James McCann

About me:

The Official James McCann Site.


James McCann grew up on the icy plains of Manitoba, where he spent most of his teenage years reading comics and training in tae kwon do.

In 2002 he came to the West Coast, where he’s worked as a bookseller and a workshop leader, mentoring youth in creative writing. When he isn’t writing books for teens, McCann is practicing tae kwon do or going on hikes with his shih tzu, Conan. James lives in Coquitlam, British Columbia.





Jinho is frustrated by the limitations of his traditional tae kwon do training, so when he is scouted by a trainer from an underground mixed martial arts club, the prospect of fighting without boundaries is pretty exciting.

But the more involved he gets, the more disturbing he finds it and the harder it is to find a way out. Underground MMA is a free-for-all: no weight classes and no referees to stop the fight if it goes too far.

When Jinho is set up to fight an opponent known as The Ripper, he realizes that he doesn’t belong in this world, but the only thing that can save him is the ancient code of tae kwon do.






"A riveting read about an ordinary boy caught in an extraordinary war between vampires and werewolves. Pyre burns up the pages. I couldn’t put it down!"

Mari Mancusi - Author of Boys that Bite

Jonathan Pyre and Nick Bender are arch rivals — both nuts about Karen, the head cheerleader at Fillmore High. After a fight between the two, Nick forces Jonathan to vandalize a neighbor’s house.

The unlucky Jonathan is caught in the act and agrees to complete chores for the owner as penance. Soon, what began as an adolescent rivalry takes a sinister turn — Whittaker, the neighbor, is actually a vampire locked in a ruthless battle with Rancour, a werewolf dedicated to ridding the world of Whittaker and his ilk.

As Jonathan finds himself becoming stronger, with hypersensitive hearing and vision, he wonders: Is it the physically demanding chores? Puberty? A tumor? Whatever it is, it gives him the confidence he needs to pursue Karen.

However, when dead bodies begin piling up, Jonathan realizes the truth — he’s been secretly enlisted as a foot soldier in the war between werewolf and vampire.

This absorbing novel blends humor, suspense, and nail-biting horror in a format that engages even the most reluctant readers.


(Rancour Chronicles BOOK ONE - new edition 2009)
"Vampires, werewolves, and teenage angst the supernatural has often been worked into teen tales, but rarely in quite the way that Vancouver author James McCann has done in his first novel."
Quill and Quire, October 2005

(click on book cover for more information)







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James McCann at Summer Dream Literary Arts Festival 2008