What has your life been like since graduating from the University of Pittsburgh?
After graduating from Pitt (A&S ’91, EDU ’93), I taught high school English for several years while honing my writing skills during my summer vacations. Eventually I took a chance and did something desperate. I quit my job and gave myself one year to make it as a full-time writer. During that time I wrote a thriller called The Plantation, which ended up being released by a very small publisher. Amazingly, several of the bestselling authors in the world (James Patterson, Nelson DeMille, Lee Child, etc.) read my book and loved it. Their endorsements opened many doors for me, most notably the three-book deal I signed with Penguin (Berkley/Jove.) My latest novel, /Sign of the Cross/, was released in October 2006 and climbed as high as #7 on the Barnes & Noble bestseller’s list. In addition, it was endorsed by Clive Cussler (among others) and is being translated into five different languages (Spanish, German, Dutch, Russian, and Greek.)
What are you doing now?
Since Sign of the Cross was released, I have been doing everything I can to promote the book — touring the country, speaking at book events, talking to the media. All of which is much harder than it sounds. To most people, I’m still an unknown. Nothing more than a tall writer with a funny last name. But I figure if I keep working at it, things will get easier with each new release. Speaking of which, I’m in the process of writing my next book (tentatively called The Black Stone.) I have to finish it by February even though it is slated for release in Fall 2007. For additional details about my writing career, feel free to check out my website: www.chriskuzneski.com.