I discovered John Steakley at Target in 1998. Life was a bit of a drag then…as it is wont to be at times. I craved a distraction and checked out the book section. A novel titled Vampire$ jumped out at me. I didn’t recognize the author, but I craved some escapism, saw the book was going to be a movie and decided to give it a shot.

Not only was Vampire$ entertaining, and populated with characters that had an interesting combination of strengths and weaknesses, but Steakley’s writing style was a revelation, as well. I had aspirations to write and, due to many rejections, was bogged down in technicalities (use active voice; avoid adverbs; every writer should know iambic pentameter). Steakley’s writing broke rules but worked within the context of the stories he told. His style allowed me to stop worrying about technique and simply tell the tale (although I still recommend learning basic grammar rules to anyone who has aspirations of writing).

Vampire$ engrossed me so much that I squeezed in whatever pages I could during snippets of the work day. I remember reading the jail scene almost a sentence at a time in between scanning a couple of hundred photos one by one into a scanner that may have been liberated from a pyramid.

After finishing Vampire$, I was interested in learning more. An Internet search didn’t turn up too much on Steakley. The Internet was just starting to move and groove back then. Nevertheless, I did learn that Steakley had another book available.

I purchased Armor at a Barnes and Noble a few months later. Life was a bit of a drag then…as it is wont to be at times. Armor’s story of one man against impossible odds hit home. Stress and emotional duress are common to everyone, even if the obstacles they face are different. For someone with agoraphobia, going to the grocery store might be akin to fighting off a horde of alien ants on a desolate planet. Likewise, people in a profession where they put their lives on the line might find kinship in Armor’s story about a man doing his job regardless of his fear. That’s where I think Steakley was at his best. He didn’t just tell a story. He made a person feel like they could keep going when life is a bit of a drag…as it is wont to be at times.

I never got to meet John Steakley, but I received a letter from him. That letter was one of the best gifts I’ve received, not because it was profound, but because it was from an author I admired. Furthermore, Steakley didn’t rubber stamp a reply, even though my request could have been considered intrusive. He invested time and effort. You see, when Dogs of War was published, I had to send out requests to other authors or VIPs for blurbs. I had no contacts and no idea where to start, so I simply tried querying various authors and people I admired. I even queried Arnold Schwarzenegger (I was thinking big). He didn’t reply, but that’s okay. Arnold is a legend. Plus, another legend did reply: Steakley. Steakley actually took the time to read my manuscript and gave me his support.

Steakley passed away in 2010. It’s hard to believe it has been that long, but his books are still out there. Click on the covers above for more information. If you haven’t heard of Steakley, I hope discovering him is a treat. If a person reads my book and hates it, I still feel like they came out ahead if they discovered Steakley through this post. I wish we could have gotten more stories from him.

When thinking about Steakley, I often remember one of his quotes that I came across years ago:

“Mythology is about Good VS Evil, is it not? We can pretend runes and astrology and reading tea leaves…But to whom do we pray when we are terrified? Carl Sagan’s essays?”

At the end of the day, is writing worth reading…or remembering?

Steakley wrote memorably…