According to John Schembra, "I was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, and retired from the Pleasant Hill Police Department as a Sergeant after 30 years of service.  I have been married for 33 years and have two grown children.  I earned a B.A. in Administration of Justice, and an M.A. in Public Administration (Management). I spend my retirement time writing (one of my favorite pastimes, along with fishing) as well as teaching other police officers emergency vehicle operations/pursuit driving through the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Department and Academy.  I also am a Driving Simulator Instructor, and  have been recognized  as a Subject Matter Expert in Emergency Vehicle Operations by the State of California.

I am fortunate to have had several trade articles published in law enforcement magazines such as Law and Order, Police Officer's Quarterly, and The Back-up. I was honored to have a short story, "Sweet Sixteen", published in True Blue: Police Stories by Those Who Have Lived Them a collection of stories written by police officers.  Prior to joining the police force, I was a Military Policeman with the 557th MP Company, assigned to Long Binh Post, South Vietnam, where I had several "adventures" that provided the basis for my first book "M.P., A Novel of Vietnam” Though it is based on some personal experiences, it is a work of fiction about a young man who finds himself caught up in the quagmire of the Vietnam War."  John Schembra is the author of MP, Retribution, Diplomatic immunity and Sin Eaters..

According to the book description of Retribution, “follow San Francisco homicide detective Vince Torelli as he tries to outwit and capture an elusive, murdering vigilante in this award winning mystery novel.”

According to the book description of Diplomatic Immunity, "there are 66 Consulates and Embassies in San Francisco, and a very talented, deadly sniper is targeting the Consul Generals, seemingly at random. Homicide inspector Vince Torelli has a reputation for solving the toughest cases in the City, but this one is unlike anything else he has faced. The killings make no sense, lack motive, and appear to be unrelated but Vince knows there has to be a link between them. He struggles to find the connection and identify the suspect, but as he gets closer to the answer, he becomes a target himself. This can end only one of two ways, either by him solving the case, or by becoming a victim himself."

According to the book description of Sin Eaters, "The shocking murder of a professor at San Donorio State College brings the city police to investigate, with Campus Police Officer Sarah Ferris as the college liaison. Sarah's friend, Nico Guardino, a history professor at the college, gets drawn into helping and while Nico and Sarah struggle to find the murderer, the killing continues. As Nico is inexorably drawn deeper and deeper into the investigation, he begins getting flashes of visions and deep feelings of dread that he knows are somehow connected to the murderer. He feels the connection becoming stronger, but how and why remains unknown. His visions and feelings are becoming more and more disturbing as the investigation progresses."