328 ratings | 80 reviews | avg rating:3.68

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James Maxey’s Followers (188)

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Samantha

2,361 books | 379 friends

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571 books | 1,002 friends

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337 books | 1,035 friends

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James Maxey

Goodreads Author

Born

in Roanoke, Virginia, The United States

March 02, 1964

Website

http://dragonprophet.blogspot.com/

Genre

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Influences

Harlan Ellison, Terry Pratchett, Hunter S. Thompson, Sherwood Anderson ...more

Member Since

November 2011

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I've been an avid reader since I first picked up a book. Luckily, I was within biking distance of three different libraries growing up. I was a skinny kid. If only I had maintained that link between biking and reading, I might be a skinny adult.

I'm also a writer. I wrote my first book as a kid, an adventure about pirates and ghosts. When I was a teenager, I used to write superhero adventures. Then I went to college and was steered toward writing "literature." It took me several years to shake that off, and today I write the sort of books I devoured by the shelf when I was sixteen, fast-paced fantasy, SF, and superhero adventures, which I use to explore deeper questions about life. My goal is to always be thought-provoking and always be fun ...more

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I've got to ask but where did you grow up? I ask for 2 reasons: 1st, we're just a few weeks apart in age and 2nd, it was with more than a little interest that you've mentioned in the Hero books places in esp; NC that I know all too well, including even the Pizza Hut on Battleground Ave. (which is now either a bank or a chinese restaurant, I forget). Oh and stuff near where my dad lived in Asheville, that was wild!

James Maxey I grew up mostly in Roanoke, Virginia. I've lived briefly in Union, Mississippi and Statesville, NC went to college near Asheville, worked after colle…moreI grew up mostly in Roanoke, Virginia. I've lived briefly in Union, Mississippi and Statesville, NC went to college near Asheville, worked after college a few years in Richmond, Virginia, then lived near Greensboro for several years, and now live in Hillsborough, NC. I scatter a lot of real place names and settings through my writing. My Bitterwood novels unfold in a post apocalyptic south, and, as you noted, my Nobody universe superhero novels mention a lot of places I've either lived or at least visited. I find that the inherent weirdness of the idea of superheroes gets a bit if a boost by yanking them out of big famous cities and putting them into smaller settings.

I saw that the Pizza Hut on Battleground was gone last time I was through the area. Back in the late nineties, I used to work at the FedexOffice in that shopping center and would go there for their lunch buffet. I now eat a much healthier diet than unlimited pizza every day for lunch, but I was still a little sad to see it was gone.
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What inspired you to write Where Their Worm Dieth Not ? And what message did you want to get across to those who read this short story?

James Maxey Eric, sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. If I got a notification someone asked a question, I completely overlooked it. But, if you're still out th…moreEric, sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. If I got a notification someone asked a question, I completely overlooked it. But, if you're still out there waiting for an answer, it's probably pretty obvious from the story that I'm a huge comic book geek. At one point, I was reading a Justice League story and some minor JLA member had passed away and two pages later the character was completely forgotten. But, I figured that the characters had to be pretty bored with death and dying, since pretty much ever single member of the Justice League had died at one point or another, then revived, sometimes in continuity, sometimes by reboot. And, for ever superhero death, villains perish at least a dozen times, but then they come back and everyone is, like, "Whatevs. Folks come back from death all the time. Yawn." I really wanted to write a story where the cost of not being able to die a permanent death was explored. As far as a message, I don't know. For comic book fans, the story is probably an interesting take on a common trope that hasn't been looked at with the depth it deserves. If there's a message to be extrapolated into the real world, I guess it could be summed up as "death sucks, but never dying might be worse." (less)

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James Maxey’s books

Average rating: 3.84 · 8,664 ratings · 786 reviews · 93 distinct works • Similar authors

	Bitterwood (Dragon Age, #1) 3.60 avg rating — 1,427 ratings — published 2007 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Nobody Gets the Girl: A Superhero Novel (Whoosh! Bam! Pow!, #1) by James Maxey (Goodreads Author), James C. Shooter (Introduction) 3.60 avg rating — 1,072 ratings — published 2003 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bitterwood: The Complete Collection (Bitterwood Series) 4.09 avg rating — 544 ratings — published 2013 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dragonforge (Dragon Age, #2) 3.91 avg rating — 512 ratings — published 2008 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Greatshadow (Dragon Apocalypse, #1) 3.84 avg rating — 444 ratings — published 2012 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dragonseed (Dragon Age, #3) 3.93 avg rating — 392 ratings — published 2009 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Burn Baby Burn: A Supervillain Novel (Whoosh! Bam! Pow!, #2) 3.85 avg rating — 233 ratings — published 2011 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dragon Apocalypse: The Complete Collection 4.14 avg rating — 197 ratings — published 2016 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hush (Dragon Apocalypse, #2) 3.92 avg rating — 177 ratings — published 2012 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Witchbreaker (Dragon Apocalypse, #3) 4.08 avg rating — 106 ratings — published 2012 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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234 posts
James Maxey's Blog

Escape from Slush Mountain!

