Ever since he was a young child, Jon Gerrard has been a fan of science fiction. In his home he has amassed a large collection of science fiction books and films. Fortunately for his wife, the advent of e-books has allowed her to reclaim a good portion of their house. One of his aims in life has been to become a science fiction author. After many years of research and work Jon published his first novel, Shadowplay: Book One of the Starcrown Chronicles. The first of a planned trilogy, Starcrown follows the adventures of Cordass Pell, a young man who just reached his twenty-first birthday only to find his life turned upside down. He awakens on a prison transport with no memory of who he is. The only person who seems to know him tells him that he has been sentenced to life in prison on the frozen penal planet of Demerl. But before the transport ship can reach its destination it is attacked by pirates and Pell and the other prisoners are sold to a sadistic owner in a distant star-system. Further complicating this is the fact that someone keeps trying to kill him.

Starcrown represents Jon’s exploration into the moral debate of what is right and wrong. It is a coming of age story in which this fundamental question plagues the main character throughout the series. The books however are written as action-adventure stories because the first and foremost purpose of a story is to entertain the reader.

Before turning his hand to writing science 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 included in the prestigious Books for the Teenage List catalog by New York Public Library. Along with writing about the martial arts, Jon has been a private instructor for nearly 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.

Mr. Gerrard holds an undergraduate degree in psychology from Princeton University and a master’s degree in education from Lehman College. He is currently working as a teacher in New York where he lives with his wife and two daughters. When he isn’t conducting martial arts classes from his home on Long Island, Jon enjoys skiing, scuba diving and riding his motorcycle.

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