James Houston Turner
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James Houston Turner is a Kansas-born and Australia-based novelist whose geopolitical thrillers are known for their international settings, unpredictable plots, surprise twists and sweetly layered endings.
Positive values triumphing in a violent world is a recurring theme for Turner, which comes as no surprise given a Bachelor's Degree in world religions from Baker University and a Master's Degree from the University of Houston. He was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity.
His writing career began with a book of free verse poetry entitled The Earth of Your Soul. This was followed by what Publisher's Weekly called "a cookbook with ap-peel" - The Spudbook - which saw him become one of America's first television cooking gurus. He then worked as a journalist in Los Angeles, where he had over 130 articles published in "Lifeline," the magazine of the Union Rescue Mission. He turned to writing fiction in 1996, with his 1999 espionage novel, "The Second Thirteen," earning him international acclaim.
His 2000 promotional tour to the United States was made with the sponsorship help of Qantas Airways and Jacob's Creek wines. In an old jalopy purchased for $1000, he drove over four thousand miles to numerous signings organized by Barnes & Noble booksellers, who described Turner as being the first author to employ a video to promote his novel, with many other authors now following suit.
A milestone in Turner's life was a 1991 diagnosis of cancer in his jaw, which brought him to Australia for a life-saving operation. "Coming that close to death changed my life," he said once in an interview. "It made me decide to follow my passion of writing."
He is famously said to have bribed his way through the door of his first publisher by sending a box of homemade chocolate chip cookies.
