Mystery Writing-The John Keegan Mystery Series

  Reflecting on Death Knell : Finding My Voice Through Keegan When I sat down to write Death Knell , the third installment in the John Keegan series, I didn’t realize how pivotal it would be for both the character and myself. By this point, Keegan and I had grown together in unexpected ways. Writing had transitioned from something I loved into something I lived for—a career in every sense of the word. This book marked the turning point where storytelling became more than just the words on the page. It became a responsibility, a craft, and, more importantly, a mirror. Keegan confronts loss in Death Knell . It’s not the first time he’s dealt with it, but it’s different now—sharper, deeper, more personal. Strangely, this mirrored my own life in ways I hadn’t anticipated. Only months after the book's publication, I faced my own version of profound loss. Writing about Keegan's grief in advance of my own made his pain more visceral for me. There’s a strange, almost eerie way that lif

Grab a copy of Third and Long Now! Writing 'Third and Long' Writing 'Third and Long' has been an experience that feels both nostalgic and profoundly reflective. As part of the Keegan Retro Series, this book takes us back to an early case in John Keegan's career—a pivotal investigation involving Martin Reeves and his partnership with Matty Long. The core idea of this retro series is that these books actually double as episodes in Keegan's current-day TV show, where older Keegan looks back on significant cases from his career, offering a mix of personal growth and detective work. Young Keegan and Matty Long In 'Third and Long,' we see Keegan paired with Matty Long, a detective Keegan initially considered "old" back in 2000. Keegan, in his youthful certainty, found himself doubting the abilities of a man he saw as past his prime. And yet, Long turned out to be the partner he needed, offering perspectives that young Keegan never expected. Now, Keeg

  Revisiting Time Stand Still : Editing, Nostalgia, and Growth I love writing the Keegan series. It's my main work and it's fulfilling and my most productive area of writing. But, there's one book I wrote almost twenty years ago that has been a sort of favorite. While Keegan is more of my polar opposite, Darren Camponi from Time Stand Still  is a little more like me. And the story, going back in time and reliving younger days, has always intrigued me. But the book is flawed and needs some attention. Hence, the revisit. Time Stand Still is  a story outside my John Keegan series, yet one that oddly links back, as the main character, Darren Camponi, makes an appearance in To The Bone and joins Keegan’s ever-expanding world. And this year, I decided to do what Darren does in Time Stand Still, go back to my past and relive it. Only I can make changes that don't impact the present too much. I hope ;) It’s strange to open up something I two decades ago, seeing my own words fr

It's Really Been Two Decades? It's been a long trip, this writing thing. What started out as a whim turned into twelve novels and a few more in progress. I wanted to take a moment to share a bit about myself and how I came to write mystery novels. Ever since I was young, mysteries have always captivated me. Growing up with a father who served as an NYPD officer, I was immersed in a world of intrigue and complex human stories from an early age. His experiences sparked my fascination with unraveling puzzles and understanding the depths of human nature. I experimented with writing in various genres, but I found that mystery resonated with me the most. There's something uniquely thrilling about posing "what if" questions and exploring where they lead. For example, in my book "Soft Case," I pondered: What would happen if someone like Bill Gates ran for office? How would those around him react to potential secrets being unearthed? These kinds of questions dr

In the complex web of relationships, lies, whether small or large, seem almost inevitable. They’re the white lies we tell to protect loved ones, the half-truths we share to sidestep uncomfortable conversations, and, sometimes, the deeply buried secrets we’re not ready to confront ourselves. In The Lies That Bind Us , these everyday lies collide with political intrigue, creating a tense, layered story that examines what happens when personal and political fronts clash under the spotlight of truth. And there's something about writing the truth behind lies that scratches beneath the surface of my own life. Yes, I tell lies too. So do the people around me. Writing Realism in a Sea of Deception Building a narrative on the foundation of political drama interwoven with marital struggles is both enticing and challenging. It’s one thing to craft a thriller around high-stakes power plays; it’s another to bring it close to home, exploring how the political choices, professional secrets, and h

  Writing Ghosts of Days Gone By and Fourth Gear : A Tale of Justice, Closure, and Lingering Revenge When I was working on Ghosts of Days Gone By and Fourth Gear , there was one concept that kept coming back to me: the idea of revenge. Not the kind of flashy, movie-style revenge, but the slow-burn kind that lurks beneath the surface, shaping decisions and relationships over time. Both of these novels explore how long-buried resentments and unresolved issues can affect a person—whether it’s Keegan or his old partner Matty Long. In Fourth Gear , revenge plays a more subtle role. While Keegan is trying to close a case that dates back to the early days of his career, there’s more at stake than just solving a crime. His partner Matty Long is back, and Matty’s history is still haunting them both. If you’ve read Third and Long , you know Matty had his share of issues with other cops, bad blood that never really got resolved. Those tensions were left to fester, and now, with the past coming