Good morning, everyone! Today, I'm happy to host a friend and troublemaker, John Foxjohn, whose latest book is WHO! published by Watermark Press.
Let's get to know John: The Pineywoods of East Texas have produced many things, including award winning and best-selling author John Foxjohn. Considered a rising star in publishing, Foxjohn has published in six different genres. He’s won many awards in writing: the coveted STAR award from Romance Writers of America, twice been nominated for the prestigious Edgar award from Mystery Writers of America, and in 2008, writers voted him author of the year, and in 2010 Writing Mentor of the year. Despite the book sales and accolades, Foxjohn says, “I’m just a country boy at heart. “I was born and raised so far back in the woods that they had to pump sunshine to us.”
At the tender age of seventeen, he quit high school and joined the army. Foxjohn’s six years would see him graduate from jump school, Ranger school, and become the youngest sergeant in peacetime army. A tour of Viet Nam and Germany highlighted an extremely successful stint for Foxjohn. After an honorable discharge, Foxjohn followed that up with ten years in law enforcement, including a long tour as a homicide detective.
Today, Foxjohn spends an enormous amount of time traveling in Texas and across the country, signing books and talking and teaching writing groups about the craft of writing.
Here's a bit about WHO! Revenge is a dish best served cold. In some cases, dead cold.
John Bush, a Houston homicide detective, had spent years trying to stop
Joey Elderberry’s reign, the legal way. John finally arrested him for murdering
three people, but the notorious crime boss walked out of the courtroom
laughing. When someone entered a warehouse and killed two of Elderberry’s men
barehanded, and shot and killed five others, the Houston police called John to
find the killers.
As the bodies piled up, so did the pressure. For one reason or another,
everyone had one goal, find out WHO!
As John investigated, for the first time he began questioning a system
where people had to enact their own justice. If he found killers or killer,
could he arrest them?
Link back to your website or a book seller with an excerpt.
Now, I'm the one doing the interrogation:
Vicki: How often to you get lost in a story?
Vicki: How often to you get lost in a story?
John: Quite often. I am on my final reading of
WHO! right now and I find myself lost in it.
Vicki: *rolling her eyes*.
Vicki: This one you gotta answer, buddy: John, you were a long time policeman and
detective. What is the funniest thing that ever happened to you?
John: I was a rookie patrolman and
they had finally let me out by myself. Now, I had to come back with a bunch of
tickets, arrests, everything to show them their confidence in me was justified.
I went to a place I knew right below a big hill where traffic came down a lot
faster than the speed limit. I backed my police car up in a little opening
right at the bottom.
I didn’t have long to wait. Here came one going at least
20 over the limit. I hit the lights and siren and floored it, but the back
wheels just spun. I was stuck and it didn’t take the motorists long to know it.
They zipped by me for almost an hour like they were in the Indy 500.
It
took me an hour to call in and tell them I was stuck.
Vicki: What’s the first book you remember reading?
John: The Lamb and the Lion
Vicki: Can you tell us about a real-life hero you’ve met.
John: I’m a Viet Nam vet—seen too many to name.
Vicki: Where do you read and how often?
John: Everywhere and any chance I get—mainly before I go to
sleep.
Vicki: What was the first story you remember writing?
John: I wrote a paper in elementary on Rocky
Mountain Spotted Fever.
Vicki: What’s the first thing you do when you finish writing a
book.
John: Start bragging about it…. :-)
Vicki: If you were given a chance to travel to the
past where would you go and specifically why?
John: Honestly, I would turn them down. I’m too focused on the
future to look back.
Vicki: What do you do to unwind and relax?
John: Square dance
Vicki: What does it mean to love someone?
John: I once asked my mother what love was and she
said, “It’s an itch you can’t scratch.” I can’t do any better.
Vicki: She was a smart lady.
Vicki: What color would you make the sky if it
wasn’t going to be blue anymore and why?
John: That’s a difficult question for me. As it happens, I am
color blind.
Vicki: What is your hero’s “kryptonite” – in other
words, what will bring him instantly to his knees?
John: The love of a good woman
Vicki: What drew you to write in the genre(s) you do?
John: Well, since I am published in six different
ones and have best sellers in three different ones, that’s difficult to say. I
write the stories I want and worry about what to call it later.
Vicki: What has been your most rewarding
publishing moment?
John: Having other writers nominate and vote me
author of the year
Vicki: Yeah!!!!
Vicki: What has surprised you the
most about being published?
John: Well, I thought my first book was so good
everyone would love it. I was shocked when they didn’t…. :-)
Vicki: What could we find in your heroine's purse?
John: A condom
Vicki: Why am I not surprised?
Vicki: Who's your celebrity crush and why?
John: Olive Oyl
Find John at:
PREVIOUS RELEASES:
Let's do a drawing! I’ll send the winner a free eBook of WHO! Leave your email address in the comments.
Note: Please leave an email address for notification. Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.
Good morning, my friend and welcome to GLIAS. I hope you've been good.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to GLIAS, John ! Best of luck with the new release.
ReplyDeleteThank you Angi, and Vicki, if I said yes, would you believe me?
ReplyDeleteNever! LOL.
ReplyDeleteHi John, it was great getting to know you a little better through your interview. You have quite the sense of humor, :) I loved your story about getting stuck in your patrol car, I can just imagine how hard it was to call for back-up
ReplyDeleteTake care,
Jacquie Biggar
Hey Jacquie, thanks for dropping in. My mother used to say I had the killing kind of humor. I told jokes and people wanted to kill me.... :-)
DeleteYeah, I had trouble getting that radio to work. Kept trying to find a way to get out without anyone knowing.
Jacquie - John is just terrible. LOLOL We have a soft spot for him in our heart, though.
ReplyDeleteTerrible good or terrible bad? Talk about me now, but who did you look up at RWA nationals to hang out with you at the bar...:-)
DeleteYou said you would buy! lol
Delete:-)
DeleteJohn, I really enjoyed Killer Nurse--one of the best books I have ever read. I wanted to ask you a question. Since you are such a prolific fiction writer was it difficult to write a nonfiction true crime. Also, what was the hardest part of writing it?
ReplyDeletePamela Ashton
pamela.ashton@yahoo.com
Thank you Pamela,
DeleteI have to admit, it was a challenge to go from fiction to nonfiction true crime. Before I published in fiction, I spent several years learning how to write it. I had to take that same approach with true crime. Besides that, In Killer Nurse, I was taking on a topic—dialysis—that I knew nothing about. Besides all the aspects of true crime, I also had to learn about the medical aspects.
To me, writing fiction is all about characterization. Sometimes I feel like the mad scientist in the lab creating characters, but I can create them anyway I want them—likes, dislikes, everything. The hardest part of nonfiction true crime is the author has to have the same level of characterization but they can’t make it up—it has to be true. That is the challenge and it is a big one for the true crime author.
John, obviously Killer Nurse isn't romance, but can reading it help romance authors?
ReplyDeletePatsy Taylor
Author_Patsy@aol.com
Of course it can Patsy. First, I think it is a good read for anyone, but romance authors need to do a lot of research. For people who have investigations and courtroom procedures in their manuscripts, or will one day, then it can be invaluable.
DeleteBest wishes, John, with your new release!
ReplyDeleteThank you Angela, it was good hearing from you.
DeleteFun interview
ReplyDeletebn100candg at hotmail dot com
Thank you bn100
DeleteVicki Batman, thank you for having me. It was fun.
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, John. Next time, I'll buy!
ReplyDeletePamela Ashton will be receiving a copy of WHO by John. Congratulations, Pamela.
ReplyDelete