Hi, I’m Steve.
I write books for the kids who’d rather be doing anything else.
Fast-paced middle-grade adventures — mysteries, comedy, and sci-fi for ages 7 and up. Eighteen books and counting. The mission is simple: get more kids reading, whether the adventure is happening right outside their door or a dimension away.
From bedtime tales to a writing life.
I’m originally from New Jersey, but moved south to Richmond, Virginia in 2011 when my three boys were still little. Today the oldest is a recent college graduate and the other two aren’t far behind. Seems impossible, but here we are.
I’d always loved writing — stories and poems in school, annual Christmas letters as an adult, the kinds of things you do when something creative inside you just needs to come out. In August of 2009, I started a blog called MyBoys3 to capture the crazy daily adventures of raising three growing boys.
In 2013, the bedtime stories I’d been making up for my sons turned into something bigger. The Virginia Mysteries were born — middle-grade adventures starring brothers Sam and Derek (loosely inspired, of course, by some other brothers I know well) and their friend Caitlin. Each book took the kids to a real Virginia place: Patrick Henry’s church on Church Hill, the staircase at the Jefferson Hotel, the Civil War prison camp at Belle Isle, the archaeological dig at Jamestown.
The mission is simple: get more kids reading, and get them excited about the world right outside their door.
Twelve Virginia Mysteries later, plus three Brother Wars adventure comedies, three Final Kingdom sci-fi novels, and a couple of books for grown-ups, I’ve sold more than half a million copies and visited over 250 elementary and middle schools. My most recent release, Conspiracy at the Launch, follows the kids to NASA’s Wallops Island and Langley Research Center.
It’s still a thrill to use my imagination to inspire and entertain young minds. Thanks so much for reading!
Three series. Three flavors of adventure.
My flagship series. Real Virginia history wrapped in fast-paced mystery adventures.
Explore the series →
Two brothers who can’t get along. The comedy series for fans of Wimpy Kid.
Explore the series →
Sci-fi for older middle grade. Stranger Things energy meets Ready Player One.
Enter the trilogy →Why real places matter.
When kids read about a staircase, they pretty much picture a staircase. When they read about The Jefferson Hotel’s staircase — and then walk up it on a Saturday — something different happens. The book becomes real. The history becomes alive. The world gets a little bigger.
That’s the magic I’m chasing in every Virginia Mysteries book. Read the Mystery. Visit the History.
Conspiracy at the Launch
The twelfth Virginia Mysteries adventure takes Sam, Derek, and Caitlin to Virginia’s Eastern Shore — NASA’s Wallops Island Flight Facility and Langley Research Center — for a modern-day space thriller. Real rockets, real launch pads, and a mystery that puts the whole mission in jeopardy.
See the book →When I’m not writing.
Three sons — one a college graduate, the others catching up fast. They’ve been the source material for two decades of writing. Still are.
Richmond is home. I research my books by visiting the places I write about — and bringing the kids along whenever I can. The Blue Ridge, the Bay, and everything in between.
Two hundred and fifty schools and counting. The best part of the job isn’t the books — it’s watching a reluctant reader lean forward and decide to give one a try.
Three ways to keep in touch.
Whether you’re a reader, a parent, a teacher, or a librarian — there’s a way to stay in the loop. Pick whatever fits.
Book launches, school visit dates, behind-the-scenes Virginia history, and the occasional dispatch from the writing desk.
Author assemblies, classroom workshops, virtual visits, and full-day residencies. K–8, in-person or remote.
Questions, kid drawings, photos from your Virginia Mysteries family trip — drop a note anytime. I read every email.
