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 James R. Olson |
Here is everything you could possibly want
to know about James R. Olson. This is much
more comprehensive than the biography on
the About Our Author page. If you need some
elaboration, or if you have any questions,
please contact Jim for further information. |
| If there's anything I hate, it's composing
autobiographical material. How do you choose
what to include from a lifetime of exciting
years? Or, what do you exclude since I've
enjoyed every minute of it all? Consequently
I've chosen to present the story in chronological
order and in third person. I hope you find
something of interest, but if it bores you,
blame the mythical third person narrator. You are, of course, welcome to read the bio from beginning to end. However, if you are interested only in specific time periods or cities, please use the links below. |
James R. Olson began his literary career on August 24, 1938 in Kewanee, Illinois. The story is that he was born in his parent's bedroom, and his arrival was timed for the lunch hour so his father wouldn't have to miss any work. Kewanee is a fairly small town (population around 16,000 at that time), and for the first 10 years he had a Tom Sawyer like childhood, without the negative influence of a Huck Finn. It was the end of the depression and the beginning of the World War II period, when life was much different than it is today. Prices were low (a hamburger cost ten cents) and mostly friendly, understanding neighbors allowed a boy to pretty much run free and have a lot of innocent fun. His father, Robert, had been born in nearby Bishop Hill, which had begun as a Swedish commune during the years up to and including the Civil War. The community disbanded after the Civil War and today is an historical site. Robert Frost's sister taught in the one room school house where Robert learned his ABCs. The 1940s were a patriotic time, particularly during World War II. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, Robert enlisted in the Army, serving with the 36th Infantry Division, seeing combat in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France, and Germany. Consequently Jim and his older brother Dan and his younger brother Rick, essentially lived in a single parent household during the war years. His mother, Josephine, joined many other women of the era by going to work while the men were overseas. Jim attended the Visitation grade school for the first and second grades, and then transferred to Irving Public school. From the moment he learned to read, he loved the feel and smell of books. He haunted the public library and devoured books. He was a fairly early riser, even as a child, and while his friends were still sleeping, he would lie in bed reading until the other kids were ready to play ball in the streets or spend hours biking all over town. When he was seven years old he began writing his first novel. "As I remember, it was a western, which was a popular genre at that time," Jim recalls. "That manuscript was only one of two that I never completed." Jim's father was discharged from the Army in 1945 and tried civilian life for a year or so before he re-enlisted, deciding his calling was to be a career soldier. This was a decision that would have a major impact on Jim's life and his education in the ways of the world. Osaka, Japan 1949-1951 Robert was transferred overseas, and in August, 1949 arranged for his family to join him in Japan. It would be impossible to overstate what an awesome adventure this was for a young boy, beginning with the long train ride from Kewanee to the port of embarkation in Seattle, WA. The ten day ocean voyage through heavy weather was the most exiting thing that had ever happened to Jim. He even celebrated his eleventh birthday aboard ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. But the journey was just the beginning of a world of new adventures. It was only four years after the war, when the family arrived in Japan, and although it would have been natural for the Japanese people to harbor animosity against the Americans, that was not the case. For the most part the people were gentle and friendly. The culture had not yet been influenced by western ideas, so Japan was still a foreign and exotic place. The family was quartered in an American housing area near the village of Hamadera, which was a suburb of Osaka. The housing was located on the Bay of Osaka across from the port of Kobe. With a huge beach and the opportunity to watch Japanese fishermen and women laying and bringing in their nets, there was the opportunity to meet and interact with the Japanese people. Jim had the unique opportunity as a youngster to observe the world through the eyes of another culture, which without a doubt broadened his horizons and was a tremendous help in his future writing career. At the Hamadera American School, he convinced the sixth grade teacher that there should be a school newspaper. She agreed, and he became editor. The first of his writing ever published was an editorial for that paper, which can be read here. For the seventh grade he attended the Osaka American School, which required a daily