Jeffery W. McKelroy

Jeff McKelroy is the author of the book American Ghost, published by Wheatmark Publishing of Tucson, Arizona and the Bukowski-esqe novel Shuffle.

American Ghost is a compilation of true ghost stories from around the United States. All of the ghost stories were collected by McKelroy himself. The book Shuffle is a dark tale of an alcoholic and his life on the streets of New Orleans. The book follows his decent into depravity and eventually reveals the chain of events that led him to his RUiN. McKelroy is well known in New Orleans and in San Francisco as a “Beat” writer but often dabbles in whatever style or subject matter amuses him at the time.

Jeff McKelroy was born Jeffery Wade McKelroy in Columbia, South Carolina on November 10, 1972 to James H. McKelroy and Kathy Simon both of Oklahoma. He spent his youth mainly in Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma. As a child he was a voracious reader focusing predominately on works by Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He was also very fond of medieval history and stories. His home life was that of a traditional Irish Catholic although his father was also part Choctaw Indian. Jeff McKelroy is a member of the Choctaw Tribe of Durant, Oklahoma. At the age of 17 McKelroy was kicked out of Duncan High School in Duncan, Oklahoma, after an altercation with the principle in 1990. He was told that he should give up on getting an education and possibly try construction work. Fed up with small town life he soon joined the United States Army, finished high school and became a Field Artillery Sergeant. After leaving the army he returned to Oklahoma and worked for an oldies radio station in the city of Lawton. This job did not last long and he moved to Wichita Falls, Texas. He held several jobs there including a stint as a prison guard for the State of Texas.

He eventually married in 1995 and in the same year his grandfather Johnny McKelroy of Waurika, Oklahoma passed away. This was a devastating loss. Jeff McKelroy joined the Coast Guard soon after. He completed Coast Guard basic training in Cape May, NJ. In 1996 and was assigned to a river buoy tender in Vicksburg, MS where he sailed from Vicksburg to Baton Rouge, Louisiana tending to navigation aids along the Mississippi River. He then attended school to become an electronics technician in Sonoma County, California and in 1998 moved to Kodiak, Alaska. McKelroy had a son while living in Alaska and relocated to Galveston, Texas in 2000. During the attacks of September 11, 2001 he was assigned to the Coast Guard Cutter Dauntless where he received several awards for his actions in the days that followed. While assigned to the Dauntless he finished his BS in Electronics and began to take his hobby of writing seriously.

In 2002 Jeff McKelroy and his wife separated after he cheated on his wife and she was awarded custody of their son. In the summer of 2003 Jeffery McKelroy again relocated just outside of New Orleans, Louisiana. He spent most of his spare time wondering the streets and bars of the French Quarter gathering inspiration for the characters in his books. He could frequently be found drinking in places like One Eyed Jacks, The Abbey, or Ryan’s Irish Pub. He also became fond of Downtown Baton Rouge and would spend many nights in The Red Star or the Thirsty Tiger. In Baton Rouge locals simply referred to him as “The Greaser” due to his fondness for rolled up jeans, tattoos and greasy hair and the fact that he was always rebuilding classic cars to pass the time. In complete contrast to his love of art and literature and his fondness for the hipster, martini sipping lifestyle Jeff McKelroy has remained in the Coast Guard and was the Executive Officer of a small station during Hurricane Katrina and Rita. At the time of the writing of this article Jeffery McKelroy had just begun work on a book titled, Greasers, a story of two guys living in Texas who are heavily involved in the Rockabilly culture. Some have compared the work of Jeff McKelroy to Tom Waits but as he puts it, he’s just trying to do his own thing.