Jim was born in New Jersey. He took up SCUBA diving at age 13, and collected lobsters along the New Jersey coast. He learned computer programming on the Monrobot XI at the age of 17, which launched a lifelong career in software development.
In his twenties, Jim began creative writing with poetry. His first poems were published at Rutgers University, where he studied mathematics. He has two daughters, Pamela and Martine, from a previous marriage, and three grandchildren.
Jim met his wife Karin in Chicago. They relocated to Florida and lived aboard a sailboat for 15 years. They lived in marinas in southwest Florida while working and taking time off to cruise the Bahamas and the Caribbean. Jim documented these adventures at their website thefloatingyears.com and in two books: White Cays and Blue Seas, and Squalls and Rainbows. He later published two novels: The Fools Reward, and Love, Sex and Microcomputers.
Jim and Karin currently live in Florida.