By CARLIE ADMIRE
Florida Weekly
J.C. Bruce has strange things going on.
A Naples journalist and author, when Bruce isn’t writing his Essential News column for Florida Weekly, you can find him working on “The Strange Files,” a series of six novels chronicling the mysterious adventures of his protagonist, Alexander Strange, America’s only reporter covering news of the weird on a full-time basis.
Those efforts have paid off in the form of literary recognition. The latest book in the series, “Strange Timing,” was recently named Book of the Year by the Florida Writers Association. It also won Gold Medals in the organization’s annual Royal Palm Literary Awards in the genres of thrillers and science fiction.
Most of the stories in “The Strange Files” series are set here in Bruce’s native state. Where better to find weirdness than the home of Florida Man?
Bruce has lived in Naples for more than 14 years after a newspaper career that took him around the country. He worked as a reporter, managing editor and editor at papers in Texas, Arizona, Ohio and Florida.
J.C. Bruce is seen accepting one of the awards at the Florida Writers Association 2024 Royal Palm Literary Awards ceremony.
“I started working in Tampa while I was in college at the University of South Florida,” he says. “I worked in a bunch of different places and traveled around a lot. I moved to Austin, Texas, and worked for Cox Newspapers. I was there for 10 to 12 years before going to Longview, Texas, and then Phoenix, Arizona. My final stop was Dayton, Ohio, where Cox was founded. When I was younger, I was a cop reporter and should have stuck with it. I covered police reports, government and general assignment work. I became an editor fairly young and did a lot of columns while editor.”
Additionally, Bruce worked as an educator and press secretary for a congressman in Washington, D.C.
“I was the press secretary for a congressman. I was constantly rooting for the reporters coming in to get interviews,” says Bruce. “After I left, he got indicted and sent to prison.”
“I taught journalism at Wright State University and wish I had done it earli- er. You learn something differently when you have to (teach) it. You reanalyze everything. I wasn’t there for very long before moving back to Florida, where I failed miserably at retirement and began working at the Naples Daily News.”
J.C. Bruce held court and sold some of his novels at the Books by the Bay Festival in Pensacola held earlier this year.
The Miami native “served time” and “nailed down” a Master of Arts degree from Antioch University and a bachelor’s degree from St. Edwards’s University and the University of South Florida.
“While in Ohio, I got a master’s in creative writing, and to complete the program, you had to write a novel. I always wanted to do it and envisioned writing books, but it seemed daunting. The program kind of forced you to do it.”
Bruce’s series of mysteries in sequence are: “The Strange Files,” “Florida Man,” “Strange Currents,” “Mister Manners” and “Strange Timing.” They follow reporter Alexander Strange as the road-trips across the country from Arizona to Florida and uncovers eerie and uncanny stories rooted in the Sunshine State. Each book features in-depth, vivid descriptions of locations in the state, all captured by Bruce’s thorough personal research.
My sister read the first book and really wanted to meet Alexander Strange,” Bruce laughs. “I work to get all the details of the settings and places. When writing ‘Strange Currents,’ I spent two weeks stalking the place to get the scenes like inside the police department in Key West. In ‘Florida Man,’ the book covers a statewide murder scavenger hunt. I drove around and explored Florida, taking pictures and noting specific details.”
He continued, “They are real places with real things; I genuinely describe the locations. It is where I get inspiration. Like having Alexander Strange living aboard the Miss Demeanor, his fishing trawler in Goodland, Fla. If you go there, you can see it. I also talk about Devil’s Mill Hopper in Gainesville. It is a 200-step-deep sinkhole. There is a hollowed-out tree near the steps; I detail that in the book, along with a note found inside. You can see it, and the note might still be in the tree.”
Bruce says there are two types of novelists: plotters and pantsers. Plotters extensively outline their stories before writing. Pantsers write by the seat of their pants. He’s a pantser. He explained that he begins with a novel concept and then “fiddles around with it” without outlines. “I write by the seat of my pants; it’s a sort of temporary insanity. I don’t dictate my characters’ actions; they decide for themselves. It’s like voodoo.”
Bruce is a member of numerous writers’ associations. Among them: Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, the American Society of News Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.
He learned about police techniques at the Writers’ Police Academy in Wisconsin, studying forensic sciences and brutal car crash scenes, among other things. The academy is sponsored by an organization known as Sisters in Crime, founded by female mystery and crime writers.
“I asked if boys were allowed to join. They said ‘yes,” says Bruce. “We learned about poisoning people and dying of toxins created from bacteria in week-old food that doesn’t die when you heat it up again.”
He added, “I was at a thriller-writing conference in New York, and there was a contest for best opening line. I had to submit something. I wrote, ‘I knew my number was up when the flamingo stepped on my face.’ It was one of the winners, and I used it for my third book, ‘Strange Currents.’”
Bruce says he dedicates three months to writing a book’s first draft, producing 1,000 words a day, noting that the typical mystery novel averages around 90,000 words. Bruce has published an average of one book a year, with the first installment of his six-book series released in 2019.
“If you think about writing a 90,000- word book, it seems paralyzing. But if you break it down, you can do anything in 90 days. Well, except maybe holding your breath,” says Bruce.
Bruce was thrilled with the awards won for his latest novel, “Strange Timing.” He had entered it into two categories, Thrillers and Science Fiction. “I am really happy about it. I was out of my mind ecstatic,” says Bruce. “The novel fits a few genres since it hints at paranormal activities.”
Earlier this year, the latest book in the series also earned accolades at the Florida Book Awards, the President’s Awards from the Florida Authors and Publishers Association and the national Indie Book Awards. Previous titles in the series, primarily set in Florida, have also accumulated numerous awards.
Bruce’s novels received high praise from Kirkus reviews. Critics stated, “Over the course of this novel, Bruce delivers snappy dialogue and crackling prose, and he’s clearly having a great time spinning an intriguing and well-paced adventure story” and “the story also manages to serve as an unexpectedly warm homage to the state of Florida itself.”
Other readers admired Bruce’s writing style: “He also gets high marks for deftly managing the thorny time paradoxes… as well as reanimated dinosaurs, skunk apes and an Elvis Presley impersonator. There’s even James Bond references shaken and stirred into the mix.”
Bruce began writing his Essential News column for Florida Weekly in September, covering trendy topics ranging from National Cheeseburger Day and hurricane season to the anniversary of The Tonight Show.
“I write about interesting things and trivia. I like to make it fun and cover topics that I find exciting,” says Bruce. “I want (the column) to be entertaining, useful and something to look forward to reading.”
Bruce teased that his next book will introduce a new cast of characters and a different storyline.
Stay updated on Bruce’s articles and upcoming publications by visiting floridaweekly.com and jcbruce.com. ¦