The Photobiography of Author James M Deem

I am the author of over 25 books and a retired college professor. I am the father of four children (ages 35 and 40--this is a puzzle; figure it out). I currently live near Tucson, Arizona. I have also lived in West Virginia, Kansas, Michigan, and New York.

I earned a Bachelor's degree in language arts education from the University of Kansas and taught high school English and French for three years in Kansas and Michigan. After receiving both a master's degree and a doctorate in reading education from the University of Michigan, I began teaching college students. For twenty-seven years, I taught reading and study skills primarily in New York City. Now I research and write fulltime.

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To learn more about me, here's my photobiography:

One Month Old

I was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, on January 27, 1950. My mother included a news clipping in my baby book that this was the fifth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
My Mother

My mother, Mary Virginia, had wanted to be Shirley Temple when she was little but went to secretarial school instead. She dropped out after a short time and became a 1950s housewife, eventually having four children, two boys and two girls; I was the oldest.
My Father

My father, James Sr., enlisted in the Navy near the end of World War II and used his skills to land a post-war job with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. He worked nights as a dispatcher, communicating with train engineers by telegraph, telling them when to pull off on a siding or when to speed ahead.
My First House

We lived in an old Victorian house on Leatherwood Lane. It was a scary place with a large attic and a secret passage in my bedroom. By the time I was four and learned about ghosts, I was sure that my house was haunted. By the time I was in third grade, I was making a nightly ghost check: under the bed, in the closet, behind the door.
The Bedtime Stairs

My house featured an impressive stairway leading to the second floor. Every night at bedtime, my parents would tell me, “Time to climb the golden stairs.” Somehow that made bedtime much more appealing.
My Grandmother

Besides my parents, the most important person in my young life was my grandmother. She insisted that I call her by her name, which was Ardis. She lived 90 miles away in Parkersburg, and we visited often.
A Haunted House

I was sure that Ardis’s house was haunted. She had an unused room (with a locked door) at the bottom of her stairs. I knew a ghost lived in that room. The problem was that it was right next to the only bathroom in the house. At night I was scared to go to the bathroom there for a long time, for fear that the ghost would get me.
Family Trips

We went on vacation every summer, usually to the Carolinas: either Myrtle Beach or Nag’s Head. Such a long ride meant that my parents brought a potty chair for my rest stops.
Childhood Winters

As a young child, my most favorite winter activity was playing outside in the snow. Since we lived in West Virginia, there seemed to be plenty of snow every winter. Once I built my snowman, I would go sledding.
My Favorite Books

I loved to look at picture books long before I could read. Some of my favorites were Scuffy the Tugboat; The Bingity Bangity School Bus; Number 9, The Little Fire Engine; Gerald McBoing Boing; and Marge’s Little Lulu and Her Magic Tricks.
Helping in the Kitchen

I always liked to help in the kitchen, especially if cake batter, icing, or cookie dough was involved. My favorite meal as a child was a sweet onion sandwich with lots of French's mustard.
Dressing Me Up

As I got older, my parents believed in dressing me like a little man...from another century? Here I am in my tweed double-breasted coat and cap. They also made me wear bow ties and short pants with my Buster Browns.
Future Dreams

Of course, I wanted to grow up to be a baseball player...but the uniform didn't quit fit. My favorite team then was the Cleveland Indians, but I was also a big Brooklyn Dodger fan. If I couldn't be a baseball player, I wanted to be a cowboy.
Future Dreams 2

My third choice was to be a race car driver, but this was as close as I ever got.
My First School Trip

My kindergarten class made a special trip on the B&O Railroad one day. I don't remember where we went, but I do know that it was my first train ride. I am the young man in the front row wearing the double-breasted camel coat.
Learning at School

I went to Steenrod Elementary School in Wheeling. Is that an angelic or a devilish look on my face? I'm not quite sure myself. I wasn't a very good reader in first or second grade, but I discovered mystery books like the Hardy Boys series when I was in the third grade. I liked to read after that.
Favorite Reads

I also loved to read comic books. They only cost a dime. My favorites were Superman and Richie Rich.
A Movie I Remember

One summer's day between 4th and 5th grades, my mother took me on a special trip to the movies. She didn't tell me what we were going to see until we got to the theater: The Diary of Anne Frank. I knew about World War II, but nothing about the Holocaust. The movie left a lasting impression on me, especially when I realized (many years later) that I was born on the fifth anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Tracks in the Snow

