Fate, Robert 1935–

(Robert Fate Bealmear)

PERSONAL:

Born 1935, in Oklahoma City, OK; married; wife's name Fern (a ceramics artist); children: Jenny. Education: Studied at universities in California, Oklahoma, Greece, and France, including the Sorbonne.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Los Angeles, CA. E-mail—robert-fate@sbcglobal.net.

CAREER:

Writer. Worked variously as an oilfield roughneck, a TV cameraman in Oklahoma, a fashion model in New York, NY, a chef at restaurant in Los Angeles, CA, and an FX technician in Hollywood, CA. Military service: Served in the U.S. Marines following high school.

MEMBER:

Writers Guild of America—West, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime (Los Angeles and national chapters), International Association of Crime Writers (North American Branch).

AWARDS, HONORS:

Academy Award for Technical Achievement.

WRITINGS:

Baby Shark, Capital Crime Press (Fort Collins, CO), 2006.

Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues, Capital Crime Press (Fort Collins, CO), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Robert Fate was born and raised in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. After graduating from high school, he joined the U.S. Marines. Upon completing his military service, Fate decided to make use of the G.I. Bill, and attended universities in various locations both in the United States and Europe, including travel as part of his education. Over the course of his studies and travels, he wrote steadily, compiling short fiction, poetry, magazine articles, plays, scripts, and eventually a novel. Fate also worked at an assortment of colorful jobs in different locations, including as a chef for an upscale Los Angeles restaurant, a roughneck in an Oklahoma oil field, and a model in New York. Working in Los Angeles as an FX technician, he won an Academy Award for technical achievement. However, writing remained his true love, and he finally found success with his novel, Baby Shark, which was published to critical praise and became the first in a series. The book tells the story of Kristin "Baby" VanDijk, the teenage daughter of a pool hustler, whose life changes at the hands of a motorcycle gang whose members rape and beat her and murder her father. Bent on revenge and knowing the police are unlikely to get her justice, Kristin sets out in her father's footsteps as a junior hustler to find the men responsible for his death. In a review for the Hollywood Comics Web site, Kevin R. Tupple remarked that Fate's first effort is "a powerful, often violent novel that does actually live up to the media hype."

Fate's follow-up novel, Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues, finds Kristin working as a private investigator while keeping up her pool-hustling skills. Along with her partner, Otis, she has been hired to find a missing oil heiress who has been kidnapped in anticipation of her very lucrative eighteenth birthday. Library Journal reviewer Teresa Jacobsen wrote that "witty dialog, colorful characters, and nonstop action make this pulp-style piece sparkle."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, February 15, 2007, Teresa Jacobsen, review of Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues, p. 118.

Publishers Weekly, March 5, 2007, review of Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues, p. 43.

ONLINE

Armchair Interviews,http://reviews.armchairinterviews.com/ (October 3, 2007), Kim Reis, review of Baby Shark.

Associated Content,http://www.associatedcontent.com/ (January 30, 2007), J.B. Thompson, review of Baby Shark.

BookPleasures.com,http://www.bookpleasures.com/ (October 3, 2007), Norm Goldman, interview with Robert Fate.

Hollywood Comics,http://www.hollywoodcomics.com/ (May 30, 2007), Kevin R. Tupple, "Kevin's Corner," review of Baby Shark.

Robert Fate Home Page,http://www.robertfate.com (October 3, 2007).

Who Dunnit,http://www.who-dunnit.com/ (October 3, 2007), review of Baby Shark.