Wayne Writer Comes 'Full Circle' In Publishing Debut Novel - An 'Explosive' Murder Mystery

WAYNE, NJ — It was a long and winding road for Wayne resident James Irwin to find his way back into creative writing.

The longtime writer and speaker recently self-published his first novel, an international crime thriller called "Nina's Friends," several decades after his life took a sharp turn.

"Publishing this book is coming full circle for me," said Irwin, who currently teaches a course on disability representation in media at William Paterson University.

"Nina's Friends" is a fast-moving tale of "secrets, betrayal, and greed" which is set at locations in Copenhagen, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. It was released on March 25.

Irwin was an established filmmaker, arts critic, and media artist in the 1970s and '80s, and said he was on his way to publishing his first novel before a "catastrophe" in his personal life caused him to put that dream aside — until now.

"I moved across the country, married, raised kids, taught college, and worked in business," he told Patch. "The desire to tell stories never left me, however, and it eventually became a need rather than just a desire. So now, many years later, I'm returning to an artistic life, and becoming the kind of person I used to be."

Fans of authors Daniel Silva, Tana French, and John Sandford may want to give "Nina's Friends" a read, Irwin said. The tale begins with the brutal murder of a married couple (who happen to be Russian undercover agents) in their Philly townhome during the early months of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

But was this part of a robbery gone wrong, or perhaps something deeper connected to the war? Disgraced former agent Dragan Markov, the dead woman's lover, follows a trail of clues to Denmark as he seeks the true explanation for their deaths in this "explosive murder mystery."

"Time is not on Dragan's side," the book description reads. "He'll soon become the scapegoat for the murders...unless whoever is tracking him through the side streets and shadows of Copenhagen kills him first."

In Denmark's capital city, Dragan interacts with an eclectic cast of other characters, including "a money launderer seeking an exit strategy, a fledgling domestic terrorist, a pansexual outlaw biker, and a beautiful colleague who wants nothing to do with him or his mission."

Irwin said his novel is "teeming with deceptions and bad behavior," but also examines deeper themes of identity and belonging, duty and obligation, and social injustice.

“It also explores aspects of Denmark you don’t normally read about in the travel brochures," he noted.

Irwin, who is a native of southeastern Pennsylvania, has published a number of short stories, creative non-fiction pieces, and essays in various journals, newspapers, and magazines. He's taught courses in communication, film history, media production, and journalism at universities in the San Francisco area and other colleges in New Jersey — including Ramapo College, Kean University, and Montclair State University.

After moving to northern New Jersey in 1992 to teach at William Paterson full-time, he said a permanent life in academia "wasn't for me."

Irwin left to re-join the private sector, getting "swept up" in the dot-com boom of the '90s and managing several start-ups. A former regional editor at Comcast, he has also held leadership roles in marketing communication at both Ernst & Young and Deloitte.

"It was after I left Deloitte that I decided to throw myself back into creative writing full-time," Irwin said.

"Nina's Friends" will be the first book in a series called the Tajna Circle, and will be followed by "Bent City" in 2026. It is published by his own imprint, Vague Apparatus Press.

The novel is available on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Kobo.com, and Apple Books. There are copies for sale at The Collective Bookstore in Verona, and readers can also order "Nina's Friends" at their local bookstore.