James W. Ramsey, author, longtime journalist

Name: James W. Ramsey

First clue you wanted to be a writer; summarize the situation: I think reading Mark Twain as a young person – Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer – was the first bait.

Earliest remembered writing and publishing experience: Entered the county poetry contest in junior high and won first place for a poem about a ski jump competition.

What part of your education helped you most on your path to writing? English in high school and a great literature teacher who loved Edgar Allan Poe. Later in college, a journalism professor who was a NY Times foreign correspondent.

Who influenced you most along your way and how? The editor/publisher of our local weekly newspaper (in Iowa) who came to speak at our career day in high school. He introduced the idea of a career in journalism. Later, an editor who worked with me for United Press International in Denver who taught me to write concisely.


Most satisfying piece(s) you’ve ever written----its audience: My first book recently published – for aviation followers and others. Having a news story appear on the front page of the New York Times, written when I was with UPI (United Press International) in Denver. I was assigned by the local bureau to cover the disappearance/murder of the heir to the Coors Brewery fortune who vanished on his way to work. Time, Newsweek and other major media had sent correspondents to cover the story. Because I knew some local police, I got a tip the other reporters didn't have. So the Times ran it with my byline on the front page. Coors was later found dead, and his murderer/attempted kidnapper was found across the border in Canada.

Your publications or venues for writing: The Buried Dot, my first book. Also, I continue to write articles for a monthly worldwide aviation magazine – Avionics.

Nuggets of advice for young writers in middle school and high school: Consider journalism as a career – it pays your bills while you learn to write accurately and concisely. (Hemingway is a good example of a journalist who became a great writer).