Joe Prentis was born in Cookeville, Tennessee. He attended Union University, and then worked for the FBI in Washington D.C. After returning to his native state, he was the pastor of one church and interim pastor of three others. He worked for Tenneco until his recent retirement. He has published 70 articles and stories in national and regional magazines, and one play with a total attendance of almost 70,000 persons. He was an avid bicycle rider and runner, but admits to having settled into a more leisure pace after retirement. Having done extensive research in the history of his area, he has written a number of articles detailing the oral history he has collected. He is the author of 11 novels and one guide to preparing and publishing a book on Amazon Kindle. His books range from humor to traditional western literature, to suspence and police proceedure. He is now at work on a sequel to his latest novels and actively engaged in research on the early history of Hardin County.