Spencer Stephens

Spencer Stephens is a Maine writer who has written two novels, Blood Lily and Church of Golf.

Blood Lily, released in 2021, is a literary thriller about a modern Saudi woman – a royal – whose violent father embeds her in America with instructions to lead two brothers on a suicide bombing mission on the Washington, DC, subway. Her whole life has been dictated by authoritarian strongmen and she is desperate for an out. The story is about the impacts of oppression and fear as much as it is a takedown of the autocrats and tyrants who would like to rule us all. Kirkus Reviews calls it “engrossing.” BookLife.com says it is a “propulsive" thriller, unique in the genre because its characters are so richly developed.

Church of Golf tells the amusing and poignant story of a washed-up football hero who relies on his celebrity to coast through life. At middle age, he finds himself drunk, broke, spewing profanity and sucking for air. He’s offered a way back – but he must live in monk-like isolation and become religiously devoted to the study of golf. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Hawaii’s biggest newspaper, calls it “a ribald fairy tale.” LibraryJournal.com says it is a "skillfully constructed, wonderfully paced, vibrant and funny examination of the life of a dude who's been doing it [all] wrong ... ."

Spencer is creator and host of Books and Writers, a weekly radio show that airs and steams on WBFY in Belfast, Maine. Before becoming an author, Spencer enjoyed careers in journalism, publishing and law. He and his wife have two daughters, both grown.