiography - Essay Example

?John Grisham Biography When I was born on that fateful day of February 8, 1955 in Jonesborough, Arkansas, there was absolutely no way that anybody could have foreseen that I would become a lawyer and eventually, a published author in the future. After all, I was born to Southern Baptist parents who led very simple lives. (John Grisham The Official Site “Bio”) So simple were my parents that my father earned the family income by working as a cotton farmer and itinerant construction worker. We did not even have a permanent place to call home since my family always had to go about town, looking for work to be had. In no way did I ever live a privileged life that would have exposed me to the beauty of writing novels. (Academy of Achievement “John Grisham”). Ever since I was a child, I would wake up at 6 or 6:30 a.m. , champing at the bit. Since my father had to wake up very early for work, my mother insisted that we all be awake along with him so that we could have breakfast together and get an early start to our day. For me, that meant heading out to the local baseball field and practicing a few hitters with the local kids. Just like any other child I fancied myself a fantastic baseball player and hoped to turn professional in the future, earning the big bucks along the way. But after my parents decided to settle down and lay down roots in Southaven, Mississippi in 1967 I came to realize that my aspirations of a pro baseball career were just that, dreams. I wasn't really athletic enough to see it become a reality. What I did concentrate on instead, thanks to the encouragement of my parents who did not get enough of a formal education, was my quest to earn a college diploma. (Famous Authors “John Grisham”) But just like any other person of college age, I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to major in. It seemed like such a big responsibility had been placed upon my shoulders after high school and my parents could not help me find my way. So I drifted for 2 years as a college student. Drifting seemed to be the logical thing for me to do having been exposed to a drifter kind of life with my family while my parents decided where and when we would lay down roots. I was never worried that I would not finish college. I knew that I would find my major once I settled into college life. (Academy of Achievement “John Grisham”). After some time in college, I knew that i had to pick a major, any major. That was how I ended up becoming a double major in college. I first earned an accounting degree from the Mississippi State University. (Miller, Erin “John Grisham Biography”) Since already had the background in taxes and accounting, I thought of taking further studies while I still had the college bug in me. That was how I chose to major in one of the most boring fields of law. I decided to become a tax lawyer. But after some time, the drifter in me kicked in again, so I shifted my major to criminal law, then again to litigation. After 3 path changes in college, I finally earned my law degree from the University of Mississippi. After that bit of life adventure, I thought it best to go back home to Southaven and set up a small practice. (Academy of Achievement “John Grisham”) It's funny how life leads us down certain paths that we never imagined for ourselves as a part of our journey of self-discovery. Imagine if you will, the kind of private law practice that I had which would eventually lead me into a local political career. I must have done something impressive in the service of my community since they chose me to serve in the House of Representatives in 1983. Eventually I became the Vice Chairman of the Apportionment and Elections Committee. (Famous Authors “John Grisham”) They say that life gives us catalysts for change. But we need to be able to recognize these triggers when it enters our lives. I seriously doubt I would ever have written the first story had I not been a lawyer. I never dreamed of being a writer. However, after I'd been a lawyer for about five or six years, I started playing around with fiction. Writing fictional case scenarios served as my way of dealing with the daily stress that my job entailed. I wrote only after witnessing a trial that had a profound effect on me as a lawyer. A case that I had been observing in 1989 served as my inspiration for A Time To Kill, the first ever novel that I penned. Just like my defunct baseball career, I shopped the novel around to 28 publishers before I found a little unknown publisher who decided that he would take a chance on a novice author by the name of John Grisham. A word to the wise, having a small time book publisher means that you will have to be willing to do the legwork for book promotions yourself. Armed with only 5,000 copies of my book, I had to negotiate with the local book sellers to place it on their shelves. Needless to say, the books did not fly off the shelves. Neither was it a bestseller. I did not let that little thing about book promotions and having to deal directly with the bookstores deter me from doing something that I enjoyed though. I continued to write my second novel instead of seeking a reelection to my legislative post. (Famous Authors “John Grisham”) By 1991, I had managed to finish my second novel, The Firm, which landed in the Bestseller List for that year. From that point on, I began to widen the scope of my novel topics. The Client (1993), The Chamber (1994), The Runaway Jury (1996), The Partner (1997), The Street Lawyer (1998), The Testament (1999), The Summons (2002), The Last Juror (2004), The Broker (2005), The Appeal (2008), The Associate (2009), The Confession (2010) and The Litigators (2011) were all legal thriller that I am proud to have authored. Eventually, I decided to veer away from law just to see if I could write stories that were not set around cases or courtroom activities. I surprised myself by managing to incorporate my love of baseball into these other works of mine. My non legal books A Painted House (2001) was his first non-legal book followed by Skipping Christmas (2001), Bleachers (2003) and Playing for Pizza (2007) all managed to stand on their own upon publication as well. I was very proud of the fact that I managed to keep my audience entertained with light materials that I enjoyed writing very much. (Famous Authors “John Grisham”) Others may say that my legal thrillers are all about greed. But I beg to differ. They're about lawyers. I don't know if the two go hand in hand. I was a lawyer for ten years, so I write about what I know. I take normal