About the Author

A native of Baldwin, Kansas, James Houston Turner burst onto the writing scene at the age of ten with his Adventures of Cornelius Kadiddlehopper. Not exactly must-read material, the stories prompted his grade school English teacher to urge him to consider becoming a policeman. But a career in law enforcement was not to be and James went on to write his first masterpiece - a 31,000 word theme - as punishment for talking too much in high school biology class. Fired by the knowledge that his teacher then had to read the thing, he achieved even greater heights by weaseling out of university exams with the suggestion that he write research papers instead. The renown Cajun anthropologist, Dr. Michael Rees, wrote in the margin of one paper, "you can't have my job just yet."

James' writing career has been varied. His formative years as a geek were recorded in his book of free verse poetry, The Earth of Your Soul (1979). Some of those melancholy poems can still be heard on late-night radio in eastern Kansas. After a Bachelor's degree in religion from Baker University, where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity, he received a Master's degree from the University of Houston, where his thesis critiqued the fossil evidence for human origins. He then authored (and happily taste-tested every recipe in) his potato cookbook, The Spud Book (St. Martins Press, New York), which saw him become Spudman, one of television's first cooking gurus. Eat your heart out, Jamie Oliver. Artichoke heart, that is, for James was the first (and, we suspect, the last) to blend artichokes, brussels sprouts and potatoes into a nutritious smoothie that people still talk about to this day. We cannot, you understand, repeat what those people are saying and still maintain a PG rating.

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James then worked for five years as a photojournalist in Los Angeles, where he interviewed numerous inner city residents of the famed Union Rescue Mission. Over 130 of his stories were published in their magazine, Lifeline.

James' foray into fiction came as a result of courier activities behind the old Iron Curtain. "It was pretty high-octane stuff for a guy with an active imagination," he says. "I've been shadowed by the KGB, organized secret midnight meetings with informants, located hidden mountain bunkers and investigated legends of forgotten tunnels buried beneath the cobblestones and bricks of some of Central Europe's most venerable cathedrals." His first novel, The Search for the Sword of St Peter (1996) was a result of those experiences.

Next came his acclaimed espionage thriller, The Second Thirteen (JB Books, 1999), which saw him tour bookstores throughout the American Southwest in cooperation with Qantas Airways, Jacobs Creek wines and Barnes & Noble. Barnes & Noble credited James as being the first author to employ the use of video to promote a novel, with other authors now following suit. His 2000 production, "Under Cover," was hosted by Australian television legend, Anne Wills, with his current two-minute DVD animated trailer for The Identity Factor summed up in a quote by Gladiator film executive, Ty Warren: "strap yourself in for one hell of a ride". James took time off between books to write two feature film screenplays: "Big John" (a 1920s sports biopic based on the true story of Native American fullback, Big John Levi), and the modern-day action-adventure, "The Black Knight". Both scripts gained him recognition in Hollywood.

He is sometimes asked why he is so passionate about writing and why his writing communicates such passion. "I nearly lost my life in a battle with cancer," he says. "In 1991, I was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in my jaw. But when the cancer specialist in San Diego found out I had no health insurance - nor the $200,000 needed for an operation - he simply walked out of the room, leaving me alone in the examination chair. I never saw him again. My wife, Wendy, and I cried all the way home, feeling I had been handed a death sentence by a doctor who couldn't have cared less. Being an Australian citizen,Wendy phoned home to see if help was available there - which there was. So with weeks to live, we flew to Adelaide, where for $17,000, a team of surgeons removed a tumor the size of an orange from my face. I was told if I lived eighteen months, I would probably live to be 100, so I am happy to report I am well on my way toward that goal! Coming that close to death had a profound effect on me - one that I cannot fully articulate other than to say it made me look at life and what's important in life much differently. It ignited emotions I didn't know I had, and these emotions and outlooks affect my writing. My characters have flaws, wrestle with fears, have passions, and face challenges with many of the same emotions I felt."

James and Wendy, a former triathlon winner, live in Adelaide, South Australia.