NSU Forums Series Hosts Mary Higgins Clark

For 22 years, Nova Southeastern University has brought some of the brightest minds, the latest news-makers, and the biggest stars to South Florida. As part of the NSU Forums Series, supporters have been witness to such celebrities as Harry Belafonte, Ed Bradley, David Brinkley, Mario Cuomo, Rita Moreno, Dan Quayle, Sally Jesse Raphael, Dan Rather, George Steinbrenner, Kurt Vonnegut, Ben Bradlee, Bob Woodward, Wayne Dyer, Richard Holbrook and Kati Marton.

This year's Forums Series speaker was no exception. May Higgins Clark, best-selling author many times over, entertained her audience with her stories and anecdotes. Born and raised in New York, Mary Higgins Clark is of Irish descent. "The Irish are, by nature, storytellers," says Clark, who considers her Irish heritage an important influence on her writing.

Her first book was a biographical novel about the life of George Washington, Aspire to the Heavens. "It was remaindered as it came off the press," she says of her first try. Next, she decided to write a suspense novel, Where Are the Children? which became a bestseller and marked a turning point in her life and career. Since then she has written more than 20 bestsellers.