Friday 10 June 2011

Dancing With Myself: PAUL LEVINE interviews PAUL LEVINE

Before the main event, here are a couple of appetisers for you.


First of all, SHAKEN; STORIES FOR JAPAN went live on Amazon about 11 this morning. Number 2900 among all Kindle paid books right now, number 22 for Kindle story collections.

It's raising money for an extremely worthy cause and has a list of contributors will burn your eyes when you see it:

"Kelli Stanley has her eye on greatness." -George Pelecanos



Wendy Hornsby's "stories are edgy, menacing, and masterful." -Booklist


Dianne Emley's books are "Intense and hard-edged... First-rate." -Tess Gerritsen


"[Naomi Hirahara] is truly one of a kind." -Chicago Sun-Times


"[Brett] Battles is a master storyteller." -Sheldon Siegel


I. J. Parker's books are "terrifically imaginative work" -Wall Street Journal


Ken Kuhlken's writing is "Elegant . . . haunting, and beautiful." -Don Winslow.


Jeffrey Siger's work "Brilliantly explores a fascinating culture" -Leighton Gage


"Hank Phillippi Ryan understands plotting and she writes beautifully." -Robert B. Parker


Adrian McKinty is "One of his generation's leading talents" -Publishers Weekly.


Jeri Westerson's work is "creative and enthralling..." -John Lescroart


"Gary Phillips writes tough and gritty parables." -Michael Connelly


Vicki "Doudera expertly weaves a tale of suspense." -Tess Garritsen


Rosemary Harris is "Hilarious" (Kirkus Reviews), "A rising star" -Crimespree Magazine


Timothy Hallinan's writing is "razor-sharp, convincing, and heartbreaking." -Gregg Hurwitz


C.J. West's work is "Powerful, thought provoking and massively entertaining." -Crimesquad.com


Cara Black's Aimee Leduc novels are an "irresistible series set in Paris." -New York Times


"Debbi Mack has carved her own niche in the mystery pantheon." -Scott Nicholson


[Dale]"Furutani manages a fluid mix of cultural history and swashbuckling adventure." -Publishers Weekly


Stefan Hammond created the "Essential guide to Hong Kong's mind-bending films." -Entertainment Weekly


Take a look and see what you think.  I'll have more tomorrow with a Saturday Special interview with one of its driving forces,Tim Hallinan.
 
As if that wasn't enough, the amazing Mr David Cramner of Beat To A Pulp fame also has a release today.  David's on board for our Pulp Ink extravaganza and he has to be rated right up there when it comes to his writing.
 


His eBook is available now for 99 cents. It features seven western noir tales featuring two characters (Cash & Miles) who have become popular in various webzines and pulp fiction magazines.


The book is called Adventures of Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles and is written under the pen name of Edward A. Grainger. The eBook can be found at Amazon if you follow the links.

And now to today's interview.  With some good news about the pricing of his book, Paul Levine.

LEVINE vs. LASSITER: AUTHOR DUELS WITH HIS HERO





Author Paul Levine exchanges barbs with Jake Lassiter, the linebacker-turned-lawyer of his legal thrillers. The occasion is the e-book publication of the bestselling 1997 novel “Flesh & Bones”. All author proceeds are pledged to the Four Diamonds Fund, which supports cancer treatment and research at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital. A new novel, “Lassiter,” will be released in September as a Bantam hardcover.


* * *


Paul: You haven’t aged a day in 15 years. How do you do it?

Jake: Being fictional helps. You could use some sun. Don’t you ever get out of the house?


Paul: Careful, or I’ll kill you off in the next book.


Jake: Then what will you do? Get a real job?


Paul: What’s with the aggression? Are you miffed that I abandoned you all these years?

Jake: I don’t get “miffed.” I get mad, and when I do, someone gets decked. And no, I don’t give a hoot you left Miami for Hollywood.


Paul: Okay, just tell us about “Flesh & Bones”.


Jake: Why not shell out 99 cents – less than your double mocha latte – and find out yourself? It’s for a good cause. Kids with cancer. And it’s a great read.


Paul: C’mon, Jake. You represent Chrissy Bernhardt who shot her father in front of 50 witnesses. She claims to have recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse. Tell us the truth. Is that a lot of hooey?


Jake: Hey, I’m not gonna breach the attorney-client privilege.


Paul: Speaking of ethics, did you have an affair with your client?


Jake: So sue me, scribbler. Women think I look like a young Harrison Ford.


Paul: Careful, pal, or I’ll make that an old Henry Ford. Why do you get into all these scrapes?


Jake: I’m not bad. You just write me that way.


Paul: That’s a cop-out, Lassiter. Dig a little deeper, and tell me the truth.


Jake: In the Miami courthouse, there’s a sign: “We who labor here seek only the truth.” There ought to be a footnote. “Subject to the truth being hidden by lying witnesses, distorted by sleazy lawyers, and excluded by inept judges.”


Paul: So you’re angry about injustice?


Jake: It’s my primary character trait. That, and a fondness for Grolsch beer.


Paul: What about the other books in which you’re a so-called hero?


Jake: In “Night Vision”, I switch sides and get appointed to prosecute a serial killer stalking women on the Internet. In “False Dawn”, I don’t believe my client who confesses to killing a man. There’s a trip to Havana in it for me.


Paul: Sounds exciting.

Jake: It would have gone smoother if you’d taught me Spanish before I left. In “Mortal Sin”, I’m sleeping with my client’s wife.


Paul: That happen a lot in your world?


Jake: I knew her before she met her husband, so I’m relying on the legal principle that I’m grandfathered in.


Paul: I’m not touching that line. What else?


Jake: In “Riptide”, someone steals two million bucks from my favorite client and kills an old friend. I travel from Miami to Bimini to Maui hunting the killer.


Paul: And windsurfing?


Jake: One of us has to be athletic. Then there’s “Fool Me Twice” where a client stiffs me for a fee and frames me for murder.


Paul: How does that turn out?


Jake: Like I said before, the answer will cost you 99 cents.

Paul: Actually, I know the ending. You pull some pretty outrageous stunts in the courtroom.


Jake: They don’t call us sharks for our ability to swim.


Paul: Why do they call you sharks?


Jake: We eat what we kill. Come home empty-handed, we go to bed hungry.


Paul: Anything else you want to say about the series?


Jake: It sparkles.

Paul: Doesn’t sound like a word you’d use.


Jake: I wouldn’t. “The Times” of London did. Critics love the books. You got the John D. MacDonald award thanks to me busting my butt and you ripping off Travis McGee.


Paul: Thanks for taking the time to talk. Can we do this again?


Jake: Not unless you subpoena me.


All books in the Jake Lassiter series are available on Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords. More information on Paul Levine’s Website.

1 comment:

  1. Another one on the list. Man there's just so many good reads out there I feel like dancin! (But I won't because me dancing is a terrible thing to see)

    ReplyDelete