Readers—

Lifetime Loser was the first novel that I wrote. Up until that point of time in my life I had been busy selling everything from oil to real estate to mortgages. While those activities provided a nice lifestyle, they kept me away from a real passion that I always carried deep down inside of me.

Finally, after the age of fifty, I threw up my hands and said that now was the time. I worked on Lifetime Loser for the better part of four years. Much of the work was in my mind developing the story and characters as well as the scenes. It took approximately eight months to actually write the story. After that the rewriting, proofing, and editing took an additional eight months. The publisher worked on the book for three months before the final product hit the streets.

Plan on many more stories from the fictitious Prairie Winds Golf Course setting that is located on the east side of St. Louis. My intent is to weave new tales through additional characters from that locale. When things are flowing in my world a full length novel can be written in anywhere from ten weeks to five months.

Finish Line was released in June of 2008. The third book in this series, Tuey’s Course, was released in January of 2009.  As a sidelight, when I neared the one-third mark of Tuey’s Course an idea for another story popped into my head.  Rather than let the vision meander in my mind the words started to flow from the keyboard.  Thus the fourth book, which will be titled Opur’s Blade, is also under construction and is almost completed. Look for it during the latter part of 2009.

Thanks go to all that have read Lifetime Loser and Finish Line.  It’s nice to know that some people will take a chance on a new author. The encouraging comments, praise, and reviews have provided positive energy to continue with more stories. It proves that anything can be accomplished in prose if the first sentence goes down on a blank piece of paper. The St. Louis faithful have been very supportive. Hopefully in time a national following will also enjoy the fictional tales from a golfing location in Southern Illinois.

Those that know me are aware that I have had a wonderful life with an abundance of friends, acquaintances, golf buddies, and fabulous living experiences. Now is the time to hand something back to future generations.

James Ross