Biography
Rob Thomas emerged into the world on August 15, 1965, in the quaint town of Sunnyside, Washington, as the progeny of Bob and Diana Thomas. At the tender age of ten, a significant shift uprooted him to San Marcos, Texas. This transition from the bucolic charm of rural life to the vibrant chaos of an urban center thrust him into a diverse inner-city school, where a multicultural population awaited. This drastic change swept him into a whirlwind of cultural dissonance, leaving him with a lingering sensation of alienation. It was during his junior high years that Thomas first entertained the notion of becoming a novelist. His time on the football field with San Marcos High School helped mitigate his feelings of being an outsider, allowing him to find enjoyment in his school days. Simultaneously, he strummed the bass in local bands, each experience layering the foundation for his future portrayal of disenchanted Texas youth and the nuances of postmodern popular culture.
In 1983, Thomas donned his graduation cap and stepped into the world as a high school graduate, promptly enrolling at Texas Christian University. There, he continued his athletic pursuits on the football team. Just a year later, the University of Texas at Austin became his new academic haven. His college years steered him towards journalism, a field he deemed more financially reliable than fiction writing. By 1987, Thomas had armed himself with a teaching certificate and a bachelor's degree in history. With ambitions of writing for illustrious publications like Sports Illustrated and Rolling Stone, he began his teaching career in 1989, imparting knowledge to young minds at a local school.
In adulthood, Thomas ventured into the world of rock music. In 1984, he and five high school comrades birthed a band called Public Bulletin, which later evolved into Hey Zeus four years hence. He also lent his musical talent to Black Irish. Summers were spent touring the southern states, with Thomas penning lyrics for several albums including Call You Mom (1989), Swimming Lessons (1991), and Screen Door Kind (1993). His passion for music took precedence over journalism for seven years, fueled by the joy of hearing audiences sing the words he had crafted. On his twenty-eighth birthday, he realized he had reached the zenith of his musical journey and bid farewell to the band. This turning point reignited his literary aspirations, inspiring him to write for personal fulfillment rather than an audience.
By 1994, Thomas found himself in the bustling city of Los Angeles, working for Channel One, a national student news program. In his spare moments, he embarked on a literary quest, drafting a novel at the rate of a page each morning. In ten months, his manuscript for Rats Saw God (1996) was complete. Two months later, on June 12, 1995, he secured an agent who believed in his vision. He left his job and returned to Texas, where, in October 1995, his agent sealed a deal with Simon and Schuster, securing a two-book contract. Thomas's debut novel garnered acclaim, winning the 1998-1999 South Carolina Young Adult Book Award and the 1996 Austin Writer's League Violet Crown Award for best fiction. Recognized as a 1997 top ten pick by the American Library Association for Best Books for Young Adults, Rats Saw God was celebrated as an ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, a YALSA Top Ten Best Book, an SLJ Best Book of the Year, and a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age. It graced numerous state reading lists and paved the way for a multi-book contract.
Thomas contributed his wisdom...
(This entire section contains 1440 words.)
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toUTmost, the University of Texas's undergraduate magazine. While teaching journalism at Reagan High School in Austin, Thomas penned Slave Day (1997), inspired by a Channel One video. This work vividly captured the essence of disenchanted high school students and faculty, weaving its tale through eight distinct viewpoints. School Library Journal bestowed upon it a starred review. His novel Satellite Down (1998) drew from his Channel One experiences, chronicling protagonist Patrick Sheridan's disillusionment with sudden media stardom and his journey to Ireland to reconnect with his roots. Thomas's travels across Ireland infused the novel with authenticity. Departing from his usual themes, Green Thumb (1999) delved into science fiction for younger readers, yet retained familiar motifs. It followed Grady Jacobs, a thirteen-year-old with extraordinary intellect, who could communicate with plants through a binary sound system, striving to honor nature against the selfish pursuits of antagonist Dr. Phillip Carter. This book was meant to be the inaugural installment of a quartet featuring supernaturally-gifted protagonists. Additionally, Thomas took on ghostwriting, adopting the pseudonym Everett Owen—an homage to his dogs—to craft entries in the X-Files series.
