ADELAIDE:
JAMES HOUSTON TURNER WORKING ON NEW THRILLER
Yes, James has finished updating his acclaimed
"Ludlumesque" thriller, The Second Thirteen, and is well underway on
its sequel, which takes his intrepid hero, Aleksandr Talanov, to new challenges in new
corners of the world. "Talanov is a wonderful character," wrote journalist Rick
Koster at The Dallas Morning News. Why?
"I can only guess," says James, "but part of it has to do with
Talanov's unique blend of traits: a former KGB colonel and black belt in Combat Sambo who
finds his icy capabilities thawed by the woman to whom he is married, but does not know
how to love."
Now retired and living in Australia, he discovers he has changed
since his Cold War days. And there is a market for his unique KGB knowledge and
experience. The KGB, after all, trained many of today's terrorists at their Balashikha
sabotage and terrorism complex near Moscow. And Talanov knows its inner workings. Not
surprisingly, some people want him to tell what he knows.
But others don't.
Stay tuned for more
news about James's exciting new thriller.
JAMES
AND WENDY TURNER ATTEND G'DAY USA IN LOS ANGELES
Once again, with the generous assistance of
Qantas, James and Wendy attended the presitious G'day USA black tie gala in Hollywood,
where Australian actors Simon Baker and Toni Collette were honored with golfer, Greg
Norman. For James, it was a chance to catch up with old friends and meet new ones as
he met with film executives regarding his feature-length screenplay, Big John, a
true story based on the life of the great Native American fullback from Haskell Institute
(now Haskell Indian Nations University), John Levi.
James also met with one of the New Moon directors about potential Native
American actors for the role of Big John. "There are some sensational stars from New
Moon and Eclipse who would make terrific actors for Big John,"James was
told. He then met a producer in Sausalito, near San Francisco, to discuss the project
further. "We're looking at all kinds of possibilities,"says James,
"including production in Australia. ''Period' films are not easy sells, but this one
has stand-up-and-cheer quality, so we're hopeful."
LOS ANGELES -- ACCLAIMED
ACTOR ADONI MAROPIS COMMENTS ON THE IDENTITY FACTOR
It's always a rush to hear from people who
love my books. Yes, I also hear from readers who spot mistakes, and those e-mails always
teach me something. Bottom line: I love hearing from readers. From you.
One e-mail in particular made me turn cartwheels, which of course almost landed me
in the chiropractor's office. It came from Adoni Maropis, whom many of you will remember
as Jack Bauer's terrifying nemesis, Abu Fayed, in Season 6 of the fabulous TV series, 24.
After purchasing a copy of the book on Amazon.com, Adoni was
gracious enough to e-mail me these comments: "Dear Jim. Wow, that was some
novel. Great stuff with all the twists and turns. Bravo! It gives hope to
lift the world up to goodness."
BTW, for all the latest news about Adoni, check out his awesome
website, at http://adoni-maropis.com .
SEPTEMBER, 2009 -- THE
IDENTITY FACTOR ADAPTED FOR FILM
"The best writing comes from massive
rewriting," journalist Bob Larson, with whom I worked as a journalist at the famed
Union Rescue Mission in Los Angeles, once told me. And that is exactly how the script
version of The Identity Factor has played out. There has been a lot of
chopping and condensing, and it's been hard at times to eliminate a favorite scene or
character, but the results have been genuinely spectacular.
But there has also been the need to get to know my characters better than I did in
the book, because nuance in film is visual and I need to communicate that nuance into the
script so that a director can then make this character come alive on the screen. Film
producer Kristin Overn (who also directs the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards),
collaborated with me on the script and pushed my abilities as a writer to new heights. I
won't lie to you (even though I write fiction, which of course is telling lies for a
living) -- the process of solving individual challenges for this adaptation has been a
struggle for me. Kristin likens it to being in quicksand. You fight to get
through this sticky, suffocating quagmire, and at times you feel like it will engulf you.
Long hours tick by, sometimes turning into days of stalemate, but finally you fit the
pieces of the puzzle together and push your way through to the other side. Then you do it
all over again with the next challenge. But the struggle is actually enabling me to
grow as a writer so that I can produce better and better material. So I'm learning to
love the quicksand. It definitely pushed my envelope.
And we did it! What a trip. At times I've soared, at times I've cursed.
The writers among you will know what I'm talking about. What I've had to learn is
not to be too "precious" with what I've written... not to "own" it so
much that I fail to see ways to improve it... to do it better, especially for the sake of
the film. It hasn't been easy. But it has certainly been worth it. And
exhilarating.
