Working in radio and television news internationally and across the U.S., raising a family, and being a member of the human race, John DeDakis has not only experienced the gamut, but brings informed writing to his mystery novels. Since 1988 he's been with CNN and currently works as Senior Copy Editor on the network's "The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer."
DeDakis earned a BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1977 after serving in the U.S. Army, where he worked as a reporter with The American Forces Network out of Frankfurt, Germany. He's a former White House correspondent, and also worked with CBN News in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
In addition to book readings and signings, DeDakis is a frequent speaker on the subject "From Journalist to Novelist: (Or How I Learned To Start Making It Up)." He leads workshops for aspiring writers, plus, he offers broadcast news writing workshops at CNN's Washington, D.C. bureau. He's a lecturer at American University and an adjunct professor at Regent University, a freelance manuscript editor and member of Mystery Writers of America.
His first novel, Fast Track, was published in 2007. The sequel, Bluff, was published in December 2010.
DeDakis writes his novels in the first person as a woman, and says the reasoning behind it is, "..a long story." But in the process he feels he's developed a better understanding of the female psyche, as well as his own.
John DeDakis lives with his wife Cindy, a musician, in Washington D.C.