Stephen Bramer

Stephen Bramer grew up in a large Catholic family, an artsy kid, constantly moving. Lifelong musician and illustrator, always turning to writing for escape. When walls closed in, putting pen to paper opened pathways to more open worlds.

Both parents were English teachers. Dad was a frequent job-hopping college professor. Mother was a stay-at-home mom, whose intelligence and wit formed lifelong models in how the mind should be used. As parent in residence, she was also a target for Steve's acting out, and later teenage rebellion. It was a complicated relationship.

Language was always a family focal point. Nobody engaged in sports, but everyone was expected to express themself. Articulate intelligibly and quickly... then get back in line.

Steve's family never established roots, rarely spending more than a year in one place. Money was tight, and homes were always buried in rough working-class neighborhoods. Conspicuously tall, skeletal and shy… Steve was the picture of natural outcast. Constantly starting over as the quiet, skinny, awkward, creatively driven new-kid in blue collar, mid-western neighborhoods, Stephen learned to focus on cultural nuance.

Drawing was an early obsession. Pencil, pen and ink were keys to escape. But when he first heard music like the Beatles and Motown, he realized the very things that made him strange also offered a pathway to connection. Weird could be cool in Rock-n-roll. It provided possible links to normal people.

He dove into music, usually to the detriment of schooling and often to the exclusion of eating and sleeping. His primary instrument was guitar. One revelation was his introduction to African American music, particularly electric blues guitar. This music bridged individuals as well as cultures.

Steve began songwriting, focusing on lyrics as much as groove and melody. Time spent songwriting was also likely to trigger writing ideas. Thoughts would come, so he'd jot them down.

His last move with his family was to Michigan where, by coincidence, he soon met a man named Lee Collins. Lee was a jack of many trades but was best known as house band leader at the Lansing Black Elks Club. Steve replaced the talented but unreliable junkies who swapped that chair between them. Being never into drugs, and so never prone to take nights off for addiction binging, Steve developed a reputation as a player and, more importantly, as a reliable bandmate. He became the full time Black Elks guitar player every Friday and Saturday.

The Black Elks was a focal point of the Lansing black music scene, and MSU had strong music programs attracting talented Black musicians. Playing regularly at the Elks put Steve together with many black musicians. He began performing with other groups, including 4-5 singer vocal groups.

It was well known white clubs wouldn’t book acts without at least one white member. So, hiring Steve served multiple purposes. He'd learned to fill the space of multiple instruments, so vocal groups could pay fewer musicians. Also, he could get a black group in the door with booking agents and club owners. For Steve, it was life lessons in writing and performing music he loved.

One impact of cross-cultural existence was intimate views of white and black worlds interacting. Months spent as sole white person in black communities… others spent shepherding blacks through white world hazards. It would be ingenuous to believe any white American could fully understand that, but Steve was an arduous firsthand observer.

When not obsessing over a guitar, Steve continued to read and write. Sci-Fi and history were of primary interest, but any mind occupying thing was fair game. When other creative pursuits became tied to interpersonal and financial obligation, writing remained a thing he could do to escape. In all of his experimental/recreational writing, cross-cultural connection, and cultural disconnection, became common central themes.

Steve followed ex-bandmates to Chicago, home to some of the world's best-known blues and R&B music. His strengths as songwriter and bandleader had grown, and soon he was leading his own bands. He worked with prominent vocalists on the Chicago scene and he recorded on his own independent label. He recorded on Delmark and collaborated with award winning vocalists.

Steve continued writing compulsively, never considering it a professional pursuit. Ideas continued to accrue. His writing began to converge around: themes of cross-cultural connection; dichotomies between cognition and creativity; and considerations of free will. His background in fundamental American songwriting instilled the desire to tell a story.

One thing pulling Steve into storytelling, in both music and writing, was his mother’s influence. Her Missouri upbringing instilled the art of colloquialisms and the tall tale. These also found their way into Steve's output.

After several years in Chicago, Steve got married and started a family. To support them, he pursued software engineering (a real job). He got a master's degree and worked in IT until retiring in 2024. His greatest pride is still his two children.

Once the kids finished college and established professional direction, Steve turned his attention back to creative pursuits. For the first time, it occurred to him that, with life so short, it was time to focus on his passions. He especially decided it was time to take writing seriously. Throwing caution to the wind, Steve retired and began writing in earnest... starting with his most developed idea, The Bonded.

He gave himself a year to finish the book, surprising himself when he finished three books in that time. He published two, The Bonded and The Keepsake Box, and put finishing touches on a sequel entitled 'The New Bonded'. At this point, writing is Stephen's major area of focus, and primary means of communication.

As an author Stephen always ensures that the focus is a compelling story based on characters that grow and feel real. He uses that foundation of believable human experience to outline broader themes, and he draws upon an understanding of different cultures and human experience. He believes any book should grab the reader at the most basic human level, while opening doors to deeper, more in-depth considerations.