Tell us about yourself.

Snapshots: Born in New York, reared mainly in Los Angeles...Oldest of five kids: two brothers, two sisters...One wife, (and everyone should be as blessed as me in this department); two children, a daughter and a son, who continually make their parents proud; two grandchildren, a grandson and a granddaughter, who suffice it to say own grandma and grandpa...

Quit college during my second year to accept a newspaper job managing a news bureau, fulfilling a boyhood dream to become a reporter...Eventually moved into a career in public relations, ultimately started my own firm and at one time had the largest PR company in the world specializing in music...When it got to be too much of the same thing, burdened by encroaching boredom, made a successful transition into producing and writing TV specials...A few years ago, put most of the real world stuff aside to concentrate on another decades-old dream--to write a novel and get it published...

Still more comfortable talking about others (clients) than myself, but for those who'd like more, it's at www.rslevinson.com.

Are you writing full-time now?

I've pretty much set aside writing-producing for the duration, but still involve myself in a limited number of PR situations, mainly of the public service variety and for non-profit organizations, with the occasional show biz account, if it offers something new or different, or an especially appealing challenge.

What led you to write mysteries?

In fact, decades went by without my reading a mystery or a thriller. As a kid, I'd read a lot of Ellery Queen, Mike Hammer, Shel Scott (!). Ed McBain. The 007s. Some Graham Greene. That was about it, except for pointing to Anatomy of a Murder, which may be the granddaddy of so much of the lawyer-courtroom stuff we have today.

My preference was for some classics and diverse mainstream fiction. Names that come to mind: Hemingway and Fitzgerald. J.D. Salinger. O'Hara, Burdick, Hall, Levin. Schulberg. James Jones. Richard Condon. Early Harold Robbins. (Nothing surprising here, eh?) Most of my reading was non-fiction, especially biography. Biography was my window on the world.

Flash forward..............................A little more...............More...........Okay. I'm now thinking about, finally, writing a novel. I follow the standard advice: write what I know. It's a mainstream novel set in the world of rock-and-roll. My Hollywood agent passes it to a New York literary agent for comment. Comes back with some flattering remarks, along with the observation that the subject matter isn't one currently much in favor, especially for a first-timer, and I might be well-served by tackling a mystery, a genre where there's greater opportunity to find a publisher.

The rock-and-roll novel goes into the trunk and I do my homework, reading names on the best-seller lists and other authors recommended by my local purveyors of crime fiction, especially the redoubtable Sheldon McArthur of the Mysterious Bookshop in L.A., who appears to have read every mystery and thriller ever written.

The major discovery: they're like any other novel except, maybe, for a dead body or two in chapter one. I kicked around fresh concepts (a "hook") that would relate to what I knew and enjoyed writing about, e.g., movies and music, and the process led--after one false start--to the notion of pairing Elvis and Marilyn in what would become THE ELVIS AND MARILYN AFFAIR, kicking off with a dead body in chapter one.

Tell us about your road to publication.

Excluding time away from the process for the realities of earning a living, by my figuring the book took about eight months to write and whip into submission shape.

Except for my wife, Sandra, who read the book chapter by chapter and then in its entirety and then again and again during the retooling, I didn't solicit readers, pro or otherwise, having enough confidence in myself to avoid the pitfalls of Groupthink.

Finding a publisher took about a year-plus.

There were a dozen polite rejections before Elvis and Marilyn fell into the hands of an editor as enthusiastic about the book as Susan Crawford, my oh-so-determined literary agent: Natalia Aponte, obviously the wisest, bestest and brightest editor in all of Publishingland. Acting on Natalia's suggestions for polishing the story took another three or four weeks, and that was about a year ago.

So, what's that make it? Two and a half years to get to the August 16, 1999, publication date for THE ELVIS AND MARILYN AFFAIR? (And, believe me, the last year has been the toughest, knowing a book is on its way, day after day realizing there will be a payoff to the dream.)

What kind of research was involved for your first book?

Other then checking dates and some stray historical references, I pretty much knew the Hollywood stuff. And, about Elvis, too. (How many authors can you list who once slept in Elvis' bed?)

I did need help with firearms, about which I know nothing, and for this I turned to my best-selling sci-fi writer pal, Chris Bunch, who knows everything about firearms. (Chris also was a well of encouragement, especially while finding a publisher took about a year-plus and every new rejection letter was reason to moan and groan.)

Who are your influences as a writer?

Tough question. I have to believe I was influenced by osmosis or otherwise by a number of writers I've already cited. Other names, particularly with regard to admiration, would include Joseph Heller (Catch 22 is a modern classic), E.L. Doctrow (ditto Ragtime), Mario Puzo (ditto The Godfather). So many titles by Ira Levin, whose imagination is boundless. Ditto Ray Bradbury, who (as most know) is not of this world. And, I'm compelled to mention Jack Finney, whose Time and Again can be read and enjoyed again and again. Jack Higgins tells a straightforward story as well as anyone and, oh, yeah, W.P. Kinsella's Shoeless Joe.

And, and... nope, not a tough question. An unfair question. I'll have at least as many additions to the list in the next hour. (Not to mention the mystery-thriller writers I've come to enjoy in recent years, and this has become one long list unto itself...)

How has your family reacted to having a mystery author in their midst?

This advisory will come as a shock--They're almost as overjoyed as I am, possibly more so. Their belief in me, in the idea that a book would get written and published, never wavered, not even in the years when the idea was only dinner conversation, something for serious consideration at a future time.

Their enthusiasm adds immeasurably to my own enjoyment of this period in my life. (Me, not Lou Gehrig = "The luckiest man in the world.")

Tell us about plans for future books.

I'm delighted to say, yes, I've already delivered the follow-up to THE ELVIS AND MARILYN AFFAIR and Forge Books has it set for publication around this time next year. It continues the adventures of Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner, in what wasn't originally envisioned as a series, and Natalia already knows and has given her blessing to what Neil and Stevie will be doing in the third book.

How can readers get in touch with you?

Via www.rslevinson.com or direct at bob levinson@rslevinson.com. I welcome hearing from them.

Bob, best of luck, and we'll look forward to the further adventures of Neil and Stevie. Readers, check out our review of The Elvis and Marilyn Affair.

August 25, 1999