Federal Way Public Schools Alumni of Note
Greg Cox
Science Fiction Writer
Thomas Jefferson High School
Graduate, Class of 1978
New York Times best-selling author Greg Cox works with a dictionary on his desk that was given to him by his former English teacher at Thomas Jefferson High School on his graduation day. "Best wishes to a teacher’s dream student - Faith Ford," is inscribed in the cover.
Cox, a 1978 Thomas Jefferson grad, looks fondly back on his time in Federal Way. He attended Woodmont, Mirror Lake, Star Lake and Mark Twain elementary schools, Totem Middle School and Thomas Jefferson High School. "All through my educational career, teachers and librarians encouraged me to read and write on subjects that interested me," Cox said. "One teacher read my sixth-grade magnum opus, 'Frankenstein Meets the Golem' to the entire class."
Although he earned good grades in English classes, Cox wasn't drawn to a writing career early on. He jokes now that his teachers realized he should be a writer before he realized it himself. Instead, Cox enrolled in Western Washington University and earned a degree in chemistry.
During college, Cox became involved with the campus science fiction club and helped organize conventions. "I started meeting other science fiction writers at those conventions," he said. "It’s hard to underestimate how important that was, to see that these were real people, not just names on dust jackets." Later, he participated in the Clarion West Science Fiction and Fantasy workshop. The course was his beginning in what would become a prolific writing career.
"In retrospect, I was always destined to do this. I remember as a child – a first grader - wandering around the playground, making up stories about my favorite comic book heroes," Cox said. "I got off track, I studied math and science – but somewhere in college, realized I was a better science fiction writer than chemist."
These days, Cox has a number of best-selling books under his belt including several in the Star Trek series. He continues to write up to six books per year and also works as a consulting editor. "I keep a brainstorming file filled with interesting newspaper and magazine articles just to generate ideas," Cox said. "God bless Popular Science Magazine. If I’m really stuck, I go to the library with a notepad and read it. I come away with lots of ideas - underwater labs, new robots, etcetera."
Among the most influential teachers Cox recalls from his days in Federal Way are Mr. Lewis, Mr. Metcalf and Mr. Records. Participating on the debate team instilled lifelong skills, Cox said. "Being part of the school's debate team got me comfortable with public speaking, which prepared me for years of sales conferences, book signings, and Star Trek conventions. I also enjoyed taking part in a 1976 bicentennial history quiz team."
Cox offers the following advice to current students: " Take some risks, be adventurous. One of the best decisions I made was to take that writers course in Seattle. I had to take six weeks off and make a deal with my boss, but it was worth it in the long run. A few years later, I took another risk and moved to New York to get closer to the publishing business. I lived on peanut butter for a month. When I left to go to New York, I packed up all my furniture and stored it at my folks. For all I knew I was coming back in six months – that was in 1987. You have to take advantage of opportunities when they arise."
Some of Cox's most notable works include:
Numerous Star Trek novels including The Q Continuum, To Reign in Hell, The Eugenics Wars volumes one and two, Assignment, Eternity and The Black Shore.
Official movie novelizations of Daredevil, Ghost Rider, Death Defying Acts and all three Underworld movies.
Novelizations of popular DC Comics miniseries including Infinite Crisis, 52, Countdown and Final Crisis.
Books and short stories based on popular series including Alias, Batman, Buffy, CSI, Farscape, Fantastic Four, The 4400, X-Men, Iron Man, Roswell, Terminator, Underworld, Xena and Zorro.