STEPHEN G. KIRK
A Proud Canadian Author of Fiction
Perhaps the greatest benefit of beginning a writing career in your sixties is being able to transfer a lifetime of experience onto the written pages of a short story or novel. Adding emotional and motivational dimension, and perspective, to the characters bring them to life while helping to shade the narrative.
We learn that true Villains and Saints are never born, but only forged within life’s crucible. We find our world is never black and white; nor does it exist in the dullest shades of gray. Instead, we all bear witness to life’s vivid bursts of color as unforeseen events explode upon the ever-changing backdrop of time itself. Time, that unrelenting colossus who presides over the full measure of our lives, driving all else before it.
STEPHEN G. KIRK
A Proud Canadian Author of Fiction
As a young reader, I found myself drawn to the genre of science fiction, especially those works written by such exceptional authors as Bradbury, Asimov, and Clarke. It’s difficult to believe how so much of what they imagined has found its way into our everyday lives, and quite thankfully, that their more dystopic visions haven’t come to fruition.
Now as a mature person, (my wife might disagree), I leave wandering the galaxy and beyond to the more youthful, and technologically savvy group. Instead I direct my writings toward “plausible” fiction, a form of realistic writing allowing the rules to be bent just enough to allow for good storytelling. Although in truth, I often lend my plots a considerably greater degree of leeway, propping open the door just a bit wider so as to glimpse possibilities lying just a little further afield.
A great admirer of the works of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Bram Stoker, and Shirley Jackson, to name but a few, I think everyone occasionally enjoys a good old-fashioned scare. I particularly enjoy the slow burn and suspenseful conclusion of whatever awaits the book’s characters.
As a student of history, I enjoy reading accounts documenting exciting and interesting world shaping events, but I tend to leave the “real life” personal tragedy stories unread. I myself have written far too many factual police reports dealing with the unavoidable tragedies of society and the human condition, while each day we all bear witness to the disturbing litany of troubling news coming at us from all corners of the globe.
We can’t escape accounts of real life, hamstrung as it is by the shackles of finality - solidified in the past, as some ancient bee encased in amber. Instead, I choose to write of situations and lives unfettered within the confines of time, locale or circumstance. I hope I’ve provided you some idea as to what underpins my writing and I truly hope you enjoy reading my books as much as I have enjoyed writing them for you.
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
- Albert Einstein
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By the way, I'm that good looking fellow on the left.
NEW RELEASES
Available on Amazon.com
The following is a collection of my latest and most meaningful writing projects. Each piece is unique in style and content and represents a distinct moment in my career. If you have any questions or are interested in working on a piece together, please contact me.
DOMINION DAY / PALEOPATH AND OTHER SHORT STORIES
July 2023
Selected novellas and short stories from the writer's vault of eclectic and widely varying themes.
The citizens of a prairie town in 1935 suddenly vanish / A strange disease emerges on a distant volcanic island and threatens the globe / A demonic car that refuses every effort to be repossessed / A senior citizen partaking in a running battle with his neighbour while preserving the dignity of his front yard / An evil shaman who suddenly finds herself roaming about an old theater / A callous human trafficker who is about to receive a strange comeuppance!
THE DEVIL ATOP CAULDRON PEAK
July 2023
George Dunn and his wife Grace stand together taking stock of this year’s disappointing crop of barley and dry peas. To make ends meet, George partners up with an experience trapper and head into the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
For several weeks, trapping is going well until George becomes puzzled to discover his traps and snares methodically looted, hidden, or destroyed. Whatever seems bent on some vengeful course, he’s quite certain it’s not human. George finally catches a glimpse of the strange creature and the animal is of a kind he’s never before laid eyes upon.
The stage is set for a life and death struggle that will take place among the rugged peaks and valleys of the Rocky Mountains. The stakes could not be higher for George or the legendary beast he faces, the Kwekwatshew - and there are no guarantees as to who may prevail.
Dire Echoes
August 2023
An evil prowls the borders of Ontario's Algonquin Provincial Park!
Meet Annie Benson, an attractive young grad student whose field of endeavor focuses on the study of wolf populations and how the effects of climate and habitat change have impacted their behavior. Following her preliminary survey, her team notes the conspicuous absence of the park’s dominant wolf pack and a substantial reduction of Algonquin’s previously abundant wild game. It seems that Annie and her small team have arrived just in time to find themselves embroiled in the midst of an ongoing and quickly deepening mystery.
Several respected First Nations hunters have reported sighting a solitary black wolf of huge proportion roaming the lands killing wild and domestic animals at will. Supported by official reports, rumors of the creature spread like wildfire through the community. When a local hunter loses his son to the beast, he and other fellows hunters take up the chase but soon find they themselves are the hunted!
