Steve Stewart's 'Rebelicious' again takes readers back to the 1970s

Gadsden author Steve Stewart is back with the fourth installment of “The Free Bird Files,” and nearly seven weeks after its release, the reviews for “Rebelicious” have been positive.

“I don't agree, my favorite is 'Call Me the Breeze,' " Stewart said, referring to Volume 1. “But everyone else who's come in contact with it — my beta readers and people who've finished it — say it's the best one yet.”

The book also has a perfect 5.0 rating on Amazon, where it's available at https://amzn.to/3QAgTBB.

It continues the saga of “Steve Wallace and Nancy Collins, aka Breeze and Fancy” — the alter egos of Stewart and his wife, Nancy — a young couple deeply in love as they grow up in the 1970s. As the back cover blurb observes, it was a time “where life isn't always better, but it is always different.”

“Rebelicious” is the name that Breeze and his “East Gadsden crew” call the Emma Sansom High School majorette line, a trademark of the school's band that achieved national championship honors during the era in question, because “their beauty and poise are unrivaled — and they draw attention, both good and bad, from almost every male they come in contact with.”

The story picks up on Labor Day 1975, one day after Volume 3 (“Breeze & Fancy”) ends. Fancy is preparing for her senior year of high school and Breeze, who has already graduated from Gadsden High, is set to start a job at a local bank — and after being inseparable throughout the summer, they must face the possibility that their torrid romance might slow down.

It's the longest of the four books so far, even thought it only covers a one-year time frame. Stewart said the reason was so many people, including his wife, came to him with stories to include.

As with the other volumes, “Rebelicious” contains healthy doses of both reality and literary license. Stewart has changed names, toned down some stories and sometimes, especially if characters are presented in a less than positive light, has them from a different high school than they actually attended.

“It's a personal book based on actual events,” Stewart said. “There are select people who know who the characters are, however, and some of the characters I'm not hiding even though I changed their names. I've gotten permission to use their images.”

A book launch and 1970s party on April 26 at the Venue at Coosa Landing drew more than 200 people, including fans of the series from out of state, Stewart said.

“It was unbelievable,” he said. “I didn't know what kind of turnout we'd have, but we sold 300 books, we had music going, a little dancing, trivia contest and food. I thought I'd get to enjoy some of it, but I stayed at the table signing all night.”

Fans of the series aren't just products of the 1970s, he said. They include people in their 30s and 40s, caught up in the clothing, music and the like from that era.

Stewart, a retired teacher and coach, said he plans two more books to wrap up the “Free Bird Files,” with titles taken from Lynyrd Skynyrd songs (he's a major fan of the group): “I Need You” and “Simple Man.”

The last one will be a retrospective, he said, “An old man looking back,” much in the spirit of “Blue-Eyed Son,” Volume 2, which was a prequel to the Breeze and Fancy saga.

Once that moved into the forefront, he said, his wife (a member of the Gadsden City Board of Education), became “the heroine of the story,” as he put it.

“I tell everybody that she literally saved my life,” Stewart said, “and even to this day she keeps me grounded.”

He also doesn't plan to stop with Breeze and Fancy: He's planning a Western-themed project.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Steve Stewart's 'Rebelicious' again takes readers back to the 1970s