Contributed by Mike Lantz

Best-selling author and 2008 Author of the Year, John Foxjohn epitomizes the phrase “been there – done that.” Born and raised in the rural East Texas town of Nacogdoches, John quit high school and joined the Army at seventeen. Viet Nam veteran, Army Airborne Ranger, policeman, homicide detective, retired teacher and coach, and now a multi-published author – John seems to have done it all.

John has used his diverse background and meticulous research to forge page-turning thrillers and mysteries. Although John’s novels are fictional, many readers believe they are true stories.

Like his favorite author, Louis L’Amour, John creates characters that readers love and root for –  not cardboard cutouts. John says, “Normal people have faults and strengths – they make mistakes and need to overcome them and other obstacles thrown in their path. People judge others by how they handle adversity. That’s how I attempt to create characters.”

If you have read John’s novels, you know that he is successful.

John’s books include Code of Deceit, Cold Tears, Color of Murder, and Tattered Justice.

John’s latest book, Unbalanced, published by Watermark Press, is taking the publishing industry by storm. Many have said that it is without a doubt the best fiction of 2012. And, John’s next book, titled Paradox, is coming soon. This is a book that many have raved about – even before it was published.

John also has a true crime book scheduled to come out in September of 2013 with Penguin-Berkley, tentatively titled Lethal Injection – the true story of a nurse serial killer. This is a story about the nurse convicted of harming and killing patients by injecting them with bleach. John spent three years investigating, interviewing, and sitting in court as the Kimberly Clark Saenz trial went on. He has interviewed 283 people in relation to the crime and trial.

John is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Elements of Romance, Kiss of Death, Lethal Ladies, Sisters-in-Crime, East Texas Writers Guild, League of Texas Writers, and more online writing groups than he can count. He is a full-time writer and speaker and lives in Lufkin, Texas, but travels extensively across the U.S. John also recently was a speaker and presenter at the National Romance Writers’ National Convention.

He will speak to the East Texas Writers Guild on September 10, on “How to Murder a Manuscript” and the craft of writing.