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Jon Gerrard
Ever since he was a young child, Jon Gerrard has been a fan of science fiction/adventure stories. In his home he has amassed a sizable library of science fiction and adventure book...view moreEver since he was a young child, Jon Gerrard has been a fan of science fiction/adventure stories. In his home he has amassed a sizable library of science fiction and adventure books and films. Fortunately for his wife, the advent of e-books has allowed her to reclaim a good portion of their house. It was as a natural result of this interest that he turned to writing.Before turning his hand to fiction, Jon co-authored two books on another of his passions, the martial arts. Written with his friends the Park brothers who were involved with the selection and training of the U.S. Tae Kwon Do Olympic teams, the books Tae Kwon Do and Black Belt Tae Kwon Do quickly became the reference standard for students of the art. For their efforts the book Tae Kwon Do was inducted into the prestigious New York Public Library Books for the Teenage List catalog. Along with writing about the martial arts, Jon has been a private instructor for over twenty years. The majority of his students have been law enforcement officers ranging from local police officers to federal agents, all of whom came to him because they wanted to feel confident in their ability to protect themselves on the street.While writing and the martial arts have been life long passions, like most people Jon had to contend with day to day issues like groceries and mortgage. So he needed a day job. For close to a decade he worked as part of a special anti-crime task force within the New York City Mayor's Office known as the Office of Midtown Enforcement (OME). OME was directly responsible for the transformation of the Times Square area from the blighted zone it had become into the popular tourist destination it is today. Starting as an undercover investigator, Jon was promoted to running the Investigations Unit a year later and a few years after that took on the role of the Director of Planning.Eventually, family considerations caused him to shift his career focus. Like him, Jon's wife worked in the field of law enforcement--she was an FBI agent who could be called out at a moment's notice. With two young children at home, Jon decided to move into teaching, a career that afforded more stable, child friendly hours. For twenty-five years Jon worked as a teacher in various private and public schools. Now retired, Jon has the luxury of being able to devote more time to crafting stories.Oh yes, the eye. People are always asking about the patch. Years ago Jon lost his left eye in an unfortunate incident. Although he does have a prosthetic replacement, he prefers the patch to the glass eye because he considers it to be "more honest". In his words: "I see the same either way."Mr. Gerrard holds an undergraduate degree in psychology from Princeton University and a master's degree in education from Lehman College. When he isn't working on his latest manuscript or conducting martial arts classes from his home on Long Island, Jon enjoys skiing, kayaking, scuba diving, horseback riding, playing video games and riding his motorcycle with his wife and children.view less