But it will be even more exhilarating to see The Identity Factor come to
life on the screen -- which itself can take years, if at all. But when it does,
there will be celebration dinners with Australia's fabulous Jacob's Creek wine. Qantas has
even offered to help sponsor a nationwide contest for a lucky couple to attend the
Australian premier. So keep watching this space for details on these exciting
events. Thanks again for your wonderfully supportive emails and interest.
LOS ANGELES -- THE IDENTITY FACTOR SCOOPS
UNPRECECENTED FOURTH FINALIST AWARD IN 2008 "NATIONAL BEST BOOKS
AWARDS"
October 20, 2008 -- USABookNews.com,
the premiere online magazine and review website for mainstream and independent publishing
houses, honored James Houston Turner's geopolitcal thriller, The Identity Factor,with its fourth Finalist Award in the Thriller/Adventure (Fiction) category of the
2008 Best Books Awards! "This competition was extremely tough," said James
from his home in Adelaide. "Books from small publishers go up against big name
authors from the major New York houses. This is an awesome accomplishment and I'm
definitely celebrating my victory." Click HERE
to read press release on PRLog.org.
In a major publicity campaign, Jeff Keen, President and CEO of JPX Media, parent company
of USABookNews.com, said the 2008 Best Books Awards yielded an unprecedented number of
entries, which were then narrowed to a field of over 500, from which winners and finalists
were chosen. The 2008 results represent a phenomenal mix of books from a wide array of
publishers, including Simon & Schuster, Tarcher/Penguin, HarperCollins, Hyperion, St.
Martin’s Press, McGraw-Hill, John Wiley & Sons, & hundreds of independents.
JAMES A FEATURED SPEAKER AT NAFSA CONVENTION IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
Speaking about his life as a smuggler and courier behind the old
Iron Curtain and how these experiences inspired him to write espionage and geopolitical
thrillers, James addressed an exclusive breakfast crowd on May 27 at the 60th annual NAFSA
convention in Washington, D.C.
"As an American living in
Adelaide, James was a natural," says Denise von Wald, Chief Executive of Education
Adelaide. "We did an Oprah Winfrey style of interview, as well as
furnished guests with complimentary copies of James's latest thriller, The Identity
Factor."
According to the NAFSA website (www.nafsa.org), NAFSA "was
founded in 1948 as the National Association of Foreign Student Advisers to promote the
professional development of American college and university officials responsible for
assisting and advising the 25,000 foreign students who had come to study in the United
States after World War II." Over the years, NAFSA has grown into an international
organization of educational advisers. "We were in Washington to
showcase Adelaide as an educational destination," says Ms von Wald, "and with
James being a dual American-Australian citizen who has traveled and researched his novels
both here and abroad, we wanted him to speak about some of his experiences, as well as
share why he chooses to call Adelaide home."
This was followed over the course of two afternoons with sell-out wine tasting
events featuring Australia's award-winning Jacob's Creek wine. Last year's guest speaker
from Adelaide was astronaut Andy Thomas.
JAMES
INTERVIEWED IN HOLLYWOOD ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE, ARTIST INTERVIEWS
Attracting over one million visitors per month, the glamorous Artist
Interviews Magazine is one of the first online magazines to hit the
internet. The winner of seven international awards, "AI" recently featured an in-depth
interview with James about the various life experiences that influenced him both as a
person and a writer. To read the interview, click HERE and scroll down to the photo icon of James, which
will link you to the interview.
LOS
ANGELES -- G'DAY USA 2008 A HUGE SUCCESS!
Wendy and I had an
awesome time at The Mystery Bookstore signing in Westwood Village. Many people who were
not able to attend ordered copies of The Identity Factor by mail. Thank you! And
a special thanks to those of you who braved those infamous LA freeways in order to come to
the first G'day USA satellite event ever for an author. Meeting you (and
getting your e-mails) is what makes this writing journey worthwhile.
I also met Terri Irwin in the
hotel gym. We got to talking and she said she would love to read a copy of my
book. Okay, so maybe she accepted a copy to get rid of the blubbering, sweaty guy annoying
her on the treadmill, but when we met again later that night at the gala, she flagged me
down and said, "Mate, I am so excited about your book. I cannot wait to read
it." She then gave me a kiss on the cheek and invited Wendy and me to visit her
in Brisbane. Terri Irwin. Pure class.
