J.F. Banas

About J.F. Banas

Storm Surge is the debut thriller by John F. Banas. John read his first novel — Andromeda Strain — when he was just eight years old and has been hooked on thriller novels ever since. He is drawn to stories about average, everyday people who are thrust into impossible situations and called upon to reach above their skill and comfort level to succeed, or even survive. 

John’s first published work was a short story for an anthology entitled Down the Block, a collection of tales about life in the big city. It’s available here. 

Hard at work on his next thriller, John lives with his family in a suburb of Chicago, a city which provides endless inspiration for books. 

BOOKS:

Storm Surge (2021)

Your biggest literary influences:

Jack London because he reads well today as he did over 100 years ago.

James Patterson because he is the undisputed King of Thrillers.  I’ve even emulated his style — short chapters and plenty of them.  It keeps the cadence at a heart pounding level.

Michael Crichton because he can wright about anything with authority and it’s still super entertaining.

Last book read:

Truth or Die by James Patterson

The book that changed your life:

Andromeda Strain.  I read this when I was just eight years old and have been hooked on the adventure that thriller readers experience.

Your favorite literary character:

Well, technically this is a TV/Movie character, but since James Blish wrote all those Star Trek novels, I suppose Spock qualifies.  What do we want in literature?  Conflict, or why read the book?  Spock was half human and half Vulcan — Emotion and Logic forever locked in heated battle within him.  You can’t get much more conflicted, and therefore interesting that that!

Currently working on:

My next novel, a paranormal thriller: The Paranormals.  It’s a story about a novelist trying to deal with the untimely death of his brother, mediocre eBook sales with no traditional book deal in sight and a curious series of deaths in local traffic accidents that some witnesses insist involve an antique car that just “disappears.”  Teaming with a Ghost Tour guide who becomes his romantic interest but who is questioning her sexuality, they hunt down the cause of and those responsible for these deaths, and it is not what you may think…

Words to live by:

“Embrace change, for it is inevitable” —John T. Banas

“You can do anything you put your mind to” —Patricia Banas

“As long as life exists, the possibilities are endless” —Spock, 1st Officer, USS Enterprise NCC 1701.

Advice for aspiring authors:

Learn to accept rejection and know that the odds favor those who never give up.  Don’t quit!