Bibliography
I was born James Robert Pashley on May 13, 1947. I was placed in a orphanage along with my older brother and three sisters in Hopewell, New Jersey when I was two years old.
My father was of British and Russian descent and my mother was Italian. Which did not make for a marriage made in heaven. My mother remarried when I was four and my current father James E. Cox removed all five of us from the orphanage. I was so grateful that when I turned twenty-one—I became James Robert Cox.
After graduating high school in 1966 I did two tours of duty in Vietnam and returned home and found a job at 51 west 52 street (home of CBS). After a few years I moved on to a short stench with a advertizing firm which led me to parking cars to survive in New York (and amazing enough would lead to a breakthrough opportunity).
After parking cars for a few years—I took a job at JFK Airport in the export-import business where I found myself on occasions driving tractor trailers (big-rigs) to Scranton PA to the dismay of low hanging tunnel signs and telephone booths that seemed to come out of nowhere.
Needless to say I found myself working part time at a social club in mid-town Manhattan to pay the bills. While waiting to go to work one-day the phone rings and a guy I use to work for in parking is offering me a job in Atlantic City at Resorts International Casino Hotel as a supervisor in parking.
My first reaction was to say “people from New York don’t move to Atlantic City and I see no reason to change that trend.” He in-turn says “why not meet me at the NY Hilton and at least ride with me to Atlantic City so you can return my company car to the parking company.” Oddly enough (why—I don’t know) I agreed to meet him.
After arriving in Atlantic City a few days later I find myself being wined and dined and working at Resorts International a week later after signing a contract. I found out later that I was one of five people that had been targeted for the job due to a high rate of theft to items in peoples parked cars while at Resorts.
Down the road—I replaced the guy who hired me and his boss and became Director of Parking for Resorts International (I had figured out how to end the stealing). Ten years later I found myself being replaced due to downsizing and on my way to Reno Nevada.
While in Reno I attended dealers school to learn to be a croupier. Eventually I was hired at Circus-Circus Hotel Casino where I met my wife (Anne) and started taking courses at the University of Reno for “Gaming Management.” After completing the required courses I graduated with honors and within a few years was promoted to casino floor person.
Not long after I found myself working in MotorCity Casino in Detroit MI as a gaming supervisor and within three years found myself on my way to Australia to operate my wife’s father’s convenience store (who suddenly passed away) in Dubbo NSW. After a successful six years we sold the store and returned to America and settled on the Eastern shores of Virginia where I started writing books for a living under the pseudonym of Ivan P. Kovak.
I’m an independent socialist—who feels America needs to do away with both the Democratic and Republican parties and embrace individualism.