Born in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, James was the youngest of a family of eight children. After finishing high school, four years in the military service, and presently many years in the ministry, he finally delved into his passion for writing. His first book, 'Coming Home Empty' was published in 1997 and since then he has written many more novels/novellas, including a series of six westerns. Although there is a bit of violence in his books, yet, he writes for a 'general' or 'family' readership without any profanity or sexual content in his westerns and adventure stories. He has also adapted some of his books, along with other stories, to feature length screenplays which will soon be available on his website.