Glass, James C. 1937–

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Glass, James C. 1937–

PERSONAL: Born September 20, 1937, in Los Angeles, CA; son of Chester E. and Jeanette Glass; married June 20, 1959; wife's name Elizabeth (marriage ended February 3, 1983); married June 28, 1985; wife's name Gail; children: Becky, Steven, Mary Beth, Sarah. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: University of California, Berkeley, A.A., B.A.; California State University, Northridge, M.S.; University of Nevada, Reno, Ph.D. Hobbies and other interests: Shooting, mountaineering, weight training.

ADDRESSES: Home and office—4423 S. Hogan St., Spokane, WA 99223. Agent—Virginia Kidd Agency, P.O. Box 278, Milford, PA 18337. E-mail—j.glass@sisna.com.

CAREER: Rocketdyne, Canoga Park, CA, 1960–65, began as physicist, became senior physicist; North Dakota State University, Fargo, professor of physics and department chair, 1968–88; Eastern Washington University, Cheney, professor of physics, dean, 1988–99, professor and dean emeritus, 1999–. Landscape painter in oils, acrylics, and pastels.

MEMBER: Science Fiction Writers of America, American Physical Society.

AWARDS, HONORS: Grand Prize, L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future, 1991, for story "Georgi."

WRITINGS:

Visions (audio book), Books-in-Motion (Spokane, WA), 1994.

Toth (audio book), Books-in-Motion (Spokane, WA), 1995.

Shanji (novel; audio book), Books-in-Motion (Spokane, WA), 1996, print version, Baen (Riverdale, NY), 1997.

Mei-lai-Gong (audio book), Books-in-Motion (Spokane, WA), 1997.

Jet-Dance (digital book), Alexandria Digital Literature (Seattle, WA), 1998.

Culebra (audio book), Books-in-Motion (Spokane, WA), 1999.

Empress of Light (novel), Baen (Riverdale, NY), 2001.

The Creators (novel; e-book), eReads.com (New York, NY), 2003.

Matrix Dreams and Other Stories, Fairwood Press (Auburn, WA), 2004.

Contributor to science fiction publications, including Analog, Midnight Zoo, Hardboiled, Eldritch Tales, Aboriginal Science Fiction, and Fantastic Worlds.

SIDELIGHTS: James C. Glass had a long career as a physicist before turning to science fiction writing. His novel Shanji was first released as an audio book, and then published in a print version. Shanji is the story of an orphaned barbarian girl, not exactly human, who is taken by the men of the Emperor. In this new world she sees the secret city where people toil from birth until death. Kati learns that a sun is rapidly approaching and that with it will come invaders and turmoil. The girl discovers that she is the Warrior Empress, destined to lead the army and save their planet. Shanji is the first book in a continuing series.

Glass once told CA: "I write because I love to write. I get crabby when I don't do it. I write 800-1,000 words a day, seven days a week, until a first draft of a book is done. Book rewrites and short stories are done more leisurely. First drafts are done in longhand on a legal pad. I think better that way. I've been a scientist for a lifetime, a science fiction fan since my teens, so I've naturally gravitated towards that genre. Inspiring authors include Hemingway, Steinbeck, Herbert, Heinlein, and Ellison."