James Bruce

My childhood while growing up from birth, I am sure has been a time of growth of body and soul. As life started so did I and all the experiences and opportunities along the way came to be me. Here is one of the stories I shared in my book. In the 5th grade, I won a weightlifting contest and a spelling bee. At the age of 10 I joined the Boy Scouts and enjoyed the scouting experience, especially the campouts over the weekend. On one weekend the scoutmaster took our troop to Mt Pleasant Campground near Mansfield, Ohio to spend 2 nights. It was a fun time setting up camp, cooking, canoeing, swimming, and just enjoying the outdoors. I will never forget that grown-up feeling I had, especially when I decided after the camp-out. I was a MAN capable of living on my own and no longer needing my mom and dad!! Upon my return home, I decided that I was a grown-up and paid little attention to what my parents were telling me. It was obvious to my dad that I needed a little adjustment. He hit me with his belt for misbehaving and I immediately came back to reality. Looking back, I needed that.

A few years before my mother’s death I became curious about her past life which I knew little about. I suggested that we sit down and share so I could hear from her and all about our mom's family. I recorded that day everything she told me. From that meeting, I decided to learn more about our heritage on my father's side as well. Going from that meeting, I also wanted to know everything I could about our family from the very beginning of our ancestry to today. With their information, I delved into my family’s past using other family members, the internet, and sites like ancestry.com, family search, and the Church of Jesus Christ.

A big part of my life was the 35 years I spent in the music business. At the age of 43, I was enjoying successful careers in the real estate and insurance businesses. A friend (dad) of a boy on my soccer team was in a band and knew I had a place where the band could rehearse. My wife Robin at the time had a chance to watch and listen to the band and was impressed. She was the one who suggested that I take a listen which I did. I decided to be this band’s manager and my music career took off. The year was 1989 and became a talent manager and agent. In 1995 I founded a successful independent record label known as Spotlight Records where I ended up recording and promoting several new artists and their music worldwide. Later I started a publishing company as a member of BMI and ASCAP,

I had a heart attack in 2010 and I am sure after surviving that I started thinking about my mortality and the things I had done in my life. I also thought maybe this book could be an inspiration to others.

Life lessons are learned throughout everybody’s life and mine was no different. I believe that this is one of the reasons GOD put us on this planet. Like most people, my lessons included both good and bad, and choose to share those in my book. Experiences good and bad I realized what was good and what was bad making me a better person (soul). Another life lesson is facing adversity. Another little story in my book covers those lessons. At the age of 8, my first visit to the dentist’s office was while we lived on Velma Avenue. I had this tooth that was giving me a lot of trouble, so Mom made me an appointment. Like most kids, I was scared and had no idea what was going to happen other than some bad experiences other kids had told me about. All the way there I am sure I was begging Mom to turn around, but she said I had to get this tooth taken care of or would give me even more problems. We waited in the office until the nurse called my name and mom took me to see the dentist where he inspected my tooth and told me that it had to be removed!!! No way!!! I started to get up, but Mom and the dentist told me to sit still. I started crying and carrying on like a baby hoping they would let me go, but it was no use. The dentist got the syringe and needle out and I started kicking and crying even louder, so the dentist got a couple of other dentists and nurses to hold me down while he gave me this shot. I made it tough on them and they had a tough time holding me down. They kept saying that I was strong. After the shot, I was embarrassed by my actions, because after that it was easy and really, I had nothing to fear. The shot was not that bad. I apologized to Mom, and everybody in the office but they were glad I was going home.

After being a talent manager, agent, and promoter for over 30 years I have decided to offer valuable lessons and practical advice for aspiring musicians, professionals, and enthusiasts alike. As an author, I have written 3 books about my experience in the business of music, 2 on artist development and 1 on marketing. Also, I have over 20 ebooks published.

