T Jefferson Parker Biography
Parker was educated in public schools in Orange County, California, and took a
bachelor's degree in English from the University of California, Irvine, in
1976. He was honored in 1992 as the Distinguished Alumnus.
His writing career began in 1978, as a cub reporter on the weekly
newspaper, The Newport Ensign. After covering police, city hall and cultural
stories for the Ensign, Parker moved on to the Daily Pilot newspaper, where he
won three Orange County Press Club awards for his articles. All the while he
was tucking away stories and information that he would use in his first book.
Laguna Heat, written on evenings and weekends while he worked as a
journalist, was published to rave reviews and made into an HBO movie starring
Harry Hamlin, Jason Robards and Rip Torn. The paperback made the New York
Times Bestseller list in 1986.
Parker's next ten books—all dealing with crime, life and death in sunny
Southern California—were published to uniformly good reviews and appeared on
various regional bestseller lists. His writing has been called "potent
and irresistible" (L.A. Times) and "resonant, literate and
powerful" (Kirkus). The New York Times wrote that "T. Jefferson
Parker is a powerhouse writer." Writing in the Washington Post, reviewer
Carolyn See called The Triggerman's Dance "a masterpiece." Where
Serpents Lie and The Blue Hour appeared for five weeks on the Los Angeles
Times bestseller list. Red Light was number one on that list in May of 2000.
As was his next novel, Silent Joe, in May 2001. Silent Joe won the Edgar Award
for Best Novel, the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Best Mystery/Thriller,
was nominated for the Hammett Award by the International Association of Crime
Writers and has been optioned for film. Cold Pursuit was named novel of the
year by the Southern California Booksellers Association.
When not working on his books, Parker spends his time with his family,
hiking, hunting and fishing, and haunting the public tennis courts. He enjoys
diving, snorkeling, and travel. He escapes to a trailer in the desert in the
spring and fall, to hike the country and not answer telephones.
Bibliography
Laguna Heat (1985)
Little Saigon (1988)
Pacific Beat (1991)
Summer Of Fear (1993)
The Triggerman's Dance (1996)
Where Serpents Lie (1998)
The Blue Hour (1999) 1st in the Merci Rayborn series
Red Light (2000) 2nd Merci Rayborn novel
Silent Joe (2001)
Black Water (2002) 3rd Merci Rayborn novel
Cold Pursuit (2003)
California Girl (2004)
The Fallen (2006)
Storm Runners (2007)
LA Outlaws (2008)
The Renegades (2009)
Iron River (2010)
The Border Lords (2011)
This biography was last updated on 08/04/2011.
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