John Ames was raised in Tampa under difficult circumstances and felt greatly relieved when he went away to college, entering the University of Florida to train as an actor. A season of summer stock convinced him that a lot of theater people are crazy, so he changed his major to English, eventually graduating with a master’s degree. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Ames built a rustic house and lived, for several years, on the edge of a spiritual community located near Gainesville, Florida. His search for enlightenment ended when he decided that he was too far from a movie theater. John Ames moved back to civilization and taught English and film for 30 years at Santa Fe College in Gainesville. Along the way, he produced and acted in numerous short films and videos, including the cable TV series the “Tub Interviews,” wherein all the interviewees were required to be in a bathtub. Mr. Ames appeared as a standup comedian in several venues. He also designed a line of Florida-themed lamps which were sold in galleries in Gainesville and St. Augustine, Florida. For ten years John Ames reviewed movies for PBS radio station WUFT. He also coauthored Second Serve: The Renée Richards Story (Stein and Day, 1983) and its sequel No Way Renée: The Second Half of My Notorious Life (Simon & Schuster, 2007), and Speaking of Florida (University Presses of Florida, 1993).
Readers can visit John Ames at his website to learn more about him and his work.
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Adventures in Nowhere is the story of ten-year-old Danny Ryan, a crafty youngster with lots of problems. He has an unstable father, a sick sister, another sister who is an emotional powder keg, and a mother distracted by overwork. Worse yet, they are crammed together in a tiny three-room house. Danny thinks he is the only completely sane member of his family, and he tries his best to keep things at home balanced, but it’s a big job for a small boy. Danny thinks he might be cracking under the strain when he starts seeing a mysteriously changing house across the Hillsborough River. Thanks to the help of some quirky characters in his neighborhood, Danny manages to rise above his problems and see that life offers beauty even in the most trying of circumstances.
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