E. Lynn Harris is a former IBM computer sales executive and a graduate of the University ofArkansas at Fayetteville. He is the author of seven previous novel: ANY WAY THE WIND BLOWS, NOT A DAY GOES BY, ABIDE WITH ME, INVISIBLE LIFE, JUST AS I AM, AND THIS TOO SHALL PASS and IF THIS WORLD WERE MINE. In 1996 and 2002 Just As I Am and Any Way the Wind Blows were named Novel of the Year by the Blackboard African American Bestsellers, Inc. If This World Were Mine won the James Baldwin Award for Literary Excellence. In 2000 and 2001 Harris was named one of the fifty-five "Most Intriguing African Americans" by Ebony and inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame. In 2002, Harris was included in Savoy magazine's "100 Leaders and Heroes in Black America." Harris divides his time between New York City and Atlanta, Georgia.