J. Alexander Greenwood

Series features college-instructor-turned-investigator with offbeat characters, exotic settings, action and humor.

About J. Alexander Greenwood

J. Alexander Greenwood is the author of the award-nominated John Pilate mystery series including Pilate’s Cross, Pilate’s Key, Pilate’s Ghost, Pilate’s Blood, Pilate’s 7 and Pilate’s Rose. The books are recognized for John Pilate’s world of offbeat characters, exotic settings, action, and humor.

He also co-wrote the Western action novel Big Cabin and Dispatches from the West with the late Robert E. Trevathan and the nonfiction top-seller, Kickstarter Success Secrets. Greenwood owns AGPR, a public relations agency and Caroline Street Press, a small publishing imprint. He is host of the Mysterious Goings On podcast for writers. He resides in Kansas City, Missouri.

Read BookTrib’s reviews of J. Alexander Greenwood’s books, Pilate’s Key and Pilate’s Blood.

 

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BOOKS:

Pilate’s Cross (2009)

Pilate’s Key (2012)

Pilate’s Ghost (2012)

Kickstarter Success Secrets (2013)

Pilate’s Blood (2014)

Pilate’s 7 (2015)

Pilate’s Rose (2018)

Big Cabin and Dispatches from the West (with Robert E. Trevathan) (2018)

Biggest literary influencers:

Elmore Leonard, Carl Hiassen, Patricia Highsmith, Gore Vidal, Robert E. Trevathan, Stephen King, Robert B. Parker, Cormac McCarthy, Jonathan Gash

Last book read:

End of Watch by Stephen King

The book that changed your life:

Stephen King’s On Writing not only gave me the tools I needed to write compelling fiction (more so even than my degree in writing), but it helped me gain the confidence to believe my stories deserved to be read. If you’re a writer, or want to be one and haven’t read this book, it should be at the top of the stack on your bedside table.

Your favorite literary character:

It’s challenging to name a favorite literary character. I love so many of sleuths and crime fighters, but also cowboys and captains—masters of vessels from eighteenth-century frigates to twenty-third-century starships. However, I suppose that I love the unintentionally heroic, left-of-center types most.

Currently working on:

A two-volume omnibus print edition of the entire John Pilate Mystery Series, with two new John Pilate stories, scheduled for a Halloween 2019 release.

Words to live by:

Write what you want to read, and write it your way.

Advice to new and aspiring authors:

Don’t give up. Every word you write makes you better. The greatest yardstick for success is when someone says your book entertained them.

Reviews/Accolades:

The Kindle Book Review

Indie Reader

2011 Global Ebook Award Nominee (“Pilate’s Cross”)

2011 Shelf Unbound/WattPad Short Story Award: Best Story (“Obsidian”)

2012 Kindle Book Review Award Semi-Finalist for Best Mystery/Thriller (“Pilate’s Key”)

2013 Kindle Book Review Award Semi-Finalist for Best Mystery/Thriller (“Pilate’s Ghost”)

2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 Shelf Unbound Magazine Page Turner/Notable Book Awards (for John Pilate Series)

 

 

 

 

Testimonials

"Greenwood offers a fresh take on the mystery thriller with his John Pilate Series. His novels are populated with flawed and neurotic--yet instantly-likable--characters who find themselves thrown into maddeningly entertaining situations. Greenwood writes fun, accessible fiction that leaves readers asking for more."
- '- Jason McIntyre, author of On The Gathering Storm and Thalo Blue www.TheFarthestReaches.com
“(Greenwood’s work) impressed us with its originality, evocation of eeriness, and overall suspense. It stood out as a well-crafted piece of short fiction. The story will run in the December issue of Shelf Unbound.”
- — Margaret Brown, Publisher, Shelf Unbound magazine