John Ray Grisham was born an Arkansas boy on February 8, 1955. Son of a cotton farmer and homemaker, he had four other siblings. Even though he played football, he found much joy in reading. After graduation he attended Mississippi State University where he earned two degrees, one of which, was in law. From courtrooms and knowledge in law, he grasped most of his ideas for his mystery novels over the years.
John being a lawyer, had a second home in all the local courtrooms. To no surprise, he held a interest in politics and won an election in 1993 for the Mississippi house of Representatives. Even with his election win, Grisham kept his law firm running and still found time to write his novels. He got his first novel idea from a young witnesses testimony that spoke to him. Of course, he didn’t write his novel word for word. He put a little twist in it to make it more interesting.
His first novel, "A Time to Kill," was finished in 1987, but it took some work to get it published. He took no break after his first novel and jumped right into the next. His second novel is titled "The Firm." The novel is about a young lawyer who gets an amazing offer from a law firm that really what it seems.
Just taking a glimpse at Grisham’s life; many might regard him as a workaholic, but then again, many might be inspired. John Grisham took a chance and chased all his dreams while doing so. Amazingly, he got them all while making a name for himself.