train ride into the city. The school included grades 7-12, but only boasted only about seventy-five students total. Then in June, 1950, the Korean War began when the North Koreans invaded South Korea. America was committed to protecting South Korea, so nearly all the troops stationed in Japan were thrown into the breach. If you look at a map, you'll see that Korea is only a short distance from Japan across the Sea of Japan. In fact, Marine Corsairs flew daily mission to Korea, flying over the Hamadera housing area to and from the combat zone. "At first no one knew whether the conflict was the beginning of another world war," Jim says of those days. "There was a definite fear that the war might expand into an attack on Japan, so we even dug foxholes in our backyard and had elaborate evacuation plans - which of course were never needed." Again Jim and his brothers essentially lived in a single family household while Robert was once more fighting a war. Josephine took a job at the Osaka Hospital, admitting wounded from the Korean combat area. Once the fear of an expanding war had passed, there was the excitement of all the celebrities who came to Japan and Korea to visit the troops. Of course, there was Bob Hope and Vaughn Monroe and a host of others visiting the Osaka Hospital and giving performances. Robert served eighteen months in Korea, and then was transferred to the States, taking his family with him. Again the long ocean voyage ended at Seattle. Then the family drove to their next duty station, stopping along the way in Kewanee. Morganfield, Kentucky 1951-1952 Jim's father was stationed at Camp Breckenridge, Kentucky and the family lived in a house trailer in the town of Morganfield. They only stayed there for a bit more than a year. Jim and his bothers attended Morganfield High School, which was only a few blocks from the trailer court. Morganfield was a small community, the population inflated somewhat because of the influx of residents from Camp Breckenridge. In the Morganfield school, Jim played in the marching band and was a member of the debate team. It was his first experience in a southern town, and he thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Although he was looking forward to another foreign adventure, it was a bit of a disappointment when the family left Morganfield mid-way through Jim's freshman year and went to Fort Meade Maryland, preparing to ship out to Germany. Mainz, Germany 1952-1955 The family located in Mainz, Germany, which was located in the French zone of a divided Germany. Understandably the French were not anxious to rebuild German cities, and although it was seven years after the war, large areas of downtown Mainz were still nothing but rubble. The American housing was located on a hill toward the outskirts of the city. The American school was in Wiesbaden, which required a daily bus ride across the Rhine River. General H.H. Arnold High School was located in Wiesbaden because it was a major U.S. airbase, so most of the students were Air Force Brats rather than Army Brats. "I have to admit that the quality of education in the American schools was excellent," Jim said. "I don't know how they selected the teachers, but they obviously picked the cream of the crop." Jim lettered in baseball for three years, was Junior class president, and was elected to the National Honor Society. But life was not all school. Living in Germany during that time was a great experience for a teenager. There are some disadvantages to being an Army Brat, but in Germany he enjoyed wonderful food, the freedom to sample good German beer, and the opportunity to make friends he still maintains contact with. When the family left Germany in the fall of 1955, rather than sailing, they flew from Germany to the Canary Islands, to Bermuda, and finally to New York. Manitowoc, Wisconsin 1955-1956 Upon the family's return to the U.S., Jim's mother and father separated and Jim was not destined to see his father again for fifteen years. Josephine took her three sons, Dan, Jim, and Rick to live in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, which had been her home town. Living in Manitowoc was a big change in life for Jim. First, Japan, Germany, and Kentucky had been relatively mild climates, and the severe winter in Wisconsin was a shock. Also, in military schools, because the students were constantly moving, making friends was easy. In Manitowoc, where the majority of kids had lived in the community their entire lives, relationships were largely established and most of the kids weren't eager to make new friends. And of course, the school was much larger than any Jim had attended in the past. The senior class alone was nearly 400 students. However, Jim managed to make a few friends and graduated from Lincoln High School (the same high school his mother had graduated from) in 1956. Although there were no wars in 1956, the country still had a military draft in place. Without a scholarship, and the possibility of being drafted, Jim decided to get his military obligation out of the way. Two weeks after graduation, he enlisted in the Marine Corps, along with four other young men from Manitowoc. United States