James W. Huston is an American novelist, well-known for his military and legal thrillers. Born in West Lafayette, Indiana, on October 26, 1953, Huston attended the University of South Carolina on a Navy ROTC scholarship, where he majored in History with a minor in English. His academic journey also included an exchange cruise with the French Navy and studying English Reformation history and English literature at the University of Warwick in England.
Before becoming an author, Huston served in the U.S. Navy as a Naval Flight Officer in F-14s and participated in making the movie, The Final Countdown. He was also assigned to VF-84, the Jolly Rogers, on the USS Nimitz and flew in numerous scenes for the movie. After leaving active duty, Huston attended the University of Virginia School of Law and joined a San Diego-based law firm, while simultaneously flying in the Navy Reserves. Later, he transferred his reserve duty to Naval Intelligence.
Huston's writing career began in the early 1990s with op-eds for the Escondido Times Advocate and the San Diego Union-Tribune. After writing numerous editorials, he decided to try fiction. Although his first two novels were not accepted for publication, his third novel, Balance of Power, was published in 1998. This novel was optioned by Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney but was never made into a film. Huston's other novels, including The Price of Power, Flash Point, Fallout, The Shadows of Power, and Secret Justice, have built on the same themes of politics, law, and military action.
Huston's favorite authors include Ernest Hemingway, Marilynne Robinson, and Patrick O'Brian. He began his writing career in 1998 with the release of his third book, Balance of Power, which was a successful legal and military thriller novel. The book featured the chief character of Jim Dillon, which Huston created on his own. The success of the books helped Huston in a great way to get his writing career on track. Huston passed away on April 14, 2016, in San Diego, California.