J.A. Stein's Blog

Store event link: https://stores.barnesandnoble.com/event/9780062204358-0

@bnbethlehem

It’s here! Whoo hoo! My new novel should now be landing in your hands! I am so excited (and of course a bit nervous) for you to read it. Please let me know what you think by leaving reviews. Enjoy and THANK YOU for reading!

Reviews of Patch Town:

“Stein’s novel brings the bootleg coal era to life in vivid detail. It’s also a love letter to the little coal patch if Mary D. Its characters make you feel events in a way straight history cannot, and their unwinding story tells the secret o...

Head to YouTube to watch the book trailer for Patch TownLaunch Party Today! Then release April 1!AMAZONBARNES AND NOBLEBOOKSHOP.ORGGOOGLE PLAYSwag bags go with the first 50 books sold: recipe card, bookmark, and your very own piece of Mary D coal.

I like to get into my fiction. Reading, I want to be immersed in that other world. Writing, the words tend to blur on my screen as I watch a scene no one has imagined before. Now what if you could actually visit the place where the story takes place? For my latest novel, you can do exactly that.

Join me in the little town of Mary D, Pennsylvania, where my family has lived for over three generations. On March 29, I will be there from 11:30-3 signing Patch Town, the story of a coal mining town...

My novel The Last Farm is about a farmer debating selling out to a warehouse developer. The salesman he deals with is pretty determined. Today I read a real life story of a Pennsylvania farmer who was so tired of being hounded for his land that he did something about it. He went to his local government and had his farm preserved.

You can read the full story in the link below in Lancaster Farming. It is a tale that echoes the experiences I based much of my story on. I hope this topic continue...

Now Available for Preorder

In the depths of the Great Depression, drifter Patrick Kane walks into Maryd with nothing but a desperate need for work. Taking a job in the newly reopened Maryd Coal Company mine, he soon finds more than just a paycheck — he discovers a community bound by hard work, friendship, and a tension that shakes the very ground beneath his feet. As the town welcomes him with open arms, Patrick wonders if he’s finally found a place to call home—as long as no one pokes to...

New content is going live weekly. Starting January 14, each Wednesday a new episode of “Horses in Fiction” will be available. This is a series I’m having a bit of fun with, and I hope you enjoy it, too. You know I have this dual rider-writer life. When those two things combine, you get me walking in circles with my horse (we’re rehabbing an injury) while reading romance novels and trying not to drop the camera. It’s fun. Don’t laugh too hard at me (you try reading and walking at the same time!)....

I am heading back to the Bethlehem/Easton, PA location of Barnes and Noble! Whoo hoo! I actually had a reader reach out and say, “When are you coming back?”. Thank you, Christine, for that confidence booster! I am excited to return to this beautiful store to sign all of my books. I will be there from 1-4pm on Saturday, January 31, 2026 with bookmarks (including the new ones for Patch Town) in tow. Hope to see you there.

Event details and store location: https://stores.barnesandnoble.com/event...

Speaking about what inspired me to write The Last Farm: some very real issues facing farm families.

I love the Pennsylvania Farm Show. I had to laugh when the ladies that asked me to speak asked if I was familiar with it. Familiar in so many capacities. I exhibited through 4-H, starting with a pillow I made at 9 years old. As a teenager I slept there with my horse and rode with friends in a sidesaddle demonstration. As an adult, I judged the draft horses under saddle for a few years. Now to t...