Stuart Woods
http://www.stuartwoods.com
After college, he spent a year in Atlanta and two months in
basic training for what he calls “the draft-dodger
program” of the Air National Guard. Then, in the
autumn of 1960, he moved to New York, in search of a writing
job. The magazines and newspapers weren’t hiring, so
he got a job in a training program at an advertising agency,
earning seventy dollars a week. “It is a measure of my
value to the company,” he says, “that my
secretary was earning eighty dollars a week.” He spent
the whole of the nineteen-sixties in New York, with the
exception of ten months, which he spent in Mannheim,
Germany, at the request of John F. Kennedy. The Soviets had
built the Berlin Wall, and Woods, along with a lot of other
national guardsmen, was sent to Germany, “. . . to do
God knows what,” as he puts it. What he did, he says,
was ” . . . fly a two-and-a-half-ton truck up and down
the autobahn.” He notes that the truck was all he ever
flew in the Air Force.
At the end of the sixties, he moved to London and worked
there for three years in various advertising agencies. In
early 1973, he decided that the time had come for him to
write the novel he had been thinking about since the age of
ten. He moved to Ireland, where some friends found him a
small flat in the stableyard of a castle in south County
Galway, and he supported himself by working two days a week
for a Dublin ad agency, while he worked on the novel. Then,
about a hundred pages into the book, he discovered sailing,
and “. . . everything went to hell. All I did was
sail.”
After a couple of years of this his grandfather died,
leaving him, “. . . just enough money to get into debt
for a boat,” and he decided to compete in the 1976
Observer Singlehanded Transatlantic Race (OSTAR). Since his
previous sailing experience consisted of, “. . .
racing a ten-foot plywood dinghy on Sunday afternoons
against small children, losing regularly,” he spent
eighteen months learning more about sailing and celestial
navigation while his new 30-foot yacht, a Ron Holland design
called Golden Harp, was being built at a yard in
Cork. He moved to a nearby gamekeeper’s cottage on a
big estate, on the Owenboy River, above Cork Harbor, to be
near the boatyard.
The race began at Plymouth England in June of ’76. He
completed his passage to Newport, Rhode Island in forty-five
days, finishing in the middle of the fleet, which was not
bad since his boat was one of the smallest. How did he
manage being entirely alone for six weeks at sea? “The
company was good,” he says.
The next couple of years were spent in Georgia, writing two
non-fiction books: Blue Water, Green Skipper was an
account of his Irish experience and the transatlantic race,
and A Romantic’s Guide to the Country Inns of
Britain and Ireland, which was a travel book, done on a
whim. He also did some more sailing. In August of 1979 he
competed, on a friend’s yacht, in the tragic Fastnet
Race of 1979, which was struck by a huge storm. Fifteen
competitors and four observers lost their lives, but Stuart
and his host crew finished in good order, with little
damage. (The story of the ’79 Fastnet Race was told in
the book, Fastnet Force 10, written by a fellow
crewmember of Stuart, John Rousmaniere.) That October and
November, he spent skippering his friend’s yacht back
across the Atlantic, with a crew of six, calling at the
Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands and finishing at
Antigua, in the Caribbean.
In the meantime, the British publisher of Blue Water,
Green Skipper, had sold the American rights to W.W.
Norton, a New York publishing house, who also contracted to
publish his novel, on the basis of two hundred pages and an
outline, for an advance of $7500. “I was out of
excuses to not finish it, and I had taken their money, so I
finally had to get to work.” He finished the book and
it was published in March of 1981, eight years after he had
begun it. The novel was called Chiefs.
Though only 20,000 copies were printed in hardback, the book
achieved a large paperback sale and was made into a six-hour
television drama for CBS-TV, starring Charlton Heston, at
the head of an all-star cast that included Danny Glover,
Billy Dee Williams and John Goodman. The 25th anniversary of
Chiefs came in March, 2006, and W.W. Norton
published a special commemorative replica edition of the
hardcover first edition, which can still be ordered from any
bookstore.
Chiefs established Woods as a novelist. The book
won the Edgar Allan Poe prize from the Mystery Writers of
America, and he was later nominated again for
Palindrome. More recently he was awarded
France’s Prix de Literature Policiere, for
Imperfect Strangers. He has since been prolific,
having published forty-three novels. His publishers have
asked him to write three books a year, instead of two. A new
Ed Eagle novel, Santa Fe Edge, will be published on
September 20, 2010. It is his 44th novel. In January, a new
Stone Barrington novel, Strategic Moves, will be
published, followed by another Stone, Bel-Air Dead,
in April, 20011. He has just concluded negotiations for
three more novels to be published in 2011 and 2012.
