WARE, Jim (Clark) 1953-

PERSONAL: Born May 31, 1953, in Los Angeles, CA; son of Morris C. (a lithographer) and Margie (Lawson) Ware; married Joan E. McClamont, 1975; children: Alison, Megan, Bridget, Ian, Brittany, Callum. Education: University of California-Los Angeles, B.A., 1976; Fuller Theological Seminary, M.A., 1979. Religion: "None—I'm a Christian." Hobbies and other interests: Folk and traditional music, especially Irish.

ADDRESSES: Home—1420 North Chestnut Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80907. Office—Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, CO 80996. Agent—Chip MacGregor, Alive Communications, 7680 Goddard Street, Ste. 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920. E-mail—oliver5930@aol.com.

CAREER: Author. First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, Hollywood, CA, maintenance crew, 1974-86; Focus on the Family, Colorado Springs, CO, staff writer, 1986—.

WRITINGS:

Crazy Jacob (children's fiction), Bethany House (Minneapolis, MN), 2000.

Dangerous Dreams (children's fiction), Bethany House (Minneapolis, MN), 2001.

The Prophet's Kid (children's fiction), Bethany House (Minneapolis, MN), 2001.

(With Kurt Bruner) Finding God in the Lord of the Rings (inspirational), Tyndale House (Wheaton, IL), 2001.

The God of Fairy Tales, WaterBrook Press (Colorado Springs, CO), 2002.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Canyon Quest (fiction).

SIDELIGHTS: Jim Ware's love of story began as a young child. He read all the classics—Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, Robinson Crusoe, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood—as well as Greek and Norse myths retold by Padraic Colum. He also loved poetry and music, and—by the age of twelve, guitar in hand—established a band with some friends. In the late 1960s, their music style went from Lennon and McCartney to the spiritual sounds encompassed by the Jesus Movement.

After three years at California State University studying English and education, Ware's focus switched and he graduated from the University of California—Los Angeles with a degree in classics. Following his marriage, he entered Fuller Theological Seminary, specializing in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Ugaritic languages. After graduation, to support his growing family, he joined the maintenance crew at the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, where he also taught youth and adult Bible classes. In 1986 he became a staff writer with the multimedia Christian ministry Focus on the Family. When the organization moved to Colorado, Ware and his family moved with them.

It was in association with Focus on the Family that Ware authored his books. His love of story, of the Bible, of history, and—of course—of children, inspire his works. In the book Crazy Jacob, Jacob is possessed by demons, and his son, eleven-year-old Andrew, watches as Jesus drives the demons out and turns them into swine. Crystal Faris, in School Library Journal, commented that, while Evangelical Christian principles are apparent in the story, they are not overwhelming.

In The Prophet's Kid, Shub is the son of the prophet Isaiah. Tired of being the prophet's kid he and some rebellious friends sneak out to catch a glimpse of idol worship ceremonies and discover they are not all fun and games.

"Finding God in the Lord of the Rings has nearly twenty applications to the Christian lifestyle, all drawn directly from Tolkien's Silmarillion, Hobbit, and Lord of the Rings," observed a reviewer for Fool of a Took Web site. Each chapter illustrates a concept from Tolkien's series, explains the Christian message behind the concept, then provides relevant Bible verses. "Most of the themes illustrated here . . . will already have been obvious to Christian readers with the intelligence needed to read through the entire trilogy," noted a Publishers Weekly reviewer. A reviewer for The Prayer Foundation, observed that Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" series "grew out of the author's strong Christian faith....As Kurt Bruner and Jim Ware show us, the stories of Tolkien's elves, dwarves, and hobbits is really our story—a compelling picture of an epic drama playing out on the stage of time."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Publishers Weekly, October 1, 2001, review of FindingGod in the Lord of the Rings, p. 56.

School Library Journal, February 2001, Crystal Faris, review of Crazy Jacob, p. 106; February 2002, Elaine Fort Weischedel, review of The Prophet's Kid, p. 134.

ONLINE

Fool of a Took Web site,http://wwwfoolofatook.com/ (June 19, 2002), review of Finding God in the Lord of the Rings.

Prayer Foundation Web site,http://www.prayerfoundation.org/ (June 19, 2002), review of Finding God in the Lord of the Rings.