The key factor in my being in the music business for 35 years was the love of music, finding talent, promoting, and watching that talent grow within the system. We dis share the success of each artist we signed and are satisfied with the result. Knowledge is power!! 1.) You must have a solid understanding of what you want to do and a decent notion of how to get there. 2.) You must understand that being a music artist is much like establishing a new company, regardless of whether you like the comparison. Learning how to run your own business and perhaps turning your passion into a sustainable income from it is a necessary part of the process of developing as an artist. 3.) You must know that the music you create is considered a product in the traditional sense, much like physical copies of your music. You are required to run your operations like a corporate entity, notwithstanding the shape that your product may take. You can run your music business using various models; therefore, it is essential to be knowledgeable about these models and determine which one is most suitable for your needs. 4.) Knowing that it may be difficult to balance the artistic and business aspects of making outstanding music, this has become the standard requirement for getting into the industry. Your musical skill level is the most important factor in determining how far you will go in the music business. A strong song can serve as a springboard for any new career, but you need to keep releasing music to capitalize on the momentum you’ve already gained. 5.) Establishing meaningful connections within the local music and arts communities is one of your primary priorities. 6.) When you network, you hope to develop relationships, meet other artists with whom you might be able to work on a project and discover suitable members of the community who might be a good fit for your teams, such as a manager, a photographer, or even a booking agent. 7.) Knowing the processes involved in online music distribution.

Challenges: Time invested, getting, and putting together all the necessary information, creating a timeline. Writing the script making sure the words are correctly put together and interesting to read. Learning how to self-publish including setup, distribution, and marketing.

Stories: In my autobiography, I included many stories about my life experiences that I had throughout my life. Stories that my readers could laugh, cry, and think would be interesting to read. Here is a sad story about my girlfriend who died of brain cancer. My girlfriend of 17 years, Vicki, started having problems remembering what she was supposed to do at Walmart where she worked part-time. I came home one day and found Vicki at home trying to talk on the phone to one of her friends. I could tell by the conversation that she was having a hard time expressing herself and remembering who she was talking to. It was then that she told me that her manager at Walmart sent her home because she forgot what to do. I told her I thought we should make a trip to Riverside Hospital to have things checked out. The doctors and nurses could tell things were not right. They told us that she needed an x-ray of the brain to see if anything could be causing her problems. The results were scary, they found a large tumor that covered her entire upper brain plus 4 more on the lower half. Vicki’s condition was considered terminal. In the month of June, I went to visit Vicki at the nursing home where she was staying because of brain cancer, a stroke and now diabetes has affected her body at the age of 69. But this was a special visit because she was happy, awake, and eating some sherbet she was enjoying and asked me “What was this stuff”? It made me laugh and she chuckled too. I had come into the room unexpectedly but with a smile enjoying her presence as I have for over 17 years. Some visits were uneventful, she slept a lot; we would hold hands at times and occasionally talk to each other, mostly me doing the talking. She says things at times that do not make sense but that does not matter. It is her smile or a little laugh that matters now. I think she still recognizes me at times as she did this time. I said Hi, and she said “What are you doing here”? Now she had me confused, but I carried on as if she did not. I noticed she was eating what looked like sherbet and enjoying it much more than me being there. But that is ok, I still love her. I started this little conversation about how she felt, and she said OK. I told her about the visit I had with her yesterday and if she remembered me being there and she said, “A little bit”. As I was enjoying our little visit and she, her sherbet, I told her how much I missed her, loved her, and wished everything was as it was before they found that tumor in her brain. Vicki was enjoying her sherbet. Some days were better than others. I got up, reached over, and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips, and she smiled as if that was a pleasant surprise not knowing if she knew who I was. I told her that I loved her and would be seeing her tomorrow. She told me “I’m sleepy.” Vicki passed away Saturday, July 22.

Writing process: Writing an autobiography is challenging but lots of fun. Reminiscing about one's life is exciting remembering time forgotten, people and places that brought joy to your life. Hopefully, the reader will enjoy the same feeling about their lives. My autobiography is all factual.

My autobiography is a true historical and cultural happening. For someone looking for a historical and cultural context during the period 1946-2023, I would like to think that my book does just that in preserving historical and cultural pieces.

During my lifetime and for those who lived during this time in history things sure have changed!! My autobiography does reflect some of the changes both historical and cultural and personal.

I love the digital age and all of that it offers. The digital age offers tremendous opportunities for today's and yesterday's authors.

My legacy is still growing. I love the work I have done which I am very proud of, but the future, if we don’t screw it up is where it's at!!

I love “All Author” and the work they are doing helping authors get their work out there!! The advertising is the greatest, especially their “banner” ads which I thoroughly enjoy as do my readers!!