James Hennessy is a graduate of Mission Bay High School and the University of San Diego.  The son of a navy captain, he was raised on both coasts but fell in love with San Diego upon arrival and has remained pretty much ever since.

As a business consultant specializing in mortgage banking, he is a frequent public speaker and a prolific writer, with over 150 articles in business magazines. His work has taken him to Asia, Western and Central Europe and the UK.  He has written, produced and directed video training programs, and provided voice talent for audio tapes. He has also managed national sales and marketing efforts for several of the country's largest residential mortgage lenders, and is currently working with a technology firm seeking to make home loans faster, easier and cheaper for people to obtain -- a longtime passion of his.

His screenwriting credits include eight produced films, among them a number of award-winning projects in the family adventure genre, co-written with film director Craig Clyde.

"Our films always strive first to entertain family audiences," he says, "but they also try to make a positive statement. Life is beautiful, but it's a challenge. Things can be tough, but good things happen if you never give up. If you do people wrong, you can expect consequences for your actions. It's harder to face your fears than to run away from them, but you'll never overcome them, otherwise. These are all themes we've tried to weave throughout our stories."

"Shane's Game," despite being a novel rather than a film, is no exception. "In 'Shane's Game,' I wanted not only to tell a story about facing life's challenges and rough spots, I also wanted to share my family's love of America's game of baseball," Jim Hennessy says.  "By setting the story in the milieu of youth baseball, I was able to illustrate the lessons to be learned in good, honest competition, while also exploring in depth how the game is played. I feel that anyone who thinks baseball is boring is missing out and probably doesn't understand the nuances that make it such a great game -- and such an apt metaphor for life."

"For example," he continues, "the battle of wits between pitcher and batter is more like a duel than anything else in sports, and it happens on every pitch in every at bat, which translates into over a hundred times each game. Every at bat is a game unto itself, with a winner and a loser. I hope to make fans of people who have never studied the game, and perhaps renew the love for America's pastime many of us had as children, but have lost. It's not about millionaire athletes," he says, "it's about the lessons we can learn about ourselves and each other when the game is played. That's one of the points I wanted 'Shane's Game' to make."

But there were also other points to make. "The story started with an incident from my son's life that affected him profoundly," Jim says. "He lost a friend tragically at a very young age, and it led to a lot of questions. Several of the conversations in the Kelly's home occurred first in the Hennessy home, as we tried to answer some eternal questions about life, death and the hereafter. As an absolute believer in an afterlife, I believe that the friendship between my fictional James and his friend Shane can transcend our earthly bounds, and that comes across in the story. It's an important theme, and it is one reason I felt compelled to write the story in the first place."

He is an author of several novels for young adults.  "Wind Dancer" (from their screenplay) won First Prize in the Julia Collier Award for juvenile fiction at the Deep South Writers Conference, 1995.

"Shane’s Game" was published in June, 2003 (Barnes and Noble's iUniverse, Editor’s Choice selection). A story of friendship, tragic loss and redemption set in the world of youth baseball.

His newest project, "The Count of Crystal Springs" will be published in 2004.

James Hennessy lives in the Carmel Valley area of San Diego with his wife Claudia, and their children, Kerry and James. Avid Padres fans, they were frequently seen at San Diego's stadium and expect to be fixtures at Petco Park, opening in April, 2004.

Before every game they watched at the stadium up through 2001, Jim started with the statement, "Just remember, you'll tell your children . . ." which James and Kerry would finish, ". . . that we saw Tony Gwynn play ball."