James Rada, Jr. — Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives

Deb Spalding In addition to serving as The Catoctin Banner’s Contributing Editor, and writing the monthly column “Looking Back” that appears in the Banner and four other newspapers, full-time freelance writer James Rada, Jr. is the author of 18 books. These include five historical novels, seven historical non-fiction books, and others exploring a wide range of genres including young adult fiction, thrillers, and fantasy.  Jim said that 80 percent of what he writes is history based, adding, “If I have an interest in the story, I will explore it.” Raised in suburbs of Baltimore, Jim first discovered his love for writing while in kindergarten. He dictated the words for his first “book,” Mickey’s Dream, to his teacher and then drew pictures to go with it. It was about Mickey and Minnie Mouse going on a date.      Then, in third grade, he and a friend wrote stories about the Bionic Boys. Jim called these stories fan fiction since they were watching “The Six-Million Dollar Man” on television. Seeking to encourage Jim and his friend in their writing, his third-grade sent them to the first-grade classes to read their stories to the students. They loved the stories. Jim explained, “Seeing that reaction from the kids — that’s what hooked me on writing.” Though his work spans several genres, the foundation of his writing is, “To share the stories of ordinary people who have led extraordinary lives.” He was interviewed as a subject on WHAG’s Sunday Newsmaker in October. You can view the interviews online at Your4State.com. Jim’s short stories were first published when he was in high school. He also wrote his first novel, The Guardian Angel, in high school, but he never published it. Jim has claimed a natural growth in his writing, starting with short stories, and progressing to novels. A graduate of Brigham Young University, he majored in Mass Communications with an emphasis in advertising. This gave him experience in copywriting, ad production, and public relations. He even sold newspaper ads in college. After college, while working at a biotech company, he began selling some short stories. He said, “Short stories didn’t pay well then, and they don’t pay well now. I was just happy to be published.” The time was 1993 and Jim decided to become a free-lance writer. He advises promising writers, “Start while you have a job. Develop contacts with magazines and news-papers for articles, so you get the clips you’ll need in your resume. Work with a lot of different magazines.” Jim and his wife moved to Western Maryland in 1994 where he eventually took a job as a newspaper reporter. As a reporter, Jim drove in demolition derby, flew in a B-17 bomber that had to make an emergency landing, rode with police on drug bust and had to sit in the back with the perpetrator, and had a lot of fun experiences. Other assignments weren’t so fun. September 11, 2001 was his day off. When he heard about the planes hitting the Twin Towers in New York that morning while running errands, he went in to work to give extra help. He was told to take a photographer and head towards Summerset, a town about 45 minutes away where a plane was said to have crashed. Jim said, “Even the police didn’t know where they were going.” They finally arrived at the site at Shanksville where Jim went house to house to interview people. He was there all day and wrote an article about the crash and their impressions of the day. He was one of the first three reporters on the scene. By afternoon, tons of people had arrived. His first two novels were published in 1996. One was a young adult novel and the other was a thriller. While they sold plenty of copies, neither one made him a lot of money. Then in 2000, he decided to publish his third novel himself. Canawlers would become part of a trilogy following a fictional family during the Civil War on the C&O Canal as they faced problems on the canal that were caused by both the Union and Confederate armies, as well as problems caused by Mother Nature and the railroad. He wants his readers to understand is that the canal was the true dividing line between north and south, not the Mason Dixon Line. He said, “The people working the canal were truly caught in the crossfire at that time.” He advises wannabe authors that marketing is more work than writing the book and putting it together. He described, “Promotions, press releases, talking to people, book signings, and shows, it’s a lot of work.” His family moved to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in 2004 when his wife got a job as medical technologist for Frederick Memorial Hospital. Jim worked for a short time as a reporter before becoming the editor with the Dispatch newspapers in Emmitsburg where he worked until he became a full-time freelancer in late 2008. His most recently published book, Clay Soldiers: One Marine’s Story of War, Art & Atomic Energy, is Jim’s first biography. It is about the experiences of 92-year-old Chuck Caldwell. When Chuck was 14 years old, he attended the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg and has autographs from the soldiers. He fought at Guadalcanal as a marine. He also worked with the aboveground atomic bomb tests in Las Vegas. Jim said, “He has a rich history of military experience, perseverance and determination that others need to hear.” Jim has received many writing awards from the Maryland Delaware DC Press Association Society of Professional Journalists, Associated Press, and others. Visit jamesrada.com or amazon.com to learn more and purchase his books. James Rada, Jr. is shown at a library exhibit, one of many where he promotes his books.