James Colbert served in the United States Marine Corps
from 1970 to 1971. After his honorable discharge (E4), he would ultimately find his way to the Jefferson
Parish Sheriff’s Office where he would serve as a Deputy Sheriff from 1976 to 1978. He has a Masters
of Fine Arts from the University of Arkansas, and a BA from Louisiana State University. James Colbert is
the author Skinny Man, Profit and Sheen, No Special Hurry, All I Have is Blue and God Bless The Child.
Publisher’s
Weekly said of All I have is Blue, “The New Orleans cop who calls himself Skinny (introduced
in Skinny Man ), his partner Mike Theriot and his girlfriend Ruth find themselves involved with the Drug Enforcement Agency
and the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms after Skinny and Ruth see a boat sinking on the Mississippi River. Skinny
rescues 10-year-old Dwayne but can't save his father, the captain of the ship. Because the boat exploded, ATF agent Gratzke
questions them, then releases Dwayne into Skinny and Ruth's care. They take him to his aunt's house, but she is killed
and Dwayne runs away. Skinny is next contacted by a DEA agent who suspects the boat of drug running. Dwayne, the sole witness,
is anxiously sought by many, including an ex-con hood who owns a string of nightclubs. Skinny and Ruth set out to find and
protect Dwayne when they realize that the boy is being hunted not just for information but also by someone who wants him silenced.
Thoughtful, quirky Skinny and down-to-earth Ruth make this somewhat convoluted story enjoyable and exciting.”
According
to the book description of Skinny Man, “In James Colbert's latest suspense
novel, the unsuspecting reader will chance upon blondes, naked and well-oiled on chaise lounges, arsonists for hire, redneck
vigilantes with IQs no bigger than their zap guns, and a hero as bizarre as they come. In the novel's opening pages, Skinny
is on suspension from having totaled his patrol car---Skinny's fifth suspension in 11 years. Born and raised in Gentilly,
a racially mixed neighborhood, the pale-faced and gangly Skinny---six foot two, one hundred and twenty-five pounds---learned
early that a properly swung Louisville Slugger "substantially improved many of his personal relations." Booted out
of Tulane University for taking on an entire fraternity with the aforementioned slugger, Skinny has a certain uneasiness around
the privileged and genteel. Brash, unpredictable, and oddly principled, Skinny never refers to himself in the first-person,
a habit as endearing as it is eccentric. It is on day two of his 32-day suspension that Skinny is called in to investigate
a fire that killed a man. He soon finds himself in a maze of public and personal duplicity, from insurance fraud, to real
estate shenanigans, to angry, heady love." "... you miss this one, you've cheated yourself.”
Publisher’s Weekly said of Profit
and Sheen, “When two vigilante-style murders are committed on his police beat, Sheen Vicedomini resigns
from the New Orleans force rather than face investigation. He has difficulty adapting to his new civilian lifestyle and, lured
by the promise of quick wealth, he works briefly for Profit, his girlfriend Andrea's cocaine dealer. He and Andrea unwittingly
become the patsies of Profit in a plan to cheat his connection Moses; Sheen loses part of his hand in a shooting and Andrea
is killed in an apparent hit-and-run accident. Determined to avenge Andrea's death, Sheen immerses himself in the drug
world in order to find Profit, who he believes is responsible for the murder. Sheen also requests access to police files from
Avila, an old buddy who owes him a favor. Through a bizarre series of events, Sheen begins to trust Profit and question Avila's
integrity. Eventually he finds Andrea's murderer while at the same time he helps to bust a large cocaine network and uncover
police corruption. Colbert's first novel is complicated and authentically gritty. His quick-paced story grabs the reader's
attention and sustains interest through the twists and turns of the unpredictable plot.”
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