John Steinbeck allowing Steinbeck to spend a full day on the set of "The Grapes of Wrath" and the next day on the set of "Of Mice and Men." In the 1930s and 1940s, Ed Ricketts strongly influenced Steinbeck's writing. Steinbeck frequently took small trips with Ricketts along the California coast to give himself time off from his writing and to collect biological specimens, which Ricketts sold for a living. Their joint book about a collecting expedition to the Gulf of California in 1940, which was part travelogue and part natural history, published just as the U.S. entered World War II, never
Thomas Steinbeck Simon & Schuster published his first novel, "In the Shadow of the Cypress". His second novel, "The Silver Lotus", was released in November 2011 by Counterpoint Press. Steinbeck contributed to the "My California Project", a collection of short stories written by 27 California authors. Sales from the book were used to help save the struggling California Arts Council. This book went into three printings, and the project helped the Arts Council to reach its goal of financial solvency. In addition to his writing and producing, Steinbeck was an active public speaker and teacher, who often lectured on American literature, creative