J. J. McCurry proudly claims his Celtic origins. He studied at King's College in Raleigh, North Carolina; Regis University in Denver, Colorado; and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. McCurry served in the Vietnam War with the US Air Force before working as an engineer, an American English editor for Azerbaijan Broadcasting Company, and as an English professor at Khazar University.McCurry has served in the ministry in North Carolina, Colorado, Texas, Ohio, British Columbia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan. McCurry has published several books about Azerbaijan, prior to The River and its predecessor Hannah.The River is told from the viewpoint of an imagined… ancestor, the Celtic girl Nova who became the warrior Hannah. This book is a love letter to the author's Jewish friends from Asbury Park High School, and a reminder to Christians that the blood of the Lord flows through His people.