Jr. L. J. Stecher

Joseph Wesley was an American science fiction writer who also published as L. J. Stecher and L. J. Stecher Jr. Reliable biographical details are sparse, but standard reference listings consistently identify him with the dates 1918–1988.

His fiction appeared in the great magazine tradition of mid-20th-century science fiction. Confirmed stories include Man in a Sewing Machine (1956), Man in a Quandary (1958), Perfect Answer (1958), Garth and the Visitor (1958), Upstarts (1960), An Elephant for the Prinkip (1960), A Matter of Taste (1961), Cakewalk to Gloryanna (1963), When You Giffle (1963), The Diogenes Planet (1964), and Moonshine (1967).

Several of those stories remain easy to find today through Project Gutenberg, which helps keep his work in circulation for new listeners and readers. Though he is not a widely documented figure, his surviving stories capture the brisk, idea-driven feel of classic pulp and digest science fiction.