Harris became the first black male cheerleader as well as the first black yearbook editor while attending the University of Arkansas. After graduation, he became a computer salesman with IBM, AT&T, and Hewlett-Packard for 13 years living in Dallas, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. In 1990, Harris attempted suicide during a dark phase of depression and heavy drinking but later found the will to live through his writing. Harris relieved himself of his salesman duties and quit in order to begin writing his first novel. Harris was initially unable to land a book deal with a publishing house for his first work, "Invisible Life", so he published it himself and sold copies from his car trunk. He later was published by Doubleday, and ten of his novels achieved "New York Times" bestseller status.