Joel Owens is an engineer, electronics nerd, and first-time novelist. He has no literary awards and is still getting the hang of em dashes. He wrote San Felipe Creek after discovering that sometimes the most important things we learn in life arrive later than expected—and are still worth passing along.
Joel attended Garfield Elementary and Del Rio Junior High from 1973 through 1975 and lived one block from San Felipe Creek, where he spent much of his time skipping rocks and swimming at the dam. He moved to Hondo, Texas, in 1976, where he attended Hondo High School and became a Mighty Owl in the drumline.
He lives in Merkel, Texas, where he has annoyed his beautiful wife, Teresa, for years—a time filled with love, laughter, and more than a little patience. He works at Dyess AFB in flight simulation and maintenance training, designing nerdy electronic stuff. They attend the Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas.
Together, they spend their time with their kids and grandkids. They enjoy Mexican food, Korean dramas, and music. Joel watches reruns of Space:1999, Star Trek, and old movies.
By the way, Seeking Persephone is absolutely the best mushy story to watch with your spouse.
One of Joel’s dreams is to help preserve and restore the historic Tarver School in Del Rio, which served Black children during segregation, with the hope of giving it new life as a place where future generations can learn its history while exploring art and creativity.
He still plays drums, draws pseudo-artistically, and regularly breaks out singing “Si Nos Dejan”.