James C. G. Shirk

Bewildering Stories biography

to Bewildering Stories bibliography

I live in a quiet part of the Pacific Northwest with my wife, Connie, and our golden retriever, Oliver. During my career in business, I often dreamed of the day when I could devote my time exclusively to writing, and now, I have it.

Writing has been a passion of mine for some time. Sitting at the keyboard, looking at a blank screen, and letting my sometimes overworked imagination cut loose is nothing short of exhilarating. I’m there seven days a week, chasing the perfect word for the perfect sentence in the perfect paragraph. When that happens, it’s... magic.

My writing and reading tastes gravitate toward the genre of sci-fi and horror, although I am equally comfortable with a good mystery or action novel. Sometimes, I even like to read books that expand my mind in areas I didn’t know needed expanding, e.g., Daniel Quinn’s Ishmael trilogy

My goal in writing is simple: I don’t expect to make a fortune; I don’t expect to have millions of people waiting for my next epic; and, I don’t expect to be recognized by people on the street whom I don’t personally know. What I do expect (or at least want) is to have someone, somewhere, read a story of mine and say: “That was pretty good. I enjoyed it.”

I have completed a horror novel, “The DeRorke Journals,” which is ready for editing, and I’m working on a serial sci-fi novel, “Worlds of Ashami,” targeted for completion by the end of 2009. In the interim, I write short stories, three of which have been accepted for publication on ezines: “An Apple a Day,” “Green Thumb,” and “Dubious Deliverance.”

Thanks for dropping by; I hope someday I get to meet you.

Look for my website, www.jamesstories.com, which should be up and running soon if it isn't already on line.