I grew up in a suburb of Syracuse, NY, spending long snowy winters playing Dungeons & Dragons and ping pong in basement hideouts with my friends. Reading was another childhood obsession. I plowed through stacks of sci-fi and fantasy books from the local library. Heinlein, Tolkien, and Moorcock were among my favorites, and I dreamed of following in their footsteps. On my parents' good advice, I chose a career in law, attending Cornell University for undergrad and receiving my JD from the Duke University School of Law. What followed were six intense years in Washington, DC law firms and a fascinating twenty-four-year stint as corporate counsel for a Fortune 100 company.
The creative urge never went away. Between work and family obligations, I carved out time to write The Champion Maker, a sci-fi thriller that I published independently in 2005 under the pen name Kevin Joseph to keep my writing separate from my legal career. TCM drew on my experiences as a competitive 400-meter runner, my legal background, and my interest in the interplay between the anti-doping regime and the possibility of a future with genetically enhanced athletes.
My writing aspirations took a back seat during years spent raising my two sons and meeting the demands of my legal job. But I continued to read and review books across a variety of genres and knew I'd eventually be ready to pen another novel. Dean Koontz, Michael Crichton, and Blake Crouch, with their emphasis on next-generation science, shadowy conspiracies, and mind-bending themes--along with the positive feedback I received for TCM--inspired me to keep my focus on thought-provoking sci-fi thrillers. I retired from the legal profession in August 2024 to spend more time with my wife, sons, and our kinetic goldendoodle. I'm excited about having the additional time and energy to pursue my interests in writing and playing classical guitar.
I began writing Perpetuity during the pandemic shutdown, and it took me five years to complete a polished draft and find the right publisher, which turned out to be an independent press based in the UK. Holand Press will publish Perpetuity on August 7, 2025. For more information on my writing and publishing experiences, please visit my author Substack: https://substack.com/@kjauthor/posts
