James preller author biography

He grew up in Wantagh, New York and went to college in Oneonta, New York.
James Preller, award-winning author of more than 80 children's books, including the Jigsaw Jones Mystery series.
James Preller is an American writer of children's books including Bystander, Six Innings, and the Jigsaw Jones Mysteries.

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James Preller

Born

New York state, The United States

Website

http://www.jamespreller.com/

Genre

Children's Books

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James Preller (born 1961) is the children's book author of the Jigsaw Jones Mysteries, which are published by Scholastic Corporation. He grew up in Wantagh, New York and went to college in Oneonta, New York. After graduating from college in 1983, James Preller was employed as a waiter for one year before being hired as a copywriter by Scholastic Corporation, where he was introduced (through their books) to many noatable children's authors. This inspired James Preller to try writing his own books. James Preller published his first book, entitled MAXX TRAX: Avalanche Rescue, in 1986. Since that time, James Preller has written a variety of books, and has written under a number of pen names, including Mitzy Kafka, James Patrick, and Izzy BonkerJames Preller (born 1961) is the children's book author of the Jigsaw Jones Mysteries, which are published by Scholastic Corporation. He grew up in Wantagh, New York and went to college in Oneonta

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The quick-paced, supernatural series is a tonal departure from “Upstander,” the book Preller released immediately preceding “Exit 13.” That one deals with the heavier issues of having a sibling struggle substance abuse and being a participant in bullying. For Preller, being able to explore different genres, themes and difficulty levels has been crucial in enabling him to sustain his writing career.

“I published my first book in 1986; I was 25 then, and I’m 62 now. I’ve spent more than half my life as a published author,” said Preller. “It’s kind of a lot, when you think about it. I’m a little unusual in the breadth of my work. Whatever memo there is about branding yourself, I missed it.

“The master plan, to the extent that I have any control over it, is to write quasi-literary middle-grade novels, but also have something more commercial for mass-market release,” he continued. “I’m a survivor, I just keep scrambling around and I’m fortunate to keep coming up with new material.”

A Long Island native, Preller was drawn to children’s literature shortly after graduating f

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That shirt, that hair, that light fixture, that wallpaper! That was me in the 1970’s.

Here I sit — getting long in the tooth, as the expression goes — and one of life’s surprises is that I never grew up. At least, not in the way I imagined I would. I’m bigger and older, sure. Not the skinny beanpole I used to be. Now I must carefully trim the hair that grows out of my nose and ears (no one had warned me about that!). But I still like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I find that I still care — deeply, foolishly, insanely — about the score of professional baseball games. I mean to say: I care the same way that I cared when I was ten years old. I used to think that we were supposed to “grow out” of those childish things, discard our younger selves like an old pair of jeans. But now I know that people don’t grow that way. I’m still that kid. I am the youngest of seven children. I was born during a snowstorm. I grew up in Wantagh, Long Island. I had four older brothers, two older sisters, and a perfectly