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Steve Monroe is the author of two novels, '57, Chicago and '46, Chicago. '57, Chicago and '46, Chicago were published by Miramax Books in the United States. Both were published in Italy (and are available there) and '46, Chicago was also published in Japan and Germany. Monroe, 45, grew up in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska before moving to Kansas City in 1976 and, finally, Chicago in 1992. An insatiable reader, he had an early appetite for crime noir and mysteries. Among his early favorite authors were O. Henry, Raymond Chandler, Dashell Hammett and Jim Thompson, before graduating to Joseph Wambaugh, Ken Follett and Robert Ludlum. Monroe is now a fan of James Ellroy while also enjoying the works of Elmore Leonard, Robert Parker and Scott Turow. He also enjoys the work of Chicago writers Rick Telander and Richard Lindberg and considers Everybody Pays by Rick Kogan and Maurice Possley the best true crime book ever written. Dubbed "Mr. Happy Go Lucky of Chicago" by Sun-Times writer Mike Thomas, Monroe enjoys a healthy social life accompanied by hard work as a retail real estate broker with Grubb & Ellis Company. He works with Ted Parris in their retail group, representing buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants of retail properties. Not content to simply research or write in his off-hours, Steve continues to power lift and work out at Crunch Gym — dividing his time between its Grand Street and House of Blues locations. He also won his "final" boxing match — a fight in the first ever Broker Boxing Tournament, a real estate boxing tournament that was held at the Excalibur Night Club and benefited local charities. Steve is now a member of the foundation of Chicago's Broker Boxing Federation.
Author Monroe is also heavily involved in a number of charities, including volunteering for the past fifteen years with the March of Dimes, chairing the silent auction subcommittee for their annual sports awards dinner. Additionally, Steve teaches a literacy class at Anixter Center each week. Finally, he co-created and co-produced the first annual Memory Rock, a concert benefiting the Alzheimer's Association. Finally, Monroe is easy to spot, as he's a regular at such local fare as Gibson's, Lux Bar, Blue Agave and Rockit and during baseball season he attends most Cubs games followed by a stop at Murphy's Bleachers, Bernie's or Casey Moran's. He eats breakfast nearly every day at Camille's Sidewalk Café and lunches at Cosi or Lalo's
Copyright © 2003 Steve Monroe. All
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