Jim Aitchison (born 1947), better known by his pen name James Lee, is an Australian writer.
Biography
Born in Australia, Aitchison lived in Singapore as a permanent resident from 1983 until 2010 when he returned to
Langwarrin, Victoria
Langwarrin is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Frankston local government area. Langwarrin recorded a population of 23,588 at the .
Langwarrin is bo ...
. Before he became a full-time
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...
, Aitchison was a
voice actor
Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...
, and creative director of an advertising agency. He also published books on
business
Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...
and
advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
.
Works
Aitchison's earliest work was a script called ''Under Her Spell'' written for Grace Gibson Radio Productions using the pseudonym David Carrick. While working for an advertising agency, Aitchison penned the first two episodes and slipped them under the office door. Grace's assistant Reg James passed them on to Grace who put them in production. The serial lasted 130 episodes and starred Fay Kelton, James Condon and Diana Perryman.
He gained popularity in the late 1990s when he began writing the children's
horror
Horror may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Genres
*Horror fiction, a genre of fiction
** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction
**Korean horror, Korean horror fiction
* Horror film, a film genre
*Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...
''
Mr. Midnight'' book series under the pseudonym of James Lee after his
publisher
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
Flame Of The Forest Publishing came up with the idea of publishing a series of horror and
suspense
Suspense is a state of mental uncertainty, anxiety, being undecided, or being doubtful. In a dramatic work, suspense is the anticipation of the outcome of a plot or of the solution to an uncertainty, puzzle, or mystery, particularly as it aff ...
stories for children using Asian names and
backdrops - which was considered refreshing for Singaporean audiences who were used to existing
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
literature. The series was anthological in nature, each book containing two stories where readers would contribute their character's backstories and settings while "James" would flesh the stories out in their entirety. The series became widely popular not just in Singapore, but also neighbouring Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, China, and Vietnam with over three million copies sold.
In March 2006, Aitchison launched the ''
Mr. Mystery'' series, which catered to the same
demographic
Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings.
Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as edu ...
group as Mr Midnight, but with
murder mystery
Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...
stories solved by a group of characters.
In June 2009, Aitchison launched a new series called ''
The Young Immortals'', featuring the trio of Train Tang, Jeffry Hunter and Tamaryn.
Aitchison's other works include the ''
Sarong Party Girl
A sarong party girl (also known as an SPG) is a woman in Singapore and (to a lesser extent) Peninsular Malaysia of Chinese ethnicity who exclusively dates or socializes with men of European origin.
Etymology
The term "Sarong party girl" has its fa ...
'' series (1994, 1995, 1996), ''The Seriously Funny Anti-Stress Book'' (1995), and ''Terror In Bali: An Eyewitness Account'' (2003).
He also penned the lyrics of some songs used for the
National Day Parade
The National Day Parade (NDP) is an annual parade held in Singapore to commemorate its independence. Held annually on 9 August, it is the main public celebration of National Day, consists of a parade incorporating contingents of the Singapo ...
in Singapore such as "One People, One Nation, One Singapore" and "My Singapore Story". In 1998, Aitchison penned the prose work ''Recollections'', a recount of the different phases of Singaporean history read at National Day ceremonies held in schools across the island.
In 2014 and 2015, Aitchison released two books on the history of Grace Gibson Radio Productions. The books, co-authored by Reg James, were titled ''Yes, Miss Gibson'' and ''A Theatre in My Mind''.
Awards
In 2013, Aitchison won the inaugural "Australian Arts in Asia Awards" for his Mr Midnight and Mr Mystery series.
Australian Arts In Asia Literature Award Winner - James Aitchison
/ref>
See also
* Mr. Midnight
* Mr. Mystery
* Russell Lee
References
External links
James Lee
on th
Flame Of The Forest website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, James
Living people
1947 births
20th-century Australian male writers
Australian voice actors
21st-century Australian male writers
Expatriates in Singapore
Australian children's writers
People from Langwarrin, Victoria