Long before he became the Work Ethics Coach at NyE Communities Coalition, and long before he published his first novel under the pen name J.D. Tarver, Jesse Tarver was a kid who found comfort, challenge, and escape in books. Stories were his constant—something he clung to during uncertain moments and something that helped shape the person he would become. Today, he is the author of two published fantasy novels, with more titles on the way, all of which are available on Amazon. His journey as a writer intertwines closely with his journey at NyECC, forming a story of resilience, creativity, and community support.
Tarver’s love of reading began early—so early that family members claim he started reading at three years old. Whether or not the timeline is exact, one thing is certain: from the moment he learned how, he was hooked. By second grade, he was testing at a college reading level, but he felt confined by the limited choices offered in elementary school classrooms. He wanted more depth, more complexity, more challenge.
Everything changed in third grade when his teacher, Mrs. Laura Weir, gave him permission to read outside the assigned curriculum. The first book he chose was White Fang by Jack London. “She said yes—but my book report better be solid,” Tarver recalled. It was, and from that moment on, he began exploring literature that stretched his imagination far beyond his age. Jack London became a favorite. Then Tom Clancy. Then fantasy, sci-fi, and classic literature. “It was a profoundly impactful moment in my life,” he said. “For her, it was probably just another Tuesday. But for me, it shaped everything.”
That love of storytelling eventually became the driving force behind his own writing.
In 2024, Tarver finally committed to turning a long-developing idea into a book. “I had this story stuck in my head for about nine months,” he said. “My friends encouraged me to just try writing it.” What followed was a burst of creativity. He began writing in May and finished the manuscript in June—a remarkably fast pace, made possible because the story lived so vividly in his mind. After that came editing, formatting, designing the cover, and teaching himself how to self-publish. He did every step himself.
The result was The Wandering Secret, a young adult fantasy novel written under his pen name J.D. Tarver. The book follows Ella, a young girl who runs away from an abusive home and finds herself mentored by a seasoned wanderer. The two travel together through a world full of danger, magic, and moral crossroads. “It’s a found-family story,” he explained. “It’s about believing in yourself, learning survival, and finding people who care.”
Shortly after its release, he completed the second book in the series, The Journey’s End. The sequel follows Ella and Vandraren as they set out to find her birth mother, an Elven woman she has never known. Their journey leads them into new dangers—assassins, monstrous creatures, and a growing magic that corrupts the world around them. Familiar allies return, new friends emerge, and vivid new kingdoms unfold as their adventure continues. Though written for teens and young adults, Tarver’s books appeal to readers of all ages. “A 13-year-old can enjoy it,” he said, “but so can a 45-year-old. It’s about the universal feeling of trying to find your place.”
Both novels are available on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, and eBook formats.
Tarver writes using a process he developed long before he ever sat down at a keyboard—his stories start as bedtime stories he tells himself when he can’t sleep. “I have a hard time falling asleep,” he said. “So I make up stories in my head until my brain gets tired. That’s where most of my ideas come from.”
Even with a full-time job, he continues to write whenever he can—during lunch breaks, early morning hours, and the rare quiet moments in his life. Though the writing flows quickly when he has a story fully formed in his mind, some projects take longer. He is currently developing several new works, each in a different genre.
One major upcoming project is a science fiction series set thousands of years into the future. “It’s a bit grim,” Tarver said. “It explores hopelessness in a universe where you can have anything but still feel like nothing works out.” Inspired by the Splinter Cell video game franchise, the series blends action, espionage, and futuristic technology.
Then there’s a comedic 1930s detective noir featuring a hapless private investigator named Dean Ektiv (Detective Ektiv) and a mafia boss named Ike Tallion. “It’s a straight-faced comedy,” he said. “It’s essentially one long joke—but it’s so much fun to write.”
His creative life might seem worlds apart from his work at NyECC—yet the two threads of his story are deeply intertwined.
Tarver was just 18 when he first walked into NyECC in January 2014, facing eviction and unsure of what to do next. A friend stepped in and refused to let him slip into crisis. “He took me to the DMV, paid for my ID, and brought me here to sign up for the work program,” Tarver said. That support helped stabilize his situation long enough for him to enroll in the youth program, which led to an internship in May 2014. After the internship, he joined AmeriCorps for a full year of service. When his AmeriCorps term ended, NyECC hired him.
Now, more than eleven years later, Tarver helps guide young people who are facing the same challenges he once did. As the Work Ethics Coach, he teaches interns basic life skills, workplace expectations, communication, and how to build a foundation for independence. “The interns placed on campus usually need a little more direct guidance,” he explained. “Being here gives them daily access to the career coaches and to me. If there’s a problem, we can help fix it right away.”
His role at NyECC is more than a job—it is a chance to give back to the very program that helped him transform his own life. “I’m trying to put back into the youth program what I gained from it as a young man trying to find my way.”
That personal mission carries the same themes present in his books: resilience, guidance, unexpected allies, and the courage to keep going.
For aspiring authors, Tarver offers simple but powerful advice. “Just start,” he said. “It seems overwhelming, but once you begin, it’s not as bad as you think. Even if you scrap the whole thing halfway through, you tried. And once you finish one book, the next is easier.” He also recommends keeping a timeline or outline for continuity—especially when writing sequels.
Looking back, Tarver credits much of his success to a combination of personal determination and the encouragement of people who believed in him—his wife, his close friends, and the teacher who opened the world of literature to him. “It’s hard to quantify how much impact people can have,” he said. “Something they said ten years ago might still matter in ways they’ll never realize.”
Today, Jesse “J.D.” Tarver is not only a mentor and coach, but a creator of worlds—fantastical, futuristic, and comical—each crafted with care, imagination, and the hope that someone out there may find comfort or inspiration in his words. His books stand as a testament to where creativity can lead, even when life’s path is uncertain, and his work at NyECC stands as a testament to how one life changed can help change many more.
