The Red Horseman

About Stephen Coonts

This biography could be entitled, West Virginia Boy Becomes a Very Successful Author....... but that would be too obvious. Author, Stephen Coonts was born and raised in Buchanan, West Virginia, a small town of 6,000. He led the typical life of any boy growing up in the 50's and 60's.

He was born in 1946, and ended his childhood by graduating from West Virginia University with a degree in political science. As happens with many poli-sci grads, he had a law degree in mind, but first he served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy and began flight training in Pensacola, Florida.

Coonts received his wings after completion of fleet replacement training in the A-6 Intruder aircraft. After serving in the Vietnam War as an attack fighter, he served as a flight instructor, and did a tour of duty on the USS Nimitz. Upon leaving the Navy, he entered the University of Colorado School of Law. After receiving his law degree, he moved back to West Virginia to practice for a couple of years. But, his career took him back to Colorado where he specialized in oil and gas law.

Finally, in 1986, he published his first novel, Flight of the Intruder, which became a huge success, being on the New York Times bestseller list in hardcover. Later, a movie by the same title was produced based on his novel, and was released nationally in 1991. All of his books have been published in several different countries.

Currently, Coonts lives in Colorado with his third wife, Deborah, He continues to write novels from Colorado.