Author of River Ghosts (Thomson Gale)

Any particular story to tell concerning the writing of this book?

If a person isn’t careful, writing can take time away from family, sleep, and other important matters in life. Even when care is taken, so many hours are consumed in creating the first draft, the edit (and edit and edit), and the ensuing submission process, which can be both intensely cruel and then suddenly gratifying. When a reader lets me know that his or her time spent reading my novel was well worth it, I feel a sense of gratitude to that reader, and an amount of relief for my efforts.

With River Ghosts in particular, I know I took a risk writing from the point of view of a biracial man experiencing Jena 6 styled hatred and isolation, wrapped up in the mystery genre, because such a person, at least on the surface, is not who I am. When my publisher sent me the index of the March 15th Kirkus Review, I saw a star next to the words “B.R. Robb River Ghosts.” I sat slack-jawed before the computer for about fifteen minutes, and made the calls to my publisher, asking, “Is this what I think this means?” Then the Publishers Weekly review came in and, of course, ForeWord Magazine’s review. When Anita Diggs, a great literary agent in New York, offered representation based on the strength of River Ghosts and another manuscript, and then I received word about interest in foreign rights, well the satisfaction has been overwhelming as well as humbling. Writers routinely fear the thin, SASE return letter from the literary agency, or an agency’s reply to an e-mail query or submission. I have my own supply of rejection material. But these days it has become a joy to open River Ghosts related mail and e-mails.

Why did you write River Ghosts under the pseudonym B.R. Robb?

Robb is my middle name. My father gave me and my brother middle names he thought we should use if we ever became “movie stars.” After all, he made clear, our last name is of German vintage, something an Ellis Island immigration bureaucrat had foisted upon my Russian great-grandparents. I was eight when my father died suddenly, and these stories are some of the few, vivid memories I have of him. A year ago, my mother, now inflicted with Alzheimer’s at an age younger than is typically seen, suddenly asked me regarding a different book I had written, “What’s wrong with you – why didn’t you use that name your father gave you?” So I could either undergo expensive and intensive therapy, or I could just give in. I gave in.

When did you think about becoming a writer? Was there someone who got you interested in writing?

I never did and still don’t think about becoming a writer. Rather it’s all about experiencing many aspects of life and then having an incurable passion to communicate these experiences to others. Perhaps that’s why my writing has taken me to the varied and unrelated venues of the Illinois Appellate Courts, my monthly sports column for the print magazine Silent Sports (see also www.silentsports.net), to my freelance newspaper writing, and, of course, my novel writing. Many judges in my courtroom work have considered my memorandum of law writing “creative.” My writers group moderator emphasizes that he can’t pin my interest in writing down. I want to write from the perspectives of people who are not necessarily like me. I’ve had some success with screenplay writing, essays, poetry, as well as fiction. To me, writing is like an expansive buffet of options, and I want to experience all that I can. Not only to improve my writing skills, but also to attract readers more through the strength of the story rather than by anything else.

Did you receive good advice concerning writing? What’s some advice that you could offer young writers?

Mark Twain is my favorite, all-time author. His writing goes well beyond his novels, and includes some of the best essays on writing. In essence, reading great writing is key to becoming a better writer. That’s what I’ve learned from Twain’s work. If a creative drain hits me, I have one of Twain’s books, or John Irving’s, or my hard cover edition of To Kill A Mockingbird. Even Douglas Adams’s Hitchhiker’s Guide series. Joyful, incredible books. I read one or more of these books, again, and I’m reinvigorated. Who am I to give advice beyond these writers and their writing? So I’ll leave it at that.

What are you working on at the moment?

A newspaper story, a story I’ve been writing with my 6-year-old son (let me tell you, that is fun!), my next column for Silent Sports Magazine, a screenplay (I’m on page 80-something), three memoranda for court, and edits on a completed manuscript for Anita Diggs, which now has priority status.

What are you reading?

Manuscripts from the writers group I belong to. We submit and critique each other’s submissions. I just finished The Great Gatsby and Steve Colbert’s I am America . . . How’s that for a combination?

Do you have any Web Site contacts or information?

My law office web site, with some personal bio, is www.brucesteinberglawoffice.com, and I can be reached at steinberglaw@aol.com. And, if anybody wants to sample the first chapter or other selections from River Ghosts, for free (!), please do so at Amazon.com’s Search Inside program by clicking here.

Any other important information you wish to include?

Absolutely. My thank you to ForeWord Magazine for this web site opportunity, and for giving River Ghosts a chance to be seen.  Of course, Tiffany Schofield, John Helfners, and Gordan Aalsborg. Terrific people. No novel gets published, nor makes it, by the author alone.