John Koehler

John Koehler - Owner & Publisher of -- Koehler Books, is a multi-talented, award-winning designer, entrepreneur, ministry volunteer, and author of four books. A 1980 graduate from Virginia Commonwealth University with a BFA in Communications Arts and Design, John went on to graduate studies at George Washington University, in Washington, DC.

After stints as Art Director at several DC area ad agencies, John started Koehler Studios Inc. in 1993. Since then, Kim Nelson joined the team as the Creative Director, and in 2010 bought the studio and re-christened it as Red Chalk Studios. John is a past president of the local Ad Club and is a member of The Noblemen, a fundraising group for kids. From 2005-2010 John served as the Metro Director of Young Life Capernaum in Hampton Roads, a ministry that serves kids with disabilities. Perhaps his best known accomplishment was winning the 1991 Boomerang World Championship in Perth, Australia. He was also a member of the Foster’s Boomerang 2000 Team, a touring demo team that taught the NFL, MLB and others the gospel of boomerangs.

In 2005, John published his first book, --Bipolar by Koehler, about living with bipolar syndrome. Since then, he has given many talks around the state and in schools to help people better understand how to survive brain illness and avoid suicide. In 2007, Koehler published Benjamin: the Road to Capernaum, a novel based on a crippled man in the Bible who was healed by a certain Jewish rabbi. His book, My Inflatable Heart, is a series of short stories about Capernaum and life recollections. John's latest book is The Case of the Russian Maids, a murder mystery that takes place on the oceanfront of Virginia Beach.

Koehlers Books publishing company launched in September of 2010, springing out of his knowledge gained by publishing his own work and a huge desire of writers to be published in a professional manner by Independent publishers. America's Got Stories is a short story writing contest John launched late in 2010 that provides writers a chance to be published in an anthology. Young America's Got Stories and America's Got Poets may launch late in 2011. Koehler continues to write stories in his blog, The Act of Creation.

Married since 1982 to his college sweetheart, Patty, an art teacher at Old Donation Center for the Gifted and Talented, John is the proud father of Kimmi and Danielle and grandfather to Lilli and Eli. John lives and works near the oceanfront of Virginia Beach, Virginia.