The creature is still out there.
James Charles
As a child, I escaped into stories. As an adult, I escape into stories when I read, and when I write.
A veteran of the United States Army, I was an educator for the Los Angeles School District in various capacities for thirty years. An active member of professional writing organizations, I have two eBooks published by a small press. I now live on the Big Island of Hawaii and have a sweeping Historical/Romance in the works.
James Charles is known inside the Colony as James Charles
My War with Hemingway
Zach, a young veteran, contemplates suicide after a horrific tour in Afghanistan when Ernest Hemingway appears and stops him. Alone, haunted by the wars, and with his new friend Hemingway pestering him, Zach descends into alcoholism. With the aide of Zach’s army buddies, a new young love, Jessica, searches for him. But will they find him in time to save his life? And is her love enough to help him find redemption?
“
Mike Billington, Author of Murder in the Rainy Season: This book was, I must admit, very uncomfortable for me to read. That's probably because, in many ways, I identified strongly with its central character. Like its protagonist, Zach Powell, I am a veteran; though I did my two tours as a rifleman and later as an infantry adviser in Vietnam and not in Iraq or Afghanistan. Like him, I came home from the war determined to get on with my life; to be "normal."
”
Spirit of the Amaroq
A Story of Salvation
After a traumatic life-altering event, Jack Douglas quits his job and hikes across America. In Alaska, he takes a job on a king crab fishing boat where he struggles with his past tragedies while fighting feelings for the proprietor of a rustic inn, a beautiful Inuit woman, Qaniit.
“
Kirkus: An enjoyable, if implausible, journey story. Charles (My War with Hemingway, 2015) writes in a muscular prose that suits the no-nonsense directness of his protagonist. [T]he plot and setting are wild enough to keep the audience entertained.——Jack Magnus for Readers’ Favorite: I was captivated by Jack’s odyssey up north to the oil fields and his further adventures up into Alaska. I’m a big fan of adventure and travel stories, and Spirit of the Amaroq ranks up there with the best of them.
”
Advertising and Social Media
There has been much discussion in writing circles about how much a writer has to self-promote these days—whether they are published by the big boys...
The Death of the American Penny.
Well, it’s been in discussion for years, but the man behind the curtain X’d (I guess you can’t say tweeted anymore?), that the American penny...
Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go…
Over the river and through the woods To Grandmother’s house we go. The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh Through the wide and...
River Cruise down the Danube in Eastern Europe!
We are back from a river cruise down the Danube from Budapest to Bucharest. Well, what did we see? We were amazed at the people...
Is the future here yet?
As a kid, I watched Star Trek. Some things have come true. I remember at the market you had to push to open the door....
And Another One Gone…
Donald Sutherland is gone. I saw him on stage at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles years ago in a play. What can one...
I like this. You like that.
Food, travel, books, movies, television shows, and on…and on… A family member of mine doesn’t like avocado. Won’t dip his chip into guacamole. YUM. A...
Not the Typical (Ugly) American Tourist (I hope).
Ciao. Getting ready for our two-week trip to Northern Italy. Northern Italy you say. What about the rest of Italy? Well, in due course. A...
Writing Distractions. Oh my!
This is my first post on this forum, so I wanted to do something short and light. What types of distractions interrupt you when you’re...
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