Ruby's Passing

by Steven Long

In Ruby’s Passing, Steven Long’s fourth and most stunning book length work, the author bases his first fiction work on an actual brutal murder committed in 1955 that forever changed the history of the small bedroom community of Dickinson, Texas - and an aftermath that takes the reader from the rural roads of the Southern Gulf Coast to the Badlands of West Texas. Elias Logan, a man destined for trouble, has deserted the U.S. Air Force in Florida and is on a mission – to hitchhike to the West Coast of Mexico and board a ship that will take him across the Pacific to his lover, Taeko in Japan. When his ride drops him in South Louisiana, Logan meets Ruby McShane, the attractive, vivacious wife of a prosperous oilman. Ruby is on one of many regular visits to her husband who follows the industry’s never ending quest for black gold in the oil patch. When Ruby offers Logan a ride as far as her home in Texas, he eagerly accepts. Money and resources are low for him and he hatches a new plan. He will steal Ruby’s car, kill the woman, and head to the border where he will cross the Rio Grande to safety and a new life. Elias Logan kills Ruby and her family in their beds, and then casually eats a sandwich before striking out on his run and a spellbinding journey that takes him across the scorching expanses of the Chihuahuan Desert. He finds himself in treacherous terrain teeming with viperous wildlife and suddenly the appearance of a constant companion. As the noose of lawmen from every agency begins to close in, he comes face to face with the very essence of evil itself, a supernatural companion who successfully urges him to kill and maim again and again. Throughout it all two corrupt and hapless lawmen meet an honest and immensely wealthy sheriff and the beautiful heir to a silver mine, for a spellbinding chase through Texas’ most unforgiving region surrounding the enormous lands of Sauceda Ranch.

382 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2012

About the author

Steven Long is a triple threat. He is an editor, journalist, and humanitarian most famous for his books on some of the most sensational true crime events in the nation. He has spent more than 2,000 hours in the courtroom, more time than most practicing lawyers spend there in a lifetime. He has covered some of the most important cases of the last two decades. Few can capture the drama of lawyer vs. lawyer quite like him.

Now he takes his immense talent for narrative to the pages of fiction with his new novel Ruby's Passing, a worthy successor to his bestsellers, Death Without Dignity, Out of Control, and Every Woman's Nightmare.

Long began his career in radio but quickly moved to print. For most of 11 years, he served as editor and publisher of Galveston's In Between Magazine, an award-winning alternative weekly famed for its gritty investigative work. His first freelance piece appeared in the respected Texas Observer.

In the 1982 Texas election for governor, Steven Long asked the incumbent, Bill Clements, a question that changed the state's history. "Would you appoint a consumer, for example, a housewife, to the Texas Public Utilities Commission?" The governor blundered and answered, "There isn't a housewife in Texas qualified to serve on the PUC." He lost the election.

After closing In Between, Steven Long carved out a career as a feature writer with the Houston Chronicle. One article resulted in the indictment, conviction and disbarment of the late Houston adoption lawyer Leslie Thacker for buying and selling crack babies in several Texas county jails. Another series of investigative stories ultimately resulted in the indictment and conviction of the head librarian of the oldest medical school west of the Mississippi for stealing rare and historic medical texts, some dating to the sixteenth century. He exposed the Texas prison system's wholesale practice of allowing the use of inmates as subjects for medical residents to hone their skills in cosmetic surgery at a state teaching hospital.

Steven Long covered the Andrea Yates murder case for the New York Post from the scene to conviction. For the same paper, he located rogue CEO Ken Lay who hid for ten days when the Enron scandal broke. He covered the lengthy and complex trial of the Arthur Andersen accounting firm for Agence France Presse, as well as Crain's Chicago Business.

An avid horseman, he has been a contributor to Western Horseman magazine. He secured one of the last, if not the final interview with the late actor Tony Curtis for Cowboys and Indians Magazine

Steven Long is currently writing the prequel to Ruby's Passing. It too is set in the storied badlands of Texas' Big Bend country. The working title of the book, set in the 1883 Old West, is Sauceda.

Steven and Vicki Long, a fiction writer, live in Houston, Texas. He serves as Vice President of The Greater Houston Horse Council. The two own Horseback Magazine and Horseback Online, the nation's leading online newspaper covering the equine world.

Print this








Steven Long Biography

Close

















Amazon.com Associates Central

Hide


Link to this page Link to this page


Add to Widget Add to Widget


Add to aStore Add to aStore


Share on TwitterShareChoose a social network


Your Earnings Summary Your Earnings Summary


What's New What's New


Discussion Boards Discussion Boards


Settings Settings


















.

Amazon Join Prime Steven's Amazon.com
Today's Deals
Gift Cards
Sell
Help




Spring Outlet Event








Shop byDepartmentSearch

Books All DepartmentsAmazon Instant VideoAppliancesApps for AndroidArts, Crafts & SewingAutomotiveBabyBeautyBooksCell Phones & AccessoriesClothing & AccessoriesCollectiblesComputersCredit CardsElectronicsGift Cards StoreGrocery & Gourmet FoodHealth & Person

Reviews

[Cathy Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spellingbinding! Long has outdone himself in this fictionalized account based on the true-life murder of Ruby McPherson (McShane).

[Carol Horton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better written then The Legend of Marcus Benson (which isn't saying much). Had some good historical info about Dickinson Texas but was gross and strange.