My name is Joe Stephens–I’m only JD on book covers. I’m a retired high school English teacher. I guess you could say I’m semi-retired, as I substitute teach and am also a part-time church youth director in Parkersburg, WV. The reason for this website, though, is I’m an author, working on a series of books about a tough-as-nails private eye named Sam Stone and his partner in crime, his wife Meg. Book one, Cast The First Stone, is available now at most online vendors in paperback and for e-reader. I’m in the midst of drafting the second (and maybe third–long story) book in the series and plan to publish sometime this summer or fall.

On a personal note, I’m married to my real-life Meg, only her name is Sarah. We’re going to celebrate our 8th (?!) anniversary in June. She’s my best friend, my safe place, and my greatest adventure. I’m just completely head-over-heals in love with her. The story of how we met sounds like something out of a movie. If you ask me nicely, I’ll tell it to you. Or you can just click here to read about it in my blog.

Our big news of the moment is that we are no longer empty nesters! Our daughter and son-in-law, Lauren and Brodie Battin, just moved in for a bit while Brodie finishes his degree at nearby Ohio University and Lauren transfers for a semester to even-nearer-by WVU-Parkersburg. The plan is for them to live with us for about a year before Brodie goes off to play the guitar for the United States Army.