Author and CNN Senior Copy Editor John DeDakis is an editor and writer for the Emmy and Peabody-Award winning news program "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" (Mon.-Fri. 5-7pm ET and Saturday at 6pm ET).

DeDakis (pronounced  deh-DAY-kiss) is the author of two mystery/suspense novels ("Fast Track" and "Bluff") published by ArcheBooks. "Fast Track" is the story of a young woman's search for purpose as she solves the mystery surrounding the car-train collision which orphaned her as an infant.  The novel deals redemptively with issues of suicide, journalistic integrity, anonymous sources, and mentoring relationships. 

"Fast Track" grew out of two events in the author's life: a fatal car/train crash he witnessed as a youngster in 1959 and the suicide of his sister in 1980. 

His second novel, "Bluff," a sequel to "Fast Track," is based on his four-day, 25-mile hike along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru.  

Both novels are published in hardcover by ArcheBooks and are available on Amazon.com and as Kindle eBooks. 

DeDakis, a native of La Crosse, Wisconsin, began his journalism career in 1969 at a campus radio station at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he was tear gassed while covering an anti-Vietnam War riot in 1970. He earned a B.A. in Journalism from that university in 1977 following a stint in the U.S. Army where he worked from 1972-74 as a Special Events Reporter at The American Forces Network - Europe, based in Frankfurt, Germany. 

DeDakis is a former White House Correspondent. During his career, he has interviewed such luminaries as Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and Alfred Hitchcock.  

DeDakis has been with CNN since July 1988.  From 2001 to 2005, he supervised the writing on CNN's "Daybreak," anchored by Carol Costello.   

From 1976 to 1983, DeDakis was a reporter at WMTV (NBC) in Madison, Wisconsin.  From 1983 to 1988, he was a correspondent with CBN News in Virginia Beach, Virginia and Washington, DC.   

In addition to book signings and readings, DeDakis frequently speaks around the country on the topic "From Journalist to Novelist: (Or How I Learned to Start Making it Up)."  He is also available to lead one-day workshops for aspiring and/or struggling writers.  

DeDakis leads workshops in broadcast newswriting in CNN's Washington, D.C. bureau.

He is a lecturer at American University, Washington, D.C. where he taught a journalism and writing class for student interns during the summers of 2007/08.  He is also an adjunct professor at Regent University, where he taught newswriting to grad students online in 2008.  

In June 2009, he led an online seminar through Regent University on how to write a novel.   

In April 2010, DeDakis led writing workshops at The Writers' Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was the keynote speaker in May 2010 at the Scribblers' Retreat writers conference on St. Simons Island, Georgia. 

DeDakis is currently working with an agent to bring his screenplay adaptation of "Fast Track" to the attention of Hollywood and is at work on book three in the Lark Chadwick mystery-suspense series (working title: "Troubled Water"). 

DeDakis is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.   

He is also a freelance manuscript editor. 

His wife, Cynthia, a choral conductor, is the manager of the chorister program at National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.  She is a former national President of The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) in America. 

John and Cindy live in Washington, D.C. They have two grown children: Emily recently earned her PhD in Creative Writing at Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland; James is the drummer for the nationally-known band "Arizona." Their youngest son, Stephen, 22, died unexpectedly August 21, 2011. He was a musician and cook in the Washington, D.C. area. 

You're invited to send John DeDakis a friend request on Facebook, follow him on Twitter @johndedakis, and visit his website at www.johndedakis.com