My wife and I have been reading short stories for a trio of themed anthologies. All told, we had about 500 submissions. This translated into roughly 1,000,000 words. Keep in mind that we're a small press just launching into anthologies, without any social media when we launched. We're offering a penny a word, not terrible for a small press, but a long way from pro rates. It's safe to extrapola Read more of this blog post »

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Published on April 05, 2022 18:20

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Series by James Maxey

Dragon Age (3 books)
by

James Maxey (Goodreads Author)

3.79 avg rating — 2,990 ratings

Bitterwood (5 books)
by

James Maxey (Goodreads Author)

3.79 avg rating — 2,956 ratings

Whoosh! Bam! Pow! (3 books)
by

James Maxey (Goodreads Author)

3.66 avg rating — 1,354 ratings

Dragon Apocalypse (4 books)
by

James Maxey (Goodreads Author)

3.96 avg rating — 963 ratings

Lawless (3 books)
by

James Maxey (Goodreads Author)

4.02 avg rating — 94 ratings

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James is Currently Reading

James Maxey rated a book it was amazing

Angels of Sodom

by X. J. Maye

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James Maxey rated a book it was amazing Angels of Sodom by X. J. Maye	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Aug 19, 2025 01:37PM · like
James Maxey is now following X. J. Maye Author of Angels of Sodom
Aug 14, 2025 09:32AM · like
James Maxey is currently reading Angels of Sodom by X. J. Maye	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 01, 2025 09:52AM · like
James Maxey rated a book it was amazing There Is No Wheel (Borderlands Book 1) by James Maxey (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 27, 2024 06:13PM · like

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Quotes by James Maxey (?)

“I decided long ago that life's absurd. If you don't develop a sense of humor, it will drive you mad.”
― James Maxey, Dragonforge

tags: books

12 likes

“By the bones!" said Shay. "He has all seven!"

"All seven what?"

"The Potter biographies! The College of Spires only had five of the volumes... four now, since I stole one."

"What's so special about these books?" She picked up one of the fat tomes and flipped it open.

"Potter was a member of a race of wizards who lived in the last days of the human age," said Shay.

Jandra frowned as she flipped through the pages. "Are you certain this isn't fiction?" She asked.”
― James Maxey, Dragonseed

5 likes

“I'm not shooting for happy. I'm aiming for comfortable and fat.”
― James Maxey, Greatshadow

tags: fantasy

4 likes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Deb's Answers on ...: ConCarolinas 2011 Authors	6	43	May 09, 2011 10:45PM
All things Fandom: 2012 Authors - Attending Professionals	12	53	Aug 21, 2012 06:54PM
A Song of Ice & F...: other lomg series?	79	299	Jun 15, 2013 05:20PM
All things Fandom: OT: 2015 ConCarolinas Authors	3	23	Mar 21, 2015 08:02AM
Reading with Style: Su 2015 Time-Traveler plans	50	80	Aug 03, 2015 11:13AM
Reading with Style: Su 2015 RwS Completed Tasks - Summer 2015	1153	115	Aug 31, 2015 09:01PM
All things Fandom: OT: 2016 ConCarolinas Authors	14	22	May 30, 2016 07:59AM
2025 & 2026 Readi...: M's 200 in 2016	21	150	Dec 11, 2016 09:51PM

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James’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-2) post a comment »

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message 2: by James

Nov 01, 2013 02:13AM

You're welcome! I should be getting the books mailed out on Monday. Glad to hear you enjoyed Bitterwood as well!

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message 1: by L

Oct 31, 2013 09:32AM

James,
Thank you so much for acepting my friendship request! I remember reading 'Bitterwood' a while back and loving it, so it is wonderful to have won a copy (via. GR Giveaway) of 'Nobody gets the girl'. I look forward to reading more of your work.
Kind Regards
Lucinda x

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James Maxey’s Followers (188)

James Maxey

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