R.E. Schobernd
Biography
Hi, my name is Bob Schobernd. I publish my writing as R.E. Schobernd.
Currently I have seven ebooks published at Smashwords. Six are in the crime category and one is a love story. Even the love story has a crime as the catalyst for love to be tested and eventually triumph. The title is The Agreement. An interesting technique I tried in this book is the limited use of mirror image dialog between the two main characters. Let me know if it was effective and if you like it.
My crime stories started with a trilogy character study detailing an assassin’s rise and fall. The trilogy title is Irrevocable Change and the individual books are: Reverse Metamorphosis, The Assassin Evolves, and The Devils Homecoming. These stories are about coarse criminals and focus on the life experiences of an assassin. The language is crude and the actions are explicit. The story involves murder, torture, rape, and incest. If these issues are repulsive to you, don’t read the books.
The first series I’ve written is the Carter A. Johnson novels. They depict a vigilante who invokes double jeopardy on criminals he determines to be guilty. The first is, The Blonde Heiress, a novella length introduction to the series. The second novel is The Dogtrot Murder. The story follows the prison internment of the wife convicted of killing her husband and Carter’s efforts to free her.
The last story published is a short, very dark thriller, titled 59 Hours. I’ll give you a hint; some people bloom, wilt and die in fifty nine hours.
My next work in progress is the third Carter A. Johnson novel. The title is The Cape Abigail Murders and its setting is Maine.
Please note: If you as a reader like my work I’m pleased. But I’m not writing for you, I write for me. My published books are indicative of what I would like to read. They vary in genre and intensity. Some reviewers say my work is too violent, too intense, too detailed, too short, too long, too, too, too. Others write they like my stories and are waiting for more. Therefore I’m not going to try to please all of you because that’s impossible. If you enjoy my books, fine. If you don’t like what I write don’t read them. That won’t offend me; that’s as it should be. It’s how the marketplace should work.
On the subject of length: if a plot idea in my head runs out after ten, twenty, or thirty thousand words it’s a short or novella story. I won’t add filler to reach a minimum story length. If you can’t tolerate short reads, skip it, but don’t complain. It’s advertised as a short story or novella up front.
I owe many of you an apology for my early novels. I am a story teller, not an English major. Editing is a grave weakness of mine. I didn’t realize how severe it was until several reviews pointed out that the editing was atrocious. I took that criticism seriously and am having all my books professionally edited, that will complete around April, 2013. I promise you future books will be passed to editors before publication.
Thank you, and I hope you enjoy my stories; but if you don’t….
Bob
Books
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Smashwords book reviews by R.E. Schobernd
- Political Spectrum for the Brain Dead
on March 19, 2011
How the author arrived at his estimated percentages is unclear, but even if they are not entirely accurate this short book is provocative. It is an extremely far right assessment of the current political status and I share his concern and pray it is not too late to implement changes.
- Wolves in Sheep's Clothing: Liberalism - Formula for Failure
on March 31, 2011
The book is very well written and the author has confined himself to a limited number of issues and covered them thoroughly. He is a member of the Religious Right and wears his religious background proudly. If that turns off some Liberal and Progressive readers it is a shame because the book achieves Mr. Jensen's purpose of providing a definition of the Conservative Platform, both past and present. Conservatives will agree with the points made and Liberals should take the time to understand why the voters on the Right feel and believe the way we do. Mr. Jensen is afraid for the future of our country and rebells at the inroads the Liberals have made in minimizing the importance of the Constitution.
A very good read and I hope the author continues to write political commentary.
- The First Kill
on July 27, 2011
Although this short teaser is not available as a Kindle download I downloaded it as a PDF and read it. Since it is just a snippet of a story it's very hard to rate. The main character is an unrepentant killer and it will be interesting to learn what the author does with him. The writing is good and the editing is good. I don't rate a "good" story or a story with possibility as a five star. So this is a four at best.
- Blood Ties
on Aug. 06, 2011
I've just finished Blood Ties and am very impressed. The editing is not perfect, there are several words missing, in my opinion, but it is good for a book 153,000 words in length. Character development is very good and the storyline is intriguing. Some of the action scenes could have been a little better choreographed, but overall were acceptable. I'm looking forward to additional books by J.D. Nixon and have already downloaded Heller.
