Featured Interview With Steven Abernathy
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Raised in a small farming community in southern Missouri, my wife, Michele, and I now divide our time between Destin, Florida and Jonesboro, Arkansas. I was educated at the US Air Force Academy, Arkansas State University, and the University of Tennessee. Michele and I have two sons. The oldest is a children’s book author/publisher. The younger son is a computer engineer currently studying nanoengineering at UNC. While I grew up with dogs as pets and readily admit I am not a cat person, Michele has two cats I tolerate because I love her. Perhaps when Son #2 completes his doctorate, he can redesign one of the cats to look and act like a puppy!
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My mother was a reading teacher, so I grew up with books. She tells me I wrote a short screen play and directed the play in our back yard when I was six years old. Admission was 10 cents, which was a lot of money in 1957, but a few neighbors and friends attended. My first published book was a Spirit Master (you have to be old to know what that is) science text book supplement written for ESP, Inc. in 1975.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My choice of genres is pretty eclectic. My wife complains that I often am reading three or four books at the same time, a concept that she finds confusing. Currently on my nightstand are “Fields of Color,” kind of a consumers guide to quantum theory, “Seeing Farther,” a history of scientific thought by Bill Bryson, and “The Thief,” an adventure novel by Clive Cussler. I recently completed two historical novels by Bernard Cornwell. I am particularly fond of Bill Bryson because of his precise use of language and of Louis L’Amour for his great storytelling ability. Naturally my favorite author is me, but I can think of at least 50 who run a close second.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
“Unspoken Valor” is a tribute to past heroes who never received recognition for their acts of valor. My father was one of the many WWII veterans who would never speak of their military service after they returned home from war. In 1998 I was flying Dad to Florida for a fishing trip on his 75th birthday when the single engine of my airplane failed and we crash landed into a wooded area on the Florida/Alabama state line. After the dust settled and we crawled from the wreck to find our injuries were insignificant, Dad surveyed the sky for a long time before saying, “Well, at least there aren’t any Germans up there this time.”
“This time?” I thought. He would never answer the obvious question, but it gave me the idea for what I hoped would be a great book. When Dad died a few years ago, mourners at his graveside service were stunned when a U.S. Air Force honor guard and a Scottish bagpiper showed up to honor him at the service. Why the professional honor guard rather than the group from the local VFW who usually came to veterans’ funerals? I have no idea. I researched as much as I could find about Dad’s military service and filled in the rest with supposition and unabashed fiction. If I did my job well, the reader will never know where I crossed the lines. I was lucky to grow up with a hero in my house. Is there one in yours? It is my hope that “Unspoken Valor” is a fitting tribute to all of the unknown heroes we meet every day.
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