About
J.B. Cameron spent over two decades working in IT, most recently as the IT Director for an online university in New Brunswick, Canada. In his off hours, he writes books, short stories, and screenplays.
A product of American TV, his often dark style and black humor typically places fun, exciting characters into situations of suspense or urban horror, making an exciting roller coaster ride to both chill and amuse his readers.
Author of numerous short stories and screenplays, his first published novel, "Reading The Dead - The Sarah Milton Chronicles," introduces a supernatural detective series for Kindle and Kobo.
Learning to Breathe Fire: The Rise of CrossFit and the Primal Future of Fitness
Description
<p><b>The absorbing, definitive account of CrossFit's origins, its explosive grassroots growth, and its emergence as a global phenomenon.</b><br /> <br />One of the most illuminating books ever on a sports subculture, <i>Learning to Breathe Fire </i>combines vivid sports writing with a thoughtful meditation on what it means to be human. In the book, veteran journalist J.C. Herz explains the science of maximum effort, why the modern gym fails an obese society, and the psychic rewards of ending up on the floor feeling as though you're about to die. <br /> <br />The story traces CrossFit’s rise, from a single underground gym in Santa Cruz to its adoption as the workout of choice for elite special forces, firefighters and cops, to its popularity as the go-to fitness routine for regular Joes and Janes. Especially riveting is Herz’s description of The CrossFit Games, which begin as an informal throw-down on a California ranch and evolve into a televised global proving ground for the fittest men and women on Earth, as well as hundreds of thousands of lesser mortals. <br /> <br />In her portrayal of the sport's star athletes, its passionate coaches and its “chief armorer,” Rogue Fitness, Herz powerfully evokes the uniqueness of a fitness culture that cultivates primal fierceness in average people. And in the shared ordeal of an all-consuming workout, she unearths the ritual intensity that's been with us since humans invented sports, showing us how, on a deep level, we're all tribal hunters and first responders, waiting for the signal to go all-out. </p>
Story Behind The Book
While writing Reading The Dead: Fidelis In Aeternum, I knew in the back of my mind that I wanted to present a pivotal scene, that of the arrest of Harry Sands, the Fancy Dress Killer, from the perspective of Sarah's invisible sidekick, Anna Nigma.
I wrote the first story in this book, "Anna's Brush With Life" before I even completed the second draft of the book itself. It ties in with the events you'll find in the book, but from the unique perspective of the ghost tagging along. Considering how important her presence ultimately was, I think seeing both sides of the coin really adds a lot to the full story.
The second and longer tale, "Happily Ever Afterlife," came from my editor's insistence that I needed to show the wedding ceremony of Sarah's father. I wasn't keen on the idea of sidetracking events of the book too significantly with this, until it occurred to me that it presented a fabulous opportunity to write a "Home Alone"-style comedy adventure with Anna Nigma squaring off against a pair of hapless would-be robbers.
Both tales are enjoyable on their own, but as a companion novella to the events in Fidelis In Aeternum, I think the two books perfectly compliment one another. I hope you'll agree!
