James GaertnerFollowing a tour of duty in the military, James Gaertner graduated from Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He worked for several years in the private business sector as a writer and editor, while priodically finding time to create travel and local interest articles, as well as celebrity interview pieces, for various regional publications. From the River is his first novel. He was inspired early on by the writings of Philip Roth, Joseph Heller, and Kurt Vonnegut, attracted to their books' offbeat and laughable characters, as well as their unique storylines that still managed to hit their mark. Growing up in a small town in Michigan and being an avid camper and a fledgling recreational canoeist in his Michigan years was invaluable in the writing of this novel. James currently lives in Arizona with his wife, Shirley, and when not writing, his greatest pleasures, other than the company of friends and family, are travel and reading. Read More Read Less