Steve at Dublin Writers Museum
Steve at Jameson Factory
Blarney Castle, Ireland
Mendenhall Glacier, Alaska
Dear Reader,
Consider this an unusual 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 writings, but you might be curious about that 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 the literature I read and write. (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 spaceship Earth no matter what our origins might be. I spent many years in academia and scientific R&D in the US 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 my 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 wee 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 and hope you’ll permit me to do that.
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 interesting settings that often correspond to my living and traveling abroad, meeting different people and experiencing first-hand their interesting cultures, or just hanging around locally at home, sitting and observing people from all walks of life 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 now 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 wee 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 brands of Irish whiskey, in fact, and we met when he visited 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 about the castle 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 but can often find me working on my stories at my favorite pub. I refuse to comment on what some people say about my childhood. Let them gossip. They like to take the Mickey a lot in Ireland. In my case, their blather and twaddle’s mostly harmless, I dare say. And the Gardai just consider me eccentric and completely harmless as well, even when I’ve tippled a bit too much.
I love writing for young adults. When Steve offered a collaboration to me (aye, I badgered the lad 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. (Photo above: Montclair, NJ’s Van Vleck Mansion with wisterias.)
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, not your agent, publisher, or PR and marketing expert’s wishes. You must make your fiction seem real as well, as that famous Irishman Tom Clancy once said. 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, Alaska’s Inner Passage, 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 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’ smaller 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 live free of gun violence, enforced by reasonable gun control. (Note that many popular orgs support these causes. Please pick some and join them. I list some favs below.)
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 orgs: They correlate well with my causes…
ACLU
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.
(Photo above: Spring brings out the backyard’s tiger lilies!)
Note: 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 US, these good causes have been adversely affected. (Hopefully, that situation will eventually 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.