Part of the adventure is writing short stories in the breaks from writing and editing his novels. His sense of what will work in the smaller format centers around a "What if...? idea. Then  it's a "hundred yard dash, not the mile" with "no sub-plots, no story detours."

Levinson was an Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Award choice three consecutive years and his short stories have been selected for inclusion into the "year's best" anthologies for four consecutive years - so far - including the cover title piece in 2009: "A Prisoner of Memory and 24 of the Year's Finest Crime and Mystery Stories."

As for his succes Levinson believes "I got lucky, plain and simple. Frankly, I feel blessed to still be around as the publishing world shrinks, lists are trimmed, and technology changes the rules of the game."

It takes a bit more than luck and having good groundwork. This level of writing skill comes from hard work. Levinson is at his computer by 6:30 am and stays there except for a break for lunch until 4 to 6 pm . He works "until the galloping tireds set in, the eyes grow weary, [and] the mind begins cranking out at half speed or less." On weekends, he cuts back to about four hours leaving his afternoons and evenings free for errands and an occasional movie.

Reading is also a pleasurable pasttime and he confesses to be an "author groupie" who relishes the opportunities to "meet and get to know many of authors whose work I long admired." Besides the dozens and dozens still among us, he names "the late Ira Levin, Evan Hunter/Ed McBain, Dennis Lynds, Ed Hoch, Stuart Kaminsky, Donald Westlake, and Robert B. Parker." This groupie was more than likely in his glory as the writer/producer of the inaugural and Second Annual Thriller Awards in 2006 and 2007!

Levinson's books, especially The Traitor in Us All, blend "the best in thriller writing" according to best-selling author Jeffrey Deaver, "a keenly drawn hero, sharp plotting and dialogue, intelligent intrigue, and a dash of the past.

One review for In the Key of Death called it an "ass-kicker," So is its creater one too?

"Nah. Life's too short. Any asses need kicking, they get kicked in the books."

(The Affair series began with The Elvis and Marilyn Affair (1999), followed by The James Dean Affair (2000), The John Lennon Affair (2001), and Hot Paint (2002). Previous stand alone novels are Ask a Dead Man (2004), Where the Lies Begin (2006), and In the Key of Death (2008)

Terry DiDomenico has spent most of her professional career editing and writing for university publications with a little freelancing on the side. She lives with her husband and two cats on four acres in south central Pennsylvania. She is working on her first novel - a thriller of course.