VJ Books Presents Chris Kuzneski!

Chris Kuzneski grew up in Indiana, PA, with hisparents and three siblings. As a fourth-grader, he wrote his first book, The Monster Cookbook, a work of fiction that detailed the culinary and nutritional needs of a dozen creatures that he’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 his classmates enjoyed. Unbeknownst to her, a career in writing was born.

Kuzneski attended Indiana High School where he was voted Class Clown of my senior class and anchored the offensive line on a team that won back-to-back CENPAC championships. He continued his 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 his athletic career.

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

Kuzneski's first novel, The Plantation, was praised by James Patterson, Nelson DeMille, Lee Child, James Rollins, and several of the top writers in the genre. His next thriller, Sign of the Cross, was released in 2006 and became an international bestseller, translated into more than a dozen languages. Sword of God climbed even higher on the charts, hitting the New York Times and London Times bestseller lists. The Lost Throne debuted in the UK Top-10 and stayed there for several weeks.  He has since written two more novels with a sixth to be published January 2012.

Kuzneski currently lives on the Gulf Coast of Florida.