Steve at Dublin Writers Museum

Steve at Dublin Writers Museum

Steve at Jameson Factory

Steve at Jameson Factory

Blarney Castle, Ireland

Blarney Castle, Ireland

Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska

Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska

Dear Reader,

Consider this a FAQs page to help you understand me, just another crazy author who is addicted to storytelling. You don’t need these facts to enjoy my fiction or other writing, but you might be curious about the old bloke pictured at the right – my fiction is current, though, not old, because I’m young-at-heart; and maybe like you, I pursue adventures in literature. (If not curious or interested, please just skip this web page! I won’t be insulted.)

I’m a native Californian, born and raised in the San Joaquin Valley. My parents were immigrants to that great state from Kansas, although there are some Irish and German immigrants in the family only a few generations ago. (My mother lived with her grandparents for some time and only spoke German until she was eight.)

Diverse and progressive California taught me to appreciate and celebrate people’s cultural heritage while knowing in my heart that we’re all in this together here on planet Earth no matter what our origins might be. I spent many years in academia and scientific R&D in the U.S. and abroad, doing the reverse migration from the West to East Coast of the US with a long sojourn in South America, while postponing my goal of becoming a writer in order to put bread on the table for my family. I’ve been a full-time writer for quite some time now (my first novel was Full Medical, published in 2006, but I was writing a lot even before that), always keeping in mind the goal of entertaining readers with my storytelling. (Of course, I have fun writing my stories too!)

California primed my ear for Spanish, but I really learned to speak that marvelous language of Cervantes well during that long academic sojourn in Colombia, South America. I have a knack for languages and appreciation for them, but Gaelic defeated me, so all I can write in reference to some of those other pics at the right is “Sláinte mhaith,” and wish all of you many long years of good reading entertainment.

So, I’ve been writing for years, even before I published anything, but ignore that gray beard – like I said, I’m young-at-heart. No one saw what I wrote until about two decades ago, so you’re in luck – it’s all fresh and new. Even my older novels (I call them “evergreen books” now) have plots and themes that are as fresh and current as the day I finished their manuscripts. If you love to read mysteries, thrillers, and sci-fi as much as I do, you’ll probably feel at home here. I’d like to entertain you with my stories if you’ll permit me to do so.

Some say I have a varied and interesting past, but I’m just a nerdy author and otherwise regular guy now living in the great state of New Jersey (USA). You can get to know me best by reading my fiction. My stories reflect some of my lifetime experience of collecting what-ifs, plot ideas, possible themes, character sketches, dialogue snippets, and possible settings that often correspond to my living and traveling abroad, meeting different people and experiencing their interesting cultures, or just hanging locally at home, sitting and observing people in a coffee bar or a friendly pub.

So please join me on this wonderful trek! There’s a lot of reading to be done…and so little time to do it!

Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!

Warm regards,

Steve

PS. To contact me, use the contact page. I love to discuss books, reading, writing, and the publishing business. Don’t be shy. Much of my social life is on the internet! I have many friends there among the reading, writing, and publishing communities.

And now my Irish friend A. B. Carolan will add his spiel:

Dear young adult readers and those adults who are young-at-heart,

Two photos at the right say something about my relationship to American author Steven M. Moore: We both like Jameson whiskey, most Irish whiskey, in fact, and we met when he toured Blarney Castle. I write mostly for young adults (my stories often interest adults as well, a fact that pleases me to no end). Young adults should ignore that first thing we have in common. (The drinking age in Ireland is also twenty-one!) The second is more significant because it means we both can sling the blarney!

I’m a wee bit of a recluse, though, and hide away in Donegal most of the time, even from the wonderful people who live there. I refuse to comment on what some people say about my childhood. Let them gossip. They like to kid a lot in Ireland. In my case, it’s mostly harmless. And the Gardai just consider me eccentric and completely harmless as well, even when I’ve tippled a bit.

