Hey y’all,
On the latest episode of Monroe Today, my good friend Gilda Stanbery interviewed a local writer and author by the name of Steve Reece. If you’re a local like me, then that name should ring a bell because he’s been a crime reporter and columnist for the Monroe County Reporter for a long time now. Ms. Gilda welcomed Mr. Steve to the show to announce the release of his new book Fish From the Sky and to share the backstory behind his writin’ career. Y’all know the routine by now, grab yourselves a snack and a cold glass of sweet tea and get ready for a rivetin’ recount of the show.
Mr. Steve’s Family History
The radio show kicked off with Ms. Gilda askin’ about Mr. Steve’s backstory startin’ with his family. I don’t think you all are ready for this because it sounds like it could come from the pages of one of his books! Mr. Steve shared that his momma was a young 17-year-old girl and his daddy was going to school on an Army Base in Illinois. When his momma was 8 ½ months pregnant, she hopped on a train and traveled to Illinois to be with his daddy. She almost gave birth on that train! Another intriguing piece of this story is that he was born on Valentine’s Day during a full eclipse! Once Mr. Steve came back to Georgia as a baby, he never went back to Illinois. He’s the only one in his family that wasn’t born on the Mason-Dixon line. The rest of his family comes from the North Georgia region such as Ellijay and they have week-long family reunions at Burks Mountain to this day.
The rest of his family has just as interestin’ story as Mr. Steve with his daddy havin’ been born in a shack where the current Ranger Station is at Amicolola Falls State Park. This was back during the 1930s. His daddy was the eldest of eight siblings and was born with six fingers on each hand! His grandaddy was a moonshinner and sadly passed away while in jail when he was only 33 years old. His daddy’s family grew up poor and migrated to Atlanta for work. Ms. Gilda noted that Mr. Steve is “a perfect example of people who think their families are boring and all you have to do is scratch a little and there’s a good story.” He shared this same sentiment.
Mr. Steve’s Writing Career
Now that you all have an understandin’ of Mr. Steve’s family story, let’s get right into his life as a writer. Before Mr. Steve worked as a crime reporter and columnist for the Monroe County Reporter, he worked on movie and television sets in Hollywood for 30 years. In fact, he shared that if you went to the movies before 2010, you would have likely watched somethin’ that he worked on. He’s done thousands of commercials and worked on sets like The Terminator and Invaders From Mars which he shared with Ms. Gilda was one of his favorites. After his time in Hollywood, Mr. Steve became a writer doing columns includin’ Everyday Heroes of Monroe County. For Everyday Heroes, he goes out once a week and finds a stranger to tell their life story in 750 words or less. It’s a popular one around here that we love readin’ too.
Fish From the Sky
Besides his popular writin’ segments, Mr. Steve is also an author of I Know a Few Dogs in Heaven and a newly published book called Fish From the Sky. Based on a true story, his new book contains 10 chapters with 10 columns. Now, Mr. Steve clarified that the titles of his books aren’t necessarily the stories inside as this isn’t just a book on fishin’. The story that the title draws inspiration from is the miracle of the inhabitants of a small country in South America during the late 1800s. The people in the small village were starvin’ to death, so much so that someone went out onto the road and prayed to God to send food to feed their people. Right after his prayers, it started rainin’ fish from the sky! You all might think this can’t be true but it’s real! During a particular time each year, it still rains fish from the sky. The scientific theory behind this event is that a waterspout appears under the right conditions and sucks up the fish that then travels across land and drops the fish from the sky. I don’t know about you all but this is makin’ me ready to go pick up the book right now and read the full story!
A Reading of Excerpts
As the radio segment wrapped up, Ms. Gilda asked Mr. Steve to read excerpts from his new book called “I’m Hooked on Fishing” and “Elbow Licking, Eyebrow Twitching and Heavy Loads on Top of the Head.” Listenin’ to these stories was somethin’ truly special. Mr. Steve has a way of captivating’ an audience with his storytelling voice. He has a keen insight on human nature and finds irony and humor in colorful personalities and storytelling.
For other stories, check out our online collection. You can find both of Mr. Steve’s books online at Amazon to buy or listen to and be on the lookout for his new short story he’s workin’ on about the lottery.
‘Till Next Time,
Your Storyteller
