What do you think?
Rate this book
Stepping Stones
"Award-Winning Stories From Author Steve Gannon."What do a Las Vegas insomniac, an amateur inventor whose tinkering triggers a war, a boy with a strange and terrible gift, a medical researcher who discovers the secret of eternal life, a beautiful woman in a coma, and a homicidal rock climber all have in common?Read Stepping Stones to find out!
- GenresScience Fiction
216 pages, Paperback
First published July 2, 2012
36 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Steve Gannon
13 books39 followersI was a Navy brat, the oldest of four kids. My dad served as a captain in the US Navy, so our family moved around a lot—North Carolina, Rhode Island, Virginia. When my dad finally took a post at the Pentagon for the remainder of his career, we landed for good in Falls Church, Virginia.
After a high-school education under the not-so-gentle tutelage of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, I embarked for college one step ahead of a serious run-in with the Falls Church police—eventually completing my undergraduate education at Duke University and USC with a degree in physics. Following a stint as a systems engineer in the Southern California aerospace industry, I headed back to UCLA for graduate work, earning a DDS degree four years later. I passed the California Dental Board exam that summer and prepared to begin a new career.
At that point I think I had my first identity crisis. I liked school. Beat work. Plus it allowed me to put off deciding what I wanted to do with my life when I grew up. I had never really thought about the future much. I had just gone from day to day, surmounting one hurdle at a time. Now that I was finished with school, was this going to be it? Work?
Not that I don’t like work. I held down part-time jobs during most of my college years— retail sales in a bookstore, swing shift on a loading dock, nights as a bartender. Like that.
In retrospect, I think those jobs were as influential as my formal education in shaping who I am. I recall little of my advanced math courses (and by little I mean zero), and I haven’t practiced dentistry in years, but I do remember things I picked up working various jobs, things I have been able to use in my writing.
Anyway, I opened a dental office on the Westside of town and began my life as an adult. But not without a struggle. During the years I practiced dentistry in Brentwood (right down the street from where O.J. Simpson didn’t kill Nicole), I got my Screen Actors Guild card and “acted” in TV commercials, shamelessly promoting everything from luggage to beer. I also modeled in a worldwide print campaign for Camel cigarettes before “Joe Camel,” the famous R.J. Reynolds cartoon that more effectively targeted kids, took over the cigarette advertising reins. That job was fun. Except for the smoking.
And I wrote fiction. Lots of fiction. All kinds of fiction. Mostly short stories, but some longer pieces, too. Some even got published.
Upon retiring from dentistry in my mid-thirties, I spent a decade as a real-estate developer specializing in beachfront construction in Malibu. Homes for the stars. More recently I’ve served as executive director for an Idaho nonprofit that promotes classical music concerts and presents various educational programs. And I continue to write.
Okay, seems like a lot of careers for one guy, right? I agree. Bottom line, I guess I was always ready to take a chance on something new, which led me down a lot of unexpected paths. But one constant remained throughout, something that gave me a way to use all my experiences, both good and bad. Writing.
And in the end, that’s what I finally decided I wanted to do, even if I were to ever grow up . . . someday. I think it’s what I do best.
My first full novel, titled A Song for the Asking, was published to both critical and reader acclaim by Bantam Books. The book was inspired by the question: “Can a homicide detective who deals with the worst of human nature go home to a normal family life?” In doing the research for my fictional lead character, LAPD Detective Daniel Kane, I met some fascinating people, learned some unexpected things, and made some lifelong friends.
IMG_0206Since then I have continued the “Kane Novel” series, following with bestsellers Kane, a thriller, and Allison, a suspense tale told from the perspective of Kane’s only daughter, Allison. A fourth in the series, titled L.A. Sniper, is scheduled for release in 2014. Glow, a standalone novel that chronicles the e
After a high-school education under the not-so-gentle tutelage of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, I embarked for college one step ahead of a serious run-in with the Falls Church police—eventually completing my undergraduate education at Duke University and USC with a degree in physics. Following a stint as a systems engineer in the Southern California aerospace industry, I headed back to UCLA for graduate work, earning a DDS degree four years later. I passed the California Dental Board exam that summer and prepared to begin a new career.
At that point I think I had my first identity crisis. I liked school. Beat work. Plus it allowed me to put off deciding what I wanted to do with my life when I grew up. I had never really thought about the future much. I had just gone from day to day, surmounting one hurdle at a time. Now that I was finished with school, was this going to be it? Work?