- Soft Target
on Sep. 04, 2011
The author of Soft Target seems to have a fixation with bullets hitting people in the face and blowing away their teeth and jaw bone as it was mentioned several times. Overall the story is excellent and the plot is believable. It is written by an Englishman so the spelling is different than readers in the U.S are accustomed to; tires are tyres, dialed is dialled. Also, Mr. Jones uses phrase like, who was sat in a chair, instead of who was sitting in a chair. There are errors though; that is used too many times, missing words and a few extra words; I assume left in during rewrites. Use of the plural tyres when a motorbike was squealing away, instead of the singular tyre was done several times. Other things I take issue with like in Chap. 41 where he speaks about "pepper spraying rooms with machinegun fire" (pepper spray has nothing to do with firing a spray pattern from a machinegun) and cocking a pump shotgun. You cock a revolver and pump a pump action shotgun. Then there is reloading a clip in a semi-auto handgun (a speed clip is used to reload a revolver, a magazine is used in semi-autos).
The sequence with the letter bomb exploding when handled doesn't ring true after it went through the postal system and was then delivered and tossed on a desk prior to being gently picked up and set back down by the police.
Another gaff is when Timms is holding a glass in his hand and in the same scene his wife hands him another glass; must be a real two fisted drinking man.
In Chap. 37 when Mustapha enters the grounds of the safe house and control center the main gates are locked. I assumed his guards relocked the gates after they entered (this is supposed to be a secure setting), but when the man escaped he just walked through the unlocked gates and disappeared.
These are all small but important errors that take away from the credibility and reading enjoyment of the story. Without them and with better editing this would warrant a five star rating. Instead it's a four, but still a very good read.
- The Value of Life
on Oct. 29, 2011
From the short description I jumped to the assumption that this story would be a gruesome account of several kidnappings and murders of children. Instead I found a very fast paced and suspenseful mystery with great characters and a terrific ending. Editing is the only flaw in an other wise great story. I'd give it a 4.5 if possible, so it's a 4.0 since the editing holds it back from getting an overall excellent rating. It's a shame the author didn't spend a little more time on editing before publishing this.
- Black Mountain Affair
on March 08, 2012
Black Mountain Affair deserves to be paper published. It would need some clean up in its editing; there are misspelled and misused words etc. Minor things independently published authors struggle with. The storyline is great and characters are interesting and well defined. The good characters are very good and the bad guys are pure evil. Is it perfect? No. Is it an exceptionally good read? Yes. If you crave a good murder mystery this is it.
- Coral Sea Affair
on March 10, 2012
"Aussiematt" is correct that the editing is bad. I hope Mr. Lindsay will take the criticism positively and endeavor to improve the spelling, word usage, sentence structure etc.
Now the positives; pacing is good, characters are well developed and the descriptions are good. I liked the lead in giving information about Ben. If he is going to be the main character in a series I want to know his background history and who he is mentally and emotionally. Yes, that takes time and delays getting into the action of the main storyline; but I like it.
Overall I think the author is a great storyteller. Now he needs to improve his writing technique so readers aren't distracted by his mistakes. I believe Mr. Lindsay will then have the opportunity to be a popular author.
- Free to Die
on July 05, 2012
My first read of a McElwain book. The story was gripping and moved at a fast pace, characters are well defined and believable. Editing isn't great, but not bad enough to detract from a pleasurable read.
Congratulations Bob on a great book.
- Murder At Zero Hour
on Dec. 01, 2012
Another great read. Murder at Zero Hour takes place during World War One in France. It captures the conflict between the American main character and his fellow English officers until it builds to a murder mystery. Editing isn't perfect but not bad enough to detract, a few missing words here and there. Congratulations to the author.
- Cold Comfort
on Dec. 04, 2012
Another great story from Australia. Congratulations to the author. The short story advanced quickly and held my interest. The editing is very good and the author handled rape and racism without resorting to sensationalism.
- Rope Enough - The First Romney and Marsh File
on Dec. 28, 2012
Well done Mr. Tidy. Rope Enough shows a high level of planning for the plot and the writing is exceptional, especially for a self published work. The main characters are believable and likable, while the antagonist are as bad as they can be without being pure evil and horrific. The personal insights into Romney make his character solid and let the reader link to him. I highly recommend this story for fans of British detectives.
- Whispers In The Dark
on Jan. 06, 2013
This is a terrible story well told. The subject is not something we choose to read about or think about for that matter. Well done to the author, but I don't want to read more stories in this category.
- The Penal Colony
on March 10, 2013
My compliments to the author for an exciting and well written story. When the characters are good they're great and when they're bad they're pure evil.
The main character had the right emotions and battled with himself internally the way most innocent men would if sentenced to a modern day Devil's Island.
The technical details amazed me with the variety of disciplines discussed.
- Extreme Malice
on April 26, 2013
The storyline is excellent, well thought out. That said the main character comes off as a nut case at times with his constant self introspection. The editing is terrible and the writing is wordy and repetitive. I'm giving it a decent mark only on the strength of the plot. It has promise after it's cleaned up, but it's difficult to read now. Another case of a writer who can't afford an editor but can't afford not to have an editor if he's a serious writer.
(4.67 from 6 reviews) 
Paul Westwood