Few people have seen more of the country than Jim Lewis.

Over the years, his career took him across the United States and even to Sweden. Along the way, he visited all 50 states, many of them more than once.  Yet when he and his wife, Julie, moved from Oregon in 2016, they settled in Mt. Lebanon.

After deciding to move closer to family in Western Pennsylvania, the couple put their Oregon home on the market and boarded a flight east for a visit. The move unfolded faster than they expected.

“We got on the plane and it went on the market Saturday morning, and by the time we landed in Chicago we had a full-price cash offer,” Lewis said.

Suddenly needing a new place to live, the couple began house hunting and soon found a townhome in Mt. Lebanon, a community they had come to enjoy during visits with family. The move brought them closer to their grandchildren while introducing Lewis to a community that would later find its way into his writing.

Born in Detroit and raised in several communities, including Astoria, Oregon; St. Paul, Minnesota; Dubuque, Iowa; and Toledo, Ohio, Lewis built a career that rarely kept him in one place for long.

He met Julie while the two were living in the same apartment complex in Jacksonville, Florida. Lewis jokes that she had her eye on him before they officially met, but regardless of who made the first move, the relationship progressed quickly. After six weeks of dating, they became engaged and were married eight months later.

Together, they built a life that took them across the country and around the world.

One of their earliest adventures came when they moved to Stockholm, Sweden, with their first daughter, who was just 9 months old. Lewis spent a year working in the news department of a Swedish public radio organization before the family returned to the United States.

Additional moves followed as he transitioned from journalism into fundraising, station management and consulting in public broadcasting, with stops in Florida, Texas, Massachusetts and Oregon along the way.

By 2016, family ties were drawing them back east.

Mt. Lebanon quickly felt like home. Lewis and Julie embraced Pittsburgh’s cultural scene, held season tickets to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, attended library programs and became regulars at local restaurants.

“We’ve spent many an afternoon and evening at Jade Grille,” Lewis said. “It was a favorite and remains so.”

Lewis also became active in the local literary community, attending author events at the Mt. Lebanon Public Library and recently participating in a local author showcase at the Galleria.

The community also provided inspiration for his fiction.

Although writing had been a constant throughout his career, Lewis did not publish his first novel until 2017.

“I decided a good way to get to know Pittsburgh was to write about it,” he said.

That decision became the foundation for much of his work. Several of his mysteries draw inspiration from communities throughout the Pittsburgh area, including Mt. Lebanon.

What began as a way to learn about the region developed into a productive second career.

“I’ve done a book a year since I moved to Pittsburgh,” Lewis said.

Today, Lewis has published 11 novels, written numerous short stories and is working on another book.

After Julie’s death, Lewis eventually moved to Providence Point. He still returns to Mt. Lebanon regularly to shop, dine and meet with former neighbors through the Woodridge book club.

He also enjoys spending time with his grandchildren, whose presence in the Pittsburgh area helped inspire the move from Oregon a decade ago.