Edward Paul Jones was born in 1950 in Washington, D.C., where he was raised by his illiterate mother, Jeanette S. M. Jones. His father left the family when Jones was about four years old, and his mother supported Jones and his younger siblings by working as a hotel maid and kitchen worker. The family moved often, at least eighteen times before Jones's high school graduation.

Jones loved to read comic books as a child, and he became excited about longer fiction after reading his first novel at the age of thirteen. He was also a good student from an early age. After graduating from Cardozo High School, Jones entered College of the Holy Cross, a choice influenced by a friendship he had with a Jesuit priest, Joseph Owens, in high school. A scholarship student, Jones studied English and began writing fiction as a sophomore.

After earning...