By Anastasia Champ, Bloc Reporter

A University of Maryland adjunct professor discussed the journalism hardships of the protagonist featured in his book “Troubled Water,” at One More Page Books in Arlington, Va., on Feb. 21.

Several friends and family ushered into the bookstore to congratulate John DeDakis on his newest installment.

“Troubled Water” is the third book in his series about a young female journalist named Lark Chadwick, who moves from Wisconsin to Georgia to start her new job as a cops and courts reporter.

During her travels, she encounters one of the biggest stories of her life.

Chadwick discovers the body of a dead female teenager days before her official start as a reporter.

“I write as a woman. Don’t anybody ask what I wear when I write,” DeDakis said as he prepared friends and family with a reading.

To prepare for writing from the female perspective, DeDakis worked closely with female colleagues, who reviewed his writing and offered suggestions.

The first two installments, “Fast Track” and “Bluff,” introduce the reader to Chadwick and her start in journalism.

However, DeDakis said the books can be read out of order, but that’s not stopping senior broadcast journalism major Erin Hill from starting at the beginning.

“I wanted to start from the beginning of the series, so I bought the very first book,” Hill said.

“I’m really big into Stephen King and Dean Koontz, so I’m just really expecting that mystery feel. I’m pretty excited to read it and then read the others to see what it has to offer.”

When asked by audience members about the possibility of more books to come, DeDakis delivered pleasing news.

“There’s one in [the] process right now and possibly another after that,” DeDakis said. “I’m looking at a couple more, at least.”