John D. Hogan is a licensed psychologist and retired professor, who spent the better part of his academic career at St. John’s University. Born at the old Tarrytown Hospital on Wood Court, he has been a resident of the Tarrytowns for most of his life. “I love living near the Hudson River,” he told us “especially since the walkway has been built. My grandparents moved to North Tarrytown (now Sleepy Hollow) in 1910 and raised 10 children there. My father became police chief of North Tarrytown and my mother worked as a registered nurse, first at the Tarrytown Hospital, later at Phelps Memorial.”
River Journal: Tell us a little about your novel, Death by Degrees.
John Hogan: The novel follows Bart Young, a 40-year-old psychology professor, as he struggles to navigate his way through two crises involving family and career. Just as the school year is about to begin, he learns that the old family home has been deliberately set on fire, and that a body has been discovered in the ruins. As he’s trying to solve that mystery, he’s pushed into the role of department chair, inheriting a faculty full of hostility and hidden agendas. The rest of the novel consists of Bart working out the two intersecting challenges with some surprising developments along the way, including faculty intrigue, family drama, a mysterious stranger, and a dead colleague.
RJ: Why did you decide to write a novel?
JH: As I approached retirement, I was looking for a new challenge. During my academic career, I published regularly, including several books in my field, but I had never tried to write fiction. Most importantly, I was struck by a story idea that I found too interesting not to pursue.
RJ: How did you start?
JH: The Hudson Valley Writers Center in Sleepy Hollow offered courses and I signed up for several. I had some wonderful instructors there, particularly Joanne Dobson, a former professor who had written a bunch of mystery novels. Before long I was hooked. I still meet weekly with several classmates from the center to discuss our writing.
RJ: How much of the book is based on your own life?
JH: I drew things from my experience as a college professor, and I use a piece of psychology’s history, my academic specialty, to introduce an important element of the plot. But the story is made up. None of it ever happened.
RJ: Did the writing hold any surprises for you?
JH: The most surprising thing was how the characters took over the book. They became very real to me, and I just wrote down what they said and did. The plot went in directions I never expected.
RJ: You use a pseudonym for the authorship. Does the name have any significance?
JH: I wanted to keep my professional writing separate from my other writing. Peter English was the name of my grandmother’s uncle in Ireland. She spoke fondly of him and told me that he helped raise her. In part, I’m using the name as a tribute to him. Besides, I just liked the name.
Death by Degrees
by Peter English
Published Nov. 24, 2025
Paperback: $12.95
322 pages
Kindle: $6.95
Available through Amazon
