Hi All
It's a wonderful day to shine the spotlight on someone I find highly talented. Today, on the Jimmy Broccoli page and website - with trumpets sounding - I am thrilled to share with you the writing of novelist Rob Steele.
Rob and I have been friends for over a decade and, for five years, we both regularly attended a monthly local writers and critique group. I've listened to (we always read our written pieces aloud within the group) and have witnessed Rob's written word evolve and grow and become what it is today - it's fantastic and captivating writing.
Rob brings something to the written page I don't usually gravitate towards - he often brings humor - sometimes dry - always clever - and he carefully inserts it at the right moments so the reader appreciates it.
Here is Rob in his own words:
Rob is one of those authors who didn’t like reading when he was growing up… apart from comic books. Basically, he was worn down by the school systems who told him to read horrible books about horrible things and feel things about the horrible things – making for a horrible process.
Rob’s books may deal with serious topics (murder, philosophy, does God exist, etc.) but he tackles it with a humor that makes his stories easier to read than, say, Shakespeare. Ol’ Will had great stories but they were horrific to try to read for fun. And, no, Rob doesn’t think he’s the second coming of Shakespeare – far from it. He prides himself on making reading fun, because, if it’s not fun… what’s the point?
Links: Main website: https://www.steele42.com Eclipsing the Moons: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09XSZM1PV/ Unto Others: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B4HHCZGN/ Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorRobSteele/
Here is an excerpt from Rob's book, "Eclipsing the Moons" - and I'm certain you'll enjoy it as much as I do! ______________
From the story "Eclipsing the Moons", from the book of the same title:
The house was quiet. As it should be. Well, as I prefer it, anyway. I can think that way. Although, that’s probably not the way the owners intended it. They’d probably want a little bit more noise than this. Of course, they’re dead so they probably don’t care all that much about it.
My name is Cooper Wright, a 14-year veteran of the police force, and it’s my job to figure out just what the hell happened here. The victims: Paul and Kelly Moon – both of them were astronomers. They ran the observatory over on Floyd’s Bluff. Near as I can tell, they had no enemies.
The person who did this probably wasn’t a personal enemy, as such. Both were bludgeoned with a candlestick. The matching one is on the dining room table so my guess: weapon of opportunity. Botched burglary, maybe? Except nothing looks ransacked or is obviously missing and no sign of forced entry.
I’ve already spoken to their co-workers. All seven of them. No one mentioned anything out of the ordinary. I suppose it was convenient of the observatory to have that party tonight. Certainly made my job easier. They were celebrating something about the Moons discovering a new planet. I wonder if that would sound as odd out loud as it did in my head.
“Detective Wright! Detective Wright!” Oh good. Manny’s here. Officer Manny Vasquez really is a good kid, but damn he’s young. Like a puppy dog. He could do with less caffeine. And someone to tell him to make up his mind about that damn mustache. Sometimes it’s a thick Latino ‘stache. Which makes sense. He’s Puerto Rican. Sometimes it’s a Rollie Fingers handlebar thing. Sometimes 70s porn ‘stache. Today? Eddie Murphy circa 1984, a.k.a. peach fuzz. I keep meaning to ask him how he grows it so damn fast.
“What is it Manny?”
“I think you’re going to want to hear this. There was another co-worker that we haven’t talked to. I found this notebook upstairs and it talks about a Christos Klaus, a Finnish astronomer who claimed he found the new planet the Moons found.” Yep, that sounded just as weird out loud as it did in my head. “According to this, the Moons fired him and, he’s going to be headed back to Finland in the morning.”
