Born and raised in Long Island, New York, JB Stearns had
spent early years listening to the historic tales of her granddad, an
ardent stamp and coin collector. She watched as he created books filled
with letters from the 18th and 19th centuries, affixed with their
original wax seals or antique postmarks. They visited the Museum of
Natural History on 5th Avenue in Manhattan and wondered aloud about how
the world evolved.
JB attended
a community college at 16 and completed a bachelor's degree at SUNY at
Stony Brook and entered law school by 20. The youngest in the class at
every institution, professors were surprised to see JB in attendance,
let alone at the forefront of questions. But it has always been
questions that drive JB to do anything and everything she does.
JB Stearns practiced
law for 13 years in criminal defense, focusing on sex and violent
crimes. JB did over 50 trials of these and other serious offenses and
spent a few years in the area then known dis-affectionately as "Knives
and Wives", or domestic relations, a much dirtier business than
criminal law.
Law if JB's first and enduring love. While
it is said that the law is a jealous mistress, and she is, JB became a
teacher and is now a PhD candidate in education focusing on research in
learning technologies.
JB loves storytelling -
whether listening to stories or telling them. Writing them down is pure
entertainment, and, at times, cathartic. Much of the inspiration for
the work featured on these pages derives from JB's life's work. JB wrote this first novel, Blood Sacrifice,
in longhand, filling several college-ruled notebooks over the course of
a few months. JB carried a notebook everywhere - to classes at the
university, in the car, on vacation (which rarely occurred), or just
sitting out in the backyard. And, definitely, on the nightstand next to the bed. As JB explains, the characters wrote the story. Susan, her sisters, her husband, her best friend Iris, and her brother's lover Miguel channeled
the text, revealing the story as their lives unfolded. While this may
seem strange, truth is always stranger than fiction. ;)
The faux autobiographical novel, JB Stearns, Vampire: A Life in Eight Ages,
is inspired by JB's great, great, great grandfather, Junius Brutus
Stearns (1810-1885), a member of the National Academy of Design and
creator of the series of six painting of George Washington, including
Washington as a Statesman, later the subject of a 1937 US Postage Stamp.
Please enjoy the works presented on this site. There is an introduction to two novels and a short story moved by the characters of Blood Sacrifice.