Author Spotlight: Meet Debut Thriller Author John David

I love a good thriller, so it’s particularly special to me today to welcome debut thriller writer and fellow Tule Publishing author, John David to the Spotlight today. We had a fascinating chat, and he’s got a giveaway for you!

John David is a long-time public relations and crisis communications consultant, author of a non-fiction business book, and a corporate ghostwriter. His debut novel, The Bystander (The Lemaster Files Book 1), was longlisted for the BPA First Novel Award. When not working or writing, he enjoys fishing, talking about politics, and following the Florida Gators. He and his beautiful wife Pamela live in Pinecrest, Florida.

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N: Welcome to the blog, John. I’m so pleased to have you with me today. So, what inspired you to start writing a novel?

A: Not to be too philosophical, but I think it was just my time to try this. I have always been a writer. I  breezed through English class when I was in high school, both the technical, grammar aspect, and the creative process. And then I fell in love with journalism and have been adjacent to that world since I was in college. Now, after 30 years in the communications business, my skills have been honed, but more importantly, I have had the life experiences that enabled me to color in a story. When I got the initial idea for The Bystander, all of these parts of my life aligned. I’m not sure I could have done this five years ago, for example.

N: You’ve written business nonfiction and been a corporate ghostwriter. Today, we’re going to talk about your debut novel, The Bystander, which released September 24 from Tule Publishing. Fiction is a whole different kind of writing from corporate and nonfiction. What is the most surprising thing you discovered about yourself while writing The Bystander?

A: Like most people, I dreamed up the premise for a novel many times. You encounter something and it makes you think: “What if?” I knew I could come up with an intriguing premise, but I discovered while writing The Bystander that I could take that idea further, develop an intricate plot, and come up with interesting and fun twists.

N: Your “day job” is in public relations and you are a crisis communications consultant, which is a new term to me. Tell me about that, and what do you bring to your stories from that work?

A: Much of what I do is straightforward communications and messaging for companies and organizations, but at times, I also deal with crisis situations where the stakes are higher. Sometimes things happen that cause reputational damage to an organization. And in other cases, more rarely for sure, you can have an existential crisis where an entire business or company is threatened. Some aspects of my stories are inspired by different people I have met and situations that have occurred.

N: The protagonist in The Bystander is TV reporter, Pete Lemaster. What kind of research did you do to write his career?

A: As a PR consultant, I have worked with hundreds of reporters at all levels, from national correspondents to local newspaper reporters. I have observed the deadlines and the pressures, but more importantly, the commitment to the craft that they all share. This helped me shape Pete as a character.

N: The Bystander has so many twists and turns for Pete as he investigates his remarkable footage, including political intrigue, the Second Amendment, and finding the truth when some people want it to stay hidden. Talk a little bit about creating Pete’s amazing footage at the game-day tailgate party and how this story developed.

A: The book opens with Pete reacting to an active shooter incident, and this was, without question, the most scrutinized, edited, and rewritten part of the book. I can’t even tell you how many versions there were because I probably edited a little more during the last pass by the proofreaders. We know that you only get one chance to make a first impression, and this is the first impression of my first novel, so I needed to do everything I could to get it right.

N: What was the most challenging aspect of writing a thriller for the first time? Was the story whole in your head before you starting writing or was it a germ of an idea that grew as you wrote?

A: I’m a total pantser. In my subsequent books, I have tried to be more of a plotter, but the ideas seem to flow for me during the process of writing. I will say that since writing The Bystander, I haven’t started anything new unless I truly knew how it would end. For example, I dreamed up a premise for a locked door mystery, but I just don’t know how to finish it, so I have put it on the shelf for now.

N: I also have a day job, so I’m curious how do you balance your day job with novel writing?

A: It’s tough. For me, the hardest part is drafting, and I tend to do that in the mornings before I start my day job. And then at night and on weekends, I squeeze in the editing and rewriting when I can. I have always been deadline-driven, so I try to hit my word-count goals, which I break down into weekly numbers, not daily goals. Because of my job, I can go several days without touching my current project.

N: From your experience writing The Bystander, if you could give a first-time novelist one piece of advice, what would it be?

A: If you believe in your work, don’t give up. I wrote The Bystander in about five months and then spent a year and a half pitching it before it was acquired by Tule. I had several moments where I wanted to give up, but I kept pushing, and here we are.

N: And now for a few sort of personal questions because readers love to know more about us beyond our writing life: What do you like to do when you are not writing?

A: I’m a big sports fan, which has seeped into my books. I’m heavily invested in college football and, particularly, my Florida Gators. I also enjoy fishing, cooking, and going to the beach with my wife, Pamela. We are still figuring out how to be empty nesters.

N: What did you want to be when you grew up?

A: My mother was a teacher, and I always enjoyed school, so I thought about education, but by the time I got to high school, I thought I would be a journalist. I ended up studying journalism at the University of Florida, but majored in public relations.

N: Favorite book when you were a kid?

A: I remember reading The Great Brain and Encyclopedia Brown books with great interest. As a bit of trivia, the author of the Encyclopedia Brown books, Donald J. Sobol, lived about three miles away from me before he passed away. I didn’t read much beyond the required classics when I was a student, but I vividly remember discovering mysteries and thrillers once I left college.

N: Are you working on anything at the present you would like to tell our readers about?

A: We are in the proofreading phase of the second book in The Lemaster Files. The Bystander will be followed by The Pawn in May of 2026. I’m currently drafting the third book in the series.

N: Finally, my favorite question to ask my guests: If you could choose three people, living or dead, real or fictional to invite to a dinner party, who would they be and why?

A:

• My late mother. She passed with dementia and never got to truly meet her amazing grandchildren.
• Steve Spurrier. The greatest Florida Gator of all time.
• Thomas Jefferson. Would love his perspective on things right now.

N: Thanks for joining me today, John. I wish you great success with The Bystander and I look forward to the next Pete Lemaster story!

Giveaway! John is giving away a signed print copy of The Bystander and a $10 Amazon gift card to one lucky commenter. Just tell him your favorite mystery or thriller book or film. Feel free to go back into your childhood… (Continental US only)

The Bystander

It wasn’t just another live shot …

TV reporter Pete Lemaster anticipates nothing more riveting than filming a short lifestyle segment for an upcoming college football rivalry when he arrives at the Jacksonville Waterfront pregame tailgate party. Then chaos erupts as a bystander stops an active shooter with an act of stunning bravery. And Pete suddenly holds a golden career opportunity in his hands—an exclusive video that goes viral.

With the citizen hero’s star rising among the Second Amendment folk, Pete, too, enjoys the perks of fame. But something about that now-famous moment feels off, so he uses his journalism skills to poke around. Suddenly, he’s not sure what he captured is the truth.

And now opportunistic political and media figures are threatening Pete’s life if he doesn’t back off. Can he blow the whistle on a coverup, out the real villain, and stay alive?

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