Jim Melvin grew up on the shores of western Florida where he spent much of his childhood swimming in shark-infested waters long before the movie "Jaws" put a scare into everyone. At the time, he probably was too skinny to attract a bull shark's attention. About ten other boys Jim's age lived on his same street, and they hung out morning, noon and night playing the usual sports that young boys love - football, baseball, "kill the carrier," etc. - but as a group they also played fantastical games that contained magic, monsters and superheroes. It was in this setting that Jim's imagination was born and nurtured. Jim is the author of ten award-winning novels and two nonfiction books. He was also a longtime journalist at several major newspapers and a communications director at Clemson University.
