John William Steakley, Jr. (July 26, 1951 – November 27, 2010) was an American science fiction author. He published two major novels, ''

Armor Armour (British English) or armor (American English; see spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, especially direct contact weapons or projectiles during combat, or fr ...

'' (1984) and ''

Vampire$ ''Vampires'' (sometimes stylized as ''Vampire$'') is a 1990 in literature, 1990 Horror fiction, horror novel by John Steakley. A dark fantasy with a contemporary setting, the novel concerns a company called Vampire$, Inc. which treats vampire-hunt ...

'' (1990); the latter was the basis for

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...

's ''

Vampires A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths ...

'' movie. He published four short science fiction and fantasy stories.

Personal life

Steakley was born in Cleburne, Texas. Aside from brief spells in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

and Hollywood, Steakley lived most of his life in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Steakley's father owned a

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

dealership in Dallas from 1962 until he sold it in 1999. Steakley attended St. Mark's School and graduated from Colorado Academy, a boarding school in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He then went on to study at Westminster College in Missouri, and at

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

, where he received his BA in English. In 1988, Steakley married photographer Lori Jones; they held their wedding reception in the showroom of a local Subaru dealership. He was an avid golfer and in the mid-1990s carried a single-digit handicap. He died after a five-year battle with liver disease.

Career

Steakley's sister told the press that he went to Hollywood at the invitation of screenwriter L.M. "Kit" Carson. He sold a

film treatment A film treatment (or simply treatment) is a piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards (index cards) and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture, television program, or radio play. It is generally longer and more detailed ...

, and played a bit part ("Local 1") in at least one film, ''Don't Open the Door!'', but "he stayed out there a few years and just hated it." Following through on his childhood fantasy of becoming a science fiction writer, Steakley returned to Texas, and wrote. He published his first professional short story, "The Bluenose Limit", in the March 1981 issue of '' Amazing Stories''; and another, "Flyer", in the September 1982 issue.ISFDb listing for Steakley
/ref> He published two major novels, ''

'' (1984) and ''

'' (1990). According to his website, he worked on the incomplete ''Armor II'' for years. Steakley wrote the screenplay for the 1997 film, ''Scary Texas Movie''; he also played a nameless bit part in that film. Steakley also played a nameless bit part in the 2000 film ''Playing Dead''. In 1998,

directed a screen adaptation of ''Vampire$'' (retitled ''Vampires''), which starred James Woods as the leader of a

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

-sanctioned team of vampire hunters.

Selected works

* ''Armor'' (December 1984, DAW Books, ) * ''Vampire$'' (November 1990, Roc Books, )

References

External links

*
John Steakley
entry at

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and f ...

, 3rd edition (draft) *
''Fantastic Fiction'' author page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steakley, John 1951 births 2010 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers People from Cleburne, Texas Novelists from Texas Westminster College (Missouri) alumni Southern Methodist University alumni American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers St. Mark's School (Texas) alumni Colorado Academy alumni

Personal life

Career

Selected works

See also

References

External links