Not that I don’t like work. I held down part-time jobs during most of my college years— retail sales in a bookstore, swing shift on a loading dock, nights as a bartender. Like that.
In retrospect, I think those jobs were as influential as my formal education in shaping who I am. I recall little of my advanced math courses (and by little I mean zero), and I haven’t practiced dentistry in years, but I do remember things I picked up working various jobs, things I have been able to use in my writing.
Anyway, I opened a dental office on the Westside of town and began my life as an adult. But not without a struggle. During the years I practiced dentistry in Brentwood (right down the street from where O.J. Simpson didn’t kill Nicole), I got my Screen Actors Guild card and “acted” in TV commercials, shamelessly promoting everything from luggage to beer. I also modeled in a worldwide print campaign for Camel cigarettes before “Joe Camel,” the famous R.J. Reynolds cartoon that more effectively targeted kids, took over the cigarette advertising reins. That job was fun. Except for the smoking.
And I wrote fiction. Lots of fiction. All kinds of fiction. Mostly short stories, but some longer pieces, too. Some even got published.
Upon retiring from dentistry in my mid-thirties, I spent a decade as a real-estate developer specializing in beachfront construction in Malibu. Homes for the stars. More recently I’ve served as executive director for an Idaho nonprofit that promotes classical music concerts and presents various educational programs. And I continue to write.
Okay, seems like a lot of careers for one guy, right? I agree. Bottom line, I guess I was always ready to take a chance on something new, which led me down a lot of unexpected paths. But one constant remained throughout, something that gave me a way to use all my experiences, both good and bad. Writing.
And in the end, that’s what I finally decided I wanted to do, even if I were to ever grow up . . . someday. I think it’s what I do best.
My first full novel, titled A Song for the Asking, was published to both critical and reader acclaim by Bantam Books. The book was inspired by the question: “Can a homicide detective who deals with the worst of human nature go home to a normal family life?” In doing the research for my fictional lead character, LAPD Detective Daniel Kane, I met some fascinating people, learned some unexpected things, and made some lifelong friends.
IMG_0206Since then I have continued the “Kane Novel” series, following with bestsellers Kane, a thriller, and Allison, a suspense tale told from the perspective of Kane’s only daughter, Allison. A fourth in the series, titled L.A. Sniper, is scheduled for release in 2014. Glow, a standalone novel that chronicles the e
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 24, 2013
"I don't want to be the green monkey."
The short story format is not usually my favorite reading material. But I have enjoyed Gannon's books so much - "A Song for the Asking"; "Kane"; and "Allison"-that I wanted to see what he had to offer in short stories.
First of all, I was surprised that many of the stories are science fiction since none of his books are. But I enjoy sci fi and liked these stories. I am going to give just a brief description of each story and how I liked it.
1. JESSIE - Jessie has been in a vegetative coma for 3 months after a car accident and hard decisions have to be made.
This was one of stories that reminded me of Gannon's books (in fact I think a portion of it was used in one of them). Strong.
2. THE GREEN MONKEY - Post apocalyptic tale with paranormal leanings. Seth is a healer with a dark past and he's not the only one with a special talent.
I love post-apocalyptic fiction and this is a good example. I'd like to see this one lengthened into a book.
3. I CAN'T SLEEP - What happens when you stop sleeping - at all. In John Starling's case, you start taking bunches of meds and start having visions that come true. Or do they?
This story is well written but is not one of my favorites.
4. FINAL EXAM - In this sci fi shorty, a human is tested by aliens to see "whether the species is fit to join the brotherhood of servant races."
Okay but not one of my favorites.
5. WHAT GOES UP... George Simpson is an inventor who doesn't take into account what consequences there might be to his experiments.
Very short and just okay.
6. THE SACRIFICE - This is a poignant sci fi story that talks about what sacrifices you might make for your child, even if you are an alien being and never considered that this might be a problem.
I liked this story a lot. It starts on a vastly crowded Earth and ends up on a planet being populated by indentured settlers.
7. THERE'S ALWAYS A CATCH - This is a clever little tale about immortality.
8. THE CRUX - Excellent climbing story with some cruelty and vengeance thrown in. This is one of my favorites.
9. DANIEL'S SONG - Sci fi with paranormal characters, this is a touching story about what makes up a deformity. This is also the story that Allison supposedly wrote in Gannon's book "Allison." This is another favorite of mine.
10. VIRUS - An excellent sci fi story with a Federation Starship, 2 alien ships and an intelligent computer named Carla.
This is one of the longer stories and I liked every bit of it.
