![]() The first two comments on the competition post on our Facebook page which give us a reason to 'like' them will get a free, signed copy of ‘The Drowned Phoenician Vintner’
All you have to do is leave a comment about why you want the book! The first two comments we ‘like’ win a copy. There are only two copies of this hot, little gem in our possession. You hear that? Only two copies! Signed copy by Harley Mazuk himself! From Vineyards to a pacifist detective known as Frank Swiver, Harley Mazuk gives us the lowdown on himself, his book ‘The Drowned Phoenician Vintner’ and a few other things.
DGP: Tell us a bit about yourself... HM: I live on my government pension and the kindness of my wife, Tasia. I write, I run, I drink wine, I read. DGP: When did you have the revelation that you wanted to become a writer? HM: I recall wanting to be a writer when I was an English major in college. It just didn't seem a practical pursuit for a guy who was 1-A in the Vietnam draft, with a low number. I needed a job. ("I needed a drink. I needed a lot of life insurance. I needed a vacation," as Philip Marlowe would say. "What I had was a coat, a hat, and a gun.") I worked 29 years for the federal government, and tried to hone my craft as a government writer and editor. When I was nearing retirement, I started to write private eye stories. DGP: Frank Swiver, how did he come about? And what books are in the Swiver series? HM: There are gay detectives, Irish detectives, Boston dicks, L.A. private eyes, African-American P.I.s, detectives with OCD, detectives too fat to leave home, and warriors with near super-hero powers. Frank's a wine-loving pacifist. (Did I mention I applied for conscientious objector status with the draft board?) Frank grew out of my interests and beliefs, and out what I liked about Hammett's and Chandler's noir characters--hard work, courage, dedication to the client and the job at hand, a tendency not to take one's self too seriously. I started writing about him in 2005, but put him aside for about four years when my father died. I came back to Frank and writing full-time when I retired. |
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