John Edward Ames (born December 30, 1949) is an American writer of
novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
s and
short stories from
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...
. A critically acclaimed writer of western
fiction
Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...
, Ames began his career writing for
pulp magazine
Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...
s before penning
horror novels and stories. In 1995, Ames' historical novel ''The Unwritten Order'' was a finalist for a
Western Writers of America
Western Writers of America (WWA), founded 1953, promotes literature, both fictional and nonfictional, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional Western fiction, the more than 600 current members also include historian ...
Spur Award
Spur Awards are literary prizes awarded annually by the Western Writers of America (WWA). The purpose of the Spur Awards is to honor writers for distinguished writing about the American West. The Spur awards began in 1953, the same year the WWA wa ...
.
Biography
Raised in
Monroe County, Michigan, and educated at
Eastern Michigan University, Ames lived in
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
and
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
before settling in 1986 in
.
Before becoming a full-time writer, Ames taught English at Eastern Michigan University, the
University of Northern Colorado
The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially changed ...
and the
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...
. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1968 and served as a journalist, including seven months as a stringer in Japan for
Stars and Stripes.
In 2004 Ames wrote ''The Real Deadwood'', a mix of
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
and buff lore about
Wild Bill Hickok and
Calamity Jane. Writing under the pseudonym Judd Cole, Ames wrote the entire twenty-three book Cheyenne series. Under the same pen name he penned the eight-book Wild Bill series.
Ames fled with most fellow residents of New Orleans when
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
came ashore in 2005, but looming book deadlines forced him to return as soon as possible to his apartment on
St. Charles Avenue
St. Charles Avenue (french: avenue Saint-Charles) is a thoroughfare in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. and the route of the St. Charles Streetcar Line. It is also famous for the dozens of mansions that adorn the tree-lined boulevard for much of the ...
, where he spent the next six months writing three novels. He contributed to ''Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine'' New Orleans Relief Issue.
He presently writes under a “house name” for one of the longest-published western series in America and has also written a novel, titled ''Deadwood Gulch'', released in 2006, as
Ralph Compton
Ralph Compton (April 11, 1934 – September 16, 1998) was an American writer of western fiction.
A native of St. Clair County, Alabama, Compton stood six-foot-eight without his boots. He worked as a musician, a radio announcer, a songwriter, ...
, the deceased "
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
bestseller of frontier fiction" writer.
Works
Novels
*
The Force
*
Death Crystal
*
Spellcaster
*
The Asylum
The Asylum is an American independent film company and distributor that focuses on producing low-budget, direct-to-video films. It is notorious for producing titles that capitalize on productions by major studios, often using film titles and sc ...
*
The Unwritten Order
*
The Golden Circle Golden Circle may refer to:
* Golden Circle (Iceland), Icelandic tourist route
* Golden Circle (company), Australian food processor
* Golden Circle Air, U.S. aviation manufacturer
* Golden Circle, the proposal by the U.S. secret society the Knight ...
*
Soldier's Heart
The Cheyenne series (as Judd Cole)
*
Arrow Keeper
*
Death Chant
*
Renegade Justice
*
Vision Quest
*
Blood on the Plains
*
Comanche Raid
*
Comancheros
*
War Party
*
Pathfinder
Pathfinder may refer to:
Businesses
* Pathfinder Energy Services, a division of Smith International
* Pathfinder Press, a publisher of socialist literature
Computing and information science
* Path Finder, a Macintosh file browser
* Pathfinder (w ...
*
Buffalo Hiders
*
Spirit Path
*
Mankiller
*
Wendigo Mountain
*
Death Camp
Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...
*
Renegade Nation
*
Orphan Train
*
Vengeance Quest
*
Warrior Fury
*
Bloody Bones Canyon
*
Renegade Siege
*
River of Death
The Wild Bill series (as Judd Cole)
*1
Dead Man's Hand
*2
The Kincaid County War
*3
Bleeding Kansas
*4
Yuma Bustout
*5
Santa Fe Deathtrap
*6
Black Hills Hellhole
*7
Point Rider
*8
Gun Law
Dan’l Boone: The Lost Wilderness Tales (last seven books as Dodge Tyler)
*
The Long Hunters
*
Warrior's Trace
*
The Kaintucks
Non-fiction
*
The Real Deadwood
*
Magazines
In addition to fifty-six book sales and six
ghostwritten
''Ghostwritten'' is the first novel published by English author David Mitchell. Published in 1999, it won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and was widely acclaimed. The story takes place mainly around East Asia, but also moves through Russia, B ...
novels, Ames’ has written short stories and articles for magazines:
*
Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine
*
Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine
''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' is a bi-monthly American digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime fiction, particularly detective fiction, and mystery fiction. Launched in fall 1941 by Mercury Publications, Mercury Press, ''EQMM'' is ...
*
The Writer
''The Writer'' is a magazine for writers, published monthly by Madavor Media.
History
''The Writer'' was first established by William H. Hills and Robert Luce, two ''Boston Globe'' reporters, as "a monthly magazine to interest and help all lit ...
*
The Borderland Series
*
Mystery Scene
''Mystery Scene'' is an American magazine, first published in 1985, that covers the crime and mystery genre with a mix of articles, profiles, criticism, and extensive reviews of books, films, TV, short stories, audiobooks, and reference works.
E ...
*
Colorado-North Review
References
External links
Author's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ames, John Edward
Writers from Michigan
Eastern Michigan University alumni
Western (genre) writers
Living people
1949 births