James Pauley, Jr. was born and raised in a small town in southwestern Michigan. He received his bachelor’s degree from Albion College, with a double major in German and Spanish. Spending a semester each in Guadalajara, Mexico, and Heidelberg, Germany, piqued his interest and lifelong love of international travel. He began his career as a flight attendant in 1978, a job that he loved until his retirement in 2023. It afforded him so many things: seeing the world, meeting thousands of interesting people, witnessing things not for the faint of heart, and getting lots of material for future writing endeavors. Pauley is the award-winning author of Bumpy Rides and Soft Landings and the coauthor of An Unconditional Friendship with best-selling author Charlene Potterbaum.
He lives with his spouse, Rich, in South Bend, Indiana.
