Keith Steinbaum

A tragic, life-changing event occurred in my mid-teens that transformed me into a creative writer. Beginning with poetry, I proceeded into a decade long attempt at becoming a professional songwriter—meeting with an ounce of success and a ton of disappointment. Although I paid the bills through a long career in the landscape industry, in my heart, I’ve always considered myself a creative writer as my primary sense of self. Writing my first novel, The Poe Consequence, a story originally inspired by the number of gang affiliated housing areas I worked at, was the therapy I needed that brought me back from an emotionally tough time. The book went on to be included in Kirkus Reviews’ ‘The Best Books of 2015’ year-end issue, winner in the 2021 Book Excellence Awards for Best Fiction Novel, and winner of the Thriller category in the Maincrest Media Book Awards in 2022.

My second book, You Say Goodbye, originally inspired by a story in the obituary section about Alexandra Scott from the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, was the continuing byproduct of that renewed recognition of what I expect from myself. In 2020, the book was selected as the winner of the TopShelf Book Awards for Best Fiction/Intrigue and a winner in the 2021 Maincrest Media Book Awards competition.

My third novel, In Lieu of Flowers, is my first with World Castle Publishing LLC and was inspired by a true and remarkable event in the late 1800s that occurred to my grandfather as an infant in Bucharest, Romania. No reveal here, however. I’ll save that for the acknowledgement page.

eerie    ghosts    horror    paranormal    possession    supernatural    suspense