After publishing fifteen novels before appearing on the
New York Times bestseller list, he has since had
twenty-eight straight bestsellers on the the Times hardcover
list.
He is a licensed, instrument-rated private pilot, with 3,200
hours total time, and until recently flew a Jetprop, which
is a Piper Malibu Mirage a six-passenger, pressurized
single-engine turboprop. He sails on other peoples’
boats, owns a Hinckley T38 power boat and is a partner in a
85-foot 1935 Trumpy motor yacht, Enticer, on the
cover of Loitering With Intent), which has been
recently restored to like-new condition.. He is now flying
his first jet, a Cessna Citation Mustang.
Stuart Woods is once again a born-again bachelor and lives
with a Labrador Retriever named Fred in Key West, Florida,
on Mount Desert Island, in Maine, and in New York City. (Of
a warm nature, he says he’s always looking for 70
degrees Fahrenheit.)
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Books
Bel-Air Dead
(A Stone Barrington Novel)
December 6, 2011
Stone is no stranger to Bel-Air—and to the beautiful
and wealthy widow who needs his help to become even
wealthier. At stake is the sale of her investment
in—and the resulting dissolution
of—Hollywood’s world-famous Read more...
Son of Stone
(A Stone Barrington Novel)
September 20, 2011
A new addition to the New York Times-bestselling
Stone Barrington series.
After an eventful trip to Bel-Air and a reunion with his
sophisticated (and very wealthy) former love, Arrington
Calder, Stone Barrington is back Read more...
Strategic Moves
(A Stone Barrington Novel)
September 6, 2011
Stone Barrington’s been set up to take a big
fall...
Stone’s undercover dealings with M16 have brought in a
big new client. That means a huge bonus and a
partnership—until Stone gets wind of Read more...
Grass Roots
(A Will Lee Novel)
August 2, 2011
In this early thriller from Stuart Woods, attorney Will
Lee returns to his Georgia roots-and gets involved in a
political firestorm that could make or break his career.
Will Lee, who readers will Read more...
Under the Lake
May 3, 2011
John Howell, a former investigative journalist trying to
escape from his past, finds a perfect sanctuary in a
lakeside home in the North Georgia mountains. But little
does he realize the town harbors Read more...
Bel-Air Dead
(A Stone Barrington Novel)
April 26, 2011
In the newest addition to the New York
Times-bestselling series, Stone Barrington comes
face-to-face with a beautiful woman from his past. . . .
Stone Barrington receives a rather unexpected phone call
from Read more...
Santa Fe Edge
(An Ed Eagle Novel #4)
March 22, 2011
If you run into trouble in Santa Fe, Ed Eagle is the man
to see.
Ed Eagle, the six-feet-six, take-no-prisoners Santa Fe
attorney, has recovered from his encounters with Mexican
organized crime and—more Read more...
Strategic Moves
(A Stone Barrington Novel)
January 18, 2011
The new page-turning Stone Barrington novel from the
perennially entertaining New York Times bestselling
author.
Stone Barrington is enjoying his usual dinner at
Elaine’s when his boss at Woodman & Weld, the law Read more...
Lucid Intervals
(A Stone Barrington Novel)
November 30, 2010
It seems like just another quiet night at Elaine’s.
Stone Barrington and his former cop partner, Dino, are
enjoying some pasta when in walks former client—and
all around sad sack—Herbie Fisher...with a briefcase
containing Read more...
Kisser
(A Stone Barrington Novel)
September 7, 2010
Stone Barrington is back in New York and looking forward to
some downtime working cases for Woodman & Weld that the
prestigious law firm does not wish to be seen to be
associated Read more...
Santa Fe Edge
(An Ed Eagle Novel #4)
September 7, 2010
Ed Eagle, the six-feet-six, take-no-prisoners Santa Fe
attorney has recovered from his encounters with Mexican
organized crime and—more treacherously—his
ex-wife, Barbara. Now a mysterious new client has come his
way, one who may shed Read more...
Hothouse Orchid
(A Holly Barker Novel)
April 27, 2010
Home gets hot for special agent Holly Barker.
After years on the trail of an internationally wanted
terrorist, the CIA thinks Special Agent Holly Barker might
need a long vacation. So Holly Read more...
Lucid Intervals
(A Stone Barrington Novel)
April 20, 2010
A brand-new page-turning Stone Barrington novel from the
perennially entertaining New York Times-bestselling
author.
It seems like just another quiet night at Elaine’s.
Stone Barrington and his former cop partner, Dino, are
enjoying some Read more...
