Praise for the author's works
City Different, a nickname for Santa Fe, New Mexico, is the setting for this mystery. The tale begins when Eddie Collins, a wealthy Internet entrepreneur with a successful company comes home in time to see his young wife, Nina, running away in a panic. Then Eddie finds his Chief Financial Officer murdered in an upstairs bedroom. Did his wife kill him? The police think so, though Eddie cannot bring himself to believe it. Now she has disappeared, and Eddie travels to Santa Fe, her home town, in search of her and the answers to his questions.
Hazlett has managed to craft a fine mystery out of Santa Fe
history ... [His] characters are shadowy, and the plot moves along
in a typically Southwestern, unhurried pace. An excellent read from a mystery craftsman. Midwest Book Review - Shelly Glowdowski, senior reviewer
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Nina's Time - City Different Series
I was impressed - nay, astounded! - by Nina's Time, which the author
presents through a first-person account by his feminine protagonist. I
have never read a better piece of writing done by one gender through the
eyes of the opposite gender. Hazlett seems to have gotten inside the
feminine mystique and learned exactly how a woman feels and thinks.
The story revolves around Nina Kelly, after the woman
who raised her, is murdered under mysterious circumstances...Skillfully setting scenes, writing believable dialogue, building
suspense, plotting through to a surprise ending, Hazlett authors a
terrific book. I enjoyed the story and the writing. Lola Eagle, author, free-lance writer and poet.
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Finding Nina - City Different Series
A compelling tale of consequences for bad choices. In-depth character
studies done with a deft, concise hand. Certainly a good choice for
fans of the two previous Santa Fe mysteries. Anne T. - Amazon reader
A multilevel mystery starring Nina, of many last names...part of the City Different mystery series, it can be read as a stand alone story...complex, crisp and detailed narrative...The characters are authentic, well-developed, complicated, and dynamic. The good guys are bad in their own ways/rights as the bad guys also have good qualities. Monica F. - Amazon reader
I liked Finding Nina Stephen Hazlett presents a book that has a
definite Elmore Leonard feel to it. The writing is sparse and
straightforward, the characters are normal people who make bad choices
and find themselves in bad situations. Anniki - Amazon reader
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A Private War
The third and considered by many to be the best work of this author, is about a Vietnam era deserter and his struggle to bring conclusion to the disordered events of his life. As a Vietnam era veteran, I can vouch for the angst and conflict of the era that Steve carefully and thoroughly describes. He was obviously there. I can also vouch for the conclusions that he draws about the meaning of the war and its effect on society and history. More than just a story, A Private War documents the struggle of one man that mirrors the struggles of many of that era. Steve analyzes the emotions without being trite or phony. He also has a wonderful way of keeping you guessing which is the mark of a good story teller. I hope you get as much enjoyment from it as I did. Chris Baum, Shores.org senior reviewer
Reflections from the author
Writers write as a way of surviving life, of exorcising demons, performing catharsis. They write because they must, starting with a truth that is sacred to them, or a passion for a cause or a person, for a joy of something or someone beloved, or a sorrow over a lost love or any loss, or simply to tell a story that must be told.
Some are talented enough to feed their passion and earn a living at it — some a very nice living. And some are in the writing "business," skilled enough to turn out best seller after best seller, but there's a question of their passion. Maybe it's a passion to quit their day jobs and make a lot of money. Inject a little envy here for both kinds, but most of us fall into another category. I honed my talent and was able to shed my day job, but I never became rich, and I wonder over the old question people sometimes ask: if stranded on a desert island, with no hope of rescue, would I still write? Perhaps not with pen and paper, but I like to think the writing would still go on in my mind.
I can remember the first book I ever read — seven-years old and borrowing like a grownup from the public library — and the thrill I felt that I was actually reading my first book. Ever since, I have felt something of that same thrill when reading a book that touches me deeply or teaches me something new. So here's to a few writers who have touched and influenced me over the years: Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, John Updike, Philip Roth, Cormac McCarthy, Jack Kerouac, Elmore Leonard, Jonathan Franzen — too many others to name — but especially to James Jones, who, way back when, opened my innocent fourteen-year-old eyes to the possibility that here was something, a craft and an art form, that could help fill the void inside. Jones wrote profoundly of the love one young man can feel for something, an idea or an ideal, even though it might abuse and revile him and eventually kill him, which it did.
To that young man, Robert E Lee Prewitt.
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All the author's books are available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
View the entire list and read excerpts.
