Page 11 - Reader's House Magazine Issue 48

“In Lieu of Flowers” captivates with its gripping narrative, vivid characters, and profound exploration of love and loss.
Keith Steinbaum masterfully blends suspense and social commentary, creating captivating narratives that resonate with readers and provoke thoughtful reflection.
future events?
One of the ways I describe In Lieu of Flowers is as a supernatu- ral horror story explanation for the real-life horrors of man’s inhuma- nity to man—past, present, and, unfortunately and undoubtedly, the future. The evil, immortal entity that gets introduced to the reader in Chapter One is the connecting force between what starts in 1920 Bucharest, moves into 1943 Beng- hazi, Lybia, and concludes in 2017 Los Angeles.
In You Say Goodbye, the concept of a Beatles Song Murderer is both unique and chilling. What drew you to create a serial killer with such a specific motif, and how did you develop the intricate plot
around this idea?
I first had my two main characters develo- ped enough to feel that they were ready for a story. One was an aging, bitter, ex-rock star, and the other a ten-year-old neighbor girl fighting cancer. I knew that this dynamic offered inte- resting ideas for their
girl. Because of my protagonist’s musical background, I devised a plot line to take the most popular group in rock history, The Beatles, and make their lovable brand take a nosedive into darkness by atta- ching their name to a serial killer who leaves behind titles of Beatles songs as his calling card.
Your books have been recog- nized for addressing social and ethnic divisions. How do you approach integrating these complex issues into your narra- tives, and why is it important for you to explore these the- mes through your writing?
I’ll reply to the second question first, and, with apologies, it’s best answered in a quote from my web- site: “Light-hearted inspiration is certainly an enviable reason to tap into one’s creative juices, but those feelings don’t stimulate the kinds of thoughts that lodge wit- hin me and grow in complexity. I can pinpoint a tragic, life-chan- ging event that occurred in my mid-teens that transformed me into a writer, and it seems that the weightier side of life continues to be my motivation.” As for how I approach integrating these types of issues into my storylines, I feed on creativity that stems from real life scenarios we’re all familiar with and place my fictional characters into those roles. It doesn’t have to be historical fiction as we’ve come to familiarize ourselves with that term, such as merry old England, because everyday life, whether good, bad, or indifferent, also cre- ates a history of its own. When my
thoughts finally captured the core ideas for my three novels, real life issues of the day, personal, social, or worldwide, gave me plenty of ammunition to work with, such as racism, alcoholism, bullying, and hate crimes. But, and this is impor- tant, also life enhancing emotions such as love, hope, and redempti- on.
In Lieu of Flowers follows in the footsteps of dark classics like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and The Exorcist. What aspe- cts of these classics influenced your novel, and how do you balance paying homage to these works while bringing something new and original to the genre?
In Lieu of Flowers involves obsession of an individual and ultimate possession of their mind, body, and soul. This is also true for the two novels you mention. In Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the chemical- ly induced dark figure of Mr. Hyde obsesses over the prostitute/stage dancer Lucy, craving to possess her mind, body, and soul. In The Exorcist, the mind, body, and soul of the young girl, Regan MacNe- il, becomes possessed by a demon that many might refer to as the De- vil. A major difference in my novel from these other two is that the ob- session and possession factor for my antogonist covers a span of ne- arly 100 years, beginning in 1920 Bucharest and concluding in 2017 Los Angeles, regardless of the fact that the victim is dead.
developing relationship, but also understood that they needed to be placed in a situation that took them into an entirely different and edgy literary situation if I was to grab the interest of a wider array of readers. That’s where the idea of a murder mystery featuring a serial killer came into play, in- volving the ex-rocker throughout the story, and eventually the little
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