(Rick Steber, author of Fall Down Angel)
Rick Steber — for an unprecedented third year in a row — has been selected as the BEVERLY HILLS BOOK AWARDS winner. “[Rick Steber’s] book Fall Down Angel is deserving of this award based upon a compelling story and excellence in writing,” said Ellen Reid, CEO of The Beverly Hills Book Awards. “Thousands of books are nominated in this international competition. A panel of judges determines the winner based on the quality of writing, content, cover design and aesthetic components. Rick Steber’s books have consistently been declared as winners, including our latest selection, Fall Down Angel.”
Fall Down Angel is a contemporary novel based on the true-life adventures of two runaways who work their way west hopping freight trains. The young man makes a series of bad decisions, turns to petty crime, is arrested and spends ten years in Folsom Prison. The young lady seizes on a business opportunity to become the madam of a legal brothel in Nevada. The genius of the story is in the strange twist of events when the two main characters meet again decades later and discover they share a common past.
The backbone of this rich narrative is in the well-developed characters and an evolving plot that compels the reader to keep turning pages. Each decision made by the two main characters has dire implications for shaping the eventual outcome of their lives. Woven into this rich tapestry of story is a particular time — the era surrounding the Great Depression — and the coming of age of the American West.
Rick Steber has over 40 titles under his belt and more than a million books in print. His writing has won many awards including the prestigious Western Writers of America Spur Award – Best Western Novel. He is a keen observer of the evolving American West and articulates these changes in prose that is boldly descriptive, invigorating and creative.