James M. Naugle

James M. Naugle was a teacher/coach in Novato, California, where he was elected to the Marin County Athletic Hall of Fame for coaching the San Marin High School Wrestling team to 15 straight championships. After his years in the teaching profession, he spent thirty years training, breeding, and boarding naturally gaited Tennessee Walking Horses. He is currently living in Fort Pierce, Florida, with his wife, Terri, where he is an avid wildlife photographer and fisherman.

A recent trip to Africa inspired the novels Leopard's Lair and its sequel Beasts and Blood. These books are exciting adventures filled with wildlife encounters, many taken from his real-life experiences, that he uses to enhance the stories of turmoil, revenge, and romance.

Mr. Naugle spent a great deal of time in Montana photographing the wildlife and exploring the high country there. Its widerness is the setting for his first novel, Johnny's Jacket, and the sequel, Wild Cat.

His love for excitement is clearly reflected in his writing. Active by nature, Mr. Naugle spent much of his free time diving off the California coast near his ranch, and in the tropics whenever he got the chance. He claims the most exciting thing he ever did was dive with the 100's of huge schooling Hammerhead Sharks off the coast of La Paz, Mexico. With that in the rearview mirror, he now hangs out with giant alligators and the other wildlife in the Florida swampy backcountry is famous for.

The Florida vibe is clear in his upcoming, soon-to-be-released novel, Swamp Wolf, which is aimed at readers from 15 years old to 100.