Jim Melvin
AUTHOR

Jim Melvin

Tap the gear icon above to manage new release emails.
Jim Melvin is the award-winning author of "The Death Wizard Chronicles" and "Dark Circles" fantasy series. His novels have earned 22 literary awards between 2024 and 2025, including the 2025 American Fiction Award for Epic Fantasy, multiple gold and silver honors from the BookFest and Global Book Awards, and the Best Literary Merit Award from the International Firebird Book Awards. His work has also been recognized by the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Awards and Literary Titan, cementing his reputation as a leading voice in modern fantasy fiction. ~~~ Jim grew up on the sun-soaked shores of western Florida, where swimming in shark-infested waters was just part of a normal childhood—at least until "Jaws" came along and made everyone think twice. Luckily, Jim was too skinny to look like a decent snack for a bull shark. When he wasn’t dodging dorsal fins, he was running wild with the neighborhood gang—ten boys strong—playing football, baseball, “kill the carrier,” and, most importantly, inventing fantastical games filled with magic, monsters, and superheroes. That’s where his imagination first took flight. These days, Jim spends his time conjuring up worlds on the page. His latest dark fantasy series, "The Death Wizard Chronicles," blends action, adventure, and big ideas for readers who like their sagas thrilling and thought-provoking. Volumes 1—3 are now available. For something completely different, Jim recently released "The Adventures of a Florida Boy," a laugh-out-loud memoir about his childhood growing up on Tampa Bay. It won’t try to change your mind about anything, but it just might make you laugh, get a little misty-eyed, and remember your own barefoot summers—wherever you grew up. Jim also writes for younger readers. His teen fantasy trilogy, "Dark Circles," whisks a group of kids into a magical world where falling asleep can be fatal. Book 1 ("Do You Believe in Magic?") launched in May 2023, followed by Book 2 ("Do You Believe in Monsters?") that Halloween, and Book 3 ("Do You Believe in Miracles?") in April 2024. Fans of C.S. Lewis, J.K. Rowling, Neil Gaiman, or Brandon Sanderson will feel right at home. Not just a novelist, Jim was also the lead writer of "Eclipse Over Clemson," the official chronicle of the historic Aug. 21, 2017 total solar eclipse that drew more than 50,000 people to Tigertown. All told, Jim has written six novels and thousands of magazine and news articles. Before diving into full-time fiction, he worked as a journalist at three prestigious newspapers and a communications director at Clemson University. These days, he makes his home in a quiet valley in the Southern Appalachians, where the mountains provide plenty of inspiration.
Read more Read less

Try Audible membership today. Start enjoying the benefits.

Try Audible for free with an audiobook of your choice.
Try Premium Plus free
Automatically renews at AUD $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Most Popular

Product list
  • Lunatic's Landing cover art

    $34.76 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • Starseer's Ruin cover art

    $45.57 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • Fins of Wisdom cover art

    $9.68 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • The Harvest Festival Murders cover art

    $13.64 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • The Path of Ascension 10 cover art

    $41.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • Brimstone cover art

    $43.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Pre-order: Free with 30-day trial
  • Ground State cover art

    $33.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Pre-order: Free with 30-day trial
  • A Parade of Horribles cover art

    $41.73 or free with 30-day trial

    Pre-order: Free with 30-day trial
  • Blood, Sweat and Glitter cover art

    $29.95 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • Endure cover art

    $68.25 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • Dropsite Massacre cover art

    $45.57 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • Behind a Locked Door cover art

    $22.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • The Wandering Inn cover art

    $43.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • The Twelfth Conclave cover art

    $34.76 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • Exile cover art

    $26.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • Hollow cover art

    $34.76 or free with 30-day trial

    Pre-order: Free with 30-day trial
  • He Who Fights with Monsters: A LitRPG Adventure cover art

    $43.99 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • The ABC Murders cover art

    $19.75 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • Saintess Summons Skeletons 4: A Holy Necromancy LitRPG cover art

    $76.61 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00
  • Returner's Defiance 4 cover art

    $34.76 or free with 30-day trial

    Try for $0.00