These authors wrote all their novels in the mystery/crime/suspense genre.
David Linzee is the youngest novelist of our group,
and he calls having his first novel published at a young age a "terrible misfortune." When his
> first novel, "Death in Connecticut," was published, Linzee was in his
> mid-twenties, an age, he says, when all writers should be finding a
> profession that will support them during the years when their writing
> doesn't. But Linzee's early success led him to ignore Master's degrees
> and instead put all his
> energies into writing. "Drudgery," as far as paid
> work was concerned, including a stint typing library catalogue cards,
> was the result, and Linzee says, "my wife’s income made my writing possible."
>
> Born in St. Louis in 1952, Linzee started writing in the 3rd grade
> when he sold his comics to for a dime to fellow students. He
> graduated from
Vassar
> College in 1974. He traveled a great deal, spent many years in
> Connecticut, and then finally returned to St. Louis to live in 1991. At age 50 he finally got a M.A. from Southern Illinois University and is now head of the The Writing Lab at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
>
> Linzee has seen first hand the volatility of the publishing world,
> witnessing publishing houses go out of business, and agents and
> editors lose their jobs. Publishers will publish novels in small
> numbers, he observes, but unless the novels get some kind of
> recognition, the publishers will essentially abandom them. A magazine
> writer can succeed or fail based on subject matter, but a novelist
> succeeds or fails based on his or her name and if his novel is not
> marketed then his or her name cannot become known.
>
> In addition to novels, short stories, and magazine articles, Linzee
> has also published a non-fiction account of 17 infamous St. Louis
> crimes and mysteries. He has a new novel in mind, and he says that
> when he conceives of a story he immediately knows whether it is a
> novel or short story. Linzee told Contemporary Authors that in his
> novels, "the characters don't solve the mystery, they get lost in it,
> and have to find their way out."
>
> Novels
>
> Death in Connecticut McKay, 1977.
>
> Discretion Seaview Books, 1978.
>
> Belgravia, Seaview Books, 1979. "Belgravia is the particularly
> entertaining product of a highly educated mind." -- Library Journal
>
> Housebreaker, Dutton, 1987.
>
> Main Sources: Contemporary Authors, Author interview
Written by Leontine Davidson
Native St. Louisian David Linzee's Linzee's published his first novel, "Death in Connecticut," while he was in his midtwenties, giving him the honor of being the youngest member of our group.
Linzee was born in 1952, graduated from Vassar College in 1974 and traveled a great deal after that. He returned to live and work in St. Louis in 1991, and he currently runs the Writing Center at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Over the last 30 years, Linzee has witnessed first hand the publishing world's volatility: since "Murder in Connecticut" was first printed, publishing houses have gone out of business, agents and editors have lost their jobs and authors have had a tough time in the process. Linzee says that today publishers will abandon the promotion of a novel pretty quickly unless the novel receives media attention. Linzee also observes that the novelist's name has to become recognizable to the media and the public because it is his or her name, and not the subject matter, that sells the novel.
In addition to novels, Linzee also publishes short stories and magazine articles, and he has a new novel in mind. Linzee told Contemporary Authors that in his novels, "the characters don't solve the mystery, they get lost in it, and have to find their way out."
In 1998, under the pseudonym David August, Linzee coauthored a mystery novel, "Final Seconds," with John Lutz. In 2001 Linzee also published a non-fiction account of 17 St. Louis crimes and mysteries.
Death in Connecticut McKay 1977, Dell pb1978*
Discretion Seaview Books 1978, Dell pb1979*
Belgravia# Seaview Books 1979, Dell pb1981* "Belgravia is the particularly entertaining product of a highly educated mind." -- Library Journal
Housebreaker* # Dutton 1987 "a breathtaking climax" -- Library Journal
Final Seconds* # Kensington Books 1998 -- Lutz and August have "together created a pair of mismatched, very likable protagonists and placed them in a complex thriller with Unabomber overtones." -- BookList
Lawrence Meyer is a retired reporter who wrote two suspense novels, then devoted himself entirely to nonfiction.
Born in Chicago in 1941, Meyer got his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and M.A. and M.S. degrees from Columbia. He became a newspaper reporter, quickly working his way up to the Washington Post. He was there 1969-1999, a busy and versatile staff reporter who wrote book reviews, essays, national and international politics, and other topics. He published a nonfiction book about Israel in 1982.
Meyer told LJ that he turned to the novel in order to convey the reality of political life in Washington more richly than he could within the constraints of journalism. His second book also depicted the Washington scene
Novels
A Capitol Crime* Viking 1977 Avon 1978 “Meyer has succeeded admirably at what he apparently set out to do: write a lean, well-told story about Washington and at the same time take a hard look at hose who run this country—or would like to.” Ross Thomas in Washington Post Book World
False Front* Viking 1979 1980 Popular Library “A shade less convincing than the first novel, but still better than many.” –Library Journal
Neither in St L C libr
Main source: Contemporary Authors
Almost 30 years passed between Mike Slosberg’s first and second novels. In the interval he was occupied with his career in advertising. With the second book, he is going it alone, using a subsidy publisher and Web sites.
Slosberg was born in Philadelphia in 1934. After serving in the Air Force, he graduated from the University of Denver in 1960. He then began a long career at Young & Rubicam in New York.
Slosberg’s first novel, a medical thriller called The August Strangers, did not sell well enough to enable to write full time, but it did quite well on the sub rights front. It was condensed in Cosmopolitan and optioned several times by movie producers. He has also written short stories and a cartoon book.
When he retired, Slosberg decided to go into writing full time. He contracted with Vantage Press, a well-known subsidy publisher, to publish his second book, a thriller, and republish his first. He has set up internet sites to publicize and sell them. Many publishing professionals look down on Vantage as a “vanity press,” and it has the reputation of not being taken seriously by book distributors. But Slosberg succeeded in getting his new novel carried by Amazon and Barnes and Nobel and considered by the Book of the Month Club, but not reviewed by Publishers Weekly or Library Journal.
Novels
The August Strangers* Dial 1977 Vantage 2006 “The story is totally convincing up to the point where these melodramatic elements enter, but the tension that has been built up and the sympathy for the characters that has been aroused carry the reader to the satisfying ending.” --Library Journal
The Hitler Error* Vantage 2006