Name:  James “Jim” Holliday

Age:  25 yrs.

DOB:  December 3, 1914

Hair Color:  Auburn

Eye Color:  Brown

Siblings:  Franklin “Frank” Holliday

Parents:  Hugh and Laura Holliday

Disposition:  Witty, attentive, outgoing, perfectionist, a little OCD, assertive, hates being criticized, gets snappish when under pressure/a deadline, self reliant by nature but has learned to accept help from others, needs background/white noise to concentrate on work/editing/reading, etc.

Spouse/Interest:  Rose "Rosie" Stanton

Children:  None

Occupation:  Copyeditor

Residence:  Brooklyn, NY

Bio:  The oldest son of a journalist, Jim was exposed to the writing and publishing world at a young age.  Once he learned how to read, he became enthralled with the vast collection of books the Hollidays kept in their study, reading what he could and going to the dictionary he kept at hand when he came across a word he didn’t know.  While Jim was satisfied with just reading stories, his younger brother, Frank, started writing his own.  Frank and Jim worked out a system in which Jim would proof read Frank’s work and give him suggestions when they were needed, which lasted all the way from grade school to high school, when Frank started submitting his work to magazines and newspapers under the pseudonym “Armitage L. Wilkes”.

            When Jim realized how far Frank had come, once he saw his brother’s work printed in publications that were read nationally, he made up his mind to become an editor, since seeing that he had gotten his brother thus far, it seemed like the logical thing to do.  Jim took the necessary courses in college to become a copy editor, and once he graduated, took to working at a small book publishing company called ‘Bellmont Books’ in New York, NY.  While working at Bellmont Books, Jim met Rose Stanton, a young woman who had just arrived from Alaska by ship and was looking to publish some works she had written.  Jim quickly befriended Rose--or “Rosie”--since she didn’t really know anyone in the city yet, and was still adjusting to the urban pace of things.  He found out that she had lived through the Diphtheria Epidemic that had swept through Nome in 1925, and owed her life to the efforts of the heroic wolfdog, Balto.  Jim was enthralled with the story, and found that Rosie intended to publish her account of the experience.  He told her that he would help her find a good publisher (being it that Bellmont Books was practically an unknown), and made copies of the manuscript to send to other publishers in an effort to get their attention.

As the two began to spend more time together working out her manuscript and how to get it published, Jim started to develop some feelings for Rosie that went past friendship.  Working together on the manuscript became increasingly harder for Jim, his focus continually straying to the author.  He hesitantly approached Rosie during one of their weekly meetings about seeing a movie with him “just for fun” to test the waters.  When she was more than enthusiastic about the idea, Jim felt a little more comfortable, that maybe he had a chance.  The friendship between the two slowly morphed into a romance as they began to spend more time together on outings that weren’t associated with the book or hanging out with other people as a group.  A year later, after a lot of scrimping and saving, Jim purchased a ring and called Rosie to come over to discuss a few finishing touches on her manuscript before having it published.  Instead of talking about the book, however, Rosie was surprised to be proposed to.  Jim’s proposal was met with a heartfelt “yes.”  Rosie called up her parents right away to break the news to them, and to invite them to the wedding, which she and Jim decided on having late in the summer.

The two enjoy four months of blissful marriage before their lives, and that of the whole country, is shaken by the bombing of Pearl Harbor and America's entrance into World War II. At the same time, Jim receives a job offer from a prestigious publishing company looking to hire new, talented blood. Jim is caught at a crossroads on whether or not to quit the job he's held for so long and accept the offer, which comes with a higher pay in which he can support his young wife, or forgoe both altogether and join in the war effort. After some careful consideration (and possibly some propaganda influence), Jim ultimately enlists in the army.

Other:  Figured Rosie needed a last name so I made up one...