Marine Corps 1956-1958 Jim shipped out to San Diego for boot camp at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, arriving June 25, 1956. There followed fourteen weeks of "hell" as he learned to be a Marine. A Marine, no matter his assignment, is considered to be a rifleman, so the high point of boot camp was scoring expert (with the highest score on the range) with the old M-1 Garand rifle. "Boot camp was a great experience and I'm still proud of making the grade since only about 40 of the original 72 in my platoon graduated," Jim says, "but I sure wouldn't want to go through that again." After boot camp Jim was sent to Camp Pendelton, California, where he was assigned as a tank driver with Delta Company, 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division. After approximately a year driving the M-48 tank, he transferred to the 1st Antitank Battalion, which was introducing a new weapon, "The Ontos". This was a tracked vehicle with six 106mm recoilless rifles, intended primarily for antitank warfare. He was first a driver, and then for the last six months of his active duty, he worked as Battalion S-3 clerk. He was discharged from active duty on Easter Sunday, 1958, and returned to Manitowoc, Wisconsin. "I'm still proud of my time in the Corps, and enjoyed every minute of every experience. I didn't receive any training that was particularly useful for civilian life, but I'll bet I can throw a hand grenade further than anyone in the neighborhood," Jim boasts. The University Years 1958-1963 After being discharged from the Marine Corps Jim worked with Drs. Belson and Radl as their dispensing optician. He wanted to attend college, but needed to save some money. He worked for a year with Drs. Belson and Radl before enrolling at the University of Wisconsin extension center in Manitowoc. Following his freshman year he transferred to Marquette University in Milwaukee where he majored in Electrical Engineering. During semester break in 1960 he made his initial trip to Arizona with a couple of school friends who's families lived in Phoenix and Yuma. He fell in love with the area and first became interested in Arizona's history. Back in Milwaukee events were not progressing as planned. Although his grades were good, he dropped out of Marquette after his junior year. Not only was he running out of money, but the strain of working a full time job and carrying 18 credit hours per semester was simply wearing him out. Because of his background as an optician, Jim elected to go into the optical field full time. Employed by Herslof Opticians in Milwaukee, he specialized in working with ophthalmologists in fitting contact lenses, focusing on experimenting with contact lenses for treatment of cataracts, keratoconus, and other eye problems. His Writing Career 1963-1979 In 1963 he took a leave of absence from Herslof Opticians and traveled to Tucson. He had decided to write a book about the Apaches, based on the life of a little known Chiricahua warrior he had learned about during research at the Arizona Pioneer's Historical Society in Tucson. He purchased a horse and rode alone into the Dragoon and Chiricahua mountains to research the locales of his proposed novel. "This adventure sort of made me feel like a frontiersman," Jim acknowledged, "but I'm not much of a horseman and I was afraid all the time that my horse would run away and leave me in the middle of nowhere with only foot power." While he was working as an optician and writing his first novel, he married and purchased an old farm house on an acre of land outside Milwaukee. In 1973, after nearly ten years of research and unsuccessful submissions, the Houghton Mifflin Company published that first novel, Ulzana. According to the publishers, the book did about twice as well as the average first novel, got mostly excellent reviews, and won three major awards. (The awards are listed on the award page.) It appeared that finally Jim would be able to concentrate on his first love, which was writing. It was not to be. Also in 1973 he and his wife, Carol, adopted six-week-old twin boys. Shortly after adopting the boys, he changed jobs, accepting management of the Uhlemann Optical Company office in Appleton, Wisconsin where he would live for the next 20 years. The Writing Career Interrupted 1979-1995 In 1979, Jim was hard at work on his next novel, taking advantage of all the research he had done in Arizona. However it would be nearly 20 years before he would finish the manuscript. His marriage was not working, and in 1979 he and Carol divorced. Jim obtained custody of the boys, Eric and Andy. Unfortunately he had to put his writing on hold while he learned to be a housewife and mother. "I quickly learned that heaven was eating a meal I didn't prepare, off of a plate I didn't have to wash." He also had to change careers. The optical business was taking too many hours and not leaving him the necessary time to look after his sons. After trying a couple of different avenues, he finally settled into sales, first working for Photocopy International, and then for Covice, Inc., selling photocopiers. When Covice folded, he worked a variety of jobs to keep the family fed and clothed. "I