Kisser
(A Stone Barrington Novel)
January 19, 2010
Stone Barrington is back in this thrilling new
page-turner from the perennially entertaining New York
Times-bestselling author.
Stone Barrington is back in New York, and after a rather
harrowing sojourn in Key West, Read more...
Loitering With Intent
(A Stone Barrington Novel)
November 24, 2009
Key West is a great place to unwind, unless you're Stone
Barrington, and you're looking for someone who doesn't want
to be found. Read more...
Hothouse Orchid
September 22, 2009
A brand-new page-turning Holly Barker novel from the
perennially entertaining New York Times-bestselling
author Stuart Woods.
After Special Agent Holly Barker lets international
terrorist Teddy Fay slip through her fingers for a second
time, the Read more...
Mounting Fears
September 1, 2009
President Will Lee's vice-president just died during
surgery, and Lee's new pick may be hiding something from his
past. Meanwhile, rogue CIA agent Teddy Fay is plotting
revenge on CIA Director Kate Rule Read more...
Deep Lie
August 4, 2009
Thought you knew Stuart Woods?
Think again.
Undersea espionage meets heart-stopping suspense in this
"amazingly original thriller" (Richard Condon , bestseling
author of The Manchurian Candidate) from New York
Times bestselling author Stuart Woods.
CIA analyst Read more...
Hot Mahogany
(A Stone Barrington Novel)
May 5, 2009
A rock-SOLID new Stone Barrington novel
Stone Barrington is hired to protect a former intelligence
agent with a penchant for antique furniture—and a bad
case of amnesia. And what he's forgotten, some will Read more...
Loitering with Intent
(A Stone Barrington Nove)
April 21, 2009
The newest addition to the New York
Times—bestselling Stone Barrington series.
Dumped by his glamorous Russian girlfriend during dinner at
Elaine's, and running low on cash, Stone Barrington is
having a bad week. So Read more...
Santa Fe Rules
December 30, 2008
Santa Fe Dead
November 25, 2008
OUR FAVORITE LEGAL EAGLE LANDS IN NEW MEXICO
Attorney Ed Eagle thinks he's safe from his black widow
ex-wife, who is now in police custody. But when she escapes,
she spins a new Read more...
Mounting Fears
January 13, 2008
New York Times-bestselling author Stuart Woods
returns with another page-turning thriller.
President Will Lee is having a rough week. His vice
president just died during surgery. Confirmation hearings
for the new vice president are Read more...
Iron Orchid
(A Holly Barker Novel)
April 4, 2006
Now working for the CIA, ex-chief-of-police Holly Barker
joins the elite task force tracking Teddy Fay—a man who
kills his political targets for sport. As he begins to pick
off America's enemies one Read more...
Iron Orchid
October 25, 2005
Holly Barker, the small-town cop turned CIA agent, tracks
a master of disguise-and a consummate killer.
Iron Orchid, Stuart Woods's latest in the Holly Barker
series, pits the no-nonsense cop Read more...
Two Dollar Bill
(A Stone Barrington Novel)
October 4, 2005
First Time In Paperback
Stone Barrington is caught between a clever con
man—who's just become his client-and a beautiful
prosecutor in this stylish thriller in the bestselling series.
Two-Dollar Bill delivers all the storytelling
twists Read more...
Two Dollar Bill
April 12, 2005
Stone Barrington is caught between a clever con man-who's
just become his client-and a beautiful prosecutor in this
stylish thriller in the bestselling series.
Two-Dollar Bill delivers all the storytelling Read more...
The Prince of Beverly Hills
October 1, 2004
A brash detective enters the Hollywood fast lane-jammed
with the sort of wealth, glamour, and blackmail it is
famous for-in this new thriller by the bestselling author
of the Stone Read more...
Reckless Abandon
April 12, 2004
Cop-turned-lawyer Stone Barrington tracks a mobster hiding
deep inside the witness protection program in this next
thriller in the New York Times-bestselling series.
Stone Barrington is, once again, right at Read more...
Capital Crimes
October 13, 2003
Someone is out to kill the nation's high-level politicos in
this electrifying new thriller in the bestselling Will Lee
series.
Will Lee, the courageous and uncompromising senator from
Georgia, is Read more...
Dirty Work
April 14, 2003
Back in New York City after the London adventures of The
Short Forever, cop-turned-lawyer Stone Barrington is
approached by a colleague at the firm of Woodman & Weld who
needs Read more...
Blood Orchid
October 14, 2002
The Short Forever
April 2, 2002
In The Short Forever, the unflappable Stone Barrington
comes face to face with two men whose lives are wrapped in
shadows and lies-and who both still feel a sting of betrayal
they can Read more...
Orchid Blues
October 29, 2001
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