James Ross's Blog, page 16

Former Rep. Eric Massa and Rahm Emanuel Would Find a Home at Prairie Winds

In all three of my published novels--Lifetime Loser, Finish Line, and Tuey's Course--I use my characters to offer commentary on many social and political issues that find their way onto the headlines of our newspapers. Corrupt politicians and backroom dealings are two themes that you will find running throughout my books, and you don't have to search long to find real-life occurrences that mirror the episodes I create. This week's shocking interview with Rep. Eric Massa (D-NY) regarding his...

The Impact of a Positive Outlook on the Fight against Cancer

In addition to honoring my passion for golf by integrating the sport into so much of what I write, I have chosen to use my novels to address some difficult and emotional issues that many of us must face at some point in our lives. Divorce, death, job loss, addiction ... no topic is off-limits when it comes to the development of the characters who spend their time at the Prairie Winds Golf Course.

In my second book, Finish Line, I share the story of Curt Schroeder. Early in the progression of...

How Do You Get Through a Moment of Crisis?

My first published novel, Lifetime Loser, was published two years ago. In this book, I share the story of J.W. "J Dub" Schroeder, a man who comes within one swing of realizing his dream to participate in the PGA Tour. Instead of fulfilling this lifelong promise to himself, J Dub falls short in the qualifying tournament and must determine a new path for his life.

Eventually, J Dub settles into his role as the manager of Prairie Winds Golf Course and develop a cast of co-workers and friends wh...

The Apology Heard Around the World

You would have thought that President Obama was preparing to announce a major policy initiative or that a natural disaster was about to make landfall along our coast. Every network broke into regular programming last Friday with a special report bulletin, all for the purpose of covering "The Tiger Woods Apology."

The speech was of interest to me both as a golfer and a writer. Tiger Woods means more to the game of golf than any other single player, so I am curious to know when we might see ...

Confronting Stereotypes: A Family Tradition

Maybe I am biased due to my lifelong love of the sport, but I believe that a golf course provides a wonderful backdrop for highlighting many of the issues that we face in today's society. Name a controversial topic and I am pretty sure that it has been discussed between swings on a Saturday morning. While spending time at the fictional Prairie Winds Golf Course that is featured in all three of my novels, my characters have confronted issues like marital infidelity, religious doctrine, a lif...

The Winter Olympics -- Will You Be Watching?

The latest news reports show that, while all 50 states have at least a dusting of snow on the ground today, some of the Olympic sites are not covered in enough of the white stuff to allow for optimal competition. Truckloads of snow are being brought to Vancouver to make sure the skiers and the bobsledders don't get stuck on a patch of grass as they try to break a world record! I am sure that the officials in charge will do everything necessary to make sure that this global event occurs with...

Golf is Like Writing: The Letter J

As those of you who read my blog regularly know, I have found many common elements between two of my great passions--playing golf and writing novels. It was decided that I would create a series of posts utilizing the letters of the alphabet, adding to them periodically.

Today I decided to present myself with a challenge and select a difficult letter on which to brainstorm. I offer you the "J" connections that exist between golf and writing.

1. Juggling -- When it's a beautiful Saturday mornin...

Sharing Who I Am through Social Media

There are so many ways for authors to publicize their work. Social networking sites and techniques that are available in 2010 are light years ahead of what was available ten years ago or even five years ago. Just to make a list of all of the possible online networking options would make for a long blog post -- Facebook, Twitter, Squidoo, LinkedIn, YouTube, MySpace ... the options seem endless. It is wonderful to have so many ways to reach people and share information about my novels, but ...

One More Set of Resolutions to Finish the Month

As promised, I want to share the New Year's Resolutions of one more of my characters before we leave January behind and prepare to address some new topics in February.

Today my focus is on the collective body of elected officials that serves a population just outside of St. Louis, namely in the hometown of WeWildapheet Ulisees O'Tweety (known as Tuey). This group of men and women proves to be a constant nemesis to the title character in my novel Tuey's Course. The people on the city council ...

"J Dub" Shares His Resolutions

Before we reach the end of the month and resolutions across the country find themselves lost to thoughts of, "I'm just not going to do it ... better luck next year," I want to share the New Year's Resolutions of a couple more of the characters from my series of books.

Today, I would like to focus on the goals that J.W. Schroeder, known as "J Dub," hopes to achieve in 2010. J Dub is the main character in my first novel, Lifetime Loser. He is a family man who watches his dreams of participatin...