11. BLUE SKIES - Matt and Rob take their dogs out pheasant hunting.
This is my favorite story out of the whole book and I can see pieces of it in his other books.
The short story format is not usually my favorite reading material. But I have enjoyed Gannon's books so much - "A Song for the Asking"; "Kane"; and "Allison"-that I wanted to see what he had to offer in short stories.
First of all, I was surprised that many of the stories are science fiction since none of his books are. But I enjoy sci fi and liked these stories. I am going to give just a brief description of each story and how I liked it.
1. JESSIE - Jessie has been in a vegetative coma for 3 months after a car accident and hard decisions have to be made.
This was one of stories that reminded me of Gannon's books (in fact I think a portion of it was used in one of them). Strong.
2. THE GREEN MONKEY - Post apocalyptic tale with paranormal leanings. Seth is a healer with a dark past and he's not the only one with a special talent.
I love post-apocalyptic fiction and this is a good example. I'd like to see this one lengthened into a book.
3. I CAN'T SLEEP - What happens when you stop sleeping - at all. In John Starling's case, you start taking bunches of meds and start having visions that come true. Or do they?
This story is well written but is not one of my favorites.
4. FINAL EXAM - In this sci fi shorty, a human is tested by aliens to see "whether the species is fit to join the brotherhood of servant races."
Okay but not one of my favorites.
5. WHAT GOES UP... George Simpson is an inventor who doesn't take into account what consequences there might be to his experiments.
Very short and just okay.
6. THE SACRIFICE - This is a poignant sci fi story that talks about what sacrifices you might make for your child, even if you are an alien being and never considered that this might be a problem.
I liked this story a lot. It starts on a vastly crowded Earth and ends up on a planet being populated by indentured settlers.
7. THERE'S ALWAYS A CATCH - This is a clever little tale about immortality.
8. THE CRUX - Excellent climbing story with some cruelty and vengeance thrown in. This is one of my favorites.
9. DANIEL'S SONG - Sci fi with paranormal characters, this is a touching story about what makes up a deformity. This is also the story that Allison supposedly wrote in Gannon's book "Allison." This is another favorite of mine.
10. VIRUS - An excellent sci fi story with a Federation Starship, 2 alien ships and an intelligent computer named Carla.
This is one of the longer stories and I liked every bit of it.
11. BLUE SKIES - Matt and Rob take their dogs out pheasant hunting.
This is my favorite story out of the whole book and I can see pieces of it in his other books.
November 22, 2017
This book did not work for me. It seemed mostly high science fiction (which is not something I enjoy) although some of the short stories were more my kind of reading. The author has an amazing imagination, and many of the stories really grab you from the first sentence. When I read short stories, I like to expect a good twisted or surprising ending, which was not the case here. Most stories ended abruptly, leaving the reader just sitting there. I probably have read too much O. Henry in my time to settle for just a summary sentence at the end of a story - but still, this is the only Steve Gannon book that I was disappointed in.
Read his Kane Series!! Those are absolutely the best police thrillers you'll ever read. Those are the author's strong suit!
Read his Kane Series!! Those are absolutely the best police thrillers you'll ever read. Those are the author's strong suit!
May 28, 2017
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
This is a collection of short stories that are very well written and easy to read. This is not to say that they are dumbed down, but rather the complete opposite. These stories make you think, make you wish, and some even make you sad. The writer has a firm grasp on the different genres of stories that he wrote about in these stories and his characters are very well developed.
This is a collection of short stories that are very well written and easy to read. This is not to say that they are dumbed down, but rather the complete opposite. These stories make you think, make you wish, and some even make you sad. The writer has a firm grasp on the different genres of stories that he wrote about in these stories and his characters are very well developed.
June 17, 2013
I overall really liked the book. I wish some of these ideas were expanded into full novels, and I would love to see more sci-fi from Gannon.
Honestly, my biggest complaint is that I want to see more. Not his thriller stuff, more sci-fi.
The stories are well written, intelligent and thoughtful, and I was hooked from the moment I opened the novel to the time I put it down. I will reread it several times, I'm sure.
September 8, 2015
Steve Gannon is a wonderful author and this collection of short stories is a great example. The stories range from hunting pheasants to star-ships in trouble and every one of them is excellent. The writing style is so smooth that you forget you're reading them and feel like you're living them. The one thing that is common to all is that they have heart. I recommend reading these to anyone who wants to read great stories by a fantastic author.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews