Vince Flynn - Biography

Biography

Vince Flynn is a graduate of Saint Thomas Academy (1985) and the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) (1989). Post graduation, Flynn went to work for Kraft Foods as an account and sales marketing specialist. In 1991, he left Kraft to pursue a career as an aviator with the United States Marine Corps. One week before leaving for Officer Candidate School, he was medically disqualified from the Marine Aviation Program.

In an effort to overcome the difficulties of dyslexia, Flynn forced himself into a daily writing and reading regimen. Quotes Flynn: "I started reading everything I could get my hands on, Hemingway, Ludlum, Clancy, Tolkien, Vidal. I read fiction, nonfiction, anything, but I especially loved espionage."

His newfound interest in such novels motivated him to begin work on a novel of his own. While employed as a bartender in the St. Paul area, he completed his first book, Term Limits, which he then self-published. "I had just finished reading The Government Racket: Washington Waste from A to Z, by Martin L. Gross. It is without a doubt the most disheartening and enlightening book about politics that I've ever read. I was out jogging one day wondering what it would take to really change Washington, when my thoughts turned to a friend who had been shot and killed in Washington, D.C., several summers earlier. As I continued running, a story started to unfold."

Pocket Books published the hardcover edition of Term Limits in 1998, and the mass market paperback of Term Limits in 1999, which spent several weeks on The New York Times bestseller list.

Subsequent works, including Flynn's 1999 novel, Transfer of Power, his 2000 novel The Third Option and his 2001 novel Separation of Power, also appeared on the New York Times bestseller list, with Separation of Power reaching as high as #7.

Flynn's fifth novel, Executive Power, was published in hardcover by Atria Books in May 2003, followed by his sixth novel Memorial Day in 2004, his seventh novel Consent To Kill in October 2005, his eighth novel Act Of Treason in October 2006, his ninth novel Protect And Defend in 2007 and his tenth novel Extreme Measures in 2008.

With the exception of his first novel Term Limits, his works have centered around counter-terrorism agent Mitch Rapp. His 2008 release, Extreme Measures became the ninth novel in that increasingly popular series.

The level of specific detail displayed in the Mitch Rapp series at one point came under the scrutiny of the Department Of Energy. His sixth novel Memorial Day actually garnered a security review by the DOE due to concerns that the book contained classified material surrounding nuclear security. This security review was also mentioned in internal memos by the FBI and Secret Service.

Flynn has written six New York Times bestsellers for Atria Books, and has a contract for four more. He remembers deciding between following the path that was the most uncomfortable — continuing with what looked to be a promising career as a commercial real estate leasing agent — or take a big risk and start a new career as a writer. “I look back on it now and I couldn’t be happier with my decision, but at the time I remember a lot of people thought I was nuts."

In February 2008, Flynn agreed on film and book projects with CBS Corporation units CBS Films and Simon & Schuster/Atria Books. Lorenzo di Bonaventura is negotiating to produce Mitch Rapp films. Atria Books got worldwide rights to four books by the author.

In August 2010, Flynn signed a two-book deal for a new series that he will co-write with Brian Haig, a retired Army Lt. Colonel.

On February 1, 2011, in his fan newsletter, Flynn announced that he was being treated for Stage III prostate cancer.