I love writing for young adults. When Steve offered a collaboration (yes, I badgered him a wee bit), I jumped at the chance. Of course, Steve loves writing for them too, and he’s full of ideas for young adult novels. So am I. I think our collaboration has been fruitful and fun and will continue to be.  You might have already read some of my novels (I now have four) or seen some of my short stories in Steve’s blog category “ABC Shorts” or “Friday Fiction,” or in the free PDF downloads Steve offers on this website. Thank you for reading them. (More novels are in the works.)

By the way, although Steve might think he’s something of a polyglot, or once was, he failed miserably at learning Gaelic, as he stated above. I’ll admit it’s a difficult language. The leprechauns taught me, so it comes naturally.

Sláinte mhaith,

A. B. Carolan

PS. To contact me, use Steve’s contact page. Thanks!

And now back to Steve:

Steve and A.B.’s best advice for readers: Read, read, read.  We’re toasting you virtually with that Guinness and offering you that bottle of Jameson Irish whiskey from an Irish pub! (Assuming you’re of age, of course! And don’t over-indulge!) Get comfortable, grab your favorite beverage, and enjoy a good book. Readers rule.

Steve and A.B.’s best advice for writers: Write, write, write. Think of yourself as an Irish bard like Turlough O’Carolan (A.B.’s ancestor?), telling your stories accompanied by an Irish harp (a bit more portable than the monstruous ones seen in a symphony orchestra).  Your audience is your main concern. You must entertain them, but be true to your voice. You must make your fiction seem real as well. Nowadays you have to do so many things besides write in order to find new readers, but never forget the loyal readers you already have.

Steve’s favorite places: USA (Boston, NYC, ‘Frisco and Napa/Sonoma area, Big Sur, Acadia, Yosemite, Inner Passage in Alaska, New Orleans), Europe (Copenhagen, London, Munich, Oslo, Paris, and Vienna, as well as Dublin, Cork, Donegal, and Galway in Ireland). I’d like to see more of the world, but this spaceship Earth is so big! (A.B. stays close to home, so let’s just say Donegal is his favorite place.) And certainly neither of us can afford tickets on those rich dudes’ spaceships!

Steve and A.B.’s favorite causes: People’s rights and the universal recognition of when they’re absolute rights and not just privileges, like a woman’s right to choose; the right of all people for self-determination and freedom of oppression from tyrannical regimes; an end to voter suppression; freedom of religion, but not the right to force others to have the same beliefs; freedom from bigotry, hatred, and violence; respect for all races, ethnic groups, and sexual preferences; the rights of victims of sexual harassment, abuse, and violence; the world people’s rights to have a clean environment free of pollution; and the rights of people to free of gun violence, enforced by reasonable gun control.

We are all on spaceship Earth together, so please, to paraphrase the inimitable words of Rodney King, let’s just get along.

Steve’s favorite charities: They correlate well with my causes…

Nature Conservancy

World Wildlife Fund

Sierra Club

Natural Resources Defense Council

Wounded Warrior Project

Note: A.B. has his own causes and charities in Ireland, as do many of his compatriots. An important one is climate control.

If you like the free fiction found in the list on the web page “Free Stuff & Contests,” and in the “Steve’s Shorts,” “ABC Shorts,” and “Friday Fiction” blog archives, please consider a donation to one of these organizations…or your own favorite charity. With the new tax laws in the U.S., these good causes have been adversely affected. (Hopefully, that situation will change.)

Steve’s favorite foods: Lots of ethnic foods, including fajitas, nachos, churrascos, stuffed grape leaves, almost any curry, vegetable samosas, baklava, pumpkin and mincemeat pie, and apple and peach cobbler. (Okay, the last few are very American…but delicious!) A.B.’s are a bit more bland, and include scones and teacakes for teatime and lamb chops and roasted potatoes for dinner.

Steve and A.B.’s favorite beverages: Steve likes Jameson whiskey, Guinness beer, Smithwick and Killian ales, Californian wines, Australian shiraz, Earl Grey tea, and Colombian coffee. A.B. likes most of those too!

Steve’s favorite books: See first the web page “Steve’s Bookshelf.” The reader can find others in some of his many book reviews.