Stephen Deck is a writer, artist, and film photographer. He is the author of Land of the Story Tellers, a collection of fiction stories and poems. His writing has appeared as opinion editorials in major newspapers, and his obituaries for the dead have been much loved by the living, and framed in public buildings. His next book is a fiction sea novel, told on the arm of Cape Cod, where the sea turns blood red from the merciless attack of a great white shark. This novel will capture the readership in pure terror on the beachhead, and the gallant rescue attempts from first responders. This sea novel, told in the tides of suspense, will become the next classic in American literature. All his stories are first written out with blue ink pens on white paper, then through the clinking sounds of his typewriter, the iron keys making words that form sentence blocks. The sounds of keys making words creates a sensual meter, a form of writing passed down through the ages, and that’s the way this author tells his stories. Like all writers who thrive on desolation and seclusion, which is the underpinning in telling stories without the distractions, there have been long spans in his life with no television. Imagination must be allowed to flourish. He’s written his stories in many places, and grabs the ink pen every day of his life. When the time comes he can write no more, I’ll be ready to venture into the next world. The writers that formed Stephen Deck with skills and colorful sentence blocks where protagonists loom larger than life, are Ernest Hemingway, Edgar Allen Poe, and Stephen Crane. Three of his favorite stories by these literary giants, are After The Storm … Shadow — A Parable… and The Open Boat by Stephen Crane. Many contemporary masters have left their mark. But when push comes to shove, I’ll have to say that Cormac McCarthy was the best American writer in the past thirty years. His novel of No Country for Old Men has become a legendary milestone in western fiction, and the Cohen brothers turned that plot into a block buster movie. So in the end of things, the works of Cormac McCarthy live on past his recent death. Stephen was groomed and accentuated inside the world-famous training grounds of the Art Students League in New York City. He was seated there in drawing class, the morning the terrorist attacked on that horrific morning. He has served as a draftsman in the US Army for the brass staff of General Howard Cooksey at Fort Dix, and was a member of the 104th Infantry reserves for seven years, where his role was driving heavy Deuce trucks and he was the personal jeep driver for the Green Man aka First Sergeant of the company. Volunteerism has been a steadfast part of his life. It’s been the credo for what has significance in his moral values. The other two are fortitude and mercy for the weak and defenseless. His full Volunteer Resume and Letters of Recommendation, can be seen on the Authors Page of Stephen Deck. His photography has been inducted into museums, and hangs on permanent display inside US Air Force bases, Colorado Parks and Wildlife visitors centers, and several restaurants across New England. Best rock bands — Led Zeppelin, Journey, and Van Halen. Favorite pipes —Steve Perry and Miljenko Matijevic of Steelheart. The passion of Stephen Deck is adventure laced with freedom. His longest bike ride on his much loved Pinarello racing bicycle of Columbus tubing, was 655 miles across the beautiful mountains of Idaho and Montana. He has spanned the world in seeking out adventure, and raced in two Josh Billings triathlons as an Iron Man. The places he escapes to, his freedom zones, are high in the Green Mountains of Vermont, and lashing the pond ice in winter with his much loved CCM hockey skates. His heroes are Billy Graham, Roberto Duran, Trey Gowdy, Randy Moss, Randy Johnson, Paul Coffey, First Lady Laura Bush for her cordial nature and fine examples of womanhood, and John Daly for his perseverance through many self-inflicted hurdles of life. The things that draw him to a person’s traits, are being a fierce individualist with convictions, and those who put the Lord above materialism. His heart has always been with the children of Saint Joseph Indian School, a large body of students from hard-scrabble places like the Pine Ridge Reservation, who live full time at the school under the loving care of house parents, whom he has loved and supported for some 33 years straight.Read more about this authorRead less about this author