Author John Madower
A little bit about Author John Madower…
Well, it seems I’ve been writing my whole life, primarily for school, university, and work; however, this was mostly academic and technical writing. As an aerospace engineer and career air force officer, it’s critical to communicate your thoughts and ideas about technical problems and resolutions, or for operational planning. However, it wasn’t until I retired that I seriously considered writing a novel. This was a completely different type of writing for me. Ultimately, when I decided to do this, I researched a lot about writing novels and read a lot of action – adventure, thriller books – not so much for the stories, but how they were told. What I came to realize was that it is important for my readers to feel that they are in the scene and able to relate to the story with all their senses. This is the ‘reader experience’ I tried to create when crafting my first novel, The Ghosts of Apollo.
This is Author John Madower’s writing and publication journey in his own words…
Inspiration to start writing…
We are living in very tumultuous times, more unsettling than many of us have experienced in our lifetimes. Notwithstanding, I guess I’m truly an optimist at heart. Not to diminish the difficulties of today, I think it’s fair to say that we tend to forget our own history and how potentially catastrophic things in our past could actually have been. I wanted to write something that captured the urgent challenges of our past and link them to the present in a way that hints that there is always a reason to remain positive. My debut novel, The Ghosts of Apollo, is intended to challenge our perceptions of our modern world. It is my favorite genre, a spy thriller. If you are seeking a good thriller or heist story, this novel should capture your interest. The Ghosts of Apollo has broad appeal for both young and old because, amongst other things, it crosses numerous genres, including spy thriller, techno thriller, historical novel, and modern crime mystery. The main character is extremely relatable to a modern generation; she is intelligent, caring, and self-sufficient. Early reviews from a large cross-section of readers are extremely positive.
John’s works…
The Ghosts of Apollo is published and available at The Wild Rose Press and is also carried by all major book retailers. As a tease, I’ll share that I found the entire writing process exhilarating. As a result, I have two more novels I am developing. For now, however, amongst other retailers, The Ghosts of Apollo can be found at:
The Wild Rose Press
Barnes and Noble
Amazon
Google Books
Walmart
Target
Kobo
Apple Books
iTunes
Books-a-Million
Indie Bound
Indigo
The Ghosts of Apollo Blurb
An edgy, modern spy thriller, The Ghosts Of Apollo challenges our perceptions of our world. Reluctant heroine Tess Shefford desperately struggles to protect a secret, hidden since NASA’s Apollo Program, as she races to solve an audacious modern crime. With her life in peril, how can she prevail with assassins on the loose, autonomous vehicles used as killing machines, data mining to expose deeply hidden secrets, and a system that does not trust her?
President Kennedy’s 1961 speech to Congress not only aimed to land a person on the moon and bring them back safely, it also set forth other objectives that we tend to forget. This fast-paced novel follows the logical extension of the president’s speech and imagines where that might have led.
One of John’s favourite scenes from The Ghosts of Apollo…
As an avid outdoor enthusiast, in addition to writing, I still thoroughly enjoy long distance running, and endurance walking. Serving with distinction during the First Gulf War, Afghanistan, and as a NORAD Battle Commander/Combat Control Officer, enabled a unique, expert inside perspective on various situations portrayed in this exciting debut novel. One of my favorite scenes of the book is found in an early part of the book where the protagonist, Tess Shefford, is on her motorcycle leaving NASA’s Deep Space Network at Goldstone, California:
Mandy waved as Tess slowly headed out of the parking lot and began to retrace her route heading southeast back toward the camp’s main gate. Tess could not help feeling satisfied when clearing the last gate of the Military Reservation. It had been a long, yet productive day. It was comforting to see how professionally the DSN was run. Now off the base, she could speed up a bit and generate some airflow to cool down. The road from Fort Irwin led directly south across barren desert and then linked with Interstate 15 to L.A.
If all goes well, I’ll be back at the Fed Building around 6:00 p.m. But Tess knew she needed to be careful near L.A. because of the drive directly into the setting sun and dense rush-hour traffic. The first part of the route was across open, washed out, tawny-colored, flat ground where the road was straight as an arrow and framed against an endless sky with low rounded mountains way off on the horizon. Three quarters of the way south the roadway reached some of those distant mountains and began to thread through the darkened valleys before the landscape would open out onto the familiar flat desert again.
Soon after Tess entered the mountainous area and started to weave her way around the high ground, the road took a long swinging arc to the left. In the far distance, it looked as if a silver sedan had pulled over to the side of the road with its hood up and the four-way flashers going. One of the occupants was waving. Tess took in the scene while decelerating and got a little closer. There were three well-dressed men, all with sunglasses. They aren’t locals. One man was in front of the car facing forward, another was by the trunk facing her, and the third was near the driver’s door waving his arms at her. This doesn’t feel right. She slowed her bike further. A little faster than walking speed now, Tess continued to roll toward the silver sedan on the side of the road with its hazard lights flashing.
Strange…nobody is fussing over the engine even though the hood is up. She continued to survey the sedan, and the men, for clues about what might really be happening. Just as Tess slowed to almost a stop, the man by the driver’s door started to move toward her and a gust of wind blew the flap of his jacket open. Then she saw it! He had a holstered handgun fitted with a sound suppressor!
Gritting her teeth, she simultaneously released the brake, twisted the throttle, and accelerated through the intended ambush before any of the three men could react. Legitimate security agents don’t carry sound suppressors under suit jackets! She sped up as quickly as possible before daring to look back to see what was happening with the sedan. Not far behind the car was already spinning its wheels as it kicked up a dust cloud before fully pulling onto the asphalt. She had a head start but would need to step it up to maintain it. Tess knew from her police officer dad that pistols only had an effective range of about 25 yards, or maybe 50 yards for an advanced shooter, so they would need to
get close or be really lucky to harm her.
The road continued to twist left and right, up and down as it followed along the easiest path through the valleys and uneven ground. Racing, Tess used both sides of the road on the turns to increase the distance from her pursuers.
