Joel Erik Thompson was born, just as a second world war began, in a hospital on a mountain top in New Jersey, within sight of a metropolis, New York City. But, he grew up in a small New Jersey farm town, with a population of perhaps 2500 residents, on a commuter railroad line into "The City". He attended the local public schools and often laughed about being know by most of the town's population, as "that red-headed kid". Apparently, he and "trouble" were natural-born companions and he quickly developed a reputation as a leader, even among his childhood peers! Yet, while still in school, a poem he wrote was nationally published in a magazine.

He grew up to graduate with honors from engineering school, becoming a state-licensed professional engineer, then a Bell Labs inventor-for-hire, then went to Law School to become a Board-Certified Criminal Defense Law Specialist and, after moving west to Arizona, became a multi-term Chairman of the City Of Phoenix's Camelback East Village Planning Committee. 

There, Sandra Day O'Connor sent him a personal note of congratulations to celebrate his 25th year as a lawyer, Barry Goldwater invited him into his kitchen to chat about "politics", and JET was the defense lawyer for members of the Dirty Dozen Motorcycle Club in Phoenix and sometimes even rode his own motorcycle on fun rides with them.

He taught at national meetings of criminal defense lawyer associations across the country and represented defendants in over 400 State and Federal criminal defense jury trials, including a dozen death penalty trials, all across the nation, literally coast-to-coast and border-to-border. He also served for eight years, on an 'as needed' basis, as an Arizona Superior Court trial judge.

Personally, he'd chuckled when his pre-teenaged daughter told him she wanted to be the catcher on her school's softball team because "then they gotta go through me to even try to score". It resonated! Her big sister married a Marine, so conflict apparently can be inherited! 'Papa Joel' officiated at both of his daughters' weddings and he's also a proud grand dad. Joel insists his favorite line about himself? "I never faced a challenge I didn't savor!"

Then, almost a quarter century ago he finally met the love of his life, settled down a bit, married her and gained his adult step-son. She of course was curious about his history, so he told her some of the highlights. Her mixed look of shock, smiles and her head-shaking, convinced him. 

He really had to finally write these fictional stories about courtrooms and characters that would sound very familiar and resonate even in his own memory!

Ya really oughta check 'em out! The stories may be fictional, but the characters are truly realistic!