people, almost all of whom happen to be attorneys, and they get in really stressful situations and try to get out of them. It's not a magic formula. Rather, it is a study in the way that human mind works when placed in extra ordinary situations. (Christianity Today “Conversations: Why John Grisham Teaches Sunday School”) As a lawyer, I met the most interesting kind of people. When you work at street level you never know who's going to walk through your door. So I have had my fair share of judicial successes and failures. Several of my clients had the misfortune, through no fault of my own, of going to prison. I visited them occasionally. After I wrote A Time to Kill, I had an epiphany of sorts. Nobody wants to read about the honest lawyer down the street who does real estate loans and wills. If you want to sell books, you have to write about the interesting lawyers - the guys who steal all the money and take off. That's the fun stuff. But I also learned the hard way that just because you have multiple books on the bestseller list, that does not make you a well like author. Instead, it makes you a highly criticized author. All of the criticisms I received before felt like bullets through my heart. It took quite some time for me to accept the fact that I was writing popular fiction and therefore I was going to get bashed by critics. Then again, I thought to myself that if the books stays on the bestseller list for weeks on end and Hollywood was grabbing all chances to turn my books into a movie, who cares what the critics say? I've had nine of my books adapted to film, and almost all were enjoyable. I've been very lucky with Hollywood, and look forward to more movies being adapted. But I don't get involved in that process. I know nothing about making movies and I stay away from it and hope for the best. Don't ever be misled by fame and fortune. Just because you finally have a marquee name and the respect of those around you, that does not mean that your life is on easy street. There will always be times in your life when you will need to defend that name and honor that you spent decades building up. This was the lesson that I learned when I was sued for libel based upon the contents of my book The Innocent Man. I will admit that the book was based upon a fictionalized account of a case that happened in 1982. But I never thought to libel or defame any of the parties involved in the book that I wrote. I was very happy that U.S. District Judge Ronald White saw it the same way. He believed that my work was meant to help shed light on wrongful convictions and could help ensure that the same mistakes would not happen in the future. (Murphy, Sean “Judge Dismisses Libel Suit Against John Grisham”) I feel that I have proven all that I can about myself in the realm of legal suspense thriller writing. My books are regular bestseller staples, Hollywood constantly clamors for more of my work to be turned into films, and I am living a comfortable life that my parents and I would have never thought possible all the way back then. Life has been very good to me and I have every intention of giving back. I guess that is why I have decided to further branch out with my writing and stories by appealing to the next generation of Americans, our children. After my wife Renee and I were blessed with two children, Ty and Shea, I came to realize that having all the money in the world and having a home in both Mississippi and Virginia would not mean anything if I did not do something to help mold the future leaders of our country. (Miller, Erin “John Grisham Biography”). My latest fictional character is a 13 year old named Theodore Boone, whose name is also the title of the book. I am hoping that I will be able to influence my young readers into looking into a legal career themselves by entertaining them with stories and legal advice coming from the point of view of a 13 year old. Boone dispenses legal advice to his classmates on everything from rescuing an impounded dog to helping parents stop their house from being repossessed. In between these tasks he uncovers sensational new evidence in the murder trial that has rocked the small town where he lives. (Middleton, Christopher “Exclusive: Best-selling Author John Grisham Explains Why He's Courting Children With His Latest Legal Thriller”). I believe, that Theodore Boone is the 21st century Nancy Drew. He's got a bright future in the legal world when the time comes. His actions in the fictional world that I created for him in Theodore Boone, Young Lawyer will show the readers that he is not merely a male version of Nancy Drew. Instead, he is a civic minded inspiration to his friends and classmates, and sometimes, his parents as well. I am one of the lucky few authors who managed to achieve a sort of superstar status with the books that I wrote. I am told that I am an influence over the young generation of legal minds that walk the great halls of justice these days. I am now what I never thought I could be, a role model for those around me. Yet somehow I have managed to keep those accolades from affecting who I am. That is why it is important to have a family that will keep you grounded at all times in this business. They are the ones who will make sure to slap away that chip on your shoulder that might be developing. Just remember, in a writer's world, you are only as good as your last novel. So never turn in mediocre work. When people have come to expect a certain writing standard from you, you must constantly work to exceed those expectations in order to keep them interested in your writing. It ma be hard to accomplish that but it is something that I constantly strive to do. Works Cited “Bio”. John Grisham The Offical Website. jgrisham.com. n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2013. “Conversations: Why John Grisham Teaches Sunday School”. Books. Christianity Today. 3 Oct. 1994. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. “John Grisham”. Academy of Achievement. achivement.org. 23 Nov. 2011. Web. 30 Mar. 2013. “John Grisham”. Famous Authors. famousauthors.org. n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2013. Middleton, Christopher. “Exclusive: Best Selling Author John Grisham Explains Why He's Courting Children With His Latest Legal Thriller”. Books. The Telegraph. 28 May 2010. Web. 26 Mar. 2013. Miller, Erin. “John Grisham Biography”. Authors. about.com. n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. Murphy, Sean. “Judge Dismisses Libel Suit Against John Grisham”. Entertainment. The Huff Post. 18 Sept. 2008. Web. 27 Mar. 2013. Read More