Steve: Today I’m interviewing author Howard Levine. Because he’s written a new thriller, Last Gasp, we have a lot in common. I bought the new book the moment I saw it. Without further ado, let’s hear from Howard.

Howard on Reading and Writing:

Steve: Why, how, and when did you start writing?

Howard: I’ve always enjoyed writing, but I started writing in earnest because I wanted to express some ideas regarding life as a whole in a fictional context.  I did that with my first published novel, Leaving This Life Behind.  I was hooked on writing thereafter.

Steve: Did you publish the first book you wrote?

Howard: The first book I wrote would have to be entirely rewritten before I would want to publish it.  It did get some positive feedback, and constructive criticism was helpful going forward.

Steve: What is your biggest problem with the writing process? How do you tackle it?

Howard: I struggle sometimes with descriptions of faces and facial expressions.  Sometimes descriptions of emotions—or finding ways of varying those descriptions—can be a challenge as well.

Steve: Do you feel writing is something you need to do or want to do?

Howard: Both.  However I might feel at a given time, the process of writing engages me.

Steve: Have your personal experiences or situations influenced you creatively? If so, how?

Howard: I think that my life experiences have a tremendous amount to do with the way I characterize people.  I feel that if I can relate to what they’re going through personally, my depictions of their reactions to events in their lives will be more real, more powerful.  This holds true with both male and female characters.

Steve: How much of your creative ability do you think is innate and how much is learned?

Howard: I think that with any person who exhibits creativity, some of it is probably innate. In my case, I definitely feel that I’ve learned from feedback from readers.  Also, I think that my long-term practice of Transcendental Meditation has helped me to access more of my creative potential.

Steve: What is the last book you read? What are you reading now?

Howard: The last book I read was Jennifer Egan’s Manhattan Beach, an absorbing read with excellent historical details.  Currently I’m reading The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.

Steve: Who are your favorite authors?  Whose writing inspires you the most and why?

Howard: Richard Russo has a great facility for evoking the lives of ordinary people in a realistic and insightful way.  I try to do the same in my writing.  T.C. Boyle is a master at the use of language, of evoking time, place, and characters with dazzling prose, even as he moves his story along in a way that engrosses the reader.  Jennifer Egan is another author whose skills I admire.  She tells gripping stories, and her writing is both accessible and beautifully descriptive.

Steve: What’s the last book to make you laugh?  Cry?

Howard: The last book to make me laugh was The Nix by Nathan Hill, with its hilarious, manipulative college student.  I don’t remember the last book that made me cry, though.  Some have, for sure.

Steve: Should writers read in their genre?  Should they be avid readers?

Howard: I don’t write in any particular genre.  I had an idea for a thriller with Last Gasp, but other books I’ve written would not fit in that genre.  Reading, I think, is of great value in terms of improving one’s own writing skills.

Steve: How do you find (discover) your plots?

Howard: That’s hard to say. Two novels I’ve written—as yet unpublished—stemmed from articles I read in the New Yorker, one concerning a welfare mother in New York, the other profiling two Mormon missionaries.  The idea for Last Gasp just popped up, more or less.  Once the central idea was there, plot details unfolded as I went along.

Steve: Are your characters based on real people?

Howard: The characters’ personality traits and experiences may or may not have roots in my own experiences.  None of my characters are reproductions of anyone I know.

Steve: How do you name your characters?

Howard: There’s no system for that.  Obviously, ethnicity plays a part.

Steve: Which comes first for you, plot or characters?

Howard: Plot always comes first, or, again, a central idea.  I plan what I can to begin with in terms of plot details, but, as I mentioned before, a lot of it unfolds as I go along.  The same is true for character development.

Steve: Any comments about writing dialogue?

Howard: Dialogue should sound real given the characters.  Generally, dialogue is more easily readable than narrative.  I think that believable, effective dialogue is central to the quality of a novel.

Steve: How do you handle POV?

Howard: I’ve written a number of novels, and alternated between first and third person.  Both can be effective—first person perhaps allows for more intimacy with the narrator, but third person enables the author to portray a range of characters in depth, depending upon the quality of the writing.

Steve: Do you do fact-finding for (AKA research) your books?  If so, how? What sources do you use?

