Author James Houston Turner to speak at NAFSA convention in Washington, D.C.

PRLog (Press Release) – Apr 07, 2008 – Adelaide novelist James Houston Turner, whose "Ludlumesque" thriller The Identity Factor was launched in January, 2008, as an official G'day USA satellite event in Los Angeles, will address a breakfast crowd on May 27 at the 60th annual NAFSA convention in Washington, D.C.

"As a dual American-Australian citizen and author living in Adelaide, James was a natural choice," says Denise von Wald, Chief Executive of Education Adelaide, which will host the breakfast for American and European educators and foreign student advisors. "Having researched his novels and traveled through America, Australia, and Europe, Mr. Turner has been invited to speak about his experiences, as well as share why he chooses to call Adelaide home."

Complimentary copies of Turner's recent political thriller, The Identity Factor, will be distributed to guests. This will be followed in the evening with a wine tasting featuring Australia's Jacob's Creek wine.

According to the NAFSA website, NAFSA was founded as the National Association of Foreign Student Advisers to promote the professional development of American college and university officials responsible for assisting and advising the large number of foreign students who had come to study in the United States after World War II. Over the years, NAFSA has grown into an international organization of educational advisers.

Last year's guest from Adelaide was astronaut Andy Thomas.



About James Houston Turner:

Kansas-born, Adelaide-based author and inspirational speaker James Houston Turner received his Bachelor's Degree from Baker University and his Master's Degree from the University of Houston. His first writing assignment was for the Dr Pepper soft drink company in Dallas, Texas, with his professional career being launched with the publication of his potato cookbook, The Spud Book (St. Martin’s Press, New York), which saw him cooking potatoes for television audiences across America, including appearances with celebrities Regis Philbin and Pat Boone. After working as a journalist in Los Angeles, where over 130 of his interviews with victims of abuse and misfortune were published in "Lifeline," the magazine of the Union Rescue Mission, Turner began writing fiction, being inspired by his travels as a smuggler and courier behind the old Iron Curtain. His previous thriller, The Second Thirteen, which was framed from those experiences, is currently optioned for film.

Diagnosed with cancer while living in San Diego but having no health insurance, Turner flew to Australia, where he and his wife paid for a life-saving operation. He was told if he survived eighteen months, he would probably live to be one hundred. "That was in 1991, so I am happy to report I am well on my way toward that goal," he says.

For more information about the author, visit http://www.jameshoustonturner.com.