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Jim recently joined Ryan Oliver on his Mighty Books podcast to talk about the art and craft of storytelling and to discuss his award-winning novel, Blue Wild Indigo. Check it out at:

Episode Description

James Jennings, a fifth generation native Oklahoman who writes Western Fiction ad whose latest book has been compared to Harper Lee’s, explores how far a man will go for justice and the nature of truth in his new novel, Blue Wild Indigo.

Blue Wild Indigo has been named the winner of the 2025 Spur Award in the category of Best Western Contemporary Novel by Western Writers of America. WWA annually honors writers for distinguished writing about the American West with the Spur Awards.  Since 1953, the Spur Awards have been one of the most prestigious awards in American literature.

The INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD, one of the most prestigious book award programs globally for independent authors, publishers, and illustrators, recognized Blue Wild Indigo by James Jennings as a distinguished favorite in the Western Fiction category.

The competition is judged by experts from different aspects of the book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, book cover designers and professional copywriters. Selected IPA Award Winners and Distinguished Favorites are based on overall excellence.

In 2025, the INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD saw participation from journalists, well established authors, and small, medium and large publishers across the globe, including those residing in Australia, Canada, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, India, Hong Kong, Japan, Portugal, Scotland, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Winners were chosen from publishers such as Amplify Publishing Group, Black Rose Writing, Blackstone Publishing, BookBaby, Calumet Editions, Globe Pequot, Finishing Line Press, Gatekeepers Press, Hachette Go (Blanco of Grand Central Publishing), HarperCollins Leadership, Ideapress Publishing, IVP Kids, Koehler Books, Mad Cave Studios, North Dakota State University Press, Oceanview, Publishing Old Stone Press, Pegasus Books, Post Hill Press, Red T Kid’s Media, Rowman & Littlefield, She Writes Press, University of California Press, and University of Georgia Press.

“The 2025 INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD awardees included the excellence and diversity of global independent publishing,” said Gabrielle Olczak, IPA President and Award Sponsor. “There is no stopping independent publishing. It provides unparalleled content and quality to consumers worldwide and we are excited to showcase this year’s honorees to the world.” See video: https://youtu.be/3WOeyO2MWzE

Long Valley, NJ — The INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD, one of the most prestigious book award programs globally for independent authors, publishers, and illustrators, recognized Blue Wild Indigo by James Jennings as a distinguished favorite in the Western Fiction category.

The competition is judged by experts from different aspects of the book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, book cover designers and professional copywriters. Selected IPA Award Winners and Distinguished Favorites are based on overall excellence.

“Don’t miss out on this episode of SBR-Author’s Podcast, where Tom Fox sits down with James Jennings, a distinguished Oklahoma trial lawyer, novelist, and Chickasaw tribe member, to delve into the intersection of law and storytelling. James, with a five-year legal career, shares his transition from trial lawyer to novelist, highlighting the similarities between the two fields through their shared foundation in storytelling. They also discuss James Chickasaw’s heritage and its cultural significance in storytelling, as well as his novels, which explore justice themes, ethical dilemmas, and cultural histories. This episode offers valuable insights for corporate compliance officers on the power of storytelling in communicating policies and influencing behavior.”