Follow the scientists and wardens as they strive to reveal the true nature of the beast while unraveling the mysteries lying beneath. Feel their astonishment as Annie and Ron consult a notable authority whose specialty lies in the process of evolution and the possibility of a strange divergence from the norm; in doing so they uncover a disturbing truth cloaked and shrouded in the mists of memory and legend.
VELOGENIC:
THE DRAGON'S CROWN
June 1, 2020
Stephen Kirk is extremely proud and excited to share his 2020 work Velogenic: the Dragon's Crown.
The intelligently written, plot driven story centers about an international team of medical and intelligence agency investigators looking into the intentional release of Covid 19 by a secretive group of highly influential and wealthy elitists seeking to profit from the resulting pandemic. Selling their market shares prior to the release of the virus, shorting the markets as they tumbled and then repurchasing the shares or the companies themselves when they hit rock bottom would net them huge profits, similar in fashion as when the same group orchestrated the 2008/2009 financial crisis.
Soon after releasing the virus, things begin to go awry for the antagonists when a whistle-blower points to the possibility of an accidental release from their Hong Kong laboratory. What next occurs sparks an intense international investigation spanning three continents caught in the grip of the pandemic.
International intrigue creates political unrest resulting in a display of super power animosity and saber rattling reaching a climax in a head to head showdown between the US 7th Fleet and the Chinese Navy.
The only chance of a de-escalation of tensions lie on the shoulders of upon our intrepid team of investigators. What they do or fail to do may well save the world, or throw it into a tailspin from which there is no return.
THE BEAUTIFUL BEAST
Release Date March 2020
At the tender age of twenty-two years, Irma Grese worked as a senior female guard within the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp. Following the war, she was accused of partaking in a series of outrageous atrocities within the prison and found guilty by a war crimes court. Grese was hung by her neck, taken down from the scaffold and buried without ceremony in the prison yard where she had died... or had she?
Fast forward sixty years later to Hansel’s Creek. The small town in Washington State is beginning to become aware that people living in the surrounding area are being reported missing at an alarming rate. While visiting his father, homicide detective Martin Denton is asked to assist the local Sheriff’s office with their investigation. As the bodies pile up, what Marty discovers is truly disturbing.
Denton suddenly finds himself aided by a member of the FBI, Alija Cole, and another unusually talented, though strange man, Lyle Fox. Together the trio is on the track of a delinquent member of an ancient and long-lived race, over the centuries the “Eternal order” has spawned countless legends, both good and evil.
Follow along with our heroes as they uncover the horrific truth lying behind the mysterious disappearances and the detailed background of a race who considers all of humanity their rightful prey. When the tale ends, you may find yourself wondering if they in fact exist.
And Midnight Came to Call
And Midnight Came to Call This thought provoking, Horror / Sci-fi genre collection features nine short stories of various lengths having a wide audience appeal. The plots and themes are crisp and clean; and more importantly, the ideas driving the stories forward seem to take on a life of their own.
Each story differentiates itself from others within the collection while spanning the globe and time itself. Wherever possible, the settings reflect actual locations, social conditions, and backdrops based within realistic science or myth such that while the underlying plots may strain credibility, they seldom threaten to tear open its fabric. Grounded in a slightly bent, rather than a fully warped sense of reality, the stories exude an underlying sense of normality, until they do not.
The nine stories within the collection “And Midnight Came to Call” reflect this preference often bringing along unexpected twists as they end.
CONTACT
If you are interested in receiving excerpts of my manuscripts or have a proposal for a project please fire me off an email.
BIOGRAPHY OF STEPHEN G. KIRK
A Canadian fiction writer, Steve resides in southern Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife Wanda. His current stories and books take place within Canadian settings while the plots explore the natural world and occasionally a twisted reality. Yet in all cases, the work strives to maintain a strong realistic footing within science and history. Should the storyline be fanciful, he strives to leave the reader with a unique insight or an entertaining twist.
While Steve’s favorite hobby is his family, sons and grandchildren; other pass times include amateur astronomy, guitar strumming, singing and song writing.
In another life, Steve was a police officer with the Calgary Police Service prior to beginning his writing career. A seasoned criminal investigator, he was also an accredited expert in the field of Traffic Collision Investigation and Reconstruction having received his training at Northwestern University, Illinois, and under the tutelage of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Steve’s written works include:
Dominion Day - Paleopath and other Short Stories",“And Midnight Came to Call - an anthology”, “The Devil Atop Cauldron Peak” - a novella, and the novels: “Velogenic: The Dragon’s Crown”, “The Beautiful Beast” and “Dire Echoes.” All titles are available on Amazon Books and outlets in both print and ebook format.
The image below is a photograph I shot of the North American Nebula in the constellation of Cygnus.
