image via quotesup.com

1. American best-selling author John Grisham was born in 1955, in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

2. He mostly writes legal thrillers.

3. He is a lawyer in real life.

4. Many of his books were made into movies, and the leading roles went to big stars.

5. His first published book is The Firm.

6. He actually wrote A Time to Kill before The Firm. However, A Time to Kill was rejected by many publishers. So John Grisham decided to send out the manuscript of The Firm. The book was published, became a huge bestseller and its movie rights earned Grisham $6 million. After The Firm’s success, A Time to Kill easily found a publisher.

7. The Firm was shot in 1993. The stars were Tom Cruise, Gene Hackman and Holly Hunter. The movie was directed by Sydney Pollack.

8. A Time to Kill tells the story of a black father whose young daughter was raped and beaten by 2 rednecks. When the father learned that the rednecks would probably get away with very little punishment, he went out and shot the guys in the courtroom. This sent him to jail, and it was up to his white lawyer to try and save him through the defense of temporary insanity.

9. A Time to Kill’s story is based on an actual trial experience. Grisham was listening in on a trial where a father’s daughter was raped. Grisham, also a father, thought what he would do if it were his daughter. He thought that he would probably shoot the criminals, and this is how A Time to Kill A was born.

10. Time to Kill was made into a movie in 1996. It was directed by Joel Schumacher and the stars were Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Ashley Judd, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, Oliver Platt, Kiefer Sutherland and Donald Sutherland. Samuel L. Jackson played the father and Matthew McConaughey played the lawyer.

11. In 1994, Grisham’s The Partner was made into a film. It was also directed by Joel Schumacher, and featured the stars Susan Sarandon, Tommy Lee Jones and Brad Renfro.

12. In 1997, Grisham’s The Rainmaker was filmed by Francis Ford Coppola, featuring the actors Matt Damon, Claire Danes and Danny De Vito.

13. In 1996, Grisham’s The Chamber was shot by James Foley, with the actors Chris O’ Donnell, Gene Hackman and Faye Dunaway.

14. In 2003, Grisham’s Runaway Jury was filmed. The leading actors were John Cusack, Rachel Weisz, Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman. While the main trial in the book was against a tobacco company, the movie trial was against a gun manufacturer.

15. Grisham also wrote non-legal novels such as Bleachers and The Painted House.

16. His latest thriller is yet to be released in October.