STEPHEN COONTS

Born and raised in the coal-mining region of West Virginia, he attended West Virginia University majoring in political science. After graduating in 1968 he was commissioned as an Ensign in the Navy and headed to Pensacola for flight school. He got his wings in 1969 and from there studied the operations of the A-6 Intruder. Two combat cruises in Vietnam later, he left the military in 1977 and headed to Colorado. After a brief time as a police officer, he went to law school and got his law degree. He practiced in both West Virginia and Colorado while he put his combat experiences down in fictional form in his first book, Flight of the Intruder. This book became a best-seller and even was turned into a movie in 1991. The success of the book allowed Mr. Coonts to turn to writing full time.