John Capozzi during his career in business. Provided photo.

To say that John Capozzi has merely lived, would be an understatement. The 83-year-old Sarasota County author has lived a life, so full of experiences, peaks and valleys, that it prompted the former businessman to dive headlong into the literary world. In August, Capozzi received four Florida Authors and Publishers Association (FAPA) President’s Book Awards for his fiction novels The Shadow Warrior Two and Payback, bringing his total to seven honors from the organization.

The youngest Eagle Scout in New York State history, Capozzi was drafted into the Vietnam War after college, serving in special operations with the U.S. military. After Vietnam, Capozzi built a life in the corporate sector, working for companies such as American Airlines and Midland Bank Group while continuing to act as military advisor for the U.S. Government. Capozzi also worked as an entrepreneur, initiating and selling companies in a variety of industries. Although his writing career began in 1994 with the corporate business book, Why Climb the Corporate Ladder When You Can Take the Elevator?, his foray into fiction began in 2012, when he wrote America At Risk, after a lunch meeting with friends from the FBI and CIA.

“They told me at lunch that there was no way to stop a lone terrorist from coming into America with a weapon of mass destruction,” says Capozzi. “I went and wrote America At Risk and contacted Tom Clancy. He said, ‘This book is outrageous, but every human being in America needs to read this.’”

Capozzi prides himself on basing his fiction writing on extensive research and interviews conducted with former colleagues, often from military backgrounds. The protagonist of his Shadow Warrior series, CIA asset Wayne Williams, draws upon parts of his personal background, such as Capozzi’s upbringing in athletics. Capozzi leans on his ongoing conversations with military operatives—he works extensively with the Navy SEAL Foundation—to build his action scenes. “I’ve spent 50 years helping military organizations, raiding money and promoting suicide prevention programs,” says Capozzi. “I work with SEALs every day and we talk about missions, operations and things of that nature.”

John Capozzi during his career in business. Provided photo.

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