Local Author Pens Series of Beach Mysteries, Including One in Ocean City

Ocean City, NJ -- An author whose grandchildren inspired him to write a series of children’s books is writing a series of fictional mystery books that take place in different beach towns up and down the Atlantic Coast, including Ocean City.

John Leone has written two books already, the first titled “Cape May Tales,”and the second titled “Ocean City Tales.” Next up is “Sea Isle City Tales.”

“They are short illustrated books that are already getting quite a bit of buzz,” said Leone, who self-publishes his books. “Any book sellers or libraries can get them from their normal distributors or from me if the distributor is out.”

The heroes are a detective team of Mike Hammer, a talking hammerhead shark, and Data Dolphin, a dolphin with an almost photographic memory.

In “Ocean City Tales,” the duo go to Ocean City to investigate the legend of the Golden Buddha still in the hold of a wreck of the Ocean City coast of the Sindia, a ship sunk over a century before.

The book includes appearances by Corson's Inlet, the Ocean City Boardwalk and the possibly "haunted" Flanders Hotel.

The duo then goes under the waves to the guts of a ship as a Nor'easter storm hits the coast.

“I have a place in Ocean City, and I love the beach,” said Leone, a Bellmawr native whose year-round residence is in Deptford.

The 69-year-old retired salesman’s first series of books is about a detective shark named Sharklock Bones. He was inspired to become a writer by a trip to a medieval-style entertainment dinner where the jester’s jokes were puns, mostly about fish.

“The crowd was cracking up, but I thought, ‘I can do better than this,’” Leone said.

He had recently taken his grandson to the aquarium, and which is where the idea for Sharklock Bones came from. He set about writing a short story for his grandson, but that short story quickly spawned a second story, for his granddaughter.

And now, Leone has suddenly written 12 books centered around the great shark detective. In the books, Sharklock Bones and his sidekick and also learn more than a little about ocean ecology.

He’s published them, and was looking to get his books sold in stores along the Jersey Shore, including on the Ocean City Boardwalk. However, because of the cost associated with creating the books, which include full color illustrations, Leone can charge no less than $12.99 per book, and many stores want to sell books for less than $10.

Those books are available for purchase at johnleonebooks.com.

His second series of books, which includes “Ocean City Tales,” are shorter and include less pictures. They retail for $9.99 each, and are available for purchase locally and online.

He has two sons and six grandchildren. Each of the grandchildren has two books dedicated to them. He lets them read the first draft of his stories to see if he needs to make any creative changes before turning the story over to his wife, Cheryl, who makes the final edits before publication.

He’s inspired one of his granddaughters to begin writing her own book, and his grandson, now 13, wants Leone to start writing more adult mystery books.

He does have two adult books in the works, but they aren’t mysteries. One is centered around his experiences in the Vietnam War. It’s a picture book with no combat stories included. The other is about a distant relative who was involved in the Civil War and the Spanish American War.

Leone is also making the rounds as an author.

Last month, he spoke to a class of sixth graders in Mantua for “Read Across America” week, and he will appear at the Camden County Library in Voorhees on Saturday, April 9, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. as part of an author discussion.

His books are educational, but don’t tackle issues such as religion or discrimination. He said life is full of disappointment, and he doesn’t want to add to that with his book series.

“They’re books the way they should be written for kids,” Leone said.

The attached images were provided by John Leone

Photo 1: John Leone and Sharklock Bones

Photo 2: The cover of "Ocean City Tales"

Photo 3: The cover of "Cape May Tales"