A Book or a Game of Golf?

Author of a series of books based upon golf, James Ross will be joining us on Writers in the Sky Podcast June 27, 2008.

Born in Central Illinois in the early 1950s James Ross grew up wanting to be a professional athlete. He was the oldest son of a high school basketball coach and a homemaker. Early in his life his dad took a job as a textbook salesman for a division of Doubleday. Soon thereafter the family relocated from the cornfields of Illinois to the Metro St. Louis area.

He took up the game of golf at the age of twelve when the family moved to a golf course development in the western suburbs of St. Louis. His passion for the game grew from that moment on and with continued practice he became a low-handicap player. Mr. Ross was a three-sport athlete in high school and accepted an athletic scholarship to go to college. After one year of that he transferred to the University of Missouri in Columbia. There he was a member and social chairman of Beta Theta Pi fraternity until he graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with emphasis on real estate and finance in 1974.

After a few years of traveling and a two-year stay in Los Angeles at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, Mr. Ross returned to the St. Louis area to embark on a career in sales. After turning fifty he decided to get in touch with the creative side of his mind and sat down to write. Three years later his first novel, Lifetime Loser, was published.

Upon completion, the writing bug had consumed him. Before his first novel was finished he had begun the second book. Finish Line is a continuation of the happenings in and around the fictitious setting of Prairie Winds Golf Course on the East Side of St. Louis. Drawing inspiration from his characters, the third book, Tuey’s Course, is in development.

When he is not writing, Mr. Ross is out looking for a golf game around town or traveling to some warm weather destination to enjoy an amazing life. Many of his stories will be centered on a sports theme complete with applicable analogies. Being a native of the Midwest they will also carry references to the heartland of America.

Known best for living life to the fullest James Ross decided early on that he was going to work to live, rather than live to work. With a persuasive demeanor and a “don’t-take-no-for-an-answer” attitude he embarked on a journey that allowed for him to live life along the way.

Synopsis for Finish Line

After getting caught committing a petty act of vandalism, two teenage boys land summer jobs at Prairie Winds Golf Course on the east side of St. Louis. Follow the adventures…
of Justin Ventimiglia and Keith Puccio as they explore a slice of life that they never knew existed. Observe the special relationship between adolescent boys, a cast of grown golfing misfits, and a young man battling the demons of cancer.

Explore the heart-wrenching relationship between an impressionable child and a pseudo Big Brother. Witness the summertime ride of the two youths in a poignant story about life and death. See them as they develop a love for the game of golf and apply those lessons to the challenges of life.

Experience the reactions of Justin and Keith to the vices of the world such as drinking, smoking, and gambling and watch how their knowledge molds their character. Take the journey with them as they battle a dysfunctional family situation, exposure to a life-threatening disease, and the vices of the world as they live a summer to remember.

For more information about James Ross please visit: http://www.authorjamesross.com/.

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