Jere D James

Jere D. James is my penname. Only my publisher knows my real name, and she has vowed not to reveal it until my books have won awards. That's the agreement.

Originally I wrote suspense novels. Unfortunately, suspense writers are a dime a dozen. Obviously a few have made it BIG. My books did well, but I was frustrated by the long, uphill battle for recognition. I'm not in this for the money, strangely enough. I'm in this business for the joy of telling great stories that people will truly love and remember.

Westerns were a good change for me, but my suspense publisher wanted no part of the change and argued that the readers I had would never accept me as a Western writer. There was only one way to solve that dilemma that I could see, and that was with a new name. It seems readers don't like it when authors cross over to new genres.

I guess I chose to write Westerns for several reasons. One, I truly enjoy reading Westerns. Two, I've lived in the West my entire life (currently I live in Arizona, no less). I own horses and travel to all the sites that I include in my books. No Google Earth for me...I need to see the real McCoy to write about it. As a result, I spend a lot of time on my horse and living in my camper. It's all good.

My first Western, Saving Tom Black, has done exceedingly well and has surpassed my expectations. I go to lots of events and sell my books directly to people. My publisher sells lots also. Saving Tom Black proved so popular that my publisher released my second book, Apache, five months early. Both books have received fantastic reviews, and I have to admit I'm astonished, pleased as can be, and proud.