Eric Garcia

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Eric Garcia (b. 1972, Miami, Florida) is the author of several humorous novels including Matchstick Men which was made into a movie directed by Ridley Scott and starring Nicolas Cage, and the Anonymous Rex series which is being used as the basis for a new TV show on the SciFi Channel.

Eric Garcia went to Cornell University, where he studied English and Film, then transferred to the University of Southern California during his junior year. His first novel, Anonymous Rex was published in 1999.

The second novel in the Rex series, Casual Rex, was published in 2001, and was a prequel to Anonymous Rex, a fact which wasn't on the book flap. The inclusion of characters in Casual Rex who were dead in Anonymous Rex confused many fans, who assumed that the book was a sequel.

In 2002, Random House published Matchstick Men, a novel completely different from Garcia's prior work. Warner Brothers had already purchased the film rights and signed Ridley Scott as the director and with Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, and Alison Lohman as the film's stars. The film version, released in September 2003, scored critical reviews, and was an average performer at the box office.

2004 was a busy year for Garcia. His third book in the Rex series, Hot And Sweaty Rex was published early in the year, and in June, HarperCollins/ReganBooks put out Cassandra French's Finishing School For Boys, a hard-core satire of the chick-lit genre.

Also in 2004, the SciFi Channel showed the long-awaited pilot for Anonymous Rex, which was actually based on Casual Rex but kept the name of the original book. As of April 2006, it is unknown whether the show will be picked up for a full season.

Eric Garcia lives in Southern California with his wife, daughter, and dachshund.