Journalistic Thrillers, Loss, and Doing Right by Women Characters with John DeDakis

Alex is joined from Baltimore by novelist John DeDakis, author of five novels in the Lark Chadwick mystery-suspense-thriller series. DeDakis is a former editor on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer." He is also a writing coach, manuscript editor, and writing workshop leader. They discuss broadcast journalism, as well as the difficulties women face in that male-dominated world. They also discuss Lark Chadwick, a character in his novels, an amateur sleuth trying to maintain her journalistic integrity. Alex speaks about his own past behavior and believes that books like DeDakis's can help male readers understand their mistakes with women and grow from them. John has used his own experiences of grief and loss to inform his writing, and he believes that the creative process is largely one of self-discovery. He teaches writing to help people deconstruct the process and encourages them to move toward the pain. He is currently working on his sixth novel, which will explore topics such as abortion and delusional politics. There is so much more in this wide-ranging and deep conversation that also touches on personal tragedy, loss, politics, and the state of journalism today. Also: How do women have to play defense in addition to trying to be assertive in a man's world? How do you start writing a novel? How does he approach editing manuscripts? Listen in! Connect with John DeDakis: JohnDeDakis.com . Buy the books here. FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/john.dedakis LINKEDIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-dedakis-4b09a34/ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/dedakisjohn/ AUTHORS DEN: https://www.authorsden.com/visit/author.asp?authorid=38787 Visit Alex Greenwood's website: JAlexanderGreenwood.com. Follow him on Twitter:  @A_Greenwood This Mysterious Goings On Podcast episode was recorded and mixed at Green Shebeen Studios in beautiful Kansas City, Missouri. Copyright 2023, all rights reserved. No reproduction, excerpting, or other use without written permission. We are an Amazon Associates seller, and some of our links may earn us a commission.