John Edward Ames is a prolific American writer of novels and short stories from Toledo, Ohio. Raised in Monroe County, MI and educated at Eastern Michigan University, Ames lived in Colorado and New Mexico before settling in 1986 in New Orleans, Louisiana. A critically-acclaimed writer of western fiction, Ames began his career writing for men's magazines, pulp magazines, and also writing horror novels and stories. In 1995, Ames' historical novel The Unwritten Order was a finalist for a Western Writers of America Spur Award.