John Buckner

John Buckner is a retired Naval Officer, having retired in 1982. My interest in writing is a direct result of my reading habits. I was born in Spartanburg, S.C. and raised in the small mill village of Langley, just seven miles from Augusta, Georgia. I quit school in tenth grade and went into the Navy. I acquired a GED certification and later attended Grand Canyon College (now a university), graduating in 1970. I had gotten out of the navy for the specific purpose of getting the education that resulted. After graduation I returned to the navy via Officer's Candidate School and retired from the Staff of Commander in Chief, Atlantic Fleet twelve years later.

Always an avid reader, I loved adventure books, especially those written with the juvenile in mind. I also liked history and read a lot of historical fiction.

During my military days I traveled extensively (50 countries). My career field was cryptology, which exposed me to all phases of the intelligence apparatus. I have been told that a writer should write about the things he knows best. I think that is a bit of a misnomer. If it were true science fiction, fantasy, and the likes would have never been written.

I write about things that interest me, believing that many readers will have the same interests. I write because I like the satisfaction of seeing a story come together, many times in ways that I would not have imagined when the project started.

My first completed novel dates to 1990, before the days of self-publishing. I did manage to get a contract to publish it with Northwest Publishing out of Salt Lake City, Utah. That didn't happen due to schedules conflicts. I became interested in other pursuits and didn't get into writing again until just a few years ago. Self-publishing provided the opportunity. I could do something that I enjoy doing with the prospect of making a bit of money in the process.

The first novel mentioned above is titled 'Rolling Thunder', which was the code name for a major bombing campaign conducted by the U.S. Air Force over Vietnam in the decade of the sixties.

Through lifestyle changes, as well as personal commitment, I turned more to writing Christian based fiction. I found that a good story doesn't need explicit sex and foul language to reach an audience that I probably wasn't trying to reach in the first place.

I have lived in the small town of Chino Valley, Arizona, located in the north central part of the state since 2004. I have been married to my wife Shirley for 52 years and have two children. My daughter is married to a retired Air Force fighter pilot and they have two boys, one still in college and the older having graduated and working for Verizon.

Our son, who is 49 lives in Chino Valley.