We also met Olivia Newton-John -- whose singing that night was absolute magic --
plus the gorgeous and talented Melissa George and the legendary John Travolta. Harrison
Ford was there to present the "Excellence in Film Award" to Phillip Noyce, who -
in addition to directing a raft of fabulous Australian films - directed Ford in screen
adaptations of two of Tom Clancy's novels. Pop singers Kylie Minogue and Christine Anu
were also there, as was the Qantas choir, the amazing Pembroke orchestra (from Adelaide),
Australia's great former cricket captain Steve Waugh, professional golfer Ian Baker Finch,
and the dynamic host of Australian Idol and Take40.com - Andrew G. Last year's sellout
crowd event honored actors Russell Crowe, Naomi Watts, and the late Steve Irwin, with
music was by The Veronicas.
Along with its New York counterpart, G'day USA
Los Angeles has become one of the premier social and promotional events of the year,
reaching a worldwide audience of 400,000,000.
By far the most memorable part of this trip,
however, was spending time with Ally - Alexandria Elizabeth Turner - my captivating and
incredibly beautiful granddaughter. What a gorgeous little pistol! She is definitely
my #2 girl.
Thank you, Bill Rich, of Bill Rich Photography, for not only opening your home to us, but
for your fantastic photos (Bill is a renowned, award-winning photographer in Los Angeles,
whose lens has captured the likes of Bill and Hillary Clinton, Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Voight,
and more. Check out his websites at www.therichimage.com and www.billrichphotography.com).
And a very special thanks to Qantas and Jacob's Creek, for helping make this
extraordinary trip so extraordinary.
Esteemed internationally as a man of peace,
Jerusalem’s Rabbi David Rosen recently praised Adelaide novelist James
Houston Turner for the way he balanced religious and political sensitivities with
unrelenting suspense in his latest thriller, The Identity Factor..."
(Click HERE to read entire article from PR Log
newswire.)
LOS ANGELES (June, 2007)-- JAMES
HOUSTON TURNER TURNS "SWEET 16" AND CELEBRATES SECOND CHANCE AT LIFE
Kansas-born, Adelaide-based novelist James Houston Turner
celebrates his second chance at life 16 years after his cancer operation. Not many people
have two birthdays, but acclaimed fiction author James Houston Turner has been receiving
“sweet sixteen” birthday wishes from all over the world. The “sweet
sixteen” actually refers to Turner’s 1991 cancer operation, where doctors at
Australia’s Royal Adelaide Hospital cut out half of his jaw bone in order to excise a
malignant tumor the size of an orange. They then fashioned him a new jaw bone out of hip
bone, grafted skin and vessels from his arm into his mouth, where teeth and gums used to
be, took muscles and arteries from his other arm to reconstruct his face, then grafted
skin from his thigh back onto his arm.
"I feel a bit like a Legos man," he says: "interchangeable
parts." Turner was told if he lived eighteen months, he would probably live to
be 100. “After 16 years, I am happy to report I am well on my way toward that
goal,” Turner exclaims. But it has not been an easy battle. “I thought I
had been given a death sentence. To make matters worse, when the cancer specialist
in San Diego found out that we didn’t have health insurance, he simply walked out of
the room, leaving me alone in the examination chair... (Click HERE
to read article in its entirety.)
1991. Diagnosis: cancer. The
tumor in
James's jaw was the size of an orange.
James was told, "If you
live 18 months, you
will probably live to be 100."
James as he looks now.
JAMES
HOUSTON TURNER FEATURED IN DELTA TAU DELTA FRATERNITY MAGAZINE, RAINBOW James has been featured several times in Rainbow
magazine. Other featured Delts included bestselling authors Richard North Patterson and
Forrest Gump's Winston Groom.
James has also been featured as a
Delt living abroad in the "Global Delts" issue, where he was quoted on the
cover: "Like the view of Earth from Space, the view of America from afar is
spectacular." An article in "Books by Brothers" mentions James's current
film option with The Second Thirteen and his upcoming launch of The Identity
Factor as part of the prestigious G'day USA festivities in Los Angeles. Other
featured Delts include Drew Carey, Matthew McConaughey, Will Ferrell, David Schwimmer,
James Marsden, Academy Award winning screenwriter Stephen Gaghan ("Traffic"),
and football legends John Elway and Gene Washington.
NEW YORK
(April, 2000)-- BARNES & NOBLE CREDITS JAMES HOUSTON TURNER AS BEING THE
FIRST AUTHOR TO USE A VIDEO TO PROMOTE A NOVEL
From Texas to Missouri to California on his
year 2000 tour stretching over 4000 miles, James drew accolades from Barnes & Noble
bookstore managers and customers alike for his "Under Cover" video promoting his
novel, The Second Thirteen. Animated trailers are now commonplace
as a means of promoting books.
