Yes, I Am Employed !!!!!

James O. Born

As a working writer, I always try to have a project underway. In this environment of shrinking advances and declining book sales, surviving as a writer has become more difficult. In my weekly columns about how to be a writer, I strive, more than anything else, to give a realistic view of what it's like working day in and day out on a single novel, which, in many cases will never be published. But it's not all doom and gloom. Almost 10 years ago this week my first novel, Walking Money, was published by Putnam.  Over the next decade I managed to sell four more novels to Putnam as well as two science fiction novels to Tor/Forge, a division of Macmillan books. In addition to that, I have had the opportunity to work on a number of other projects in all areas of publishing and in TV. I do not have one complaint about my career in publishing so far. I have found that the people I work with are unfailingly interesting, engaged and professional. I have yet to meet an editor I did not like. That may be one of the reasons I am offered opportunities to work on unique projects. It's all part of an interesting career journey, which is about to take a slightly different path.

On May 6, Tor/Forge will release a crime thriller which I cowrote with nationally recognized TV journalist and host Lou Dobbs. It was a leap of faith for me to work so closely with a partner on a crime novel. Now, after being involved in the project for more than two years with Mr. Dobbs, I can honestly say it is been a great pleasure. So much so that we have already started work on a sequel.

Border War is a crime novel that follows the lives of federal agents on a task force located in El Paso, Texas. The interwoven stories of small time criminals, Mexican drug lords, crooked businessman and law enforcement depict life along the border in a realistic way.

You can read an excerpt of the novel at Amazon and visit my Facebook page or the Lou Dobbs Tonight page for more information.

I am scheduled to appear on his show on Monday, May 5.  The show airs on the Fox Business Channel starting at 7:00 EST and replying several times during the night.

The fun part of writing a blog like this is finally expressing what I have kept relatively quiet for two years. In addition to Border War, I have also sold a novel about a specialized police K-9 unit in Florida. The first book in that series is due to be released in about a year. It follows the careers of three young K-9 officers, each with their own unique background. It shows their commitment and love for their canine partners and all the fabulous things these dogs can do. It is the result of a great deal of research and my ability to be able to meet and interact with actual K-9 officers through my day job as a law enforcement officer. There's no reason to talk too much about this book so far from publication, except I wanted you to know I haven't been sitting around watching TV for the last few years.

Next week we will get back to the business of writing novels as we talk more about dialogue and its importance in every novel.

If you get the chance visit my author Facebook page here and let me know what you think.

Thanks for all the support over many years,

Jim Born