Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing?
I grew up in South St. Louis, Missouri. The neighborhood is about 6 blocks from the Anheuser-Busch Brewery and is known as the Soulard district. It's being rebuilt now, but in the 60s it was a rough, inner-city neighborhood. Some of the characters in my stories are based on people I knew as a kid. The story, Ronnie and the Smoke Bomb, for instance, is a true story with some altered facts thrown in.
When did you first start writing?
I've been a musician all my life and originally wanted to be a song writer, so I've always written down ideas that came to me. The past few years I've started writing short stories and flash fiction on my website, JimsGotWeb.com and the positive reaction from readers has encouraged me to continue writing.
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