llcdogstar@gmail.com

Kenneth James has a rather unlikely background for the author of a children’s fantasy adventure. For more than 30 years, he was a U.S. Department of Defense intelligence analyst, a profession that demands the strictest adherence to structured technical writing. Dog Star Night is his debut storybook — decades of suppressed creative writing energy released!

James grew up in a large family in Tucson, Arizona. He was the second oldest of eight boys and one girl. His family home on one of Tucson’s gridded residential streets was crowded, but there was always room for a dog and a stray cat, or two.

James graduated in 1978 from the University of Arizona with a BA in Russian Language. During his professional career, he was awarded master status in the field of intelligence analysis, the highest certification level at the agency where he worked.

James and his wife, Laura, raised a “mixed-together” family, to include Laura’s two sons, and James’ son and daughter. Over the years, their non-human menagerie has included six cats, five dogs, three aquarium fish, two mice, and one parakeet. The family has now grown to include spouses, significant others, three grandkids, and six granddogs.

As a kid in Tucson, James went sledding on snow-capped Mt. Lemmon, played soldier in the arroyos, and swam in Sabino Canyon waterholes. When his own kids were young, he helped coach soccer teams and run swim meets. Today, he plays a little golf and relaxes by strumming the acoustic guitar.

Even after decades on the East Coast, James keeps close his memories of the Sonoran Desert — the majestic Saguaro cactus, awesome sunsets, and dark, starlit night skies.

Now retired, he resides in Williamsburg, Virginia, with his wife and their two 100-pound Labrador Retrievers, Deemer and Pete. Together, they enjoy summers in their rustic summer cabin on the Coast of Maine, which James has come to appreciate as much as the desert.