J. J. Bruce is a product of the Southern Appalachians and weaves that locality and way of life into his writings with a native’s clarity. A best selling author in other fields, he branches into fiction with “The Carolyn Factor.”

At various times he has been a construction worker, reporter, photographer, editor, publisher, historian, knife trader, museum director, expert witness, appraiser, auctioneer, real estate broker, landlord and sometimes rascal, and a writer.

Bruce calls himself a “boomerang,” yielding to the tug and returning to the mountains of his childhood after years of professional business surroundings. He spends his time these days nothing both the changes and inertia found in a small town deluged with a new casino, second-home tourists and eager real estate brokers.