Newman, Christopher: - Christopher Newman was born in San Francisco, California and raised in the Santa Clara Valley before its thousands of acres of apricots, cherries and prunes were turned to Silicon. He wrote the first draft of his third published novel, Manana Man, while in residence in Cali, Colombia his senior year in college. At 27, he moved to New York City, publishing his first Joe Dante novel, Midtown South, in 1985. When that title met with considerable commercial success, his publisher convinced him to turn his protagonist into a series character. Eight more Joe Dante novels followed, several making various national best seller lists. Midtown North, published in 1991, was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award by the Mystery Writers of America. Chains of Command, left unfinished at the time of best-selling author William Caunitz's death in 1998, was completed by Mr. Newman at the estate's request. It was named a 1999 New York Times Notable Book of the Year.Mr. Newman has a BA in Literature/Creative Writing from the University of California at Santa Cruz and an MFA in Creative Writing from San Diego State University. In addition to his suspense thriller work, Mr. Newman has also authored the contemporary slice-of-life novels Somewhere in America, Venus & Dave Rock, Cait Takes a Break, and Barstow Boy: a love story, all with an emphasis on social justice, under the pen name Pete O'Brien. Marion: The Marion Miley Story 1914-1941, an exhaustive biography of the Depression Era women's golf champion, was published by Impolitic Press in 2025. He currently resides in Lexington, KY