Writing a biography, even a brief one, is daunting. You’re forced to take an honest look at your life and goals, which on any given day could be pleasantly nostalgic or a gutting chronicle of disappointment and self-doubt. Who am I, an aggregation of my choices and experiences? Am I defined by my achievements as a writer (J. Edward) or as a man and husband (Jeff)? When I started this site, I saw the world and myself quite differently. Five years hence, I imagine my outlook will have evolved further.
I’m a very private person. I don’t have a large social media presence and rarely comment on my personal life. I love my wife, my dogs, and staying at home. But connecting with a writer’s work requires that the veil of anonymity be lifted from time to time. So for what it’s worth, here are a few nuggets about J. Edward the writer and Jeff the man.
I was born Jeffrey Edward Ritchie in the rural town of New Milford, CT. Skateboarding, movies like Star Wars and Braveheart, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, video games, and classic literature molded me into a Frankenstein’s monster of pop culture and academia. I knew what I enjoyed in life and never made excuses for any of it.
I attended Boston College and graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in English. My original plan was a career in law…until I chanced upon a screenwriting course. I’d always enjoyed creative writing, but it never occurred to me that I could make a living writing movies. Professor Drew Yanno, my mentor and friend, opened my eyes when he said to me, “If money was not an issue, what would you rather do: practice law or write movies?” It was the defining light bulb moment of my life. I was off to Los Angeles.
For ten years I pursued a career in screenwriting and even sold a few scripts. I signed with a reputable agent and earned my WGA card––a source of great pride. But after a while, the song and dance of churning out spec scripts and taking meetings wore me down. It’s a difficult craft, especially when 90% of everything you write amounts to nothing tangible. While I retained my screenwriting representation through UTA and Heroes & Villains Entertainment, it was time for a change.
My wife and I relocated to Cape Cod, MA where I finished my first novel, the fantasy epic Fall From Grace about the war in Heaven between the angels. Inspiring and brutal, loving and bloody, it embodies all of the elements that have shaped me as a writer. I chose to go the self-publish route and received excellent reviews but didn’t find the broad audience I’d hoped for. I followed up with Fall From Grace Chronicles: War Stories, a compendium of short stories focusing on minor characters during the war. Since then, I’ve temporarily put Fall From Grace behind me to focus on new worlds.
Movies, TV, books, comics, videogames––I love all forms of creative escapism. I’m a big summer movie fan with a guilty (or not so guilty) addiction to action and spectacle.
From superhero franchises to slasher horror to sweeping epics, a myriad of content has influenced my work. I don’t have “favorites,” but the following come to mind:
Television shows: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Spartacus, Battlestar Galactica, American Horror Story, and Supernatural are my all-time favorites.Recent obsessions also include: all Marvel and Star Wars shows, Yellowjackets, and The Last of Us.
Films: Where to even begin? I have hundreds of Blu-ray and 4K films from pretty much every genre. Superhero, sci-fi, action, fantasy, horror—if it gets me out of my head, I’m there.
Books: The works of Clive Barker, Tolkien, Thomas Harris, Neil Gaiman, Frank Herbert, and Andrzej Sapkowski.
Videogames: God of War, Final Fantasy, Horizon, The Last of Us, Resident Evil, Uncharted, Tomb Raider, and The Witcher franchises.
That’s me in a nutshell: geek-of-all-trades.
Oh, and one more thing—a piece of advice for all writers. Actually, a piece of advice for everyone: find someone to love. As Del Griffith said in the classic film Planes, Trains and Automobiles:
“Like your work, love your wife (or husband).”