Stuart Woods was born in Manchester, Georgia on January 9, 1938. He received a BA in sociology from the University of Georgia in 1959. He worked in the advertising business and eventually wrote two non-fiction books: Blue Water, Green Skipper and A Romantic's Guide to the Country Inns of Britain and Ireland. His first novel, Chiefs, was published in March 1981. It won an Edgar Award and was made into a TV miniseries starring Charlton Heston. His other works include the Stone Barrington series, the Holly Barker series, the Will Lee series, the Ed Eagle series, and the Rick Barron series. He won France's Prix de Literature Policiere for Imperfect Strangers. Currently, two of his novels, Under… the Lake and White Cargo are under development as feature films. In 2014, his titles Standup Guy, Carnal Curiosity, Cut and Thrust and Paris Match made The New York Times Best Seller List.