Writer of mysteries and international thrillers.
Please, introduce yourself. Tell us about your personal life, family, education.
Hi, I’m James Osborne. It’s my good fortune to live with my wonderful wife in the beautiful Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. I was born in Calgary and raised on a remote farm in northern Alberta. My undergraduate and graduate studies were at the University of Alberta. I’ve enjoyed a varied career: investigative journalist, college teacher, vice president of a Fortune 500 company, business owner, army officer, writer and book editor.
Two of my books have made it onto bestseller lists, a thriller called The Ultimate Threat, and a collection of short stories, Miracles and Misadventures.
I’m also the author of the trilogy of international mysteries, Prescription for Deception, The Plot to Assassinate Secret Shepherd, and The Maidstone Conspiracy. My essays and stories have appeared in dozens of anthologies, magazines, and literary journals, and in two collections, Dragonflies and the Great Blue Heron, and Miracles and Misadventures.
What do you like doing in your spare time?
I take breaks from writing to read; (mysteries and international thrillers, mostly), to garden and to do home maintenance. I’m an unrepentant woodworker and handyman.
Do you have hobbies? How did you get started in them?
My primary hobby over the years has been woodworking. Among my projects are the desk where I write, a swinging cradle that soon will welcome its 16th occupant, a great grandbaby, hope chests for our three daughters, and decks for our home and cottage.
If you are a writer, are you an avid reader?
I’m an active reader of fiction, mostly mysteries and thrillers, from John Grisham and Tom Clancy to Frederick Forsythe and John le Carré.
Ultimate Writing Goal
What is your ultimate writing goal as you see it today?
My immediate goals are to complete my seventh book, a political/crime mystery, as well as a third collection of short stories.
What inspired you to write your first book?
My grandson. One day while telling him stories of my adventures as a journalist, he said I should write them down. I did and it became The Maidstone Conspiracy. It was the first novel started and the second to be published. The first book published was The Ultimate Threat, a warning about the cruelty and brutality of the terrorist group ISIS. It became an Amazon #1 bestseller.
How do you decide on the title of a book?
I make lists and let them percolate mentally for a while, sometimes weeks. The right one pops out eventually.
Have you developed a specific writing style and why?
That definition is better left to an observer.
How much of your books is realistic and experiences based on someone you know, or events in your life?
My first book to be published, The Ultimate Threat, is based on three years of research into the horrific savagery of ISIS. My other novels were largely pure fiction although the first book was inspired in part by some of my experiences as a journalist.
Favorite Writer
Who is your favorite writer, and what is it about their work that really strikes you?
At one point in my life, I read more than 50 mystery and thriller novels in about a year. Name an author and they’re likely to be among them.
Do you remember the first book you read?
The Columbia Encyclopaedia. Yes, really! I was about eight years old on my parents’ remote farm with nothing to read except a couple of romance novels someone gave my mother, and a two-volume set on the human body with color illustrations she thought me too young to see. From the encyclopaedia, I learned many words and meanings well beyond future grade levels.
If you could meet any author, past or present, who would you love to meet? Why?
Ernest Hemingway. His economic use of words to convey powerful meanings would be a joy to watch in person. The Old Man and the Sea is by far my most favorite book. And it helped earn Hemingway the Nobel Prize for Literature.
If you could not write, how would you express what you wish to convey through any stories?
Voice encryption.
When you see new authors struggling, what single piece of advice could you give them on a moment’s notice?
Patience. It’s easy to get impatient with a work in progress but your brain may have its own agenda. Your brain will let you know when your thoughts have become formed enough to be written down.
How do you want others to see you or remember you? Is it important to you?
I’d like others to think of me as a person who cared deeply about others, and about our local, regional, national and international issues.
Have you used any unusual ways to promote your books?
Perhaps this qualifies. I’ve jumped out of a perfectly good airplane at 10,000 feet three times to celebrate the release of my books. The first jump was to celebrate my 70th birthday. It happened to coincide with the release of my international thriller, Prescription for Deception. News media locally covered both, as did a few news outlets where I’d worked as a journalist. Then I jumped a second time for my 80th birthday to celebrate the release of The Maidstone Conspiracy.
My most recent jump observed my 85th birthday and celebrated the release of my collection of short stories, Dragonflies and The Great Blue Heron. Each time I send out news releases. I should make clear, amateur jumpers like me must jump in tandem with a pro – they’re called “instructors.” Only those who’ve spent thousands on training can jump solo. I’ll have another novel ready to promote for my 90th birthday jump. And there’s two more books in progress, a novel and a short story collection.
Do you have a blog or websites viewers can visit for updates, events and special offers?
Website: https://jamesosbornenovels.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jim.osborne.140/
Next Chapter.pub: https://nextchapter.pub/authors/james-osborne
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/JamesOsborne
Amazon author’s page: www.amazon.com/author/jamesosborne
Reader James’s excerpt from The Maidstone Conspiracy here on this site: https://writeanygenre.com/2026/09/25/james-osborne-2/