Author launches first book tour in hometown
SARAH DAY — Sentinel Staff WriterArticle Photos
FAIRMONT - It's a story of a cold case investigation, a United States president and a legal battle of constitutional proportion.
James Byron Holcomb, a 1952 Fairmont High School graduate, is breaking into the fictional realm with an explosive novel. He started his first book tour Saturday in Fairmont at the Good News Bookstore.
"It's my very first stop," he said. "I wanted to recognize Fairmont. It was a wonderful place to grow up."
The book - "Call of the Blue J" - is about a man called "4J," or Jared Justin Juhl, Jr. He worked his way into the House of Representatives for Indiana and in 1980, ran for Senate. During his Senate campaign, one of his aides - Jennifer Blue - is found dead. At that time, authorities are unable to rule it as a suicide or a murder. At the scene, a note was found that said she loved "4J" and knew that he wouldn't leave his wife. The note was signed "Blue J."
After "4J" becomes president - 28 years later - the investigation into the cold case heats up. The battle then revolves around the question, "Can the president be charged with murder?"
The Secret Service, federal agencies and state police go to bat for the president, while Indiana law enforcement are set on solving the case and getting justice.
"And they face off at the Democratic Convention," Holcomb said. "I won't tell you the ending; you'll have to read the book."
People with an interest in law, criminal procedure, politics and/or DNA would be interested in the book, he said.
He does feel that the use of DNA isn't as big as he'd like, but the book was meant to be read in five hours. Holcomb also hopes people will enjoy it for the writing style.
"It's my baby," he said.
Holcomb chose Indiana as the setting because it is the only state in the union "that makes murder a non-bailable offense."
"I wanted to write a book about the 10th Amendment," he said.
The 10th Amendment rules that: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
He chose the town of Plymouth because it isn't close to any major urban center. Plymouth is a town of nearly 10,000 residents and about 100 miles away from Chicago.
"It's a wonderful town with wonderful people," Holcomb said. "I have a booth at their Blueberry Festival. I've been told it's the first novel centered on Plymouth."
Holcomb has many years of experience in law, as he became a lawyer, and was even an assistant U.S. Attorney.
"I'm moving into the writing," he said. "I frequently represented constitutional cases. That's what I like to write about. I like to find holes in the constitution."
Holcomb's inspiration comes from his mother, who was also a writer.
"I just like to create," he said. "I'm a creative person."
He graduated from Gustavus Adolphus in 1956, earned his masters' degree from Wharton University in Pennsylvania in 1962, and received his law degree from University of Washington in 1967.
"I call myself a 'back country' lawyer, one that comes out of the woods to help people," Holcomb said. "I've argued all kinds of cases in constitutional law. (The Constitution) was a brilliantly crafted document. But there's holes in it, and that's what you've got the Supreme Court for."
Holcomb is also a retired Navy veteran, and that experience is evident in his writing as well. The president in the novel served in Vietnam as a Marines lieutenant.
Holcomb is married with four children and has lived in Bainebridge Island, Wash. since 1972.
He has two other books nearing completion, and a third on the drawing board.
One asks the question, "Can the constitution be suspended by a treaty passed by the Senate?" and along with it, "Can presidential elections be suspended?" The second pending book is about the U.S. military's "incident to service," involving rape.
The third, the novel on the drawing board, will be about TWA flight 800 - a plane that exploded in 1996.
For more information on Holcomb or "Call of the Blue J," check out www.callofthebluej.com.
