In December 2022 Mystery/thriller author John G. Bluck signed a literary contract with Wolfpack Publishing doing business as Rough Edges Press. The first three novels in Bluck's Luke Ryder series are slated for publication in the summer of 2023.“We’re excited to be taking on Bluck’s Luke Ryder series,” said Patience Bramlett, an editor at Rough Edges Press. “These exquisite crime thrillers offer a refreshing spin on the over-inflated thriller genre—in the best way possible.”The first book in the series, “Death in the Holler,” was previously published, but will be re-released July 4, 2023 with a new cover under the Rough Edges Press imprint. The Luke Ryder fictional character is a Kentucky deputy sheriff. This novel is the story of how Ryder solves a murder that takes place on a Kentucky farm's food plot.In the second book, “Murder at NASA,” to be released July 25, 2023, Ryder goes undercover at a NASA center in California to investigate a cold case murder. The third book, “Mayhem at Sea,” is a thriller to be published on Aug. 15, 2023. While on an Alaska vacation cruise, Ryder deals with pirates who hijack the ship and demand ransom payments.Bluck retired from NASA as a public affairs officer. Previously, he was the Chief of Imaging Technology at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. Before that, he worked at NASA Lewis (now Glenn) Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio, where he produced numerous NASA documentaries for television.Earlier in his career he was a broadcast engineer for the ABC radio network at WMAL-AM/FM, Washington, DC. At WMAL-TV (now WJLA-TV), in Washington he was a news film cameraman who covered local news, crime, sports, and politics including Watergate. In 1976 he was named the National Press Photographer Association runner-up cameraman of the year in the Northeast. In addition, he was a member of the White House News Photographers’ Association. During the Vietnam War he was an Army journalist at Ft. Lewis, Washington. JOHN BLUCK: "I first started writing when I was attending college taking journalism courses. At that time I wrote stories for public TV news broadcasts. The day after I earned my masters degree, I was drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War. I became an Army journalist at Ft. Lewis, WA, where I wrote articles for the newspaper, The Ranger. I also hosted an Army radio news program that was broadcast on local commercial radio stations.While I was in the Army, I learned to write news. Bill Wood, my editor, was very good at his craft. His editing of my articles taught me quite a bit. I firmly believe that good newspaper editors are some of the best teachers a writer can have.I later worked in commercial television at WMAL-TV (now WJLA-TV), channel 7, the ABC affiliate in Washington, DC.During several years as a newsreel cameraman, I saw a lot. My experiences provide me with a memory of events that are a rich source of material. I covered Watergate, bank robberies, homicides, bombings, plane crashes, politics, sports, and entertainment, among other things.After that I joined NASA. I wrote quite a few science documentary scripts, and produced many half-hour educational TV shows, which were broadcast in the U.S. and in numerous other countries. After a stint as head of the Imaging Technology Branch at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, I became a NASA public affairs officer. I spent more than 15 years writing news releases and articles about science and engineering. Practically every day I went to work, I was fascinated by what I saw at NASA. It was astounding."Read more about this authorRead less about this author