Author cracks his whip, takes on Indiana Jones

By Belinda Goldsmith

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - Taking on the persona of Indiana Jones to write the novel of the adventurer's latest Hollywood movie was a dream job for writer James Rollins.

Having written nine action-packed adventure thrillers, with his 10th, "The Last Oracle," out in June, he was hired by Lucasarts last year to write the novelisation of the script for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull".

For Rollins, adventures really came from the heart. A keen adventurer, the novelist is an amateur spelunker or cave explorer and a certified scuba diver.

Rollins is a pen name for Jim Czajkowski who was a veterinarian in Sacramento, California, until he quit his practice about six years ago. He also writes fantasy novels under the pen name James Clemens.

Rollins, 46, spoke to Reuters about his various identities and keeping writing adventurous:

Q: Why do you write under different names?

A: "This wasn't my choice by the publishing house. I sold my first fantasy and first thriller within about a week of each other and to different publishing houses so they decided to come out with two distinct names. Rollins is my dad's first name and Clemens because I am a bit of a Mark Twain fan and Clemens was his last name."

Q: Why not use your own name?