Bay Area resident Robert K. Lewis has been a painter, printmaker, and a produced screenwriter.His new book is Innocent Damage, the third novel featuring ex-cop and recovering junkie Mark Mallen.
Recently I asked Lewis about what he was reading. His reply:
There are actually quite a few books on my nightstand at the moment…Visit Robert K. Lewis's website and blog.
I’m currently working on an article for a brand new crime fiction fan site, The Life Sentence. The subject of the article is Don Pendleton’s The Executioner series. I’d read quite a few of these books in the very distant past, so I thought it wouldbehoove me to go back and re-read the first five or so, along with a few of the more recent ones, to help reacquaint myself with the series protagonist, Mack Bolan. I was happy to find that the books are still a complete fun ride, and the titles still ring fabulous for me: War Against the Mafia, Battle Mask, Miami Massacre, Slayride, etc.
Next on my nightstand is one of the greatest books ever written for writers regarding the subject of self-editing: The Artful Edit, by Susan Bell. I’ve read it many times and it’s become sort of a ritual to read before I begin an edit on a current book project.
Then there is Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain. This is an incredibly helpful book, as it aids me in visualizing how I wantmy career to go, and then to go out and make it happen. Beyond that, it shows us how empowered we really are in directing and defining our lives.
And finally, there is Narcissus and Goldmund, by Herman Hesse. I know this seems out of place, given that I write about the seedy underworld of San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, however it’s one of my all-time favorite novels, one that I read over and over again. Narcissus and Goldmund is perfect in its symmetry and character development, and as a writer, I’m a strong advocate for reading outside your genre as often as you can.
The Page 69 Test: Innocent Damage.
--Marshal Zeringue
Posts
