This month, I had the pleasure of reading a debut mystery, THIS PEN FOR HIRE, by author Laura Levine.  Now while this name was new to me at the time, I have grown up watching a number of the shows for which she has written.  In fact, a lot of those shows are still running regularly on TV Land and other stations.

I adored the debut with character, Jaine Austen, and know other readers will appreciate the humorous copy mystery.  I am thrilled to introduce readers to Laura Levine!

Tracy Farnsworth

Tracy - First off welcome to The Romance Reader’s Connection, we are thrilled to have you joining us.  While this is your first mystery, it is certainly not the only writing readers will recognize.  You have a very illustrious career writing for a number of shows I grew up watching, classic shows that still are popular today.  Can you tell us more about yourself?

Laura - Back when I first started writing, some time in the Pleistocene Era, I was a newspaper reporter/photographer, at a newspaper so small we had to have our news photos developed at the local camera shop!  After that inauspicious beginning, I became an advertising copywriter, and then---for seventeen years---a sitcom writer.  I wrote for lots of shows, including The Bob Newhart Show, Laverne & Shirley, Three's Company, The Jeffersons, Private Benjamin, The Love Boat, and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.  So the next time you're channel surfing in the wee hours of the morning, don't be surprised if you see my name flash by on Nick at Nite.

Tracy - Now another blast from my past, you also created Count Chocula and Frankenberry.  I adored the ads, though the cereal was never one of my favorites.  That must have been a thrill to create!

Laura - Well, Tracy, I'm glad you had the good sense to steer clear of Count Chocula and Frankenberry.  Although I'm quite fond of the little darlings as cartoon characters, they're regular sugar festivals.  I hate to think how many cavities I've been responsible for over the years.  And no, creating them wasn't exactly a thrill, unless your idea of "thrill" is writing 8 quadrillion versions of the same 30 second script for approximately two years.  Giant corporations tend to be a tad fussy.  Months were spent debating whether the cereals should be "monstrously delicious" or "ghoulishly good."  More months were spent deciding whether Count Chocula should have fangs.  Eventually, however, the spots got produced, and it was indeed a thrill when they finally made it on the air.

Tracy - THIS PEN FOR HIRE is your debut mystery, but not your first book.  Can you tell us more about your other two, a humor book and a young adult?

Laura - My humor book (written in collaboration with photographer Dick Chodkowski) was called Mr. Wrong:  A Guide to the Least Eligible Bachelors in America.  My Young Adult book was originally called BEVERLY HILLS FLOP, but the company I sold it to went out of business, and never actually published it.  It was, however, published in Germany with the snappy title WIR HABEN DIE GLEICHEN TRAUME.  Try finding that one on Amazon!

Tracy - What I really love, Jaine is not a perfect Barbie sized woman.  There are few heroines that actually fall into the “less than perfect body” category.  Has there been a lot of negative and/or positive feedback about her realistic qualities?

Laura - So far, the feedback has been very positive. I think women are tired of seeing impossibly perfect bodies in the movies and on TV.  They're definitely ready for a heroine in control top pantyhose.

Tracy - Did you model Jaine’s character after anyone you know?

Laura - Yes, I know her quite intimately.  She's a zany gal with a fondness for margaritas named Laura Levine.

Tracy - Reviews for THIS PEN FOR HIRE have been extremely positive.  You are currently writing the second in this series, can you tell readers what adventure Jaine will be heading on next?

Laura - Jaine's heading off to my old stomping grounds-Hollywood.  Jaine's best friend Kandi gets Jaine a job writing for a sitcom.  Jaine barely has a chance to have her first lunch at the studio commissary, when one of the actors on the show gets murdered, poisoned by a deadly donut.  Kandi is the cops' Number One Suspect, which sends Jaine on a mission to find the real killer.

Tracy - Will you be returning to TV sitcom writing or are you sticking to fiction now?

Laura - Definitely sticking to fiction.  It's far more rewarding creatively.  In show biz, the name of the game is "rewriting."  You're lucky if 60% of your original script makes it to the screen.  Not so writing a novel.  So far, my editor has made only minor changes to my manuscripts.  For better or worse, what's there on the page is mine.  And that's a thrill.

Tracy - Thanks ever so much for your time!  If there is anything else you would like to mention, please feel free.