Briefly, John Grisham

The Background: b. 1955, Jonesboro, Arkansas. Married, two children. Lives on farm outside Oxford, Mississippi.

The Occupation: Best-selling author of plot-driven, cameraready thrillers usually titled The SOMETHING.

The (Mind-boggling) Numbers: 1—rank of The Pelican Brief among longest-running best-sellers last year; 1 million (plus)—number of hardcover copies of The Pelican Brief in print last year; 1 and 2—rank of The Firm and A Time to Kill, respectively, among longest-running paperback bestsellers last year; $4.4 million—what Grisham has earned in movie rights alone; 5—number of hours he works each day.

Editors: (1) His wife; (2) Doubleday's David Gemert.

Gernert's Gripe: That he's the only person who has to stop halfway through a Grisham novel, "because the rest isn't written yet."

Author's Previous Incarnation: Small-town defense attorney; member, Mississippi state legislature. Not all that long ago, either.

Passion: Coaching Little League.

Newest Best-seller-to-Be: The Client.

Sneak Preview of Book: "[He] enjoyed the coffee almost as much as his boss, and the meticulous routine of making it was only half-serious."

Sold to Movies? Yes—for $2.5 million.

G.K.