One snowy Saturday morning during the winter of fifth grade, I was playing with a group of friends in the woods behind our houses when we came across some strange tracks in the snow. They didn't look as if any familiar animals had made them (they were big tracks) but they didn't look human either. So there was only one other possibility that occurred to me: a creature from outer space!
A Crashed UFO

I was sure that a flying saucer has crash landed in the woods, and a space creature was trying to get help so that he could fly back to his planet. My friends and I searched the woods for the flying saucer but didn't find it. As I thought about it later that day, I knew that those tracks would make a great story. I got out a new notebook and wrote a title at the top of the first page (The Strange Tracks Mystery). I wrote all the way down to the bottom of the page...and ran out of ideas. I didn't have the ability to follow through at that point. But that's how I began my life as a writer.
Escaping from Reality

My imagination had gone into high gear, because my mother was sick. I was told she would be fine, but I could tell that wasn't true. Getting out of the house and creating adventures with my friends was one way to avoid her illness. This dream-like out-of-focus photo of her, taken when she was in high school, captures her essence and is one of the few photos I have of her.
Unexpected News

On the first of summer vacation at the end of fifth grade, I went to the city swimming pool with my friends. When I got home, my father called me upstairs and told me that my mother had died, news that I was unprepared to hear. Within a year, my father remarried, and we moved to Arizona.
My First Typewriter

One of the ways I learned to feel better was to write stories. My grandmother gave me an old typewriter for my 11th birthday. I was able to begin creating my own stories. I loved science fiction movies, and so the first complete story I wrote was called "The Green Eyed Monsters." Yes, it was about space creatures who tried to conquer planet Earth.
My Awkward Years

I went through my awkward stage in middle school. My new, blended family had seven children, and we didn't have much money. I went to four different middle schools (and lived in four different houses) in two years as we kept looking for more affordable housing.
High School Reporter

In my fourth and last middle school, I had a wonderful teacher named Mrs. Wolfe who asked me to write for the school newspaper. By the time I entered high school, I wanted nothing more than to be a journalist. So I took journalism courses and began writing for the Catalina High School newspaper in Tucson, Arizona. I wrote a humor column for the newspaper in 10th grade, though it wasn't very funny.
High School Teacher

I surprised myself (though not some of my high school teachers) and became a teacher myself. Here, in 1972, I was teaching classes of English and French to juniors and seniors in Michigan.
College Professor

I completed my M.A. and Ph.D. in reading education at the University of Michigan. I taught reading and study skills to college students in Detroit, Utica (NY), and New York City for 27 years.
Ghost Hunting

In 1988, my first informational book, How to Find a Ghost, was published. I wrote about ghosts first, because I was petrified of them when I was little, and I didn't want other children to share that fear. I received hundreds of letters from young ghosthunters who thought they had seen a ghost.
Mysterious Notebooks

In 1994, my novel, 3 NBs of Julian Drew, was published. It had taken me 27 years from the time I started it in high school to complete it. In the 10th grade, I knew I had a good idea for a novel, but I didn't have the ability to write it the way I wanted. I had to develop my skills and my writing talent.
Visiting Schools

Once I began to be published, I visited schools to talk about my books, writing, and research. I have spoken to tens of thousands of students from kindergarten to 12th grade over the years across the United States and Europe.
Traveling to Pompeii

One of the most exciting experiences I've had as a writer, was researching my book, Bodies from the Ash, at Pompeii. I was able to visit many times and was even given a special tour of some buildings that are closed to the public. It was an incredible opportunity.
Hiking to Vesuvius

As I worked on Bodies from the Ash, I also hiked up Mount Vesuvius two different times. It is still an active (but currently dormant) volcano, and the views from the top are terrific!
Atop Mont Blanc

In researching Bodies from the Ice, I spent some time in the Alps, visiting mummies and glaciers. One of my most scenic adventures was going to the top of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps.
Visiting Auschwitz

I have visted Auschwitz seven times now, researching my books on Auschwitz and Breendonk. I have also gone for personal reasons, since I have friends and family who had relatives who were transported and murdered there.
Exploring Breendonk

In 2010, I came across Fort Breendonk while we were on vacation in Belgium. I had never heard of this unofficial concentration camp, the only one of its kind in Belgium. That visit, on a rainy September day, inspired me to research and write the book, The Prisoners of Breendonk.