Howard: I’ve done some research for everything I’ve written.  For me, it’s necessary in order to credibly write fiction.

Steve: What reference works do you use most?

Howard: I haven’t used any reference books on writing.  Feedback from agents, editors, and other readers has been very valuable, though.

Howard on the Writing Business:

Steve: Do you use a formatter?  Editor?  Agent?

Howard: I currently have an agent, and have used several others in the past.  Both of my published novels were edited by editors at indie publishing houses.

Steve: Do you self-publish or traditionally publish?

Howard: I publish traditionally.

Steve: What are your most effective marketing techniques?  Where would you like to improve?  Do you go it alone or seek professional help (outside what your publisher provides, if appropriate).

Howard: I’ve never used professional help in marketing.  With my first novel, I was able to obtain reviews in a good number of newspapers and other outlets (none of them the NY Times).  I was also able to do book signings or readings at Barnes & Noble and other bookstores.  Today, many of them are out of business.  Marketing is more difficult in general, and if I didn’t have my wife’s help with the internet, it would be more difficult still.

Steve: Do you release trade paperbacks or ebooks or both?

Howard: With Last Gasp, Black Opal Books released both.

Steve: What do you think of publishing services like Amazon, Smashwords, etc?  What about small presses v. large, traditional publishers?

Howard: Ideally, I’d prefer to be published by a large publisher, which would enable me to reach a wider readership.  However, my current publisher, Black Opal Books, has done an excellent job with the book.

Personal questions for Howard:

Steve: What is your favorite place to eat out?  Favorite food?  Drink?

Howard: I have no favorite place.  I prefer restaurants with many vegetarian dishes, since I am a vegetarian.  My favorite drink is probably lemonade, but no “favorite” dish comes to mind.

Steve: What are your favorite other places, either here or abroad? What places would you

like to visit?

Howard: My wife and I have recently vacationed in France, Ireland, and the Netherlands (we’re retired), and we’ve loved them all.  I’d like to visit India. In fact, I’d like to visit as many different countries and cultures as feasible.

Steve: What other interests and activities do you have besides writing?

Howard: I bike and hike in the woods a lot.  As previously mentioned, I’m a long-term practitioner of Transcendental Meditation.

Steve: What would I find in your refrigerator right now?

Howard: Tofu, cheese, and plenty of veggies.

Steve: If you could trade places with someone for a week, famous or not, living or dead, real or fictional, with whom would it be?

Howard: I’d trade places with my wife, so I could see the world (and myself) through her eyes.

Steve: What is your favorite (song) and why?  Piece of music?  Theater work? Movie?  Piece

of art?

Howard: My favorite song is James McMurtry’s “Levelland,” because it rocks and the lyrics are typically evocative of the lives of “real” people.  McMurtry’s album It Had to Happen might be my favorite piece of music, unless it’s Music from Big Pink by the Band.  My favorite movie, at least one that comes to mind, is Pan’s Labyrinth.  And I think Man of La Mancha is the best theater work that I’ve seen.

Steve: I want to thank you, Howard, for your interesting and candid answers. I’m sure many readers will want to read your new thriller Last Gasp. And I wish you many successes with your writing. I don’t say that enough to my interviewees, but I’m first and foremost a reader, so I really benefit from good authors writing good books. [Note: I will review Howard’s Last Gasp this coming Friday.]

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Comments are always welcome!

Rembrandt’s Angel. Esther Brookstone, Scotland Yard inspector in the Art and Antiques Division, becomes obsessed with recovering a Rembrandt painting stolen by the Nazis in World War Two. Paramour and Interpol agent Bastiann van Coevorden tries to keep her focused as well as safe. But the duo discovers much more: an insidious conspiracy that threatens Europe…and a bit of steamy romance. The ebook is now at a reduced price on Amazon. It’s also available on Smashwords and all its associated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc). The print version can be found on Amazon and at your local bookstore (if they don’t have it, ask for it). Reviews can be found on Amazon, Smashwords, Midwest Book Review, and Feathered Quill Book Reviews. For excerpts, see the “Books & Short Stories” web page at this website.

In libris libertas!

 

 

 

 

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