James Ward grew up in a deeply religious environment. At 17 he entered a seminary and trained for five years but never became a clergyman. As a teacher, traveller, T.V. producer and college lecturer in Communications, he became disillusioned with life and, for a time, lived on a property not far from Nimbin in northern New South Wales. It was here that Ward found his faith again. Since then he has married and lived at Bermagui on the south coast of NSW.