have no regrets for all the years I devoted to my family, but I'll always wonder what would have happened if I had been able to continue my writing efforts at that time." After reading an article in the Reader's Digest about Mensa, the organization for people with high IQs, Jim took the necessary tests and was accepted for membership on April 17, 1986. Resuming A Writing Career 1995-2003 Jim was able to resume his writing when his sons, Eric and Andy were old enough to fend for themselves. He resumed work on the manuscript he had set aside twenty years earlier. Brother was to be the next book in a proposed trilogy on the Apache Indians, dealing with the Spanish missionary period and the life of a Franciscan monk. However, after nearly twenty years of not writing, he found the publishing industry had changed. Most of the publishing houses had merged into conglomerates and no longer accepted unsolicited manuscripts. They had to be submitted by an agent, and as one editor told him, "we no longer publish literature, because the bottom line rules the business". He was unable to find an agent and consequently was not able to publish the novel. However, story ideas continued to pop into his head and he continued to produce manuscripts. "I knew that my writing was good and that I had stories worth telling. I had confidence that someday they would see print." In 1995 he relocated to Texas. It was time to escape all the long winters and the snow shoveling. For five years he lived in Arlington, Texas, part of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, working at a variety of jobs and continuing to write. Of course, the primary purpose in writing is to be published so that other people can enjoy the novels. Retirement age was fast approaching and Jim realized he had to do something soon. Going the route of finding an agent and then having the agent find a publisher, was too time consuming. Even if he lucked out with finding an agent and the agent found a publisher immediately, it would be at least another year before the book would be available to the public. The alternative would be to circumvent the commercial publishers. In December 1999 he again moved, this time to an acre of land in the piney woods of East Texas, where he built his own home. "With little experience it still amazes me that the roof didn't leak, the plumbing worked perfectly and even the electricity performed without burning down the house." In 2002, Jim contracted with iUniverse to publish, Brother, historical fiction about the Spanish missionary period in Arizona. This was quickly followed by his two police action thrillers in the Matthew Goeser series, The Paymaster and The Pentagram. In 2003, after meeting the love of his life, Frances Thompson, he moved again, this time to the small East Texas town of Pittsburg, where he currently lives and writes. A Senior Citizen Writer 2004-Present At an age when most people are looking to spend the rest of their lives in leisure activities, Jim is embarked on a new career. He's still writing and producing exceptional fiction, but now he is also actively involved in the marketing process, which requires developing an entirely new mindset and series of skills, such as learning HTML and designing his own website. There are more than 100,000 books published each year, and no individual publisher is going to be able to devote the time, effort, and money to promoting each title. Except for the well established, big name authors who will get an inordinate share of the promotional efforts from the publishers, much of the burden of whether an individual title has good or poor sales falls to the responsibility of the author. "I believe that because of our reservoir of experience, Senior Citizens can contribute to the successful marketing of their books," Jim affirms. "I hope that with my efforts I will be able to show other seniors that we don't have to be put out to pasture just because we've passed a certain arbitrary age. Colonel Sanders began Kentucky Fried Chicken when he was already past the nominal retirement age. If my marketing efforts are successful, it will prove something important. Senior Citizens can still achieve much that is worthwhile when they either resume an interrupted career or begin a new venture." In 2005, Jim collaborated with Dr. Thomas Watson in writing The Great American Debt Opportunity, which was Jim's first published non-fiction title, and an entirely new field. Those who say you can't teach an old dog new tricks might take notice of the success of that book. In November 2006, Publish America agreed to publish The Vagabond Healer, which is Jim's most recent novel. Not only will he implement some unusual marketing strategies, he will continue to work on new manuscripts. In fact he currently has four other manuscripts in various stages of development. He expects to see one or more of them in print within the next couple of years. |
| Accredited reviewers and members of the media may request a review copy of any James R. Olson book, or arrange an interview, by contacting Jim directly at 903-855-0944 or via email at jim@booksbyolson.com |
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