A casual comment from his girlfriend sparked Thomas to craft and publish "Pet Stories" in Seventeen magazine's September 1996 issue. This story bloomed into a collection centered around voluntary community service, titled Doing Time: Notes from the Undergrad (1997). "Pet Stories" was born in Ireland, driven by the intriguing idea of a support group for pet loss and "simply because it was a story I wanted to write." Encouraged by his editor, Thomas expanded this theme into a full-length collection, earning critical acclaim. It joined the ranks of the New York Public Library's Books for the Teen Age and was recognized as a Best Book for Young Adults, appearing on numerous state readers' choice lists. Doing Time: Notes from the Undergrad became a Junior Library Guild Selection. Another short story, "Box Nine," published on the Austin Chronicle Web site, won Thomas a local writing award. His repertoire also includes "The War Chest," focusing on community service in Twelve Shots (edited by Harry Mazer, 1998), and "Sheep" in Trapped (edited by Lois Duncan, 2000).
With an insatiable passion for screenwriting, Thomas penned an episode titled "Explode" for the quirky television show "Space Ghost: Coast to Coast," which dazzled audiences in 1996. His keen understanding of adolescent culture caught the attention of Sony Entertainment's copresident, who extended an invitation for him to craft a script for the iconic teen drama "My So-Called Life." Although the show met its demise before he penned an episode, his reputation led to an introduction to the creative minds behind "Dawson's Creek." As a staff writer for the show, Thomas delivered two episodes, "A Prelude to a Kiss" and "In the Company of Men," which captivated viewers in spring 1997. Venturing into the film arena, Thomas wrote "Fortune Cookie," a romantic comedy where three couples, on their inaugural dates at a Chinese restaurant, received fortunes crafted especially for them. This cinematic piece debuted at the Hollywood Film Festival in 1999, propelling Thomas into the spotlight of the television and film industry. This screenplay laid the groundwork for the series "Cupid," which Thomas created and for which he served as executive producer, airing on ABC from 1998 until its conclusion in 1999. During this era, he was affiliated with Columbia Tri-Star and, in 1999, signed a lucrative four-year television development deal with Twentieth Century Fox. Although tapped as executive producer for the detective drama "Snoops" by David Kelley, Thomas chose to depart before the season aired, citing creative differences and concerns about career progression.
Continuing to weave compelling narratives for the silver screen, Thomas crafted the screenplay for "Drive Me Crazy," inspired by Todd Strasser's young adult novel Girl Gives Birth to Own Prom Date. In 2000, his imaginative foray into "The Sticks," focusing on a minor league hockey team in South Texas, failed to secure a series order. Similarly, his pilot "Metropolis" was absent from ABC’s fall 2001 lineup. This series envisioned six friends, five years post-graduation from the University of California at Berkeley, navigating the choppy waters of reality after abandoning their youthful idealism, only to have their lives reevaluated by a life-altering car accident.
Residing amidst the star-studded Hollywood Hills, California, Thomas devotes his days to crafting three meticulously refined pages. Though his home serves as his primary sanctuary, he often finds inspiration in bustling coffee shops with his trusty laptop. An avid reader, he keeps a keen eye on current events and cultural shifts, often drawing creative sparks from the pages of newspapers. For Thomas, the greatest challenge lies in unearthing the right idea to anchor a plot, a struggle he wrestled with while conceiving Doing Time: Notes from the Undergrad. Embracing community engagement, he launched a contest on his website to name the anthology. His site houses an archive of his scripts, including many unaired gems. Thomas is currently collaborating on a novel with Ellen Wittlinger, author of Hard Love, which is set for publication in 2003, exploring the dynamic email exchange between a teenage boy and girl. Additionally, he is adapting David James Duncan’s novel The Brothers K and scripting a film adaptation of his own book, Slave Day.
