In early publication, John Swan was described as a former cop, though no legitimate forces have a record of his tenure. Some speculate that John Swan is not his real name, despite the many stories published in Kairos, Blood & Aphorisms, The Unsilenced Voice, Canadian Storyteller Magazine, Rampike, Prophile, Front and Centre, Zygote, and the anthologies Your Baggage is in Buffalo, Between a Dock and a High Place, Burning Ambitions, ICED, the New Noir Anthology of Cold Hard Fiction and Hard Boiled Love and Revenge.

In 1996, a collection of mystery stories, <the Rouge Murders, was released by the Jasper Press, followed by sap, a mystery in 2003 from Insomniac Press. In both John Swan was one of the characters, still claiming to have been a police detective. There are rumours more novels a collection of short stories.

Authorities suspect the author lives in Hamilton, Ontario under an assumed name, writing articles, teaching creative writing and reviewing books in the mystery genre.

What They're Saying About John Swan
"Taking on unconnected cases is what he does, when he can, and the reality of unassured work makes his lack of ambition and enthusiasm highly understandable.
"-Tannis Koskela, View »

"...a new tragic hero...a hard-edged detective who prowls Ontario’s mean streets, settling scores for a few bucks and restoring his tenuous sanity."
-Matthew Firth, Black Cat 115 »

"...John Swan... is gruff, sarcastic, rough around the edges, with a trace of vulnerability well-hidden under a thick skin. A former cop in the Hamilton area, he is not liked or respected by his ex-colleagues. He is regarded as a 'smart-ass', not without good reason.

Yet there are two sides to Swan: the surly, over-weight, unkempt, heavy-drinking big-mouth and the depressed widower whose daughter has severed ties with him and who wants very much to reconnect with her."
-Eva Tihanyi, Books in Canada »