News : Steepleton brings his books to the Vinton Public Library

Author and former Vinton resident Joseph Steepleton presented the Vinton Public Library with a set of all of the books that he's written.

Joseph Steepleton, one of 11 children born to his parents Mahlon & Frances right here in Vinton, has been busy over the last almost decade writing and publishing his books. He said that he is "donating to the place where the seed of my love was planted," the Vinton Public Library. Steepleton, along with his daughter Amanda stopped in at the library last Friday to drop off the books and to share stories of the time he spent here. 

The author shared that his father had worked on 4th St. for the Borden's Ice Cream company back in the 1950s and the family lived in the victorian house next to the tracks across from the train depot. The family later moved to Cedar Rapids for his father's job when he was just 10. 

Steepleton said that being number eight in the line of 11, he'd often escape to the library just to get away to a quiet and safe place. He said that many mornings he would spend his time at the library reading, and says, "This is where I learned to love the written word. I found a place where adventures were mind driven and I could go anywhere."

Becoming an author came about only after Steepleton suffered the loss of his wife of 42 years. Before that, Steepleton had served for 41 years in Catholic Schools, 16 years as a high school science teacher, and 25 as an administrator.  He'd always loved to write, but he said that it never paid the bills. 

Words are not an issue for Steepleton. He said that his daughter who holds a degree in English is always amazed by the speed with which he can produce his work. He said that the spends about four hours a day just writing. Some of his ideas are inspired by what he sees around him, his family, their life experiences and even genealogy. One example is his novel "The Darkest Night" which was inspired by his daughter's volunteer experience in El Paso, Texas helping undocumented families and the plight of the children. "A Pilgrim's Story" is a historical novel built around the story of his family and the people that lived at that time.

The author is donating one of each of his books to the library, and librarian Kelly Henkle believes that it might be the largest donation by a Vinton born author. Steepleton is currently writing Volume 7 of the Kallevig Mysteries and said that he plans to have a copy sent when it is finished. He is donating his works because he feels that it is important to have a free public library available and he knows budgets are tight. He hopes that by donating his books to the library, young people will read them and that they help to open their minds to a world beyond Vinton. "Free access to knowledge, ideas and information is critical in a democratic society," he said.

A series that he believes built his love for the written word and opened his mind was the "Adventures of Henry Higgins," he hopes to do the same for the next generations of readers. 

Steepleton presented all of his books to the library, so you will soon see them on the shelves ready to be checked out and read. 

The books can also be found on Amazon if you'd like copies to build your home library. 

Below is a list of all of the books by Joseph Steepleton:

Anthologies

Stories of the Compassionate Heart

Characters

Voyager

Young Adult

The Awakening: Time Jumper Series Book 1

The Anfänger: Time Jumper Series Book 2

The Prophecy: The Time Jumper Series Book 3

By the Ganoran Moon: The Namoo Chronicles Vol 1

The Dawn of Freedom: The Namoo Chronicles Vol 2

Other works

The Darkest Night

The Adventures of the Seeker of Truth & Justice

The Kindred Soul

Journal of Souls: A Love Story

August Light: The Saga of Simon Aten

The Chosen: Journal of Souls Vol. 2

A Beautiful Place

Providence

A New Life

Apocryphal Gospel of John

Son of Scotland

Tales of the Lesser Child

The Last Full Measure

A Pilgrim's Story

The Eleventh Child

The Kallivig Mysteries:

Vol 1 - The Mystery of Lily-Rose

Vol 2 - The Pale Feather Mystery

Vol 3 - The Callahan Brothers Mystery

Vol 4 - The Bear Lake Mystery

Vol 5 - The Gemeenschap Gambit

Vol 6 - The Warehouse Mystery

Vol 7 - Dead Men Tell No Tales (To be published in 2023)