John Mackie

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, John attended public schools and grew up playing baseball. In this, the first chapter of his life, he was a die-hard Brooklyn Dodger fan and spent many summer hours as a boy watching his heroes play at Ebbets Field. He often fantasized that someday he would be wearing a Dodger uniform and playing third base for them. Though good with a glove and bat, and blessed with a great arm, playing for the Dodgers was not to be. Besides, the Bums had gone west to Los Angeles. He was a New Yorker.In the second chapter of his life, the fantasy thinking of his youth soon faded into reality and he became a New York City policeman. It was a good decision. John soon found that he loved The Job,and would rather be a New York City cop than a third baseman for any ball club...well, almost. His years with the department were spent working in Midtown Manhattan (Times Square), Uptown Manhattan in Harlem, and in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bedford Stuyvesant and Brownsville. During his tenure as a policeman, John loved to work the street. He was decorated more than thirty times, and is a holder of the NYPD's prestigious Medal of Valor. He stayed with the department for seventeen years until work-related injuries forced him into early retirement while at the rank of sergeant.Then came chapter three. Needing a new identity, John had to reinvent himself. He picked up a pen and, with a tightly focused view on becoming a published author of fiction, began to write. The reality thinking of his middle life had reverted back to the fantasy thinking of his youth. The pursuit turned out to be a long and winding road, one that demanded three things: talent, perseverance, and luck. He believed he had the talent; he certainly had the perseverance... it was the luck which he seemed to lack. But things eventually began to happen. Perseverance and talent finally found luck. His first book, MANHATTAN SOUTH, was published by NAL/Penguin in July 2002. MANHATTAN NORTH, EAST SIDE, and WEST SIDE followed. His latest, TO KILL A QUEEN, was published in 2012.John now makes his home in Florida.