About the Author

Jaime Buckley was born May 27th, 1969 in Oakland California. Growing up, he was no stranger to tough choices or having the universe boot him down difficult paths. To get away from the violence and difficulties of the city, his parents bought a ranch near Placerville, California. It was here, in the quiet Sierra Mountains, where his talents and love for storytelling started to blossom (what else can you do in the mountains, miles from town and no drivers license??).

Graduating from High School with honors at age 15, Jaime developed a comic strip. He was told repeatedly the idea was destined to fail…that no one would be interested in the comical insights of a 2’6″ rat. His first two books were self-published, with the help of his father.

At age 20, Jaime met his future wife and best friend, Kathilynn Tupa’i. Engaged within 2 weeks, their friends and church community said it was infatuation, encouraging them not to marry. After 22 years and 11 children later, the couple is still deeply in love and continue to ignore the stupidity of others.

In 2004 Jaime desired to create a series of comic books based on Wendell P. Dipmier, an accidental hero. Stories of Wendell were shared verbally and gained the interest of friends, family and acquaintances over the years. When told it would not work, that he could never compete with the publishing houses, Dan Buckley, Jaime’s father, suggested he turn to the internet.

With a tax return and the single pull of a slot machine, Wanted Hero Studios was created. Using a handful of library books, he created and launched the original version of this site in 2005 and sold the comic books in PDF format for $0.97 each (before eReaders were available).

During the first 12 months, Wanted Hero received over 750,000 visitors from 60+ countries, all by word of mouth. A message board was created, which welcomed to 29,000 registered users with thousands of weekly interactions and questions from youth around the world.

An important fact here should be noted: Though much has been said on the internet about this seemingly overnight success, people have been mistaken in believing Jaime created this result by himself.

I’ve always been a bit uncomfortable when this subject comes up. People pointed at me for years, claiming I must be some ‘internet guru‘ or ‘blogging king‘, but that’s not true.

I’m a regular guy who just did the best with what he had–which is the same thing I’m doing now. There’s always work to be done, so I do it, the best I know how–trying to stay consistent in my efforts.

I’d love to claim that I fully understood what happened…that I engineered this story to spread like wildfire, but it would be a lie. I just did the best I could, with hope that the perseverance would give me a better chance at success. I worked hard to develop the next stage of the story…which revealed the next step to take.

There’s no secret here. You can’t control the internet or guarantee your results, no matter what self-proclaimed guru’s try to tell you. You can only do the right things for the right reasons and increase your chances of those results. It is the kindness of readers and bloggers that create any success I experience, not me. That’s the absolute truth.

My job is to tell the story and get it into the hands of those who want it. If readers decide they like the story and tell others about it,…the story will grow. It takes time and the right circumstances for these things to come to fruition. So until my time comes–I’ll keep writing and sharing.

When a car accident injury hindered Jaime’s ability to draw, the Wanted Hero comics stopped. Readers dwindled and he fell into a deep depression. Forced to find an alternative means of feeding his family, he walked away from the story he’d grown to love.

It wasn’t until the fall of 2009 that his oldest daughter, along with Kathilynn, convinced Jaime to return to the world of Wanted Hero and tell the entire story…this time in novel form.

In a meeting orchestrated through Roger Anthony, a close mutual friend, Jaime and Kathilynn met with New York Times Bestselling Author David Farland. David had kindly consented to read the first ten pages of Jaime’s manuscript and provide pointers. Mr. Farland liked the manuscript, which he ended up reading in full. Taking the Buckley’s out to lunch, he explained that with a little work, he personally felt the story could become best-selling material. “This should be a series,” he said, “…a long series.”

On May 27th 2011, On The Fly Publications published Prelude to a Hero. This was quickly followed by Demoni Vankil, Race to Til-Thorin and Bloodsticks.

As a husband, father and grandfather, Jaime Buckley is constantly searching for the potential of a person and readers feel this in much of the authors writing style. A focus that drives him to speak up and encourage those he interacts with.

“There is a unique soul inside each one of us–a hero–waiting for the chance to shine. You may not readily see it. You may not even believe it, but all it takes is a willing heart and the right opportunity to bring it forth in majesty and power.” – Jaime

For nearly 20 years Mr. Buckley has captured the attention of youth and young adults through teaching, guiding, counseling and sharing his stories. He has helped to expand their minds and hearts, encouraging them by sharing his view of a brighter future with amazing possibilities, regardless of our circumstances.

Jaime Buckley and the Wanted Hero characters are available for interviews, guest articles and blog tours. He lives in Utah, with his wife Kathilynn, their 11 children and 2 grandchildren.