MJ Kephart

MJ Kephart was born on an Army post in Aberdeen, Maryland, and spent his early years in places as diverse as a munitions depot in the California desert, and a small German town with a castle. His hometown, by virtue of longest residence, is Columbia, Missouri. Graduating from West Point with a degree in political science, he was commissioned as an infantry officer and served fourteen years in a number of exciting roles, including a year inside the Korean DMZ, and two short deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. The highlight of his career was serving as a company commander alongside the outstanding men of the 2nd Ranger Battalion. He went on to work in the US Army's Special Operations Command, witnessing the inner workings of the Spec Ops and intelligence communities during the war on terror. Some of the inspiration for his debut novel comes from his own experiences, and those of friends and colleagues over the past decade. The rest comes from his fascination with history, politics, technology, and the idea that ordinary people can sometimes shape the events that make today's headlines. MJ Kephart lives in southeastern Pennsylvania with his wife, two children, and a neurotic Rhodesian Ridgeback. Since leaving the military, he's worked as a consultant in the financial services industry, and now as a project manager for an information technology and software development group. When not working or writing, he coaches youth soccer and is an avid CrossFitter.