Finding Innocence by John Wemlinger

Finding Innocence: Military Novel Addresses Real-Life Issues

TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN— Retired US Army colonel turned award-winning author, John Wemlinger, returns with his latest book, Finding Innocence. In this true-life-inspired novel, readers follow the life of US Army Sergeant Rebecca Farnsworth as she is attacked and left for dead on a military installation. This story not only illustrates her survival, but the turmoil she meets as she fights for justice. 

For Wemlinger, shining a light on issues intrinsic to military life is nothing new. With six award-winning novels —such as Winter’s Bloom, Before the Snow Flies, and The Road to Empire— he’s been unofficially labeled as a military writer with a “streak for romance.” 

“I am a retired Army colonel. I  write about what I know: the US military. Over fifty years ago, as a young company commander, six female soldiers came to me and told me they were being extorted—providing sex for passing grades in their academic classroom. This incident has never disappeared from my rearview mirror.  It inspired Finding Innocence.” 

Writing What You Know

Wemlinger describes himself as a “novelist who writes with a purpose. For those who are serving or have served, I want to be a mirror that reflects the honor of their service. For someone who is not familiar with our all-volunteer military, I want to be a window through which they may look and learn about what it means to serve in America's military today.”

Timeliness is important to him.  He believes, “The military is in turmoil right now.  The entire Department of Defense is experiencing an existential threat that impacts every service member, really, anyone who works for the department.  Protecting those who protect us is something that has eroded lately." 

For both his fictional character,  Sergeant Farnsworth, and Wemlinger, it is apparent that the only way to stop abuse is to stand up against it, and without a doubt, that’s what he’s done. Across several of his works, including Michigan-set The Cut, there is a common theme of confronting systems and individuals who pose a threat to the greater good. 

Advance Praise

Advance praise for the book only confirms his talent for writing fictional accounts that feel so real that they are impossible to ignore. 

“John Wemlinger writes some of the best, true-to-life fiction of any author I've read lately. Finding Innocence, however, may be his best yet. I've seen it from the bench; gender bias exists, and the military isn't exempt. In fact, the problem may be more pronounced there. US Army Sergeant Rebecca Farnsworth is a fictional character drawn from Wemlinger's military experience. He makes it crystal clear that the Army's sacrosanct chain of command isn't without its flaws. Yet Farnsworth manages to rise above it and becomes a force for positive change. Timely! Suspenseful! Moving! You won't want to stop reading this one!”

—Allen Garbrecht, Michigan Circuit Court judge, retired

“I am a lawyer by training and a family law attorney by choice. In my thirty-five years of practice I witnessed firsthand the conflicts rending families apart. The conflicts are age-old ones that men and women have forever faced. With the Army as the backdrop, Finding Innocence has so much to say about a compelling problem of our day and it does so in such a forthright way, it is a must read. Make no plans when you begin this book. It will grip you and you won’t be able to put it down.”  

—Julé Crawford, retired family law attorney

The Author

John Wemlinger is a retired US Army colonel with 27 years of military service. He is a veteran of the Vietnam War, where he was a helicopter maintenance officer and pilot. In retirement, he has become an award-winning author. Finding Innocence is his seventh novel. He writes with a purpose, first intending to be a mirror into which military and veterans may see the reflection of their honorable service and, second, to be a window for anyone who may not know about or understand the importance of America’s military or the challenges associated with military service. He speaks often about those challenges and his writing at libraries, service clubs, churches, and book clubs. He serves on the board of directors of the Library of Michigan Foundation and, in his spare time, enjoys walking on Lake Michigan beaches and trails with his wife, Diane, near their home in northern Michigan.

He can be contacted through his website, www.johnwemlinger.com, or you are invited to follow him on Facebook.

The Book

Finding Innocence 

John Wemlinger

306 pages, 6” x 9”, B/W

Thrillers / Military / Legal / Crime / Women / Romance

ISBN: 978-1-968761-34-9, $22.95 (Softcover)

Publication Date: 07/21/2026

Mission Point Press

Copies are available for preorder at Bookshop.org, Amazon, and other online retailers. On its July 21 publication date, it will be available for purchase wherever books are sold. For information or to arrange for signings and events, contact the author at jwemlinger46@gmail.com.