Norman John

Norman John is the pen name created by Norman John Schoonebeek during the writing of his first full length fiction novel The Ecstasy.

Norman John grew up and has spent most of his life on Long Island, New York.

He was introduced to surfing in the early 70's while working part time at his sister's and brother-in-law's surf shop and factory.

He started his college studies in the engineering and physics fields and switched to Philosophy and liberal arts in his 3rd year of college. He received a B.A. in Philosophy in 1979 from the State University College at Oneonta.

He drove across America in January 1980 to meet up with his surf buddies who moved to the San Diego north county area and lived there for two years.

He has worked as a house painter, truck driver, inspector for a high-voltage power supply company, Class A Assembler of missile safety arming devices, Portrait Consultant and Computer Sales Representative.

He is the founder of maroonlagoon.com (1997) and the author of a small book of short stories with a Buddhist slant Zen N, published in 2009.

He has spent the last 7 or 8 years driving paratransit buses for Suffolk County and training as a Dianetics and Scientology Auditor.

He spent most of his spare time the last two years writing The Ecstasy.

"Writing a fictional novel empowers you to be able to do several things. You can live a fantasy through your novel that you will never be able to live in this life. It enables you to share with other what you have learned about life. Beyond the basic element of entertainment, sometimes , as is the case with The Ecstasy, you have an opportunity to explore the basic issues of life on earth and to explore the possibilities and solutions to problems plaguing humankind since the beginning of time.

"When I started writing The Ecstasy I simply had an adventure in mind but it became impossible to ignore the philosophical implications and my education in Philosophy and Religion. Whether for better or worse, those topics became significant in The Ecstasy as the characters struggle to survive the unexpected crisis they are faced with.

"In the long run, I'm happy with the balance of entertaining and philosophical dialogue achieved in The Ecstasy, albeit I'm still not sure if I went too far with the sex scenes and the discussions of sex. I found myself in the unexpected position of feeling obligated to live up to what I assumed would be the expectations of the readers. I had taken charge of writing a novel about a cruise ship called "The Ecstasy" and I felt I had to have content that lived up to such a seemingly sacred name. I guess time will tell if I met the formidable task or failed."

He started a marketing business The Maroon Lagoon Marketing Company in 2012 but put it on hold to write The Ecstasy. He hopes to return to work on a new business directory website The Ultimate Business List www.tubl.com this year.

See also www.normanjohntheauthor.com and

the Author's log at www.theecstasythenovel.com

or go directly to http://www.theecstasythenovel.com/authorslog.htm

other author sites

www.zen-n.com

www.maroonlagoon.com

www.twatcotu.com