Jim is a novelist, screenwriter, and short story author. The son of a Texas lawman, he was brought up on a Hill Country ranch near Austin. He became a rancher who raised horses, cattle and goats. During the lawless days of mid to late twentieth-century organized crime that swept Texas, he befriended the famous and infamous men and women who built their reputations by working both sides of the law. His writing is rooted in first-hand experience not only in ranching and crime, but also in living an adventurous life as a world roaming merchant seaman, wild-water river guide, and international risk management professional.