iSoftwerks.

Author

Fiction Writer

This website, iSoftwerks, was my traveling tool box when I made a career of writing computer programs. It was a career full of technical challenges focused on the future and future technology. Now I am retired, and I write books instead of programs. iSoftwerks is now a place you can find my novels and on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Interest

Digital Art

Though iSoftwerks is my home on the web, I may also be found on the Deviant Art website. I like fractal art, and use fractal generators to create book cover artwork. The images of hawk feathers on this page are from my pencil sketches.

Bio

In Brief

Between the Army and work, I had the opportunity to travel. I spent time in Germany, England, Mexico, Chile, and Argentina before settling down. My wife and I lived in Palm Beach County for twenty years, where a walk on the beach could turn up sea shells, shark teeth, bits of coral, and odd bits of flotsam. Now, we live in Tennessee, where we enjoy the changing seasons!

Since I retired, I write books instead of programs. Having spent years myopically peering into the future, I occasionally get the urge to escape to the past. I have always been an avid reader. I devoured the works of Robert E. Howard (the creator of Conan the Barbarian). I shuddered at Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Sandra Brown, Michael Connelly, Issac Asimov, Anne Rice, Leo Tolstoy, and others caught my interest. I particularly loved Louis L’Amour’s novels and how he was able to bring the past to life with his storytelling. His stories are what inspired me to start writing fiction. I enjoy creating works of fiction and look forward to writing more novels.

Every writer puts something of themselves in their work; it’s unavoidable. How much or how little depends on the intent. I confess I did insert myself into one of my novels. One of the characters in the novel Night of the Beast is meant to be me. (A younger me!) I had fun writing the story. Even though it approaches being a horror story, I decided I had to be a part of the fun. Of course, my character is peripheral to the story—not the hero. As my favorite philosopher, Will Rogers, remarked, “We can’t all be heroes because somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.”

For a list of the novels I have written, use this link to naviagate to the library. Here’s hoping you find something of interest in my scribbles.

Happy Reading,

Steve

Interest

Photography

I also enjoy photography. The book covers for my Western novels are a combination of my digital photos and a liberal dose of Image Editor and Photoshop. It is a challenge to come up with a unique cover image yet stay within the style I have chosen to use. I try to ensure that the cover image reflects some story element. Hopefully, the images will spark an interest in reading the story. You can see all of the cover art on display on the library page. It you are interested in seeing my photography, examples can be found on the on-line art community, Deviant Art.

Library Deviant Art

Interest

Music

I used to play guitar! My favorite guitarist was Stevie Ray Vaughan but I also like Joe Satriani and the jazz great, Lee Ritenour. But my tastes are eclectic. I listen to everything from Marilyn Manson’s Beautiful People to Johann Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major.The audio clip below is a from a long-ago practice session. I used a digital loop station and a digital drum machine. I played all the instruments: bass, keyboard, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, all dubbed over the drum loop.

Practice clip