former improvisational comedian (he and Bruce Willis were in the same Greenwich Village comedy troupe in the early 1980s), Chris spent almost twenty years writing commercials for America's top advertising agencies. You've probably seen his spots for clients such as Seven Up, Miller Lite, KFC ("Everybody needs a little KFC"), Dr Pepper, and many others. He was, perhaps most famously, the copy writer who created Trojan Man. He ended his advertising career as an Executive Vice President/Group Creative Director at Young & Rubicam in New York. His writing talent was first discovered by James Patterson, his Creative Director at J. Walter Thompson Advertising. Patterson had come up with a Writing Aptitude Test, which ran as a full-page ad in The New York Times under the headline "Write If You Want Work." Over 2,000 applicants responded. Chris was the first writer hired. Try to guess who the woman to the right is... then click here to find out! PLUS check out another cool old celebrity! Chris has written screenplays, made-for-TV movies, Muppet scripts, and the occasional grocery list. In fact, he's been writing since he moved to New York from Chattanooga, Tennessee—bringing along seven suitcases and the Smith-Corona typewriter he got as a high school graduation gift. He won the Anthony Award for "Best First Mystery" (given at Bouchercon 2006) for his debut TILT A WHIRL—the first in a series of John Ceepak stories to be set "Down The Shore" in a New Jersey tourist town called Sea Haven. The second book, MAD MOUSE, was called one of the "Ten Best Mysteries of 2006" by Kirkus. WHACK A MOLE came out to great critical acclaim in 2007. The New York Daily News called the fourth Ceepak book, HELL HOLE, a "must-read." The fifth book in the series MIND SCRAMBLER was published by St. Martin's Minotaur in 2009. ROLLING THUNDER, available in 2010, rounds out the first Ceepak six pack. Chris's fast-paced Christopher Miller Holiday Thrillers include SLAY RIDE and HELL FOR THE HOLIDAYS. Random House publishes his "rip-roaring ghost stories" for Middle Grades readers: THE CROSSROADS, which won both the Anthony and Agatha awards for best Children¹s/YA novel, THE HANGING HILL and, in 2010, THE SMOKEY CORRIDOR. Chris is the president of the New York Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America. He lives with his beautiful, beloved wife J.J., a voice-over actress (check out her narration of THE CROSSROADS and THE HANGING HILL audio books), in Manhattan. He often credits his furry friend FRED for giving him time to dream up story ideas because the dog takes Chris on four contemplative walks a day. His cats Jeanette, Parker and Tiger Lilly also help out. Parker enjoys headbutting his computer-mouse hand. Jeanette likes to curl up on his lap while he's writing the slower scenes. Tiger Lilly enjoys traipsing across the keyboard and helppppppp... That was Tiger Lilly.