A Searing Account

Long before becoming an attorney and a writer of bestselling legal thrillers, John Grisham had his fill of briefs:

I applied for a job at a Sears store in a mall. The only opening was in men’s underwear. It was humiliating. I tried to quit, but I was given a raise. Evidently, the position was difficult to fill. I asked to be transferred to toys, then to appliances. My bosses said no and gave me another raise.

I became abrupt with customers. Sears has the nicest customers in the world, but I didn’t care. I was rude and surly and I was occasionally watched by spies hired by the company to pose as shoppers. One asked to try on a pair of boxers. I said no, that it was obvious they were much too small for his rather ample rear end. I handed him an extra-large pair. I got written up.

Would you believe I published a novel on the same day, thanks to the same editor and publisher, as Grisham's first book, A Time To Kill? Some details here.